Very few people ever get the opportunity to speak with someone who has their dream job, recently I had the privilege of becoming one of those people. For some time now, I’ve been dead set on becoming a journalist. This website is my primary effort. In the past year and a half I’ve written over 50 unique articles, but it’s not like I have any professional experience in the field.

Enter, Brendan Dunne. Dunne, 30, is a writer currently employed at Complex; a media outlet primarily focused on covering youth culture. His main responsibility involves running Complex’s Snapchat discover platform, and managing a lot of behind the scenes aspects of Sole Collector shows Full Size Run and Price the Hype. He is also featured prominently on both series as a mainstay co-host. Before this, Dunne studied linguistics at the University of Oregon and worked for Sneakernews on the side before being brought on fulltime in 2012. He found himself at Complex after Sole Collector editor in chief Gerald Flores brought him onto the team in 2014.

I don’t work on Sole Collector explicitly anymore but (I’m) still involved with a lot of projects, Full Size Run chief among them.

That’s a quote from Dunne himself. On Wednesday, Sept. 18 I had the privilege of speaking to Dunne personally over the phone amidst his busy work schedule and the ambient bustling noises of New York City. Dunne was the prime subject to interview about my dream job. He’s an experienced journalist and editor with a big hand in a media outlet I consume regularly and yes, he loves talking about sneakers the same as I do. Getting his contact information was not the simplest task but after a few days and sheer luck I got his personal email and we started talking almost immediately. Within a few days, we had a phone call scheduled.

When the day finally came I was nervous. How do you talk to someone you look up to? Someone who, in more ways than one, is your superior.  I was pretty shaky to start off but, Dunne’s congenial attitude and casual yet articulate manner of speaking put me at ease. The interview only lasted 15 minutes but what it lacked in runtime it made up for in substance.

I’m going to leave a transcript below of the last few questions of the interview. What follows is some of the best career advice I’ve ever received, from a gentleman who is well beyond his years in terms of heart.

What do you love about your job?

I love being able to be critical about sneakers because I feel like the scene as a whole is lacking that so I like having that opportunity to voice my opinion on those things and also I like the opportunity to talk to industry people or famous people who have sneaker histories that aren’t necessarily out there and kinda bring those stories out… I think there’s a lot of things, about like the Off-White stuff, for instance, that is valuable and that is good design but it’s so obvious. Those shoes I see every day so I’d rather just try and do something a little different or show people that I appreciate something a little different. 

What’s one misconception you think people have about your profession?

I think a lot of people think that when you’re in the sneaker world professionally whether you’re writing, blogging, making videos is that people are just going to send you free things… I guess the idea that it’s easy to just get whatever you want from these brands you know? People have to work really hard to make these connections and make these relationships or convince people in various positions of power across the industry that they are someone worth listening to or someone worth talking to, you know what I mean? It took a long time for us to be able to do something as bold as to make a show where we present the idea that our opinions matter. I had to do this for a long time before I could be that bold or before Welty could get on camera and have people trust his opinion. People don’t necessarily realize that it takes a lot of work to get to that point a lot of writing, he worked in retail for years, I wrote thousands of blog posts on this stuff. It wasn’t a short road.

If you were me right now, a college student, what would you be doing to get where you are right now?

I would be looking for stories that aren’t being told by sites like Complex because I think there are a lot of them. We’re at a time now where big media is realizing how important sneakers are to so many people or how even profitable the idea of covering them can be and I think that we’re only at the beginning when it comes to sneaker media. I think there’s a long ways to go and I think there’s a lot of stories that haven’t been told… I mean I wish I had time to tell ’em. Always new stones to turn over.

One last question here, have you ever resold sneakers?

Yes, I have. I have, I do, and I don’t have any qualms about it really anymore. Unless it’s like a shoe somebody gave to me, somebody close to me gifted me something, means something personally. Otherwise, I have and will continue to resell sneakers. Just don’t tell Welty.

Sorry, I had to ask that one.

Yeah of course. The most important question.

I look forward to what you continue to do in the future, I look forward to the new season of FSR. Which is coming out soon I believe?

Next week.

Next Week?

Yes, sir, that’s an exclusive. Put it out there.

Glad I got that one. Alright, thank you so much, Brendan, have a great day my friend.

You can follow Brendan Dunne on Instagram and soon enough Twitter. You can also see him on the Sole Collector channel as a co-host for Full Size Run and Price the Hype.

Jett Little is a prolific artist known for his abstract album cover artwork he frequently posts on his Instagram. Jett is also the drummer of a budding alternative rock band known simply as Bummer Dreams. I’ve wanted to interview Jett for quite some time now and only recently has he had time in between shows to grace me with some of his inspiring words. First, allow me to set the scene.

It was a warm Sunday night when I decided to call Jett Little. Already I could tell he was in a chipper mood as he was gearing up for a gig he was supposed to play on March 22, 2019. I allowed him to collect himself before I asked any questions. Little did I know his responses would hold more substance that I could have ever hoped for. Jett possesses a character with so much charisma and sanguinity it was hard to keep myself from slipping into informality. However, I was able to keep my cool just long enough to get a few words out of this incredibly talented human being.

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How would you describe your art?

In a very broad term I would describe it as, okay like, have you ever been to a record store and you see all those weird harsh noise seven inches and they’re like really f***ing weird to look at but they’re so entrancing? I don’t know how to describe it. Basically, it’s just a lot of things that influence me and I just combine all of that s**t into like something completely new.

So what are your influences?

My main influences, since I’ve always grown up around music like my entire life, especially punk music, I’ve been mostly influenced by the posters and the advertisements that a lot of punk bands use. I’m always just grabbing stuff from like different art pieces and grabbing inspiration, but mostly it’s like screen printing, and definitely album covers.

Are you the kind of worker that likes making a lot of pieces at once? I notice you post very often.

I just have a constant drive. I wake up in the morning and I’m just like, “I gotta create something.” I just really gotta put my creative energy out there. Whether being music or art or anything like that. Even though I do work on a couple pieces simultaneously I mostly just do one or two pieces every single day just to get my constant addition to creating art fulfilled.

In other words, art is like your lifeblood?

It’s literally the thing that’s has taken over my entire life. It’s the only thing I really care about. I definitely prioritize art and music over everything so it just dictates my entire life. Its how I survive through my day without freaking out. I just think its really important to have an outlet to express your emotions. I consider myself a pretty emotional person. My therapy, the best sort of therapy, is just like just constantly playing music and doing art.

Do you have a creative endeavor that you’re most proud of?

I don’t know. I love all my pieces. There’s definitely a few I would much rather show a large audience but I don’t think I have one piece that’s just like, “that is the one.” I feel like I’m always evolving as an artist. It’s just very good to evolve as a person. So I can’t say one piece is like my magnum opus cuz I think I’m just gonna keep on making more pieces that I’m satisfied with in the future, hopefully.  An aesthetic I was really into a year ago is going to be completely different now. My vision always changes.

It keeps your artwork fresh.

Oh yeah, it does, it does a hundred percent. Nobody wants to fall into the hole where like they just constantly follow what’s trending and they never leave mediocrity. They don’t follow their own path they only follow everyone else’s. What really drives me is following my own path and doing my own stuff.

Who inspires you?

I’ve grown up around artists my entire life. There’s a lot of artists I’ve found on Instagram and stuff that just like every time I look at one of their pieces I just have to create something, I get so many ideas.

Is anyone in your family an artist?

Yeah! My entire family is artists. Both of my parents were both in bands in the 90s and my dad used to screen print. On both sides, everyone is an artist or a musician. 

Do you have a motto that epitomizes you as an artist?

Not a specific motto, but a couple ideologies. Keep on evolving. Never change what you do for something that isn’t worth it. Don’t be a sheep basically. Stand out from the others.

What has been a defining moment for you as an artist?

My first time displaying art at an actual art show. I met this chick named Victoria at another art show and she was a really good photographer and painter. We later discussed on Instagram, because she has shows I think once or twice a year called Color Theory Club. I was just really getting into art, like making pieces every day. I was just like, “Hey maybe I can get one or two pieces at your show?” And she actually said yes, I was freaking out. So getting my art displayed and getting compliments from real people I don’t know. That’s definitely been a super proud moment of mine.

Moving away from defining moments, what’s a big struggle you’ve had to overcome as an artist?

I never want to feel like a disappointment. Like people say, “you’re not being a f****in doctor? You’re just gonna sit on your ass all day and twiddle on Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator? You’re gonna try and get a job from this?” I constantly hear that. In order to be a mature person, you gotta not be bothered by naysayers. They just think art is like painting or some s**t.

Given your mindset, what do you want to continue improving on specifically?

I definitely want all my pieces to be more pleasing to the eye. Your job as a graphic designer is to make stuff that’s nice to look at. My constant drive is to make stuff that’s good to me. I want to learn how to express my ideas more and make more things where people can get the message. I feel like I make a lot of vague messages in my art. People always ask me, “what does that mean, are you suicidal or something like that?” Like they always get the wrong idea from my pieces.

It’s been great talking to you, where can people who are interested in your art find you online? 

They can find me on my main Instagram @himomletsgo and my bands Instagram because we’ve been playing a lot more shows lately, @bummer.dreams on Instagram.

And they can also find your band on Apple Music correct?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Apple Music, Spotify, literally everything. 

Perfect, thank you very much. Your artwork is really amazing. Being able to watch an artist grow is almost a privilege in itself. I can’t wait to see what you put out next because I know it’s always going to be something different. 

Exactly, thank you for setting this up!