Just a Chat With

Known in the industry as "Heineken Jesus," Andrey Tyukavkin is one of the most inventive creative minds working today. As Global Executive Creative Director at Le Pub and Chief Innovation Officer & Founder of Le Garage—their global innovation and prototyping hub—he's led award-winning work for Heineken, Netflix, and Philips, racking up 70 Cannes Lions and over 232 creative awards to his name, ranking as the #3 Executive Creative Director at Cannes Lions 2022. He also speaks seven languages!In this episode, we explore the fascinating connection between neuroscience and creativity. Andrey opens up about his panic attacks, the "dead spot" in his brain, and the science that links an enlarged amygdala to creative genius. We discuss why the best ideas often come from brains that refuse to work in linear ways—and why being "a bit sick" might be exactly what the industry needs.We also dive into his approach to innovation: from The Closer (a bottle opener that shuts down your work apps) to The Boring Phone (a Nokia-inspired antidote to smartphone addiction), Andrey explains how prototyping physical objects in-house allows his team to move at speed and create campaigns that become instant PR stories.Plus: why he values engineering backgrounds over advertising experience, the danger of AI producing "perfectly average" results, and his advice to young creatives—"Fuck around and find out."Follow Andrey here:⁠Linkedin⁠⁠Instagram⁠—⁠Watch this episode on YouTube⁠—We’re a video podcast talking brand and creativity with the world’s best in class.Hosted by ⁠Andrew Dobbie⁠Sponsored by ⁠The One Club for Creativity⁠Powered by ⁠MadeBrave⁠Follow us:⁠Facebook⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Linkedin⁠Our website(s): ⁠https://justachatwith.com http://www.andrewdobbie.co.uk http://www.madebrave.com

In this episode of Just a Chat with, I sit down with architect and entrepreneur Danny Campbell, founder of Hoko Design and judge on BBC’s Scotland’s Home of the Year.We chat about building a business with purpose, the dangers of ego, and what happens when you scale too fast. Danny opens up about how near-burnout reshaped his views on success, why he swapped a Jaguar for Crocs, and how kindness—not competition—became his guiding principle.It’s a conversation about design, growth, and rediscovering what really matters—at work, at home, and in life.Key Takeaways:Ego is the enemy. Growth driven by ego leads to stress and instability. Purpose-driven growth lasts.Kindness scales. Doing good for others multiplies back—personally and professionally.Simplify to survive. Hoko shrank from 35 people to 10 and became more profitable and happier.Inside-out success. The best businesses start by getting the people and purpose right before the process.You don’t need more—just the right things. Letting go of material pressure creates mental freedom.Chapters00:00 Welcome Back and Introduction to Danny Campbell01:51 Incredible Journey: The McLean Brothers' Record-Breaking Row05:25 Reflections on Travel and Inspiration09:18 Finding Purpose and Passion in Work12:54 The Architecture of Home: A Unique Perspective17:41 Building a Team: The Importance of Complementary Skills21:57 Navigating Growth: Lessons from Scaling a Business26:41 Embracing Technology: The Role of AI in Architecture30:05 The Impact of Public Life: Balancing Work and Family34:20 Parenting in the Digital Age: Teaching Resilience39:38 The Future of Hoko: Vision and Growth StrategiesMore here: https://justachatwith.com/

In this episode, we sat down with Alex Dickens who is the Head of Brand at Grenade. Alex has been working for Grenade for the past eight years, starting out as their Junior Graphic Designer. Throughout this time, he has managed to build the Grenade brand into the award-winning, worldwide, explosive brand it is today. Listen on to find out how he managed to get the best out of his creative team and what the Grenade brand stands for beyond the product. Follow Alex here:LinkedinInstagram—Watch this episode on YouTube—We’re a video podcast talking brand and creativity with the world’s best in class.Hosted by Andrew DobbieSponsored by The One Club for CreativityPowered by MadeBraveFollow us:FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedinOur website: https://justachatwith.com

In this episode, we sat down with James Cross who is the Creative Director at BBC Creative. James joined the BBC in 2017, shortly after its inception. Since then, James has produced award-winning campaigns such as the Tokyo 2020, FIFA 2018 world cup and the ‘We know our place’ campaign celebrating women in sport. James got his start as a Copywriter, working with brands such as WKD, Domino’s and Harley-Davidson. Today, we discuss his transition from Copywriter to Creative Director, and how he manages to create such talented and distinctive creative work.  Follow James here:  Linkedin Website — Watch this episode on YouTube — We’re a video podcast talking brand and creativity with the world’s best in class. Hosted by Andrew Dobbie Sponsored by The One Club for Creativity Powered by MadeBrave Follow us: Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin Our website:  https://justachatwith.com

In this episode we sat down with Ndukwe Onuoha, an advertising copywriter, spoken word poet, and Creative Director at Oliver MEA which is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Over the course of his career, Ndukwe has created memorable communications in Nigeria and West Africa for brands like AB InBev, Uber, British Council, and Diageo's International Premium Spirits, amongst others.  Ndukwe describes himself as a “copywriter by day but a poet by design”, and you can listen to his second Spoken Word album, ‘Nwa Chukwu’, on all popular streaming platforms.  In 2020, Ndukwe was endorsed by Arts Council England for his work in poetry and moved to the UK with his family in 2021. He now lives in Derby with his wife and two children and continues to work on getting African stories told on the world stage.     Check out Ndukwe's work here Watch this episode on Youtube — We’re a video podcast talking brand and creativity with the world’s best in class. Hosted by Andrew Dobbie Sponsored by The One Club for Creativity Powered by MadeBrave Follow us: Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin Our website:  https://justachatwith.com

In this episode we sat down with the amazing Betty NFT, who is the co-founder and director of Deadfellaz - an NFT collection & community and you could say metaverse web 3.0 brand. The Deadfellaz collection of 10,000 NFTs sold out within 20 minutes of launch on the 13th September 2021, and has since traded over 46 million USD through NFTs. With a DeadFellaz token comes art, culture & community. And they are here for the love of art and the evolution of gamification, IP & NFT tech. They have big plans and focus on innovating within the NFT space & empowering their holders in creative ways. Betty’s role within Deadfellaz as one of the two co-founders (along with her husband and Deadfellaz illustrator Psych) who have handled everything from concept development, community engagement, and brand outreach to marketing, innovation, and experience design.  Betty is also co-Director of a creative production agency servicing AAA brands and corporations globally and has been in the industry for the last 11 years. Follow Betty here Check out DeadFellaz Watch this episode on Youtube — We’re a video podcast talking brand and creativity with the world’s best in class. Hosted by Andrew Dobbie   Sponsored by The One Club for Creativity Powered by MadeBrave Follow us:  Facebook  Instagram  Twitter  Linkedin Our website:  https://justachatwith.com

In this episode we sat down with the amazing Claude Silver who is the Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia which was founded by Gary Vaynerchuk and has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Singapore. With over 20 years of experience in positive psychology and leadership positions in brand strategy, Claude is nearly seven years into her current role at VaynerMedia where she oversees talent management, retention, L&D, coaching, people operations, recruitment, and especially culture for over 1000 people. Claude has a passion for creating spaces where people can thrive, and says her life purpose is “to be of joyful service and unlock emotional optimism in all” Claude is also the host of ‘Emotional Optimism: Living in the Silver Lining Podcast’, where she talks to guests about tapping into emotional optimism, and heart leadership. More about Claude here on her website Listen or subscribe to Claude's podcast Watch this episode on Youtube! — We’re a video podcast talking brand and creativity with the world’s best in class. Hosted by Andrew Dobbie   Sponsored by The One Club for Creativity Powered by MadeBrave Follow us:  Facebook  Instagram  Twitter  Linkedin Our website:  https://justachatwith.com

Season 3 has arrived! In this episode we sat down with Ashwin Chacko, aka, Whacko Chacko who is a multi-disciplinary illustrator, designer, hand-letterer, and motivational speaker living and working in Dublin. Working 12 years now as a solopreneur, Ashwin has worked with clients such as Facebook, Adobe, Nike, Puma, United Nations, and many more. Ashwin specialises in positive visual storytelling, helping businesses to connect with their audiences through illustration and design for advertising campaigns, products, packaging, editorials, children’s books and one-off commissions from around the world. With a passion for uncovering the social interactions that drive culture, Ashwin captures these moments in bold lines and shapes, focusing on a strong use of characters intermingled with typography and patterns. Ashwin describes his work as ‘positively playful’ influenced by contemporary culture rooted in his love for music, comics, tattoos and street art. Ashwin has also published several illustrative books, many of them for children. One called “Keep at It”  which  is full of inspiring quotes and insights Ashwin wishes he had at the start of his journey—so if you’re just starting out or even if you’ve been going for a long time, go check that out. Also if you have kids, the other books are brilliant! Growing up in an international boarding school at the foothills of the Himalayas in India, Ashwin says this has had a huge influence on his work over the years. He now lives with his wife, who is Irish, which prompted him to move to Ireland where they live with their three children. See more about Ashwin here. _ Watch this episode on Youtube! We’re a video podcast talking brand and creativity with the world’s best in class. Hosted by Andrew Dobbie   Sponsored by The One Club for Creativity Powered by MadeBrave Follow us:  Facebook  Instagram  Twitter  Linkedin Our website:  https://justachatwith.com

In this episode we sat down with Gavin Quirk who is the Head of Fulfillment Operations for Global Creative Production at Netflix. With nearly 20 years of experience in brand and marketing strategy, Gavin started his career in London with Diageo on the Graduate Development Scheme after graduating from the University of Strathclyde Business School here in Glasgow, Scotland.  While at Diageo Gavin held various Sales and Marketing roles including leading retail activation strategies in Sainsbury's stores across the UK and France and Brand Management roles for Guinness, Jose Cuervo and Three Barrels brandy.  After leaving Diageo, he moved to Disney where he led 360 brand campaign strategies for Studio releases across Live Action and Animated movies. This role eventually took him to Los Angeles where he held several Disney leadership positions in Marketing, Operations and Business Development.  In 2018, after almost 12 years at Disney, he moved to Netflix where he currently leads a team at the intersection of Marketing and Product whose core focus is the fulfilment of high-quality video, text and image assets for the global Netflix platforms. Born in Paisley, Gavin grew up on the Southside of Glasgow but eventually moved to the US in 2010, and now lives with his girlfriend and their dog Major in West Hollywood. Gavin is a big football fan (or Soccer, for our American friends) and most of his weekends consist of getting up at a ridiculous hour to watch the games happening here in Scotland.  Gavin still considers Glasgow to be his home despite not living here for 20 years, but plans to come back and visit soon—hopefully you’ll come visit us at MadeBrave as well! See more about Gavin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinquirk/ Give us a follow on our social channels: - https://www.facebook.com/JustaChatWith - https://www.instagram.com/JustAChatWith - https://twitter.com/justachatwith - https://www.linkedin.com/company/35615125/ Hosted by Andrew Dobbie. Powered by MadeBrave - http://www.madebrave.com

In this episode we sat down with Kevin Swanepoel who is the CEO at The One Club for Creativity, which is the world's foremost non-profit organisation recognising creative excellence in advertising and design. As CEO, Kevin leads ‘The One Show’ which is one of the most prestigious awards shows in the communications industry. He has also shaped the global brand of The One Club, providing leadership for its expansion into China and beyond. With 35 years’ experience in media and marketing in the creative industries, Kevin is a frequent speaker on current advertising trends, he has appeared on FOX, NBC and CBS and has also been published in Adweek, Advertising Age, Creativity and AdHoc. Kevin established ‘Creative Week’, the pre-eminent festival in New York which I attended two years ago for their Executive Creative Summit (which was amazing) - The festival celebrates the intersection of advertising, design, digital media and the arts. Kevin also travels and lectures frequently and is enthusiastically involved in advertising education and design throughout the world. See more about Kevin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinswanepoel/ Give us a follow on our social channels: - https://www.facebook.com/JustaChatWith - https://www.instagram.com/JustAChatWith - https://twitter.com/justachatwith - https://www.linkedin.com/company/35615125/ Hosted by Andrew Dobbie. Powered by MadeBrave - http://www.madebrave.com

In this episode we sat down with Kevin Pike who is an award-winning American film special effects supervisor, below the line talent agent, and screenwriting consultant, best-known for supervising the special effects on Back to the Future. He and his company FilmTrix Inc. were primarily responsible for construction of the film's iconic DeLorean time machine. Kevin got his start in film doing set construction for the movie Jaws, working with the Special Effects crew. Kevin then went on to work with several major studios for film, television, and commercials, working with directors such as Tim Burton, Wes Craven, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Zemeckis.  Kevin’s worked on several other iconic films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Last Starfighter, Fight Club, and Jurassic Park III. Kevin has earned nominations and awards including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects for the Amblin Television Production Earth 2 in 1995, a Clio Award for Best Special Effects on a Levi’s commercial directed by Michael Bay in 2000. He also received a BAFTA nomination, and was considered for Oscar nomination on Back to the Future.  Kevin has lectured at USC, UCLA, and Columbia College Hollywood as well as teaching Special Effects classes at the Academy of Art University. Additionally, Kevin has served as a Governor for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and on the Executive Committee for the Visual Effects Branch for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Kevin lives north of Los Angeles, California, where he manages his company,  Filmtrix, Inc.  He is a writer’s consultant and a story developer for studios and production entities, helping writers complete their scripts and advising them on how to pitch their written work to producers. See more of Kevin's work here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Pike Give us a follow on our social channels: - https://www.facebook.com/JustaChatWith - https://www.instagram.com/JustAChatWith - https://twitter.com/justachatwith - https://www.linkedin.com/company/35615125/ Hosted by Andrew Dobbie. Powered by MadeBrave - http://www.madebrave.com

In this episode we sat down with Darlene Vogel who is an actress well-known for her very first role as Spike, a member of Griff’s hoverboard gang in the movie Back to the Future 2.  Darlene got her start in New York City and has landed over 100 national commercials, including the ‘Milk does a body good’ campaign.  Darlene has been acting for over 35 years and has done numerous guest stars and Pilot work. She landed the series Pacific Blue in 1995, working on 88 episodes playing Officer Chris Kelly. She also played Melanie McIver in the “One Life to Live” soap opera.  Darlene has three recently-released thriller films including “The Spearhead Effect”, “Extracurricular Activities” and “Day 13”. She’s also had a few starring roles in movies made for Lifetime television including “Smuggling in Suburbia", “Dirty Teacher” and “Walking the Halls”. She’s also made guest appearances on Full House, Northern Exposure, Boy Meets World and CSI. Currently living just a mile from the beach in sunny Santa Monica California with her two children, Owen and Audrey, Darlene is an avid dog rescuer with 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 3 bearded dragons!  Watch the full video version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/justachatwith Give us a follow on our social channels: - https://www.facebook.com/JustaChatWith - https://www.instagram.com/JustAChatWith - https://twitter.com/justachatwith - https://www.linkedin.com/company/35615125/ Hosted by Andrew Dobbie | Founder, MadeBrave - http://www.madebrave.com