We recently connected with Philip Hessler and have shared our conversation below.
Philip, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
My optimism definitely comes from my parents. I think both of them had a very strong sense of how they saw their lives that they each manifested in their own ways. I watched my Dad build multiple business and have a lot of success in his 30s and 40s and then get hit with brain cancer out of nowhere. The brain cancer was called Lymphoma and was extremely rare and had serious effects on his health and led to my parents separation. Yet I have never heard my dad once complain, never once act like the victim. His positive outlook is completely inspiring, even though his body is unable to do the things that it once could when he was younger he never lost his spark. And I saw the same thing with my Mom as she took her own journey – from building a wellness retreat in Driggs, Idaho to trekking to Everest Base Camp in her 60s.
I am a firm believer that life is not about what happens to you but rather how you respond to it. And our realities are created by the response and perspective we have in the world. So if you look at it that way failure is only real if you dwell on a perceived failure. But if you look at “failure” as a step to success because you learned something from it that you take forward then there really is no failure, only learning and improving. I was fortunate to have parents who set that example.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As an EP and co-founder of Think Less Studios with my partner Cole Sax, I primarily focus on driving new business, managing current clients, and producing projects under the Think Less banner. Think Less is a full service production company focused primarily on branded storytelling. Some of our clients include Ford, The North Face, Red Bull, Pinterest, and many others to name a few. As filmmakers, we look at stories that have a strong connection with these brands and can be leveraged to drive visibility for the brand. It’s incredibly exciting for me to find and develop these types of stories that align specifically with the brands we are working with. My favorite part of my job is absolutely going and creating these projects where you have to embed in a particular story. I love that this type of filmmaking exposes you to parts of the world and groups of people that I would otherwise have no exposure to in my everyday life. From following Olympians through the qualifying stages to make it to the world stage for The North Face or embedding with disaster relief responders after hurricane Helene – each of these experiences shifts my perspectives and allows me to grow as a human through capturing the world through someone elses perspective.
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?
One of the most important skills for producing and leading these types of the projects was being willing to step into the unknown without knowing exactly how all the details of the project will play out. Yet having the confidence to step into the process and know that we have the experience to do enough things right to figure out how the film and story will play out. Another huge part of that is the trust that we have in our collaborators and partners. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of my closest filmmaking partners for nearly 10 years and travel around the world together and create many successful projects together. That repeated experience creates a lot of confidence in our ability to know that we can send it to far corners of the world and come back with a story that both we as filmmakers and ultimately the client will be proud of. I would say that finding these relationships as early as possible with creative partners that you can grow with is imperative so that you can lean on each other through navigating this industry.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
The challenge that I am facing currently with scaling any creative business is the balancing the creative execution of these projects with the operations of the business as a whole. I love the process of creating these films – connecting with the characters and bringing the teams together. However, as we grow and get more projects – I can only be intimately involved in so many. So properly cultivating culture and accountability in our collaborators is a key aspect to our growth and the next big step that we are taking.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thinkless.com
- Instagram: @therealphilhessler
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-hessler-12262063/
Image Credits
Photo Credits: Erica Hinck, Gaz Leah, Keegan Rice
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