Sara Emmerson: Well, hello everyone and welcome to That Sounds Risky, the podcast where we explore the bold decisions that changed people's lives. I'm your host, Sara Emmerson. I'm an executive coach and speaker and someone who truly believes that the biggest growth in life usually begins with a decision that makes everyone else say, That Sounds Risky. Today's guest is someone whose career has been built on following creativity instead of complacency. From South Africa to the United States, Gareth Ponn has gone from pioneering Instagram as a creative platform to becoming an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, creative director, and brand strategist. His work has taken him all around the world, helping amazing brands tell stories that actually matter. Brands like Coca-Cola, Robinhood, Oura Ring, Yeezy City, and many, many more. Today, Gareth serves as VP Group Creative Director at Digitus, where he leads social-first creative for some of the world's biggest brands. Throughout his journey, he's reinvented himself multiple times from influencer to entrepreneur, filmmaker, photographer, agency creative, and executive leader. But what I love most about Gareth surprisingly isn't his resume. It's his willingness to chase impossible dreams, to embrace uncertainty, and to continually take the risks that shape a meaningful life. I couldn't think of a more perfect person to be here today. So thank you so much for being on That Sounds Risky. Gareth, welcome to the show.

Gareth Pon: Awesome. Thank you for having me, Sarah.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah, thanks for being here. This is a big summer for you, Gareth, isn't it?

Gareth Pon: Yeah, lots going on. New job, uh, new wife-to-be soon.

Sara Emmerson: So exciting.

Gareth Pon: Congratulations. Thank you. Yeah, lots of new changes.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah. So let's just dive in. New wife-to-be. Where'd you meet her?

Gareth Pon: Oh my gosh, it's such a funny story. I keep telling people that the algorithm brought us together, which is so true. So I was randomly just doom scrolling on Instagram as I, as everyone does nowadays. And out of nowhere, this reel popped up in my feed. And the reel was basically this like matchmaker coach, I'm guessing, who just said, everybody just comment below and leave your details and basically turned their comment section into like a networking opportunity for people to meet each other.

Sara Emmerson: So what a great idea.

Gareth Pon: I mean, such a great idea, right? I was like, okay, this is crazy. But I started scrolling through the comments, um, and then a couple of scrolls through, you know, get through all of them. And then I saw this one profile, her name is Selly, and her profile like jumped out at me. I clicked through, checked through a bunch of her photos. She loves traveling, loves photography. She seems like a content creator. And I was like, oh, she seems cool. Let me, uh, let me message her. Um, so I actually like followed her first, then messaged her a few days later and I sent her this like long message. I was like, hi, I'm, my name's Gareth, blah, blah, blah, going into all these little details.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: Um, she opened the message and she replies, wait, I'm confused. What is this? She had, she had forgotten that she actually commented on that post. Yeah. So I sent her the post. And I was like, um, we, we, uh, connected in this and I saw your message and all that. And I was like, okay, I kind of messed up, whatever, but I'll shoot my shot anyways. Long story short, yeah, we ended up just like chatting a bit more, met in person. She's actually, uh, in New Jersey. She grew up in New Jersey.

Sara Emmerson: Wow.

Gareth Pon: Um, from Uruguay originally, which is awesome.

Sara Emmerson: That's amazing.

Gareth Pon: And met up in person and then one thing led to each other, uh, another and Yeah, we just connected and things have really just fell into place. It was kind of really a God thing, if I'm honest. It was so cool to just have those connections. And now we're getting married in August.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah, thank you, algorithm and God, right?

Gareth Pon: Exactly.

Sara Emmerson: Very exciting. Yeah, he can use anything, including the algorithm.

Gareth Pon: Yeah, absolutely.

Sara Emmerson: Well, that's exciting. So the wedding is in August. Where's the wedding going to be?

Gareth Pon: So we're getting— we're having like a very small, like micro wedding in Wyoming. Uh, we found this beautiful farm called Heiner Ranch. Um, they have 60 horses, which is crazy. So they have a hilltop that basically they do micro weddings on top of.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: And during the ceremony, they'll let their horses just like walk around on the hilltop. So literally married in the middle of a bunch of horses and we'll have like a small ceremony. Um, and just do like a little dinner afterwards with, with some, some family. So. Excited about that. Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: So exciting. So that's in August. And then coming up this fall, you have some new things happening too, correct?

Gareth Pon: Yeah. Yeah. So part of my new job, I'm actually moving to New York in October. So excited about that. A little bit of a shock. Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: Have you lived in New York before?

Gareth Pon: I haven't yet. No. I've always— it's always been in the back of my mind. It's been like, what would it be like? How would it be? Um, obviously with Sally growing up in New Jersey, there's, she's got a bunch of her clients are in New York. So, um, it's really convenient for her. And I'm, I'm more just dealing with the cost of living there versus living in like currently where I am now in Vancouver, Washington.

Sara Emmerson: Right. That's a bit different, right?

Gareth Pon: Exactly. Yeah. But really excited to just have the whole experience and be on the East Coast. I've done my time on like the West Coast and kind of Chicago and Atlanta and all those different places. So I guess it's time to be on the East Coast for a little bit.

Sara Emmerson: Well, that's really exciting and we're excited for you. And, um, where, so tell us what you're going to be doing in your new job.

Gareth Pon: Yeah. So I'm the, I'm a VP group creative director for social. Um, I actually currently oversee all of social for the Smucker's brand, which is super fun. So a lot of CPG products, everything from like Uncrustables to Meow Mix, et cetera.

Sara Emmerson: So which item is your favorite? Do you, which flavor of Uncrustables do you like best?

Gareth Pon: Oh my gosh. I'm going to expose myself here, but I've never actually had an Uncrustable sandwich. Okay. Being from South Africa, I, you know, didn't grow up with them. And like the more I work on the campaigns, I'm like, okay, I guess I need to try one. And there's all these, all these different hacks that people do. Some people Like air fry them.

Sara Emmerson: I saw that. Yeah, that's funny. Well, the grape ones, I've had the grape and the strawberry. I prefer strawberry, but both are very, very tasty.

Gareth Pon: I'm going to go buy those Rekkos for sure.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah, you're going to, you're going to need to check that out. Well, Gareth, thank you so much. We're looking forward to hearing more about your job and all of the things that you're doing in your role now. But all of the roles that you've had in previous years too. And so, we're just gonna jump right in, um, here. Everyone has a That Sounds Risky story, right? Everyone comes back to this.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: The moment that they decided, okay, I need to take a risk. If you're thinking back in your life and/or career, where can you remember the first, like, risk that you remember that really shifted things for you? Yeah.

Gareth Pon: Yeah, I love this question because I just think it's, it's, um, I was trying to think through all the different times where I had this moment.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: And I think the first time it happened with me was actually when I had just come out of college. Um, it's kind of funny because there's a bit of a double entendre here, but basically one of my friends hit me up. He was a filmmaker. He is a filmmaker. He's a director now who's making amazing films in South Africa. And he was like, hey, would you be interested in doing this like climb up Kilimanjaro? And I was very, very naive. And I was like, oh, Kilimanjaro is just a cool trip. Like I didn't do geography at school. I was like, whatever. It sounds fun. It's just a cool trip, right? Yeah. And I was just like, yeah, that sounds cool. That sounds awesome. I'd love to do that. And he said, okay, cool. I'll put you in contact with this girl, Terry. She'll reach out to you and we'll get it all sorted. So I was like, okay, kind of forgot about it. Next thing I know, like a couple of weeks later, they, uh, Terry hits me up and she says, hey, are you still interested in doing Kilimanjaro? And would love to do it. I was also very busy at the time because I was freelancing and just fresh out of college. And in the moment, I just was like, yeah, of course. Yeah, I'm super down. Let me know when it is. Let's do it.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: I went onto Google, obviously did some research, and I was like, oh, I just committed to climbing the tallest mountain in Africa. This is crazy.

Sara Emmerson: Wow.

Gareth Pon: And in addition to that, just like being part of the documentation team and like getting all the footage and photos for the trip. And I was obviously still very young then. And in that moment, I was like, okay, this, this sounds risky, but I guess I should just you know, commit to what I said. And the trip ended up being one of the most challenging things I've ever done. I don't know if you've ever summited a mountain before, but—

Sara Emmerson: I have not climbed Kilimanjaro. No.

Gareth Pon: It was, it was wild. It was amazing, but an amazing experience. I got to do it with some rugby legends and some cricket legends too, which was so cool getting to know them. We did it for a nonprofit, which was really cool to just kind of get that whole experience and tell the story. It made like the local news, which was really nice. Um, and as like somebody who fresh out of film school, trying to figure out what life is all about and doing different random projects, super corporate videos with, with brands.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: Um, I got to get this, get to this really awesome opportunity where I climbed Kilimanjaro with literally some of the top sportsmen in South Africa. And that just challenged me, but in a good way. It was an amazing experience to be able to just see what I'm capable of.

Sara Emmerson: That is so incredible. So incredible. How do you think that your naivete in that moment helped you?

Gareth Pon: Yeah, it's funny because I've always been kind of naive in life. I just kind of go with the flow and take what comes my way. In a way, I find that as a way to kind of live life by faith. I never kind of anticipate things too much. If something comes my way, I'm always like, yeah, of course, I'll jump right in and take hold of this. So it actually set a bit of a stance for me of like, always be pushing forward, always be challenging yourself, but always also be ready for something that may hit you out of left field and completely change your life. And The more I look back in my life, the more those moments have kind of happened, like me moving to the US and moving different cities and new opportunities and taking on new challenges, which, you know, some, some people may be a little too, too coy, like going into things that could be scary and could go wrong. And I've always just embraced it. And that's been a way of how I've approached life.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah. Definitely. Well, what an incredible opportunity and incredible story. I don't know many people that would be like, yeah, sure, I'll climb Kilimanjaro, not a problem. And for you to get to do that and take that risk while getting to use your creativity too is really incredible. And I'm sure forming relationships that you never would've come in contact with otherwise.

Gareth Pon: Yeah, yeah, it was awesome. That is such a great way to kind of just dive into things headfirst, you know?

Sara Emmerson: And, um, what were some of the most difficult times on the, on the mountain?

Gareth Pon: I guess the, I mean, the most difficult thing is just the physical, the physical challenges of climbing a mountain. You're literally hiking about, I want to say between like 6 to 10 hours a day. So it's constant walking. Which is great now because I have a walking treadmill and I do that while I want to work.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: But yeah, in the moment, that's the biggest challenge. And the altitude, obviously, the higher you go, the less oxygen there is in the air. And that becomes really challenging on the body. And then in that environment, you're still trying to like make, you're trying to like create footage and and be creative and capture different moments and different interviews. And it's the whole combination of being in, I guess, stressful environments and then also trying to be creative at the same time.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: As you think through your career in South Africa, obviously that was one of the highlights, I'm sure.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: Before you moved to America, what other highlights did you have when you were there in South Africa?

Gareth Pon: Yeah. I think so. One of the, one of the other ones I love is, and really this is the kind of opportunity that kicked off my advertising career. I can dial back a little bit because there's a whole backstory to this, but essentially I'd, I created this local Instagram community literally around like maybe a year or 2 after Instagram came out. And I had groups of people meeting up in different cities all over South Africa. doing these things called InstaMeets, which is such a crazy throwback right now, back in like 2013. So yeah, literally the year Instagram came out and—

Sara Emmerson: You just came up with the idea?

Gareth Pon: Just came up. I saw a lot of people doing it over in the US, to be honest. And then there was an international community who called themselves the Instagrammers. They spelled it with one M, so people would always joke and be like, the Instagrameers, but the The founder was Spanish. So maybe they just didn't know how to spell it as well. Yeah. And so because of those meetups and those hosted meetups that I would do, a lot of local companies started being like, oh, what's Instagram? What are we doing? Like, how does Instagram look like in social media? What is social media? So all these different questions. And because of that, people would obviously, um, would, would hit me up randomly and be like, hey, we're trying to launch our Instagram account as this brand. What do we do? I'm just like this, this kid who takes photos in the city and people are like hitting me up from some of the biggest brands in South Africa.

Sara Emmerson: Incredible.

Gareth Pon: And then that started happening. And then the first, my big first like brand deal basically was by a brand called Flying Fish. It's a flavored beer.

Sara Emmerson: Okay.

Gareth Pon: And SAB, South African Breweries, makes it. Okay. They recently were acquired by AB InBev. So they're a massive corporation.

Sara Emmerson: Massive.

Gareth Pon: Again, funny situation, but a friend hits me up and she's like, we want to start our social media. What do we do? And I was like, okay, let me just come in for a meeting. So I literally like go to the SAB Breweries headquarters, meet with like a director of marketing. I'm in the room with some of these like top guns who are all doing this amazing stuff in like marketing and advertising. And I just present to them what I do in these Insta meets in the city. And I'm like, I build communities, I capture photos, we have a lot of fun. And I feel like for your brand, there could be a really nice way to launch this profile on Instagram by doing the same thing with some of your ambassadors in the city. And that was basically my first brand deal. They're like, okay, cool. This is awesome. Send us a quote. So I was like, I have no idea how much to charge these folks.

Sara Emmerson: Like, exactly. What'd you do? How'd you, how'd you even figure it out?

Gareth Pon: So I called one of my friends. His name's Craig Rodney. He's awesome. Um, he actually is one of the co-founders of an agency called Cerebra, and it's a, it's an African, one of the biggest African digital agencies, um, make amazing work. They used to have Coca-Cola as a, as a, as a brand. Um, and I was like, I have no idea what to do in this situation. Like, how much do I charge these people? And he, he, he literally said to me, he was like, make up a number.

Sara Emmerson: That's exactly what it is. That's exactly what it is.

Gareth Pon: Yeah. He was like, make up a number. How much do you wanna charge them? So I went, I went back and I, I actually like prayed about it and I made up a number, sent them this quote and they, they, without a, without batting their eyes, they just accepted it. So I was like, wait, what? What is going on?

Sara Emmerson: Hold on a second. Actually, I'm— can, can I do that again?

Gareth Pon: Yeah, absolutely. Exactly.

Sara Emmerson: What did that teach you in that moment?

Gareth Pon: I think it really taught me that, you know, you could really truly value creativity and value your thinking. Especially when, you know, I think as creatives, we often are just put into the ground. Like we're like, oh, it's just photography. You just take photos. You just do this. You just do that. You're just coming up with ideas. And we devalue a lot of the way we think about our own skills and mediums. And in that moment, I was like, oh yeah, gosh, there's actually like a lot of value to what I can do and what I can contribute to the industry and the world and the way I tell stories and all of that. And it was just awesome. So I, it was my almost like my first opportunity to have permission to appreciate what I do and what I can do with my skillset.

Sara Emmerson: Absolutely.

Gareth Pon: And then, yeah, we ended up having this photo shoot in the city. I got to, again, got to meet like some local celebrities, which was so much fun. And every— we had so much fun. It was like a DJ, there was like a fashion designer. We just went into the city and took a bunch of photos. I ended up like Photoshopping little comment images over them, like really cheesy things. That was awesome back then. But now you look back at it and you're like, this, uh, I don't know if I would do this now, but—

Sara Emmerson: Hey, it worked then and you learned so much from it. That's so great. Amazing, Gareth. And that first yes led to thousands of more yeses along the way. But, um, my guess is that gave you confidence to take the next risk. Yes?

Gareth Pon: Yeah, absolutely. I feel like I've had a really great plethora of coaches and friends and just people who really were great mentors to me along the way too, which has been awesome. Like my friend Craig, who I mentioned, him and I are still very good friends. I can like pick up the phone call and ask him for advice or just catch up about him and his life in Cape Town. And I've been like really blessed to be able to have enough people in my life, even my parents that have really encouraged me to just push forward and keep dreaming and keep going. So yeah, it's been awesome.

Sara Emmerson: That's amazing. What would you— so you had a good support system along the way, it sounds like, from coaches and even from your family and parents, correct?

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: What would you say to those creatives that might not have that, that are starting out and they don't have that? What would you say to them?

Gareth Pon: Yeah, I think so. There's a— it's funny because I used to always I used to also coach like friends of mine who are in the creative industry and just be like, hey, so this is how you get into the field. This is how you quote. This is how you do all those things. But one of the things that I taught a lot of my friends was like, how do you generate those soft skills and build those connections? So I have a very practical way into it. I would, I tell people to like block 30 minutes every 3 days or every 2 to 3 days on your calendar. And those 30 minutes are purely dedicated to meeting someone new. So it's a really fun way to be like, oh gosh, I gotta fill this 30 minutes with like something. And that's an amazing way to put intention behind networking and then also getting in connection with people who may be able to build your network out and then also find a way that allows you to kind of really learn at an accelerated pace, but also network at an accelerated pace.

Sara Emmerson: Absolutely.

Gareth Pon: So if you do the math, like let's say you're meeting 3 new people a week, that's 12 new people a month. And then times 52, that's like nearly 200 people every year. And it's an amazing way to kind of get those connections. Excuse me. It's an amazing way to get those connections and then also, um, get yourself into a place where you're starting to learn and get intentional about how you're actually connecting with people. And it's a, it's awesome. So I would basically, that's how I would like live my life in South Africa. And that was the way that I built my network. I built my kind of mentorship plethora of different arsenal of friends. And I would meet with everyone. So everyone from this sweet old man who used to be a minister who owned a mining company.

Sara Emmerson: Of course you do.

Gareth Pon: And I would chat to him and be like, how do you do business? Like, what do you think about this? And he would give me like so much amazing knowledge just to approach different things in life. He would give me advice about just living a good life. Also from, he was from my church. So it'd be an amazing way to just connect on like a spiritual level with him. And then to meeting people like my friend Craig Rodney, who I literally DM'd his Instagram account. He runs like @SouthAfrica. So that's how we got connected. I was like, hey, who are you? What are you doing? This is cool.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah, you just DM'd him, right? That's so great. Incredible. So you would say to people that the best way for them to get encouragement and to grow their career is through the relationships?

Gareth Pon: Yeah. Yeah. I really think relationships are everything, to be honest. That's the one thing that I find that I love the most and keeps me going in my current role. But also in like the current career that I have now, like the building up of people and the networking. And I almost treat like the traditional agency life as a way to kind of entrepreneurially be myself within the industry, if that makes sense. That totally makes sense. And it's a really great way to to just put value behind what you're doing because advertising is advertising. You know, it's just, you build like a 30-second spot or you make like a 10-second video on social media and people forget about it. They're like, oh, okay. Yeah. I saw that Super Bowl ad. It was cool. And then they just keep doom scrolling on their Instagram feed and they see something else and they're really distracted. So my value that I bring from the industry or get from the industry is to really like invest in people who want to build their creativity and kind of showcase their skills and really be able to help people pull out like the growth and the essential creative that's inside every person.

Sara Emmerson: Mm-hmm.

Gareth Pon: And so the people side of what I do is what I love the most, honestly. Um, upskilling people, challenging them, giving them opportunities that they may not have had. And that goes from everything from like my direct team to potentially being able to bring like freelancers or creatives who could come in and work on their dream brands, which I got a lot of opportunities to do on like, say Coca-Cola, for example. So yeah, that, that's what drives me. I think without people, obviously, the world would not be around. Like we would have to like really just living in a silo is terrible and being able to kind of connect with people. on different levels just drives what I really love. And that's being able to build that connection and see which challenges we can take on together and kind of just make amazing things.

Sara Emmerson: Well, I love that. And I see that so often in the people that I coach and with my clients, no matter whether they're in, they're in business or they're creatives, that the relationships is the foundation of the growth that they have.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: And, um, we, you and I were talking about this earlier. Um, often we think, oh, well, the higher people go, the less they're gonna be available. And what I find is the people that are actually really successful are the people that are willing to give their time.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: To give their, um, knowledge to help invest in other people and because they value relationships. So that's one of the things I know that is so true about you is your care for others. And, um, I'm so grateful. For that. And, um, I'm excited for the people that you are leading and growing with because, um, I can only imagine how much they're benefiting from that. Um, okay, so as you were in South Africa, then you decided, hey, it's time to move to America. Tell me about that. Like, for sure, that's a big risk.

Gareth Pon: That's a massive risk. Um, it's funny because I actually didn't decide to move to the US, which is funny. It was kind of a A weird story again, like another weird story.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: But basically, um, I'll give you a bit of background on it, but I was pretty active on this app called Swarm, which used to be called Foursquare.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: And do you remember it used to like—

Sara Emmerson: I remember Foursquare. I didn't know Swarm, but I've, I definitely have heard of Foursquare.

Gareth Pon: They changed it to Swarm at some point during a rebrand and during that rebrand, they automatically allowed you to follow everyone you followed on Twitter back when it was still Twitter. And during the update, I just like followed everyone I followed on Twitter and I was like, okay, whatever, I'll just do this. And one time during one of my trips in the US, I was in New York. I just had landed in New York and, um, I was avidly like a check-inner. Like I would check in everywhere I'd go. I'd be like, oh, I'm at Times Square. I'm here.

Sara Emmerson: I'm there. Checking in.

Gareth Pon: Yeah. So I checked in at the airport and then I got a notification that one of my followers, one of the people that I followed on Twitter also checked in and his name was Jason Peterson. So I was like, okay, this is interesting. Who is this guy? Because I didn't even remember who he was. So I looked him up on Instagram because I basically connected all the dots there on where he was and who he was from and why I followed him. And he was this like, he's this black and white photo photographer and amazing, amazing photos. He had like, currently he has a million followers. Back then he had like about 500,000. And I messaged him on Swarm because you didn't have DMs yet on Instagram, which was so funny.

Sara Emmerson: So you investigated him on Instagram and then messaged him over Swarm?

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: Okay.

Gareth Pon: And I just said, yo, I'm in New York too. Do you wanna hang out? And he was like, yeah, let's meet up. And he left his phone number on Swarm on the comment, which is so funny 'cause nowadays you don't really do that.

Sara Emmerson: Right.

Gareth Pon: And so I messaged him. Um, we ended up meeting up, took some photos and then followed each other on Snapchat and then kind of forgot about it. Long story short, we like kept in touch, kept chatting. A couple of months later, we ended up both in Vegas. He was there for like some client work. I got there because I was actually like talking to Nikon at the moment. So I was like—

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: Kind of like sketching around the conversation around becoming a Nikon ambassador in South Africa. And So I was actually there for them. I didn't do anything for them while I was there, which is funny because they were launching a new product and all this, but I got there, same thing happened. I checked into the airport, Jason checked in at the same time. And then I messaged him. I was like, hey, I'm also in Vegas. We should hang out. And basically, long story short, we ended up spending the whole week together, just like going on trips and like going on like, literally this guy's so well connected. I was like, who is this dude? He hits me up. He's like, hey, do you want to go on a helicopter ride tomorrow? It's free. So we went on like multiple helicopter rides. I'm like, hell yeah, this is awesome.

Sara Emmerson: This is so great.

Gareth Pon: And then at the end of the week, I was flying out on the Saturday and he was flying out on the Friday. Um, we ended up getting in and out on Friday on the way, his way out of Vegas. And during the whole time while we were hanging out, he kept hinting. He'd be like, what do you think of America? Do you like America? What about this? And at In-N-Out, he, I'm like, hey, why do you keep talking to me about America? And if I like it, he's like, well, I have this new thing I started called The Annex. It's really cool. It's like this millennial-focused marketing content agency, you know, back when millennial was the buzzword and everyone.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: I was like, what do millennials want? Um, and I was like, yeah, that sounds cool. Well, what do you want me to do? And he said, well, I think you should come work for me. And I, I didn't know what to say in the moment. I was like halfway through my double-double In-N-Out burger and I just looked at him. I was like, that sounds awesome. I'm keen. What do we do?

Sara Emmerson: All great decisions are made at In-N-Out. Definitely. Yeah, absolutely.

Gareth Pon: And he was like, okay, cool. I'll give your details to my hiring manager and we'll get it figured out. And then basically a couple of weeks later, I flew to Chicago, landed Chicago. I have no idea what's going on. They put me up in this hotel. I walked to this building, walk into the building. It was Havas in Chicago.

Sara Emmerson: Mm-hmm.

Gareth Pon: And I check in, the security guy's like, who are you here to see? I was like, I don't know. I think I'm seeing like Jason Peterson. And he was like, okay, cool. Just go in and there'll be somebody up for you at the top. I walk in the elevator. I take it up to the, the second floor. I think it was, yeah, second floor. I walk out and I look to my right and I see this like boardroom that has been converted to an office and it's his office. And that was the first time I realized that he was the chief creative officer at Havas Chicago.

Sara Emmerson: And you didn't put that together?

Gareth Pon: I had no idea. I didn't look him up beyond Instagram. I didn't even realize it was, he was literally the guy running the show. He's an amazing creative. I interviewed with a couple of people that day, like just kind of bounced around, got to see how they do things.

Sara Emmerson: And then next thing you know, you're in America.

Gareth Pon: Yeah. Next thing I know, I get a, a job offer and then I moved to the States like a couple months later. It was crazy.

Sara Emmerson: That is so crazy. So crazy. But that, that risk, even thinking back to the airport in New York, that risk, small risk.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: Uh, just messaging Jason and saying, hey, look, I'm checking in here.

Gareth Pon: We should hang.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah. Led to Many, many more opportunities in your career by just doing that one thing.

Gareth Pon: Yeah, absolutely.

Sara Emmerson: Incredible. So incredible.

Gareth Pon: I think it's, I think it's funny because I always think about it as these like minute fears that we have, especially as creatives too. We think about, oh, what will this person think about me? Or will they say no? Or will there be a moment where like maybe they think I'm a creep, whatever. But I think those little risks really are the ones that kind of build up to give way for like the bigger opportunities, which I've always thought about the smaller things that impact the bigger story and the bigger narrative. So, yeah.

Sara Emmerson: Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's often those smaller ones too, um, that, like we said, create the bigger ones, but that we take for granted. We're not recognizing in the moment that that smaller one's gonna take the, um, take impact and create something bigger. We're just going along our, our day. But you've created a life, Gareth, where the smaller ones are just normal. Yeah. How do you, how would you, um, how would you encourage other people to do that, that might live in that fear or live in the, um, the fear of either rejection or failure?

Gareth Pon: Yeah. It's interesting because I think, I think the thing that I kind of see it as is it's a similar, it's a similar skill set you build as if you're like going to the gym or like working out. It's like a muscle you can build.

Sara Emmerson: Mm-hmm.

Gareth Pon: Um, it's those kind of like micro breaks, micro tears in the muscle. And similarly, you can kind of compare that to the way you think. It's like these little things that if you continuously do them, you get stronger and you get more powerful and you get more, uh, more brave to be able to do the things that are, are there. And then, and then before you know it, it becomes second nature. Um, and then like you said, I think those kind of smaller moments, those smaller elements that make things make the bigger impact is what people often forego. Like we overlook them. So the more you kind of intentionally put those things into the place, the quicker you can build your own habits to be able to have them as second nature. So I don't even think twice now about if there's a risky situation or if there's something that I was like, uh, maybe, maybe not. I'll always go like, maybe let's do it, you know? So whether it's doing a podcast like this or going on a crazy trip to Kilimanjaro or moving to the US with literally having no idea what I'm going to do, um, or moving to New York in a new state or getting married, you know, there's all these little things that—

Sara Emmerson: Exactly.

Gareth Pon: I think—

Sara Emmerson: That's not a little thing, Garry. Let me tell you, after 23 years, the getting married part is not little. It's, it's one of the big ones, but it's a good one. Yeah.

Gareth Pon: The little big things, I guess. Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: The little big things. Oh, that's so exciting. Well, I love that. And I see that in so many high performers that they do, they start with those little risks and then they, they grow that muscle to where they're like, yeah, let's go. Why not? And in most successful people, you'll find that they do that. Now, one of the things that, that I find often is people get to a place where they've done that for a while and it gets them to, um, to a, a successful career or a successful life, and then they end up plateauing because they get comfortable and they're not willing to take those risks anymore.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: How do you continue to reinvent yourself and say yes and take the blows when they come and continue to keep going and not plateau?

Gareth Pon: Yeah, I love this sentiment and this question. It's funny, I was talking to a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago. He's a, he's one of the guys who sold an app and he's like very successful. All the old day tech guys who he doesn't need to work for the rest of his life. Lucky him. And I was chatting to him. I was like, how do you, In your success, we were talking about money. I, funny enough, I was like, how does it feel to be wealthy? It was my question to him. And he had a very like humbling response for me. He was like, it's, it's, it's not the answer you're going to want to hear. And he didn't, he didn't tell me why, but he was like, it's not the answer you're going to want to hear. And then I was like, well, what, what kind of drives you? What do you find purpose in now? He's like, The way that I find it is just finding what the next thing is to do. And it's funny because that comes back to what we were just talking about is that, that next thing for him is like spending time with his kids or going on a walk with his, with his, his dog, or I don't know if he has a dog, but all these little things that are kind of incrementally adding to the value of his life that really made a difference for him. Um, and I think I, because I've been reflecting on a lot of that now, just being with this in this new role and a new position and moving and, um, thinking about all the things that come after marriage. Like, do I want to have a family? Do, where do we want to live? Like, how will we raise kids? And all of those things kind of coming together and in a head being like, okay, well, what is the baseline of how I'm going to challenge myself and make sure that I don't plateau? Um, and I also have the kind of like curse and blessing of getting bored easily. Uh, so that play comes into play where I've historically shifted jobs or roles every like 3 years, 3 to 4 years, which is a good time. I encourage people to kind of look around that timeline because it gives you a, gives you a great way to like seek out new opportunities. Um, but I, I never want to ever give people the permission to become comfortable because I think comfort is like the killer of creativity and dreams. So I often will be thinking about that. And maybe this is just my like undiagnosed ADHD, but always trying to find the ways that make sure you're not, you're not getting too comfortable. And that may mean like searching out a new skill or Mm-hmm. Making a new connection or getting inspired by something that's completely left field out of what you're doing now. Um, like my, my one friend here in Portland is a toy maker. He literally makes these buttons, these like 30-second dance party buttons. They're awesome.

Sara Emmerson: That's amazing.

Gareth Pon: And him and I have been connecting a lot because, you know, he makes products and I want to like start making physical things again. So there's this whole world where I'm like, okay, let me backtrack. Let me reassess where I am. Let me think about where I want to be and how do I start like doing those small incremental things that can kind of get me there.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: Um, and I just think there's, especially when you kind of get to like director level or VP level in your career, a lot of people get really comfortable. They're like, great. I've got a cushy job. I make good money. I don't need to like hustle as much. Um, and then they get comfortable and then before you know it, you're like 72 and all you've done is a couple of ads and that's it, you know? So that's something that really, really like innately scares me because I don't want to get to a point where I'm so comfortable that I forget to be creative and challenging myself.

Sara Emmerson: What an incredible thought that you don't want to get so comfortable that you forget to be creative or to continue to challenge yourself. I think that's so impactful because there's so many people that do that, that we get comfortable. We think, oh, that was— that's what I did in my earlier years or earlier in my career. And that willingness to stay risky, I love the willingness to always be learning for you to even say, yeah, I want to try something again that I've never done before.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: Let me be naive at something. Let me be new at something. And so I see that, and that's a desire that I have for myself too. So I really resonate with that. That's amazing. So for you, how do you stay unique? You've worked for all of these brands, you've done so many different things. You're obviously an incredibly skilled photographer and done so many different things in social media world and all of that. How do you keep your uniqueness?

Gareth Pon: Gosh, that's a, that's a terrible question to answer because I'm, I, I get so self-conscious about different things when, when I think about how I'm a unique person. But may, because I think, um, it's a terribly great question. Let me, let me rephrase that. Uh, because I think it's something that I've always suffered from is like that imposter syndrome.

Sara Emmerson: Mm-hmm.

Gareth Pon: Um, and I kind of, in the last maybe like 5 years or so, I've, I kind of had to reform my mind on how I approach things about imposter syndrome and how you approach things in life in general about your capabilities and what you can do. And I love the pivot that I've been able to do about taking this imposter syndrome and allowing it to become a, a very healthy degree of humility in everything I do. Be like, okay, I feel like a bit of an imposter now, but that's only the fuel that allows me to push further to the point where I don't feel like an imposter. So I think that combination of allowing myself to acknowledge all the unique things about my background and where I'm from, like coming from South Africa, having parents who are also from a weird and wonderful different background and being in the US now and having these different experiences and kind of taking that snapshot and seeing things from like a bird's eye view and how all of that has come together to essentially culminate to the moment where I am right now in the present. So I think taking those 2 things in balance, that humility of being the imposter, and then the uniqueness of all the elements together and combining those kind of gives you this really beautiful pathway that kind of pushes, pushes you forward and like pushes me forward in my life. Um, and in a way it's kind of, I mean, this is my, this is how I think, cause I'd studied filmmaking, but there's a poetic narrative there that is so beautiful. Like the, the pathways keep telling the stories and the— progress and like moving forward keeps telling the stories. And I love that. I love being able to tell my own story and like figure it out and see how it gets told and all the play and the joy and the people that get involved. And that's really something that's become like part of my innate ability to like just live and create and make and, um, it's natural for me now to be able to see the aerial view, but then allow it to kind of like influence the things like day to day.

Sara Emmerson: I love that. I love that thought of continuing to press through and to continuing, um, to, to the commitment to the continued learning and to, um, holding that uniqueness while you're continuing to change as a person too. The creativity isn't just in your art is in how you're creating a new life or a new pathway for yourself. That's beautiful.

Gareth Pon: Thank you.

Sara Emmerson: How has faith played a part in your risk-taking and in your creativity?

Gareth Pon: Yeah, risk and faith, I feel like, are like bread and butter. It's such a crazy thing. I think very early on in my in my like faith journey. I, I went through this phase of, of being very fearful of, of like the future. Um, I was pretty, I was pretty young, like still a teenager, and I was on a walk one day and I was just praying about it. I was like, God, what is, what does faith actually mean? And I just felt like in that, in that moment during the walk, God was saying to me that faith is essentially something that everyone needs to find their own personal conviction on. I mean, you can go to the Bible where you can read the Bible verses and get the biblical translation and the definition and all that.

Sara Emmerson: Mm-hmm.

Gareth Pon: But if it doesn't become your own personal conviction, then it's not really faith because faith really comes from like this deep part within your heart and your spirit. And whether that means having faith in God or like faith that he is our Savior or faith in situations on the daily and the monthly and the yearly and to the future, that conviction needs to be there because it essentially is like the part that drives your belief in what's going to happen.

Sara Emmerson: So, Yeah.

Gareth Pon: During that walk, um, I felt God say like, you know, I've got everything. Like, it's everything's— I've got everything. I've got it. Like, we have no, zero control over what may happen tomorrow or even the next hour or even with the next second. Like a meteor could literally fly from the sky now and like destroy Earth. Like we have zero control, right?

Sara Emmerson: No control.

Gareth Pon: And so faith for me in that moment became the biggest realization that I have no control. And the only thing I can do is have faith in the one who does.

Sara Emmerson: Mm-hmm.

Gareth Pon: And that's God. And that like became my revelation of faith. And that kind of flows through and, and that's been like my, my kind of backbone in everything I've done with like big decisions and big moments. And even now getting married, you know, that's been this whole thing of, you know, like, God, I have this faith, you know, like, I'm very open and honest with him. And I pray and I talk to him about all the, the kind of like fears that I have. And, um, looking back over all these like big decisions I've had to make and seeing how God's come through in my different like career shifts and life shifts and, um, That's just been like so amazing to see how involved he actually is. I think we often forget how involved he is, and we forget that there's a degree of realizing that we have zero control. And that's what essentially like drives the faith for me.

Sara Emmerson: And do you find, I don't know about you, but for me, I find a freedom in Yeah. Right? Some people feel like, well, if I'm not in control, it's, it's gonna go bad. And I'm, for me, I'm like, oh, thank God I'm not in control. Because if I was, and if it was only up to me, then what in, in the world's gonna happen? But knowing that I can take risks and not fear the ultimate failure because I know that there's a foundation that I can always come back to and that there is, um, always a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance, a fifth chance. And it sounds like that's annoying for you too.

Gareth Pon: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 100% aligned to all of that.

Sara Emmerson: Good. Okay, what advice would you give someone who knows that they're meant for more but keeps waiting until they feel ready?

Gareth Pon: Um, I don't think anyone's ever ready to To go for the more. I am very much a trial and error kind of guy. I would say that kind of waiting, there's value in waiting. There's value in being bored. There's value in being frustrated and kind of felt held back by your situations and circumstances. Because that kind of pushes you, that frustration can really get you to the next step of where you need to be. Um, and people who feel like they are destined for more and maybe are waiting too much, I think there's a degree of like just doing something that gets you to the next step. It's, it's funny enough, like similar to what my friend said is like, what is the next thing? just start doing it, you know, it's not going to be perfect. Um, like Picasso never learns how to become Picasso by waiting until he started painting, you know, it's like, okay, I'm going to wait for like 30 years to become this incredible painter. And then one day I'm going to pick up a paintbrush and be amazing. Like, no, that's not how it works. Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: That's not how it works.

Gareth Pon: Exactly. Yeah. So Picasso didn't want to suddenly like wait to become this amazing painter for like 30 years. He didn't decide to become an incredible painter and pick up a paintbrush and just paint, right? So similarly, I think, um, in our current like world, we, we only see the best sides of each other on the internet. People present like the perfect, the perfect vision, the perfect like image. It's like, oh, this is an amazing, like, photographer who travels the world and gets to see all these things, but they don't know about all the hustle and the bustle and the different challenges that are happening behind the scenes. Um, and I think that's something that, you know, there's a healthy degree of doubt that needs to come into a lot of what people are perceiving.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: And something that I love doing is I love going to like different podcasters and YouTubers that I follow and going back to their oldest video and seeing how they started because It's so fun. It's actually hilarious. Exactly. Yeah. The lighting changes, they shift the way they talk, they become more like better on camera and talking and moving and even like little habits here and there, you know?

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: And that, that's something that's awesome because you can kind of see the progression and that whole process is, is something that's almost more valuable than like getting to the final point because the final point is just an it's a nothing burger in reality.

Sara Emmerson: Like you get there and you're like, well, how, how do we ever know when it's final?

Gareth Pon: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: So that process is like something that's beautiful and is essentially what I encourage people to chase is like chase that change, chase the challenge, go into it. Even now with like my new job that I have, there's a lot of things I'm still learning and figuring out and, and realizing like, dang, there's, there's this there's this big gap here that I need to fill and learn how to manage this. And, um, I'm, I'm not going to just sit back and hope that things happen. I'm definitely going to need to challenge myself and take the risk that I need to, to build out like the skillset I need to be able to fulfill the job and doing it really well. So I would encourage people to just, you know, Do those little things. If something feels overwhelming, it's good because you're meant to go to the places that scare you. And I think that's amazing. And if something feels too big for you, then just take the little chunks out of that massive burger that you're like chewing through, you know?

Sara Emmerson: One bite at a time.

Gareth Pon: Exactly. Exactly.

Sara Emmerson: So for you, you talk about that one ridiculous dream. Like that people should have. What's yours?

Gareth Pon: My ridiculous dream is to go to space one day.

Sara Emmerson: Um, really?

Gareth Pon: Yeah. I, I grew up, so growing up in South Africa, we don't, South Africa doesn't have a space program. So I was on a drive one day. It was just funny. All these like little moments happen with God, like during these walks or these drives. And I, I was on this drive and I was remembering going up this, this hill. Um, and seeing like the horizon up the hill in my car and my little, uh, tiny little Ford Focus. And—

Sara Emmerson: Love it.

Gareth Pon: I was talking to God and I was a little frustrated with my career and a little lost because I was making these really boring corporate videos. All my clients were these boring corporate clients. And I was just talking to God and I was like, I feel kind of kind of lame right now. Like, I feel like frustrated that I'm not doing something that I really love. And I felt him say to me, what is a ridiculous dream that you have? And I was like, I would love to go to space one day. And he was like, okay, sounds good. And I was like, wait, what?

Sara Emmerson: What did—

Gareth Pon: what just happened? And I felt this like thing in me. And as I was going up the hill, I almost like went over the horizon of the hill. And I felt God say to me, you need to have a ridiculous dream because the moment you believe that dream can come true, then everything else in your life becomes possible. So that really like impacted me. Wow.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: It's funny because I have like lots of friends will randomly bring it up. They're like, hey, when are you going to space? Like, what's this thing now? When are you going? And Now with all this like technology and like all these new space tourism agencies that are happening.

Sara Emmerson: Absolutely.

Gareth Pon: Yeah, it's something that I feel like is attainable. And throughout the years, there's been these like little different opportunities where I've applied to go on like a space shuttle or done all these little moments. And, but I think there's a beauty to that being like this ridiculous dream. that people, if people don't have a ridiculous dream, then they truly, actually, there isn't really a moment where you're going to push for something more. Right. So, um, I encourage people to have that dream no matter what it is, think about it, go big, and then believe that it will happen.

Sara Emmerson: Believe it'll happen.

Gareth Pon: Absolutely.

Sara Emmerson: Why not?

Gareth Pon: Exactly.

Sara Emmerson: So is that where the rocket ship comes in?

Gareth Pon: That's where it comes in. Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: It's funny, always. So for those of you that are listening that might not know this, if you check out Gareth on Instagram, in all of his photos, he has a little hidden rocket ship. And, um, I was actually just showing my daughter that today. We were looking at all of the photos, finding the rocket ship. And, um, so you need to go on, follow him, and find the rocket ship. But tell me about that idea.

Gareth Pon: Yeah. Um, I was sitting in lunch one day after an Insta meet and I just saw everyone doom scrolling and I was like, how can I make people just like pause for an extra couple of seconds before liking a photo? And I was like, I'm going to, I'm going to like gamify my feed and hide this little rocket and let people kind of just navigate, you know, Instagram, have them pause for a couple of seconds to try to find this rocket. And then, yeah, started dropping it in.

Sara Emmerson: Love it.

Gareth Pon: all my photos and it's been a lot of fun. I don't really do it on like videos anymore 'cause it's a little trickier to—

Sara Emmerson: It is a little trickier, I can imagine.

Gareth Pon: But in all my photos on my, on my account too, the rocket is there.

Sara Emmerson: All right, we're gonna do some rapid-fire questions here as we come to a close. You ready?

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: Okay. What's one country that has changed you?

Gareth Pon: Japan.

Sara Emmerson: What was a favorite food there?

Gareth Pon: Sushi right next to the fish market.

Sara Emmerson: Okay. What's one photo you've taken that means more to you than anyone else will ever realize?

Gareth Pon: This is a photo that I took in Nigeria under Third Mainland Bridge. It has like an amazing story. I know this is rapid fire, but I'll tell it real quick.

Sara Emmerson: Okay, tell it.

Gareth Pon: I went under Third Mainland Bridge. I was literally there on a project. Um, with Quesair, which is like a local TV channel. And the, my producer bribed this guy to open the door so we could go into this like awkward location under Third Mainland Bridge, 'cause I wanted to get some photos there. And there's this beautiful, like, there's this beautiful view under the bridge where your perspective just has all these like amazing leading lines where all the pillars are like running through. down the bridge. And I was, I was standing there. I was like, this is such an amazing perspective. I wish I had a subject. So I was standing there waiting a couple of seconds and I was like, I'm just going to wait, like, and see what happens. And then a minute later, these 2 kids to my right are like creeping out of the grass. And I'm like, oh my gosh, what's going to happen? What they're doing? I wave at them. And they get kind of scared. And then the next moment they run under the bridge, like across the— there were like little puddles of water, run under the bridge. And as they get to the middle, I like snap a couple of photos and it's the most amazing photo that I've ever taken. They were perfectly in the center of the perspective of all the pillars. They have this like joy on their face as they're running. Um, and that moment like couldn't ever be reproduced. And I always tell people that it kind of ruined photography for me because I haven't had like another opportunity like that to be able to create an image like that. So yeah, that, that just honored like the moment that it made me realize like how beautiful photography really is and the documentation and creation. Um, and every, yeah, every time I think about it, I'm just like, dang, that was, that was such a moment. Can't reproduce that.

Sara Emmerson: Well, thank you so much for sharing that. And I'm glad you broke into the rapid fire for that story. It was definitely necessary. Um, and what an incredible opportunity. Okay. Coffee or airport? Coffee shop or airport?

Gareth Pon: Hmm. Coffee shop.

Sara Emmerson: Okay. Mountains or ocean?

Gareth Pon: Mountains.

Sara Emmerson: Burger or pizza?

Gareth Pon: Oh, gosh. Burger right now. Okay.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah. And what's your favorite burger place?

Gareth Pon: Um, gosh, I would say In-N-Out, or there's this, like, really great Smashburger place here called Goon Burger.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: It's like a couple blocks away.

Sara Emmerson: All right.

Gareth Pon: Amazing.

Sara Emmerson: I like the, the animal style at, at In-N-Out. It's so good.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: Yeah.

Gareth Pon: I'm an animal style, protein style kind of guy, so.

Sara Emmerson: Ooh, okay. Animal style, protein style. I get it. Yeah, very good. Okay, and then last, what's one risk you think everyone should consider taking at least once in their life?

Gareth Pon: Move to a different country. Um, I, I think changing your world, changing your environment, maybe it's not a country, maybe it's just a new city. I really do think like travel and upping and packing everything you own into a bunch of boxes and relocating really changes you. Absolutely.

Sara Emmerson: Absolutely.

Gareth Pon: There's a, yeah, there's a degree of risk and you expose yourself to like beautiful things and beautiful environments. And that's, that's something that really teaches you something that nothing else can. And I really love that.

Sara Emmerson: I completely agree. I know that one of the biggest risks I took was moving across the country when I was 23, didn't know anyone, moved to Chicago and the rest is history, but it, It changed me. And I know our son moved to Canada, um, a year and a half ago for a while. And it, um, I saw the growth in him in that, in that. And anyone listening here today that, um, you're thinking of taking the risk, do it. Move, try something new. Definitely. Well, Gareth, thank you so much for being here and for sharing your story with us. Um, there's so much we could talk about. I'm, uh, we've definitely gotta do this again sometime and go deeper into some of these stories.

Gareth Pon: Yeah.

Sara Emmerson: I know your journey's gonna encourage somebody who's standing on the edge of their own next step. And to everyone listening, if this episode encouraged you, I wanna encourage you to share it with someone who needs a little more courage today and who needs to take a risk. And remember, the biggest opportunities in life often start with these 3 words: That Sounds Risky. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.