Meet Everett

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

Everett, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

For a lot of my life, until the age of seventeen or so, I think I tried to fit myself into a box that was too small for me. I grew up on the internet, so my idea of what was “cool” came directly from whatever the biggest YouTubers or celebrities were talking about that week. I think the idea of creating my own style was really daunting to me at the time because I was so scared of being outcasted, whether online or in real life. Putting myself in front of the world at such a young age, I didn’t have much time to define myself before others started doing it for me. Once that cycle of trend-following and mean comments continued, I realized that I wasn’t even receiving the validation I sought by following trends in the first place. I felt pretty rejected, but also liberated. If I won’t be accepted by the masses by dressing like them, then what does it matter what I’m wearing? It finally clicked that I had an opportunity to do whatever I wanted with my appearance, since I had given up on trying to appease people. I think that freedom alone brought me so much confidence, I stopped trying to play on the same field as these people, so I stopped expecting their approval. I started wearing things I liked, picked up makeup again, played with nails and hairstyles, and I loved it. I love putting together an outfit and guessing what percent of the people I walk past will give me dirty looks, or compliments. Don’t get me wrong, I love some validation, but the source of that validation is infinitely more impactful. I started getting compliments on my uniqueness, whether it be in physical appearance or style, and I realized that carving a niche for yourself attracts many more people than trying to squeeze into someone else’s.

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?

I started my creative pursuits quite young, so I’ve had a lot of time to learn and explore many different facets of my creativity. Between YouTube channels, clothing brands, podcasts, and anything under the sun, it’s taken a while to figure out what I want to “do” in life. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll never choose just one thing, I don’t feel like I’m low on time by any means. Currently, my focus has been mostly on music, since it was always secretly the thing I didn’t know if I’d ever have the ability to do. I’ve been writing for a long time, but this year I’ve started teaching myself how to produce, and I’m having a lot of fun with it. I’ve been forcing myself to release songs as much as possible, despite the anxiety that it brings me to have my thoughts out in the world. Music allows me to combine my love for photography, graphic design, writing, and newfound love for producing vocals, and I’m excited to explore more genres and sounds as I continue to learn. I’ve done one full release called “DON’T SAY SORRY,” and just released a SoundCloud-exclusive EP called “THE FRUIT WAS NEVER AN APPLE,” which discusses my experiences in love as a kid and teenager, and how they’ve impacted me to this point in life. In addition to music, I’ve been doing a weekly podcast with my parents, called “The Gordons Three,” discussing our experiences as three people each with their own independent creative endeavors, released through Loss of Euphoria Recordings, which is a digital extension of my own creative vision. Loss of Euphoria is an entity I created, through which to bring my ideas to life, starting off with clothing, and now expanding into the worlds of photo and sound. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it grows with me and my interests, and I think it’s going to take a beautiful form over the next few years.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the absolute most important skill to develop is the separation of others’ thoughts and opinions from your own. Sometimes you need to create an echochamber to allow your heart and mind to come together and give insight into what exactly it is that you want to do, and block out all exterior forces. This has been one of the more difficult hurdles for me, but once you’re able to hear your heart clearly, the work you create will feel so much more fulfilling. Another one would be open-mindedness. One of the most important parts of being a creative is to consume as much art as you can, regardless of form of media, with no boundaries on genre. I think, with making music especially, there have been a lot of times where I’ve hesitated to listen to something due to it having a bad public reputation, or it being outside of my comfort zone, but those projects can often provide more inspiration than not. It’s very important to expand the inspiration folder in your mind. Lastly, going hand-in-hand with the former, listen to other artists talk about their work, their processes, and their experiences. I think it’s necessary to hear as many peoples’ stories as you can, because I’ve found that it can lead you to discover something about yourself that you couldn’t identify alone. When I find a new artist, I tend to consume a lot of media about them, and I always find myself learning something new about my mind by hearing them speak about theirs. Basically, working to remove any and all limits that are self-inflicted will allow you to bring yourself a lot of expansion.

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

Yes, I am always looking for partners and collaborators. As I’ve mentioned, I love learning and expanding my knowledge, so I’m always more than happy to hear from a new perspective. Whether it be through photography and graphic design work, modeling, music, podcasting, content creation, brand partnerships, etc., I’d love to get in touch. I’ve spent a lot of time on my own projects, so I’d also love to expand into working on others’ endeavors. If you’re looking for help with creative direction, graphic design, or anything else, I’d also be happy to assist in bringing your vision to life. I’m always craving new ideas and projects, so please don’t hesitate to reach out. Feel free to contact me via email at [email protected], or through my Instagram, which is @everettmadeit.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Loss of Euphoria, Everett Gordon

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