Meet Andy Bowers

We recently connected with Andy Bowers and have shared our conversation below.

Andy, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I found my purpose through people.

Like others, my community of people has fluctuated over the years through both work and professional life. And although there has been a fluctuation, many people have had a massive impact on my purpose in life – which you can attribute to a more positive angle.

There have obviously been moments and projects in life that have helped carve the avenue I’m taking, but if it wasn’t for the people involved, I couldn’t say I would be on this path.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Andrew Bowers. I currently reside in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and have been living in New York City going on 4 years now. I am the Global Associate Digital Brand Manager for Maker’s Mark under the Suntory Global Spirits portfolio.

I’m originally from a small town in Tennessee called Elizabethton. It’s nestled in there Appalachian Mountains where you’re about a 30 minute drive from the Virginia border, and a 20-30 minute drive or so from the North Carolina border. Growing up there, working & living in New York was never really a thought at all – but somehow it became my reality. Ever since I was a kid I had an appreciation for many things but it was primarily sports for me. In late high school and most of my college years I was able to appreciate more of the arts, like music, and really get into more of the outlets like architecture, photography, advertising, interior design, and the written word. All of that culminated into me majoring in mass communications where at the University of Tennessee I was able to get that wide array of course curriculum to feel confident into going into one of those outlets after graduating. That led me into marketing, specifically social media.

Throughout a majority of my career my primary focus has been in digital and social media marketing. I started at a boutique agency, then interned to a more reputable small agency, and somehow was able to get that “break” into sports I had been waiting on where that became a path I thought I would be in for quite a while. I was at the Atlanta Hawks and then the Philadelphia 76ers within a span of 3 years or so, and during that time it was the most growth as an individual I could have asked for. I could talk for an hour alone just on the experience working in the NBA and what a dream that was for me from the day to day tasks, projects, and people I met. I realized though at some point I needed to broaden – I needed something different. I went back to the agency life and yet again found myself a year and a half later ready to go out and do more freelance and consulting work. That was another experience that taught me a lot about myself personally and professionally where after about 7-8 months I found myself going back to corporate America – but at least staying in the world I thought I was good in which has been the creative and publishing side of that.

I have found a stable footing in my current job as I’ve been here for over 2 years now – the longest since graduating college. I really enjoy it and the challenges it brings. However, I’m also trying to expand my own personal horizons in looking to establish 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱. This project takes my appreciate for the creative arts and the people I’ve met over the years and highlighting their works. This is also takes a spin of my small passion for editorial work. What Bon Appetit (Condé Nast sub) did with that original crew we all know and love to highlight a variety of recipes and chefs showed me how far storytelling could go – especially in a digital format and not just print. So I took that desire and turned it into a sporadic project that takes special care in highlighting people from what they’re good at and passionate about. It’s something that has full circle value to it in my opinion. Now will this have a print component? Probably not. Again, I wanted this to fit more in a digital format since it’s more of the now medium we ingest information however there could be a world it could expand if the brand itself grows and there’s more appetite for it. There’s a day I hope I get a big person to showcase in a different capacity that has been seen or heard of before, but I’ll keep highlighting the ones who are generous enough to let me highlight their work and I know in my community!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three areas of skills and qualities I’ve learned to be most impactful are the following:

– Self Awareness (in a multitude of facets)
– Organization
– Diligence

It could seem off to not have really any technical skills involved in those but I’ve come to find pretty much anyone can learn anything – it just depends on timing around that for how well you can adapt or apply to the job.

I would say early on in a journey for these is that you truly allow yourself to be open to what is happening in both a professional and personal environment. For example with self awareness, we all know as we age we learn more about ourselves and how much our tastes can change – with people, places and things – and this allows you to be more confident and settled in what you know you can offer in a situation. I tend to be a talker which can be both a strength and weakness, but because I know my main tendency can be to get somewhat of a word in, I also have realized when the time to listen is more valuable where you can have your moment to talk on the side in where more action can happen. Organization means a different definition to many somehow but you’ll realize how much more easy your life will be if you understand how and where to put things not only for yourself but for others. It really negates the wild search for yourself and people not bothering you for things. Diligence is pretty self explanatory – just try and do what the job is. I can say I’m in a blessed position to do what I love which makes that easy for me, but I encourage those to find what they want to do which makes being diligent second nature.

Do what you know you’re good at, and don’t let anyone question you otherwise.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Always looking for folks to collaborate with! My passion project is rooted in a curated celebration of creative expression.

This can be showcased through photography, design, film, and other passion projects like music.

Having a rolodex to work with and be able to have creative pieces in the bag is a reassuring feeling in that even though what I’m building is small, it could inspire people to follow along from others that have like-minded creative abilities or passions.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delivered.magazine?igsh=dzVtcDVzZHpsM2tk
• Other: https://deliveredmagazine.substack.com/

Image Credits

– delivered.
– Colin Ridgway
– Audrey Darke- Waters