We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samuel Van Fossen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Samuel, 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?
I’ve always been a dreamer, but never really optimistic about my dreams. But after becoming a growing content creator where more and more people followed me for my ideas and humor, I realized there were more people like me. Or at least more people with the same humor as me. And that really has boosted my confidence over time and me more optimistic about my ideas and stories. I have had so much support from strangers worldwide that have cheered me on for stuff that I thought stupid or embarrassing. But now I know other people enjoy it and it makes me excited for the future of possibilities.
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?
I didn’t get into content creation until I was forced to get on TikTok during the 2020 pandemic. I was an actor/scriptwriter who couldn’t get work in what I loved so I was selling insurance (which I absolutely hated). But once I got on the app I immediately fell in love. It was an outlet for so much creativity that I had bottled up. So, I started developing different characters and series that followers enjoyed. Next thing I knew I had over one million people watching me.
I’m no celebrity mind you, but my TikTok following really has opened so many doors creative-wise. Thanks to my fans I was able to make a short film I wrote called “Fleeced”. It’s currently going through several film festivals and has been a huge key to networking with other filmmakers. I’ve also been able to work full time in advertising as a career. I’m extremely thankful to God for the doors that have opened for me no matter how small they might be.
But I think honestly i’m just so grateful that I can actually matter to some people. I’m thirty-three now, but as I got older and wasn’t succeeding in anything that I thought was worthwhile, I feared that I had nothing to give. That I was never going to be storyteller like I wanted to be. That I was never going to use my MFA. That maybe I wasn’t funny or talented at all. And ultimately maybe I didn’t have any good stories to tell.
But in this digital age we can tell any story we want to anybody. And i’m so thankful that I had this outlet to do that no matter how much I told myself how stupid it might be. That’s what TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, etc. is for! Nobody’s like me who just want to tell stories and make others forget about their woes and relax a bit.
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?
1. Don’t get in your head. Just post the story/character/sketch you have in your head and you will be able to critique and strengthen that idea over time.
2. Have fun with it! Everyone gets down on themselves if their idea doesn’t trend. Don’t make it about the numbers. Make it an outlet for you and your creativity. If you’re having fun, others will come to partake in that fun.
3. Don’t feel like you have to stick to one idea. If you trend off of one type of content, awesome! But don’t feel forced to stay in one lane. So many creators think they have to just make that one genre. Don’t stifle your creative. Keep it fresh and try new things that make you happy.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
I’ve come to learn that you don’t have to have the best quality product to be successful. Now please know that it is good to always strive for good lighting, camera quality, sound, and editing. These are things that you should always be trying to work on. But for a while I thought I needed the best. Like I needed a legit studio with the latest technology and whatnot. I’ve learned that’s not the case. My followers came to me for my personality and talent. Not because I had the best camera. And trust me, starting out my phone was garbage. But i’ve found the more I stressed myself out over a bigger production, it hurt my creativity in the long run. So make sure you are making good content, but that’s it’s not just good production-wise but also talent-wise.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linkr.bio/samvanfossen
- Other: www.tiktok.com/@samvanfossen
Image Credits
Their all my photos and I own all credit for them
