Mark Henick is an internationally recognized mental health strategist, advocate, speaker, podcaster, and media commentator. His TEDx talk is one of the most-watched in the world. He regularly speaks to diverse audiences about mental health, hope, and recovery.
Mark Henick’s TEDx talk about being saved from death by a stranger is one of the most-watched in the world and has been viewed millions of times. His search for “the man in the brown jacket” whose bravery and strong arms kept him from falling to his death went viral around the world (and was successful!). Henick has been on television and radio and has written many articles on mental health. He has hosted more than 60 intimate conversations about mental health with notable public figures and celebrities on his podcast, So-Called Normal, and has executive produced and hosted the Living Well podcast for Morneau Shepell.
Henick has served on the board of directors for the Mental Health Commission of Canada and was the president of a provincial division of the Canadian Mental Health Association — the youngest person in either role. He has worked as a frontline clinician, a program manager, and the national director of strategic initiatives for CMHA. Mark is currently the CEO and principal strategist for Strategic Mental Health Consulting.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Destigmatizing mental illness
- Mark’s personal story and TedX Talk
- The search for the man in the light brown jacket
- Struggles and hardships being a source of strength
- Self-actualizing and truth
- Commercial art
- Compartmentalizing particular aspects of your life
- Life being an artform
- Going all-in on your passion
- Building your passion
- Resilience and grit
- Recovery
- Not knowing your full self yet
- Toxic productivity
- Toxic masculinity
Sean Cheetham was born in 1977 in San Francisco, studied at the College of San Mateo, in California, and earned a B.F.A. degree with honors from Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, California. His paintings have been included in numerous significant exhibitions internationally including the National Portrait Gallery in London. He has a devoted following of collectors and art students that are inspired by his work and distinctive technique. Primarily a figurative painter, Sean is known for his technical prowess in achieving accuracy and harmony in his alla prima paintings which he credits to a deep understanding of drawing and his own system of mixing colors which he uses adeptly to govern shadows, midtones and highlights. In addition to having an exceptional ability to understand, draw, and paint the human form, Cheetham’s selection of subjects typically in familiar urban scenes contributes a truthful and often raw spirit that makes his work distinctive and a contemporary testimony of our time.
Kate Zambrano is a self-taught fine artist who applies major influences and themes such as the systemic urge to understand human nature, behavior, and the beauty in the expressive nuances.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Kate and Sean’s relationship
- COVID’s effect on workflow
- Personal hobbies and the meditation behind them
- Endless curiosities within relationships and art
- Community and interaction in the midst of COVID
- Appreciating the mundane experiences of life
- The origin of Kate and Sean’s art practice
- Balance
- Teaching and lessons learned from the experience
- Remaining flexible within your career
- Relying on other mediums to feed into your main passions
- Refinement
- Flipping your mentality
- Ego
- Natural talent, and doing the hard thing
- Persistence
Laura Fried is a Los Angeles-based curator and is a Co-Founder and Director of Active Cultures, a nonprofit organization that explores the convergence of food and art in contemporary life. Through collaborative projects by cooks and artists, Active Cultures' programming takes a multitude of forms such as performances, workshops, meals, and education initiatives. Throughout her career, Fried has advocated for artists and institutions while pushing forward new models for engagement and exhibition-making. She recently served as founding Artistic Director of the Seattle Art Fair, for which she organized a comprehensive program of large-scale installations, performances, talks, and projects. Fried was previously on the curatorial staff of Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA, as well as a curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Fried received her MA in the History of Art from Williams College and the Clark Art Institute.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Laura’s journey in curation
- Working within non-profit organizations
- The convergence of food and art
- Collaboration
- Unique opportunities that are provided through the community
- Laura’s work with her business partner
- Laura’s advocation for artists and institutions
- The innovation of the exhibition
- The interconnected nature of art and food
- The beginnings of “The MSG Club”
- Future endeavors of Active Cultures in the midst of COVID-19
Cliqua is a directing duo (Pasqual Gutierrez and RJ Sanchez) born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. They have directed music videos for J Balvin, Rosalia, Bad Bunny, and others. In the span of a year, the duo has amassed over 700 million Youtube plays. They have also worked with brands like Adidas, Nike, Amazon, and Tecate. Currently Cliqua is continuing to shoot music videos and commercials while developing a feature-length film and an episodic television show.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Pasqual and RJ forming Cliqua
- Reflections on past commercial and music video work
- Intentionality within Cliqua’s planning process
- Going into the trenches within business and collaboration
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Shared business values
- Examining the future, reevaluating work practices, and moving forward
- Inspiration through others
- Taking a step back from one’s work
- Controlling one’s process
- Being aware of faults
- Workflow
- Cliqua’s recent music video for The Weeknd’s track “Too Late”
- Thematic filmmaking within music videos
- Creating something that is bigger than you
- The distillation of aesthetics and ideas
Densil McFarlane is the lead singer and guitarist of the Canadian rock trio, The OBGMs.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- The origin of The OBGM’s
- Complications and stresses of the business of music
- Densil’s honest self-reflection on why he creates music
- Not caring too deeply about what others think of you
- The new clarity and purpose found within Densil’s latest album.
- Being in touch with how you are feeling
- Success being a multi-dimensional phenomenon
- Batteling the identifiers of success
- Balancing your ego
- Shifting negative energy into positive and productive motivation
- The energy found within Densil’s latest album
- The changes within the music industry
- Staying innovative
- Specific values that current listeners have
- Incentivization within social media
- Keeping musicianship alive throughout covid
- Cultivating real friendships
- Staying committed to your craft
- Differences between Canada and America
www.artistdecoded.com
www.theobgms.com
www.instagram.com/theobgms