State of the Creators

SEASON FINALE! Watch the video: https://youtu.be/JOGMObhQcvk  @JonKabir   widely recognized for being a musician and a prominent vocalist hailing from the Bangladeshi rock scene. Jon started his career almost 20 years ago and burst into the scene with the popular band Black. After Jon left the band, he has been delivering the goods with popular rock band Indalo and as an established solo act. The thing that I find most interesting about Jon’s journey is how he has always reinvented himself as a musician. Neither Indalo nor his solo act pull numbers like his early works - but that hasn’t stopped him from staying true to his authentic creative pursuits - and that’s what I absolutely love about Jon’s career. Beyond all this Jon is also a fellow podcaster - because that’s also a term these days. So this was also a very cool discussion to have with someone who has been doing this for a few years too. In this episode we talk about what it's been like to make music for the last two decades, Jon’s creative process and how the digital world has completely shifted the landscape for musicians today. Special thanks to Akib Shahriar for the camera work and to  @SameerScane   for the studio space! This episode was recorded in early 2023, and the artwork in the animation was done by the talented  @ahmedfahim-exe   00:00 - Intro 01:55 - Why Jon started a podcast 04:09 - Effects of not reading books on writing 08:52 - Writing songs in Bangla 09:51 - Bangla language's limitations to craft songs 13:04 - Who is 'Jon Kabir'? 14:26 - Why music? 17:30 - Staying authentic as an artist 23:26 - Starting career anew 25:33 - Confronting challenges  27:11 - Defining Success in Music 30:54 - Teamwork as a 'loner' 33:04 - Balance between Creativity and Execution 36:35 - Identity struggles within bands 37:08 - The Metallica Syndrome 40:12 - Jon's thoughts to change the industry 43:35 - Breaking the language barrier for global audience 46:08 - Defining quality music 49:41 - Tackling memes and criticism 50:52 - The artistic challenge 52:19 - Making money as a musician 53:57 - Perspectives on new generations 56:50 - The role of emotions in music 57:33 - Creative ruts 58:10 - Creative routine 01:01:22 - The future of music in Bangladesh 01:02:23 - Personal goals 01:03:34 - Jon's favourite artists 01:03:57 - Advice for aspiring artists 01:04:51 - Outro

Nuhash Humayun is a writer and a director from Dhaka, Bangladesh. He made his local TV debut in 2017 - and has since written and directed a growing catalogue of short films, music videos, TV shows and advertisements. One of his latest horror shorts, Moshari, has won a number of accolades including the South by South West Jury Award and awards from Fantasia, HollyShorts and Melbourne festivals, and is the first Bangladeshi film ever to qualify for an Oscar. It has done so well that Hollywood juggernauts like Jordan Peele and Riz Ahmed are set to Executive Produce the live-action short. In fact his other recent works, like Pett Kata Shaw and Foreigners Only on Hulu has won multiple global awards.  @nuhashhYT   is currently writing a script for a major Hollywood Studio and is working on his first feature length film. Nuhash is also the son of legendary Bangladeshi novelist, screenwriter and personality Humayun Ahmed. In this episode we talk about his creative process, how he navigates a complicated landscape and why he chooses horror of all things to make films about. This episode was recorded in early 2023, and the artwork in the animation was done by the talented  @ahmedfahim-exe   00:00 - Intro 01:45 - Why horror?  03:28 - The intersection of horror and Bangladeshi culture 06:34 - Being true to oneself 07:08 - Who is 'Nuhash Humayun' 08:33 - Nuhash's illustrious family  11:09 - Other side of fame 12:37 - Keeping up with family identity  15:57 - How family identity affects work  22:05 - Motivation behind filmmaking 22:59 - Collaboration 28:07 - Defining filmmaking 30:51 - The role of social media 34:37 - Leveraging social media 36:33 - Balancing multiple responsibilities 39:01 - Creative writing process 43:33 - Incorporating audience feedback 46:36 - Defining success 47:26 - 'Moshari' and its appeal 51:37 - Defining quality work 55:09 - Biggest gap in the industry 58:12 - Film production challenges 58:55 - Impact of fame on artistic work 01:02:15 - Overcoming unhappyness through art 01:04:08 - Nuhash's creative routine 01:05:04 - Nuhash's favourite artists 01:06:45 - Nuhash's dream collab with his father 01:09:29 - Envisioning filmmaking's future 01:11:00 - Personal goals 01:12:25 - Advice for aspiring filmmakers 01:14:33 - Outro

Dameer Khan is an indie-pop singer-songwriter and a producer. At just 22, he has released quite a few singles and an EP, all of which has gained millions of views and streams and has gotten him a niche following. I stumbled upon Dameer’s work first in 2017, and almost instantly became a fan of his work. Beyond his nostalgic tunes,  @Dameer 's music videos are cinematic and a joy to watch personally. In this episode we talked about his journey, his identity as a musician and how he utilises his community to become a better creator. Dameer is big on the use of social media to promote your art - which is always an interesting take these days and we dive deep into that side of things as well. Just a note that this podcast was recorded in early 2023, and the artwork in the animation was done by none other than the guest of this episode  @ahmedfahim.archives   AUDIO: https://stateofthecreators.buzzsprout.com/ 00:00 Intro 02:05 A colour for each song 04:27 Who is Dameer?  05:08 Canada 06:44 Dameer's early days 08:38 Dameer's creative family and band "Renaissance"  10:36 Why study Poli-Science? 14:14 Leveraging a uni degree 16:22 Music in 'Bangla Language' 21:13 Malaysia 23:00 The Harmony of Two Languages in Music. 26:04 Was moving out a good decision? 28:30 Writing music in simple lyrics 33:46 Fandom 38:54 Dameer's dream 43:26 Bangladesh through an artist's lens 45:19 Beginning of a music career 47:30 "Amar Jaan" 48:26 Navigating negativity 50:22 Using autotune 52:54 Defining quality music 55:39: Making money as a musician 01:01:09 Tackling memes and criticisms 01:02:22 The Artistic Challenge 01:04:32 Creative routine 01:05:24 Creative ruts 01:05:55 Exploring other music projects 01:06:32 Discovering new music 01:07:49 Dameer's favourite acts  01:12:10 Dameer's ambitions 01:15:03 Advice for aspiring artists 01:18:00 Outro

Ahmed Fahim is an illustrator, a designer, and an artist based in Bangladesh. Over the years he’s worked on some of the finest projects in regards to digital illustrations and designs. However recently Fahim was diagnosed with a terminal illness, it has changed his entire outlook on his creative work and his life as a whole. So this one gets a little heavy at one point. Just a note that this podcast was recorded in early 2022, more than a year ago now, and the artwork in the animation was done by none other than the guest of this episode  @ahmedfahim.archives   WATCH THE VIDEO: https://youtu.be/wRreUGapNig 00:00 Intro 05:12 The identity of 'Ahmed Fahim' 07:33 Origin story 09:16 Why illustrations?  09:49 Supportive parents  12:47 Why choose architecture?  14:09 Art as a business 16:46 Seeking inspiration 20:41 Could AI replace artists?  26:54 Fahim's favourite artists 31:16 Confronting creative ruts 34:51 Personal habits 36:40 Defining quality content 37:21 Living with life-threatening disease 42:33 Driving change through art 45:55 Leaving a legacy 48:18 Words of advice for aspiring artists 49:15 Outro

Rakin Absar is a comedian, an online creator and a social media juggernaut from Bangladesh with hundreds of thousands of followers online. He started his career in Vine, a short form social media platform almost a decade ago, became a significant name with his work on YouTube but then he took a break for a couple of years. In this episode we explore  @MrAbsar 's journey, how social media has evolved for creators over the decade and how he’s built a career in this.  Just a note that this podcast was recorded in early 2022, more than a year ago now, and the artwork in the animation was done by the talented Ahmed Fahim. Hope you enjoy the show.  00:00 Intro 01:23 Rakin's "real" personality 03:55 Why "Mr. Absar" as a stage name?  05:56 Start of the career 08:08 Reason behind Rakin's break 10:57 Coming back into the scene 13:57 Professionalism in the industry 18:40 Lack of variety in content 21:41 Dealing with brands 29:05 Financial aspects of brand collaborations 32:16 Career without brands 35:47 Supportive parents? 36:42 Dealing with negativity  38:38 Out of content? 40:28 Prioritizing mental health as a creator 48:05 Confronting creative ruts 50:42 Biggest rewards as a creator 52:32 Defining quality content 53:37 Creators Rakin looks up to 55:39 Future of creaotrs 57:04 Advice for aspiring creators 58:30 Outro Find out more about Tawsif: www.tawsifakkas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawsifakkas Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawsifakkas

Taha Ismail is a Bangladeshi filmmaker based in London. He is also the co-founder of Collective Unconscious - a creative production studio & collective working across film, music, fashion & more. Recently, Taha even won gold at the prestigious London Award Show for his work. I came across Taha’s work through an incredible viral video of his back when viral videos weren’t even a thing. He had recreated in real life - an entire cutscene in the style of popular video game called GTA San Andreas. Today it might not seem a lot, but it was quite a big deal then. Today Taha’s work spans across incredible short films to music videos, and his work has been featured on US television, BBC, film festivals, and many other places. In this episode,  @tahaismailtvbd   and I discuss his journey and what it takes to be a filmmaker in the modern world.  Just a note that this podcast was recorded in early 2022 and the artwork in the animation was done by the talented Ahmed Fahim. 00:00 - Intro 01:34 - Why the "Unconscious"? 03:03 - Who is Taha Ismail? 04:30 - Is Film School worth it?  08:34 - Taha's early days 12:24 - Why Taha stopped uploading to YouTube 15:21- State of YouTube today 16:31- Why create something new? 20:35 - Dealing with identity 21:59 - Catering for different audiences 24:07 - Music Videos vs. Short Films  29:23 - The lack of appreciation for work 33:16 - What is quality? 34:32 - Supportive parents 35:53 - Creative ruts  38:45 - Daily rituals 39:38 - Consuming a variety of work 42:37 - Dream collaboration  43:38 - Taha's goal in 5 years 45:47 - Advice for aspiring filmmakers  Find out more about Tawsif: www.tawsifakkas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawsifakkas Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawsifakkas

WATCH THE VIDEO: https://youtu.be/lNkJOsSQNFk Naina Husain is an artist and an illustrator and she is the founder of byNainah. Her art is inspired by South Asia’s people, its culture, and its colors. She started drawing purely through creative expression, but now she has turned it into somewhat of a creator business - so much so that she’s been featured on outlets like Insider and Mashable. In this episode we talk about her creative journey, how she utilises social media for her art, and how to sustain a career as an illustrator. This podcast was recorded in early 2022 and the artwork in the animation was done by the talented  @ahmedfahimfilms . 00:00 Intro 01:28 Who is Naina Hussain? 06:53 Tackling identity  09:49 Early life 16:19 Stepping into fashion designing 21:08 Starting from scratch 25:24 Building an audience 28:50 Dealing with hate  30:35 Imposter syndrome 32:48 Creative ruts 33:55 What is quality? 34:16 The biggest reward 35:32 Favourite creators 38:25 Advice for aspiring creators  Find out more about Tawsif: www.tawsifakkas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawsifakkas Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawsifakkas

WATCH THE VIDEO: https://youtu.be/F6rWR-xp8tI  @ArmeenMusa is a singer-songwriter, poet, music director, performer and so much more. She studied at the world famous Berklee College of music and has had a great impact in the Bangladeshi and South Asian music scene. She has her own solo set called the Ghaashphoring Choir, and has also been a significant name in the  @CokeStudioBangla   project. I have been a fan of Armeen’s work from her early days so it was a great privilege for me to have this conversation with her. We talk about her journey, we discuss what it takes to be a musician in this modern era, and we dive deep into her philosophies about art. Just a note that this podcast was recorded in early 2022 and the artwork in the animation was done by the talented  @ahmedfahimfilms . 00:00 Intro 01:20 Who is Armeen Musa? 02:50 Armeen's Illustrious Family  06:45 Early life  08:38 Balancing Music and Studies 13:07 "Bhromor Koio"  18:34 Why Berklee College of Music? 23:28 Studying Music vs. Practical Application 28:25 Leadership as a Creator 33:00 Are creative degrees needed?  38:00 Satisfying the creating itch 44:37 Pressure of achieving success  47:49 Using social media for music 55:38 Why continue as a musician despite the challenges?  01:02:23 What is quality? 01:07:16 Upcoming projects  01:08:15 Advice for aspiring creators  01:11:07 Outro Find out more about Tawsif: www.tawsifakkas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawsifakkas Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawsifakkas

Abir Ahmed Chowdhury is an independent consultant in the international development sector - with a background in economics and development. He is also my co-founder in  @plaantik . For those who don’t know Plaantik is a football media company that we have been running for over a decade now, and over the years we’ve done some pretty cool things in the world of football. For instance, we just launched a book a month ago, and regularly cater to millions of football fans online daily.  In this episode, we go through what it takes to run a social media first content entity, that too remotely, we discuss the evolution of media and content that we have seen over the last ten years and how we have been doing this for so long.  Animation and illustration: Ahmed Fahim 00:00 Intro 01:51 Who is Abir Ahmed Chowdhury? 03:26 Life before Plaantik 05:58 What prompted you to create Plaantik? 10:50 Figuring it out  15:25 How Plaantik shaped our careers 18:10 Challenges with co-founding 25:50 Importance of community 28:25 Why stick with Plaantik? 33:00 The dilemma of pursuing full time 34:30 Is the audience smarter than the creators? 35:25 Taking criticism 37:25 Is Plaantik biased?  43:11 The monetary side of Plaantik 50:24 Being adaptable 53:00 Future of football content  57:25 Abir's advice for aspiring creators Find out more about Tawsif: www.tawsifakkas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawsifakkas Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawsifakkas

@SeeamShahidNoor is a Product Manager & Sr. Strategy Consultant at IBM - but he is primarily known as a creator in the education space, where he helps aspiring students with tips and tricks to be better at what they do. With hundreds of thousands of followers online, Seeam uses his expertise from his current role and draws from his degree at the prestigious Harvard University. In this episode Seeam and I sit down from two different ends of the world and discuss his journey, the creator industry and what it takes to be successful as a creator in the education niche. Intro animation: Ahmed Fahim 00:00 Intro 01:15 Seeam's Harvard University story 04:25 Who is Seeam Shahid Noor? 08:13 Why create content? 13:03 IBM vs. Content creation 15:07 Satisfying the creating itch 16:57 Issue with being a fulltime creator 18:10 Seeam's growth story 25:04 What's hard about building an audience  30:21 Dealing with negativity 31:49 Is the audience smarter than creators? 33:27 How the audience influences creators 35:04 How audience behavior shapes content 37:38 Lack of a diverse audience      38:58 Creative rut 41:22 What is quality content? 42:07 Biggest reward as a creator 43:15 Personal goal in 5 years 44:12 Seeam's advice for aspiring creators 45:43 Outro Find out more about Tawsif: www.tawsifakkas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawsifakkas Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawsifakkas

Amin Hannan Chowdhury is a comedian and a creator based in Dhaka. He started working alongside Ashik, another rising comedian in the scene, through their self titled stage names Amin and Ashik I have always taken a keen interest in the world of comedy, but with the rise of social media, it requires a different approach as a creative and as a creator to be a comedian. In this episode Amin and I go in depth about the creative process of writing a joke, what it’s like to do stand up comedy in a rising scene and how to deal with people who don’t find you funny. 00:00 Intro 02:30 Who is Amin Hannan Chowdhury? 06:30 Social media's impact on stand-up comedy 09:54 Building authenticity 15:00 Educating others on stand-up comedy 17:00 Catering to a mass vs. niche 18:20 Joking about controversial topics 20:14 Being safe with jokes 21:53 Criticisms 27:36 Defining your audience 28:55 Low-effort jokes 35:00 Custom jokes 37:40 Evolution of audience 41:31 Public speaking practice for jokes 42:30 Jokes on difficult days 45:50 Seeking validation 49:55 Authentic community 50:17 Turning trauma into jokes 53:48 The monetary side of comedy 58:19 Touring outside Dhaka 59:10 Repeating jokes 1:00:00 Consumption behaviour of content 1:02:40 Amin's dream gig 1:04:08 Cultural references for jokes 1:07:00 Future of comedy 1:08:45 Amin's goal in 5 years 1:10:00 Advise from Amin for new comedians 1:11:35 Outro Find out more about Tawsif: www.tawsifakkas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawsifakkas

Mostly Borrowed Ideas is the brainchild of Abdullah Al-Rezwan - it's a newsletter that does a monthly deep dive and detailed analysis backed with high quality research on one specific company. MBI started off as a Twitter account (it has closed to a 100, 000 followers) but it slowly turned into a paid newsletter with thousands of subscribers. This one is a little bit different to my other episodes because on this one I explore what it takes to be a creator through writing only - a skill that is often overlooked. We go in depth about MBI's journey and why he decided to write about finance, and choose Twitter as the main platform. We also talk about how to grow in the platform and other techniques that will allow a creator to build a following with words. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:53 - Why it's called Mostly Borrowed Ideas 03:15 - A rant on "Originality" 07:17 - The story of Abdullah and MBI 12:13 - Do you need external push on social media to succeed? 14:42 - Writing as a skill set 17:54 - Generalist vs. Specialist 22:15 - Why Abdullah hates to talk about his Ivy League achievements 27:08 - Why Abdullah chooses a pseudonym for Twitter 30:02 - Expanding beyond a one-man creator show 37:25 - Monetization as a creator 41:08 - MBI's deep dive process 46:00 - Creative blocks as a creator 49:19 - Planning for content 50:36 - Facing the toxic side of Twitter 52:30 - MBI's future plans 54:47 - 3 pieces of advice from MBI Find out more about Tawsif: www.tawsifakkas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawsifakkas Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawsifakkas

Aydha Mehnaz has years of experience in the world of luxury and fashion, particularly through her role at one of the world’s biggest luxury brands Mugler. She has worked with some of the biggest celebrities in the world like Beyonce and Dua Lipa, and she also works as a creative consultant based between Dhaka and Paris. On top, she has been featured on Vogue, Daily Mail and plenty of other outlets too.  I have been following Aydha for a while and her work always seemed very interesting to me.  She started her career simply through blogging and now is creating in the luxury fashion industry.  In this episode we go in depth about what it takes to be a creative in the world of fashion, what’s life like in one of the fashion capitals of the world, and how she upholds her identity despite moving to a different country whilst working in such an alien environment. Find out more about Tawsif: www.tawsifakkas.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tawsifakkas Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawsifakkas

Issa Nibras Farooque is a software engineer. But he leads a Clark Kent / Superman life because he is also a prolific musician and he goes by the name of Farooque Bhai.  Farooque Bhai hails from a family of musicians and change-makers - so he has always had a fair bit of music in him growing up. It was no different throughout his teens and uni days either when he started jamming and playing with various bands and sounds. But it wasn’t until exploring Soundcloud and releasing his first EP, that he started finding his niche community.  In this episode we talk about his journey, his foray into different music genres, how he brings professionalism to his creative craft, and his new EP which drops this week.  This is the first episode of Season 3 of the show.  You can watch the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/c/TawsifAkkas

Shil is a public speaker, a public speaking expert and has coached hundreds of people throughout his career including TEDx speakers, entrepreneurs and creators. One of the most fascinating thing about Shil is that he has a significant case of stutter - and despite that he has built a career in speaking publicly.  In this episode, Shil and I talk about the fear of creating publicly, about the internal challenges creators face, and how to cope with them when appearing on a public sphere.  This is also the final episode of season 2! Thanks for tuning in all these months. State of the Creators will return for Season 3.

Shil is a public speaker, a public speaking expert and has coached hundreds of people throughout his career including TEDx speakers, entrepreneurs and creators. One of the most fascinating thing about Shil is that he has a significant case of stutter - and despite that he has built a career in speaking publicly.  In this episode, Shil and I talk about the fear of creating publicly, about the internal challenges creators face, and how to cope with them when appearing on a public sphere.  This is also the final episode of season 2! Thanks for tuning in all these months. State of the Creators will return for Season 3.

Scott Mellor aka Loston is a graphic artist, a musician, and runs his own design studio called the Studio Thinktank where he has worked with some of the biggest names in the world including Labrinth, Cardi B and Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave.  Scott’s based in Perth Australia and I first stumbled upon his work as a musician - only to later find out that he had more than creative facades. So having a chat with him for an episode was only the natural way to feed my curiosity to understand how he works as a multi disciplinary creative - as well as building his own business around his interests. We dug deep on his creative process, how he tackles multiple creative acts at the same time, and his personal journey. 

Scott Mellor aka Loston is a graphic artist, a musician, and runs his own design studio called the Studio Thinktank where he has worked with some of the biggest names in the world including Labrinth, Cardi B and Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave.  Scott’s based in Perth Australia and I first stumbled upon his work as a musician - only to later find out that he had more than creative facades. So having a chat with him for an episode was only the natural way to feed my curiosity to understand how he works as a multi disciplinary creative - as well as building his own business around his interests. We dug deep on his creative process, how he tackles multiple creative acts at the same time, and his personal journey. 

Hey creators, a few quick updates about the podcast as we wrap the year up. Thank you for sticking with me.  See you soon. Sign up to my newsletter: www.tawsifakkas.com  Follow me on Instagram: @tawsifakkas  Subscribe on YouTube: Tawsif Akkas

Eric Choh aka ericship111 is a full time YouTuber with over 300, 000 subscribers on his channel. Eric was naturally into video games growing up - and today his channel is built around the niche of gaming - specifically the popular racing video game Forza Horizon.  The thing here though is that I have known Eric personally for over 10 years now. We used to go to the same university for our Bachelors of Architecture and in some ways we were both...let’s say slightly disinterested... on the degree which in a way I guess formed our bond. Even back then, I remember Eric used to just love creating videos and put them up on YouTube. We’ve kept in touch every now and then but a decade later, Eric has turned his passion for gaming into his full time job and that’s pretty awesome.  In this video, we talk about Eric’s journey into the world of YouTube and gaming, the doors it has opened for him, the struggles of a content creator and how he continues to serve an audience for over a decade. If you are looking to start a YouTube channel, changing careers, or just curious about the world of digital content - this is the episode for you.  Visit www.tawsifakkas.com for more information.