Meet Ken Ramos

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ken Ramos a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ken, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

I try to make the process of creating as fun as I can. If I’m enjoying doing it, I want to do it all the time regardless of any doubts or blocks that enter my mind. I was raised in an environment where the emphasis was on what financial or career benefit something you created would have, but I saw how that killed people’s creativity. I think you need to protect your creative space and process so that external forces don’t take you away from the joy creating gives.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Making films and writing music is where I end up channeling my creativity. I’ve been working a lot as an editor for scripted series like Chucky, American Horror Story, Black Cake and Brand New Cherry Flavor for the last few years and I’m working on a short film right now with my wife, Melissa Pleckham, who’s a writer and actor. It’s a heist gone wrong that devolves into a kind of giallo/Evil Dead 2 situation, with a ton of blood and insanity, which has been really fun to prep for. I’ve spent more time than can be healthy figuring out how to best squirt blood from various severed limbs.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

When I look back, I would say that learning to be honest with myself and others was a big piece of knowledge that guided me to the path I’m on now. It’s really hard to be creative if you aren’t being honest, you have to know you can trust yourself so you don’t end up filling your skull with doubts. From that knowledge I learned to trust my instincts, which are such an integral part of creativity. You have to trust yourself and those instincts to guide whatever it is you’re doing or you’ll just wind up with that skull full of self doubt. Then, the last one I would say goes back to learning to make whatever I’m doing enjoyable. That’s what keeps me coming back to create again and again. Maybe someone else does or does not like it, but I enjoyed making it! The advice I would give others in regards to this is that it all starts with being honest with yourself. Drop your ego, don’t do things to impress others, and remove toxic people from your life who tell you that you can’t do your passion or be yourself. You’ll find you have room for positive people who bring love and good times to your life!

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

I have to say my wife Melissa. She’s always been there saying I can do whatever the thing is I’m trying to do, even when I was telling my self I couldn’t.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1023658/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rkenramos/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrjdflb2Kl2ZwwG0Vm1Dmw