You’re Next! Progress at Your Own Speed.

One of my most favourite memories at Bangkok Patana was my first teacher, Mr. Ward, when I was in Year 6. He was the first Australian I’d ever met in real life. For Sports Day he waited until all the other classes had sat in the bleachers, then got us to walk past every single one of them pointing menacingly and saying “You’re next.’ I remember thinking, “Aussies are mad, but I like it!”

Even now, I walk past people on the street and point menacingly at them saying, “You’re next!”

I attended the University of Manchester and McGill University where I studied History, graduating in 2012. I founded Woolly Mammoth Media and am also the Creative Director. We are a video production partner for the world’s most ambitious companies. Some of our clients are building context-aware AI brains for cameras in Berlin, others are engineering new proteins with advanced machine learning to cure diseases in Singapore. As the solo-founder, my responsibilities range from growing our client base to expanding our talent network of independent film makers, and pretty much everything in between.

It was an odd route to take as I had never even picked up a camera until I was 26.

The truth is that I never believed it would be possible to make a living from creative work. It was a dream reserved for people more talented than I. But, everybody progresses in their own time, at their own speed.

I never studied business at school, and now I run one. I didn’t study film at university, and now I get paid to make them. I didn’t think this would be possible at 26, let alone 16. The main thing is to be self-directed and to love learning. Anyone can learn anything online for free. It’s not the access to learning material that sets you apart anymore, it’s what you choose to do with it. And it is a choice that only you can make. 

I’m inspired by people who have taken control of their lives, regardless of their circumstances. If they’re rich or poor, scientists or artists, famous or unknown, what inspires me is people who have made the choice to pursue a life of their own making. I call this self-direction.

I’ll be honest,I didn’t have any hobbies in school, except maybe football. These days I see hobbies as life skills. Even learning new hobbies is a hobby. Currently I’m playing a lot of guitar and doing a lot of cooking. I would like to eventually play in a band and be able to cook restaurant-quality food from all over the world. Still need to learn how to surf though…

Life isn’t easy, so I think in ten years I would like to be sitting in the garden feeling pleased that it hasn’t beaten me yet. 

Will Reynolds | Left in 2007 |Graduating Class of 2009