We recently connected with Kevin Butler and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kevin, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
Practicing gratitude. Trusting that everything, good or bad, can be a lesson if you allow it to be.
I don’t think everything happens for a reason, but I do believe everything is an opportunity. It’s up to you to see it.
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?
Well, I have a day job. I am the Executive Creative Director of Google Pixel. And while the word “creative” is in my job title, I do a lot less creating than I used to. My days are mostly spent in meetings talking about creative.
Luckily, As an artist, I have always had personal projects on the side. About 12 years ago I started a series call “Rad Cars With Rad Surfboards””, which is exactly what it sound like. I illustrate rad cars with surfboards on them.
It started with cars I owned and cars my dad rebuilt when i was a kid. But then it quickly transitioned to commissions. Before i knew it I had over 100 of them. This led to an exhibition which led to brand partnerships.
I lost count a few years ago, but i have to be well over 1000 by now.
I have also branched out from the cars and have a series called #PeaceAndShakas where it’s a webof intertwined hands throwing peace signs or shakas. And i recently developed a series called #MrSurfy, which is a surf-based version of “Mr. Messy”. I have done nearly 200 of those.
Having a day job to pay the bills has allowed this personal project to stay pure. There is no obligation to do any of it and as a result i have total freedom. I am so grateful to have this creative outlet.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Be nice. Most industries are small, and chances are the people who will hire you in new jobs are ones you’ve worked with. So try to develop a reputation for being really good at your job, but also someone who’s collaborative, ego-less, generous with ideas.
Know when to kill yourself.
You CANNOT give 100%, 100% of the time. So create some boundaries for your own personal health and sanity. Knowing when to pull all nighters and when to close your laptop for the night is really important. I once worked at an ad agency that had edit bays in house. As a result, some creatives would spend hours and hours in there, trying every possibly thing. After a few years of this, i realized. I don’t need to hang around and spectate. There was some peer pressure to hang around, But I had a new baby at home and I made the decisions that when I was done experimenting. I’m going home to recharge.
I also have developed some strong boundaries with tech. I try to lock away my screens after 7PM. Part of the recharge is being able to turn things off for a few hours. If you are home, but writing emails during dinnertime, you’re not home.
Accepting that no one really knows what they’re doing.
I really don’t know anything for sure. What will work. Which idea is better. Will everyone laugh at this joke? What kind of mood will my boss be in tomorrow morning? If you try to know these things, you will drive yourself crazy, and the work will suffer. The only thing I know for sure is weather or not I like something and it’s the best it can be. That’s my job. So that’s what I strive for. There’s nothing worse than making compromises because you think that’s what someone else wants, then they don’t like it. Now you’ve made the work worse, had a bad meeting and have everyone questioning your judgement.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
Time. Finding the time to work on things, and forcing myself to do it when the opportunity presents itself.
The mornings are my favorite. It’s quiet. I am calm. I can make a cup of coffee and create. But most of the time, if i miss that morning window the day gets away from me. Then if for some reason i have time in the afternoon, i feel tired or distracted.
But I have noticed, if I just FORCE myself to start in the afternoon, i will get into the flow.
Also, you think you have no time. but put a tracker on your phone. I found that i WASTED 2 hours a day on social media. So i have allocated those two hours accordingly.
I’ve blocked out my calendar. for one hour early in the AM, and an hour in the afternoon and I force myself to make some progress on something. Anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: radcarsradsurfboards.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/kbut
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brainofbutler/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kbut
