Story & Lesson Highlights with Sean Grand

We recently had the chance to connect with Sean Grand and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Sean, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day for me is a steady mix of business and creativity. Zaro and I structure our meetings to balance the left and right brain. Some days are all planning, strategy and legal, while others are pure creative flow focused on music, visuals and content. It keeps things moving in harmony instead of chaos.

Beyond the administrative side, a lot of my time goes into networking. Going to events, meeting songwriters, connecting with managers and forming relationships with labels and publishers are all part of the mix. Content is another big focus, and I stay very hands-on with it. Branding, rollout planning, shooting, designing, editing… I’m involved in all of it.

Then there’s the international side of what we do. I’m often juggling conversations with artists across the United States and Latin America, switching between English and Spanish on WhatsApp. By the end of the day, I’ve probably used every part of my brain at least twice. But that’s the fun of it. It is structured, creative and sometimes unpredictable.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Sean Grand, and I manage Los Angeles-based producer and artist Zaro Vega. Both of our families immigrated from other countries. He was born in LA and raised between LA and South Dakota, with strong roots from Guatemala, and that mix of West Coast and Caribbean really shows up in his sound. We’ve been focused on building something global that listeners can relate to while staying true to both his ethnic and spiritual identities.

I run adjacent.la, a management company centered on long-term artist strategy and development. My background blends business and creativity, so I see everything from both sides. There’s the structure — planning, partnerships, brand building — and there’s the creativity that drives the art itself. I like staying right between the two.

What makes our approach unique is how personal it is. We’re not chasing trends. We really live and breathe this shit every day. Our focus is about quality, organization and longevity. Every song, every visual, every relationship is part of a larger blueprint. Right now we’re focused on collaborations throughout Latin America, developing impactful projects and building relationships that help us and others grow the right way. Not fast. Smart.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that I’m releasing is the version that learned to survive instead of live. My upbringing wasn’t easy, and like a lot of people, I carried pain I didn’t fully understand for years. I used drugs and alcohol to cope with parts of myself I didn’t like or didn’t know how to face. It took time and a lot of work to unravel that and really see where it came from.

I started developing my vision of the future about 10 years ago and haven’t looked back since. In 2024, I got completely focused and have been clean & sober for over 365 days. I’ve built a life around health, creativity and peace. I’m ready to get to the next phase of my career. I know I’ll be able to get there once I’m able to let go of the pain that shaped me but no longer serves me. I’m closer every day to living a happy life doing what I love and loving myself through the process.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me things that success never could. I went from the top of a tech career to the bottom of the music industry, rebuilding who I am and what I do from the ground up. I did not lose what I had as much as I let go of it to find deeper meaning and connection in my life.

That decision changed everything. It opened doors to communities I had little exposure to growing up, and the connections I have made since then have reshaped me. The people I have met and the energy I have felt in these spaces have taught me more about humanity than any boardroom ever could. I have learned what it means to belong, contribute and listen.

I feel an enormous sense of gratitude for the acceptance I have found along the way. The social graces I have learned through these experiences have redefined my character and given me a new sense of balance. It is one thing to succeed. It is another to grow into the kind of person who deserves that success. My hope is that my story inspires others to live with intention, to trust their own rhythm, and to build lives that reflect who they truly are.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me is real. It’s definitely not the whole story. What people see is the part that’s aligned and intentional to my career as artist manager: the creative, focused, forward-facing side of who I am. It’s all real and it lives within a bigger picture of who I am.

The truth is that the real me is often quiet and pensive. The public version is how I express the work, the art and the vision. The private version is where I process, grow and keep myself grounded. Both matter. One cannot exist without the other.

At this point in my life, there is little performance in what I do. I’m not trying to project an image. I simply am what I am. The public me is the real me. I’ve worked hard to let go of any and all confines in order to be able to show it.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When have you had to bet the company?
Honestly, I feel like I bet the company every day. Nothing is guaranteed in the music industry. Every release, every partnership, every investment of time or energy has an opportunity cost, making it a risk in some way. It’s a slow burn to build a career in music. That’s what makes it both so difficult and so rewarding. You’re going to take many Ls before you get to a W. That’s just the reality. That’s why so many don’t make it. They quit.

There are no overnight wins that last. You learn to play the long game, trust your gut and make decisions based on purpose and intention instead of fear. For me, every day is a bet on the vision, on the people we work with and on the belief that consistency will pay off in ways that quick success never could.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Kevin Boot Photography
Sean Grand

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