Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Collecting Memories - Sunday Special with Zach Kadolph

Episode Date: July 19, 2020

In this episode I sit down with photographer and filmmaker Zach Kadolph. Zach is pushing almost 2 million views on Unsplash, has over 1.5 million views on YouTube and Facebook and has collaborated with artists and creators all over the country. Join us as we chat about making time for your passion, learning through failure, and capturing the memories that mean the most.

I know when I picked up a camera, I was terrible. I wasn't pointing it in the right direction and, you know, the wrong use of light. The shadows are all wrong. But that's stuff you learn. If it's something you really want to do, you just continue learning and learning and learning. And you don't stop. And you keep going. And it's not keep going in a straight line.

It's a zigzag pattern to figure out which way works. Welcome to Your World Within Daily. I'm Eddie Panero. I hope everyone's having a fantastic morning on this Sunday special. Today, as promised, I have Zach K. Adolf, my friend and partner in crime. Zach has helped me, and we've collaborated on a ton of projects in the past, and we've linked up again and have a ton of cool things coming down the pike here. So I wanted to bring him on and kind of give you an insight into how he looks at the world. So Zach is a photographer.

He's pushing 2 million downloads on Unsplash, which is my favorite photography site. Very hard to get work, upload and accepted there, and he's been viewed 2 million times. His videos have well over 1.5 million views on YouTube and Facebook. And the interesting thing about Zach is he spent a decade consulting in the financial services industry. And now he's a senior manager at an insurance company. So, you know, he oversees over 20 people, over three different departments, and still manages to follow that creative passion. I've talked about that a little bit before on a previous episode. I'm going to ask him a little bit about that.

But, hey, Zach, happy to have you on and excited to chat, my friend. Sounds good. Thanks for having me. Let's start with the message for people that. want to do what you do, right? They have a job, a good job. It consumes a lot of their time, but they also have other passions.

They also have other things they want to do, and they use the excuse, or there's the idea or the narrative that I don't have time, right? Or it's difficult to sort of parse yourself out like that. You know, how do you view that and make time for the things that, you know, you really enjoy? Never enough time.

That's why, I don't know, for me, I'm very, very particular about how, I spend it. Yeah. You know, I think obviously works a big part of that, but, you know, parsing out the things that are important to me. And for me, it's really simple. It's creativity and it's my friends and my family.

And I think beyond that, if, you know, it doesn't fit into those buckets, it doesn't happen. So that's an interesting thing because just, I mean, being friends with you for over a decade now, which is weird to say. One of the things that you always talk about is removing the stuff that, you know, doesn't fit those buckets, right? Work, family, or your creative, what do we call them? Just your creativity. Yeah. I mean, you know, I used to, when I first bought my truck, I used to work on that all the time. And I enjoyed it at the time, but, you know, it's something that now I need work done. I'll

take it to a shop, even though, you know, I could do the work myself. I just, you don't have the weekend to do it. Same thing with cutting the grass. You know, I'd rather spend my time on my job and pay somebody else to do that. So I think, you know, there's ways to have other people fill other areas, you know, pass those off and then make sure that I'm only spending my time on the things that I want to do. And the interesting thing about that is that, you know, as a business owner, and I know a lot of other people that face the same type of things,

particularly as a creative. It's like, you know, letting go of those things, whether it's the editing or the music or the things that you don't really want to let go of. Because, yeah, I mean, you... It's all part of the creative. It is, but you make your own food. You put your car together on YouTube. You built your basement downstairs.

There's just this do-it-yourself mentality. Do you have a hard time reeling that in? And what advice would you give to someone? You know, which side of the spectrum should you be on there? Yeah. I mean, I think that's an individual question for everybody to weigh what's important to them. And there's no one right answer for anybody. but I can say this when you spend too long doing things that you don't like, things that don't fire you up, it takes a toll.

And you just got to be self-aware enough to say, this isn't what's making me happy. What is it that I think would make me happy? Not even what I know, just what do I think? And then try it. A lot of times, you know, it's just trying something different. It's being afraid to leave the job. It's being afraid to try something because you won't be good at it. And I know I never let being bad at things stop me from do it.

Well, then why photography and videography? What about it makes you happy? You've worked with some very influential people. Your stuff's been seen all over the place. What about that gives you that calm, that happiness, that joy that you're looking for? Yeah. This may seem silly, but when I was a kid, I used to always think possessions, because we didn't have a lot growing up.

I mean, we weren't poor by any means, but we didn't have a lot of things. And, you know, we'd go to the store and I wouldn't get a gift. And it would be like, okay, you know, I get that we don't have a lot of money. But I falsely valued possessions and things that, you know, I thought other people had. And it seemed like an obvious answer. My mom was asking me, should we get a hot tub or should we go on a vacation? I said, well, I can enjoy a hot tub every day for the rest of my life. The practical man.

Yeah. Or, you know, we can go on a vacation and it'll be gone in a week. So, like, give me the hot tub. But six months later, you know, I'm not using the hot tub barely at all. But I look at some of the vacations I went on very early on. And those are the things I still remember to this day. So, you know, I think it was just more creating moments and memories isn't just a three-day thing. You know, the time we spent in Roanoke, well, is,

something that'll last a lifetime. So even though it's only a couple days or a couple memories, those are things that stick with you, not necessarily, you know, hot tubs. Yeah, I love that. Holding on to those. And by the way, he's referencing, there was a time right out of college when we both lived in Roanoke. We worked with the same company. And good years, fun years, important years, absolute chaos. But it was... Quite a long time. Well, I can tell you, Ed, I knew way back then that you were destined for something different. I appreciate that, brother. You're saying it with a smirk on your face, though. No, I mean, I'm going to tell you a story that I'm sure Ed, Eddie would not appreciate,

but he is really good ad living with the guitar. And I knew just, you know, the way his mind works, you know, obviously Dave Chappelle and comedy can come up with things at the top of his head, but I've never had somebody that just sits there and is able to make things up on the spot. So if you ever get a chance to see Eddie with a guitar, definitely do it. It's well worth your time. Well, thanks, man. Oh, my God. That's been so long. Yeah, yeah.

Most of it was making fun of me, but I'll forgive you for it. Oh, man. So speaking of, right, talking about memories and then preserving those memories. And it's just, it comes from, so I want to talk about the Evan Carmichael quote and then I want to talk about your NICU video. So Evan Carmichael says, basically, if you. If no one watched another video he put out, he'd still make one every day because he loves it. And it's what he's about and it drives him. And, you know, you do a lot of documentation, a lot of beautiful pictures of your son Wyatt. They're all over the place.

And a particular video, and maybe you can talk about the specific situation, documenting a difficult time when he was born. And that video kind of went all over the place. It's beautifully done. and just a really cool piece of art. Yeah, thank you. You know, my son was born at 32 weeks, so about two months early. He was just a shade over two pounds. And I don't know, it was just one of those moments where, you know,

I wanted to capture everything because I wasn't sure, you know, how many moments I'd have. And, you know, luckily he's a very large, happy baby now. And I shouldn't say baby, he's waist high. But yeah, it's just one of those that, you know, as you're going through the experience, I didn't really know what to expect. You don't expect things to go wrong. But there was a very good network here of people going through the same thing.

And, you know, they said it ends up being our story, not necessarily the kids that go through it because they're so young, they don't remember it. And, you know, I didn't, I wanted it to be, you know, something that's not forgotten, you know, something that's, you know, that because I think part of his independent nature is just the fact that he spent so many days by himself overnight in the hospital when he was young. And now he's super independent. So, I was just one of those things that, again, going back to memories and letting him know kind of this is what, what it was like, because he's not, you know, he's not going to remember, but, uh, he's one of the most curious

living things I've ever seen. It's like anything, anything that's there. He'll take it and he'll examine it and bend it, flex it, throw it, step on it. He'll do it all. Yeah. Well, and, you know, I think, too, I would add that I had multiple head injuries, one in 2012 that really, really shook me. I was in the hospital for more than a week. And I had no short-term memory. And I think when you're so used to remembering things and being sharp and you go to not even remembering where you were five minutes ago. that was a bike right yeah yeah i was uh i was riding a bicycle downhill and uh fell off broke my skull and uh had uh brain fluid leaking out of my nose it was uh it was a lot of fun i do not recommend

it so you say it definitely for everyone out there wear your helmet you never know what's going to happen it's not about getting hit by other cars you know sometimes uh your equipment malfunctions you know the tire popped off i was in a road all by myself in the middle of the farmland. So it was one of those things I walked like a half a mile to a car. And luckily a car saw me on the side of the road and took me in the hospital. But you're just like slowly dragging yourself down the road. Yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, I saw a couple cars and I just had to lay down. It was like almost 100 degrees. And like the, my brain was just like swelling. I could hear my, my, uh, head just pulsing. I could,

I could hear it in my, uh, in my ear. And it was just ringing. It was almost like saving private Ryan. But, you know, I think that, you know, combined with looking back in my childhood, just realizing the importance of memories. And when you, when you can't remember things, it's a real good reminder just how important those things are. That's such a beautiful school. You know how you tell me to write my ideas down every 10 seconds? Don't forget that. Because that's, that could be, that's such an amazing story. You know, the things you went through and your, your trials and tribulations that, you know, your big takeaway there is that memories are everything. And, you know, this, this storyteller, videographer, filmmaker that now captures those moments in real time,

that's just such an amazing thing, man. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you know, I've never created things for other people. And I'm very lucky to have a luxury where I don't have to. You know, I'm able to feel fulfilled through my, you know, relationships with friends, through my work, you know, through doing creative projects with you. I think, you know, there's so many different things that you don't have to do just one thing to get fulfillment from. It, you know, it's a life. It's not a one lane road. Yeah. Something that is really cool about you. And it's the reason that, you know, I made a change, right? Personally, I was looking to make a change and looking at different places in Florida, different states. And you, you know, you brought up the idea, hey, you know, let's go at this hard.

right and I was talking to uh another friend the other day and it's great to have people like you that you know I'm in my own world and I'm in a routine and I'm making a video every week and you know putting you know my heart and soul into it but that that became the routine and just the simple conversation with you that was why not more right how at this point like if you want to grow at the same level you're growing that's fine but what if you scaled? What if you had a video every day? What if you went a little harder

because we settled without realizing it? Yeah. Well, what if you took those risks on the ones you really want to do? Right. You know, I think not even just for scale, but you can't be an original without putting out something new.

So, you know, I mean, if, like the one we've gotten the hopper when I was a kid, I think that's something that your audience, specifically is going to absolutely love. And I was really excited working on because it is different. And there's more to motivation and inspiration than just money. It's, you know, ideas and moments. Yeah.

So let's talk about that. What would you tell to someone that is putting things out or they're working hard and they're giving it to the world? And the world doesn't seem to care yet or notice yet or they don't, quite understand. What message would you give to that young creator or business person or entrepreneur? Keep going. You know, I just, there's so many different things, and I think about it when I was playing

sports, you know, I'd go out and I'd say, gosh, I gave everything I had during that game, but it doesn't come down to the 60 minutes you're on the field. It's the whole week of preparation. Could I have been eating better? could I have been sleeping better? Could my recovery have been better? So from a recording standpoint or a creative standpoint, could you be marketing better? Could you be honing your craft better?

Maybe the product's just not that good yet. I mean, I know when I picked up a camera, it was terrible. I wasn't pointing it in the right direction and, you know, the wrong use of light. The shadows are all wrong. But that's stuff you learn. If it's something you really want to do, You just continue learning and learning and learning. And you don't stop.

And you keep going. And it's not keep going in a straight line. It's a zigzag pattern to figure out which way works. You know, if you walk from here into town in a straight line, well, you're going to hit a tree at some point. You got to, you know, dodge left, dodge right. And a couple buildings in the way. You got to move right, move left. And I think that's the truth in life that you hit a point where you're cruising and then all of a sudden you hit a roadblock.

you don't stop. You learn a little bit more. You grow. You might have to take a little, a few side steps, but it lets you keep going forward. And I think, you know, if it's something you really want to do, you'll find a way to keep moving forward, whether it's, you know, learning, partnerships.

But at the end of the day, you know, your business only goes as far as you do. And if you're growing, you're moving. Amazing, amazing. Moving without knowing. The plan we have for the next 10 videos coming out, there's tons of unknown in there. You know, it's a lot of gray space.

But that's kind of, you got to, like you said it perfectly. You got to smash into a few things before you can get your path down. Yeah. Well, so I know this is your podcast, but I've got a very good question for you, one that's been on my mind. Oh, boy. And I'm sure on the mind of your listeners. Hit me.

So, you know, when you first started, some of your biggest videos were your running videos. And, you know, some of the ones that I think you get the most excitement. out of. The ones I obviously love doing are a little more poetic, a little more inspirational. How does it feel moving from, you know, inspiration to start injecting more and more of your personality into the channel? What's your thoughts on that? Yeah. It's been a process. It really has because the tendency is to want to box yourself in and know exactly what you are. Like you've talked about it before, identity, right? Actors based their entire existence on the shoes they wear. So I want to know as a creator, who's my audience? What am I categorized as, you know, what am I? What's

my channel? Where am I allowed to go with this? Right? And so you sort of box yourself in and I put out running videos and the YouTube running algorithm loves my channel because, you know, I started out with running and it did well. And now when I post running, it also does well. But what I've learned, learned is running as a part of my life, but it's not all of my life. I like to find the inspiration. I like to help people see the opportunity and the possibility. And if that's running, that's great. If it's not, that's great. But all of that comes up into the inspiration, the live-inspired message. And so as I've matured and continued making content, realize that it can be running. And if it feels good for you and you feel like it will help other people, make a running video.

You know, if it's a poem, make a poem. If it's a monologue about something you dealt with or, you know, a drawback to your point when you were a kid and what you know now versus then do that. But there's so much more flexibility in life than we tend to give ourselves because we look at the world black and white and that's just not the plain reality exists on. You know, and by the way, you play a big part in that, right? How many hours have we talked about that on the phone over the past five years? It's like, dude, what is this? Yeah. You know, how do we shape it?

But, you know, the running stuff, it's hard when, you know, you know that it's going to kill when you put it out. Because it's like, the temptation is to just do running stuff all the time. But you've got to be smart about it. Just put out a running video today, a nice hour-long comp. Yeah, which also today you went for a nice hour-long run. So, you know, there's that. I did. Yeah.

And it started raining on you. That's the best. part. Yeah. It's the best part. Yeah, especially in the summer months, right? Yeah, absolutely. But the difference is Florida versus here. It actually feels a little cooler. It's like a little gift running here. Yeah. A nice refreshing splash of rain. Yeah. Yeah. Do you run? You know, I used to be a lot more of a runner and then I was lifting and then I really got into yoga. And recently I've been starting to get back into running, but I wouldn't necessarily. call myself a runner, but I wouldn't necessarily say I'm not either because, you know, I could.

I was, well, I was in the All-States for the 200-meter. That was fun back in high school. I guess you could call that runner back then, but, you know, I guess I don't look at, you know, me being one thing or another. I think, you know, to everyone you interact with, you're something different. You know, to my son, I'm his father, to, you know, my parents, I'm his son. to my friends from high school. I'm, you know, I'm a jock to my friends from college. I'm a goofball to, you know, my girlfriend. I'm, I don't know, a ton of things.

But I'm interested in that. How do you parse that out? How do you go from senior manager at a large insurance company to being a dad, to picking up the camera being a filmmaker, to having a class and teaching them yoga? Like, what's the thought? Is there even a mental shift? Or maybe there isn't? Maybe it's just you.

No, no, I do what, I think I do what, what I think will make a fulfilling life. And, you know, I think exercise is a big part of it. You know, it's very hard. And I know personally, you know, when I'm not doing work, when I'm not working out, when, you know, I'm not eating right, it is a serious drain. And I think that's something, you know, through this day at home has been extremely hard. You know, being home with, with food all day and no gyms to go to. makes it a lot more difficult. And you can see the drain to where, you know,

I started picking up running again. I'm like, you know, I used to love going to the gym and doing yoga, but when you can't do one of those things, you've got to do something different. So push-ups and running, it is. I've always struggled with that. That's like one of the big struggles in my life. Like the brand and how to shape it has been a constant evolution.

But, you know, my friends and my family know this. It's like, I struggle. with being multi-dimensional. Like, it's why, you know, a lot of outside projects fail. It's why most of my relationships have failed. It's because all I can be and all I see myself as is the creator of your world within, someone that wants to change the world

through the work that they're doing. And any time I try to go outside of that, I end up falling on my ass. And that's why, and again, for me, personally, maybe that's a good thing, right? That's what I'm hoping. That's the story I'm telling myself, but I'm so intrigued by people that can sort of parse that out and compartmentalize different segments of what they do. Yeah, I guess, you know, it boils down something real simple for me. You are what you do. You know, like they say, you are what you eat. I think you are what you do.

And, you know, if you're doing yoga, you're a yoga teacher. You don't have to be a master to do it. know if you're practicing yoga you're a yogi if you're running once you're you're a runner and i think too many people get hung up on the specifics of well i've got to do this every day or i have to be the best to be considered you know a runner or a jeweler or a candlestick maker whatever it is if i'm not the best i'm not a x and i'm like no it's just this is what i'm doing and not trying to tie it to my identity and saying okay yeah today we're we're going to do this We're going to do that. A little bit of connecting, a little bit of creativity.

So, I don't know, trying to fill my life with something from every bucket so that nothing, you know, I don't feel this void in my life. That's awesome. Let's help you keep doors open. Yeah. Really, really cool. So what that we have in the hopper now are you most excited about for next week or the week after? Yeah. So let's give a little sneak peek.

I got to tell you. I honestly think that some of the handful of ones we've got written on your phone are probably going to be better than the ones we've got right now. You know, obviously you mentioned rabbit hole earlier. I'd love to do something similar, you know, because we've got so many messages where you talk to where it's very clear. And when I was a kid, I think, is a unique perspective that, you know, I can't wait for that video to come out.

but I love the ones where it's not handed to you, where you've got to listen and really contemplate it because somebody can tell you what to do and it's not until you really hear it and internalize it that it's actionable. So, you know, I like some of those more... Figured out as you go type things. Yeah, figure it.

Well, yeah, the ones where you've really got to contemplate. I like those videos just because you see, sit on it and you think how it applies to your life, what message do I take from this? You know, and they're engaging. So I like those. I think there's a number of ideas we've got that'll really come through. But of the ones we've already shot, definitely when I was a kid. I'm very excited about that one.

I'm excited for that too, man. Yeah, so just for some context, because he talked a little bit about processes, you know, one of the things I do every day is I'll write a speech and record a speech, some type of spoken word and then we'll meet in the evening and kind of go over what is written and then out of the handful we have you know pick the ones one two or three that we think is is the best and would be the most captivating video and then you know zack starts laying down an idea for a storyboard and we start planning different ways to make it come to life so that's uh that's kind of the the process with this and uh in the beauty of me being here i mean this just wasn't a thing uh when you're long

distance. So it's really a treat for me. Let me tell you. Yeah, so I'd say shameless plug for ideas. If you've got ideas for videos for videos you want to see us shoot, I'll check through the comments and I'll put some bugs in his ear. So if you've got ideas for videos you want to come out, any of the ones that you really like that you'd like to see us emulate or a different twist on, leave a comment down below and I'll read it and I'll put that bug in at his ear. That's awesome. Yeah. And for those listening on the podcast where you can't leave a comment. What's your Instagram?

Zachary Kadoff? Yep, Zachary Kadoff. Zachary Kadoff or I'm on Instagram at I am Eddie Panero. And where do you want people to connect with you? Obviously there for Instagram. You're on unsplash, is Zachary Kadoff. Yeah, I'm on there too. You know, honestly, just through the channel, I'll be in the back.

Anytime you see Eddie in front of the camera, you'll see me holding it and moving behind them. You'll know there's a real cool dude on the other side. Well, I appreciate that. Usually I'm sweating carrying all that gear. Yeah. Eddie, step into the light. Yeah, no, I'm excited and appreciate everything you do and bring to the table and just make this channel better, man. And it was great to sit down and chat with you.

Sounds good. Thanks, Eddie. All right, guys. We'll see you tomorrow.