Meet Brian Thuok: Director, Designer, & Creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Thuok and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
For me, risk taking translates to creating your own opportunities: not taking the safe road in hopes of better results. I’ve always felt an urge to break out of the norm to find something of my own. Whether it was deciding to leave a comfortable job to create something new or investing in my own creative projects, I’ve always sought to create opportunities that wouldn’t have otherwise been handed to me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Like most creatives today, my art and skillset is a mish-moshed amalgamation of my interests and experiences. I’ll spare you a multi-hyphenate title (hip hop dancer/spiritual healer/bud tender). In simplest terms, I am a creative that works in commercial video and design. My passion in music and animated films led me on the path to pursue traditional animation, but I (totally) sucked at drawing and lacked the disipline to apply to art school. For some godforsaken reason, I got an English degree. I know. So useful. Eventually, I wandered in commercial design, motion graphics, and video production. I have been lucky to work for some of the biggest brands in entertainment. Learning how to design, produce, and solve creative problems — all on the job. It was incredibly hard, learning in the trenches of deadline driven production.The best way to grow quickly is trial by fire. Oh boy, was there fire. I have since started to develop original material using all the skills I’ve picked up working on commercial content. Being able to conceptualize, write, design, and actualize my ideas has been monumental for my work. I guess that English degree came in handy!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh, gosh. LA is vast and wide – it’s sprawling and you will never get to everything that makes LA wonderful. I’d say: San Gabriel Valley and East LA for all the best Asian and Latino food. Downtown LA/Arts District/Little Tokyo for bars. Malibu for the beaches. Homestate in Highland Park is a must for breakfast tacos. Los Feliz for chic eateries and coffee. 3rd street and Fairfax for brunch. DISNEYLAND. Just whatever you do: don’t, I repeat DON’T stay in Hollywood. It’s totally not like the movies. I could fill a whole article as a native Angelino, but that’s a start : )

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
If there was ever a person on this Earth who set me up for success, it would have to be my mom. She fled a war torn country and worked her way up from nothing so we could have an amazing life. She’s fueled my interest to become a creative from day one: enrolling me in art classes, showing me classic movies, and coming to watch all my shitty bands play. Anything I did, she wanted me execute with confidence. She’s always been my #1 fan and I will always be grateful for her love and support.

Website: New Site Coming Soon!
Instagram: @orphanwidow @hunnietrap
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-thuok-88577a13/