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

Hi Charlie, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
I heard this great joke once. “How do you make God laugh?” And while I’m not particularly religious, the answer has always resonated with me: “Tell him your plan.” So while I have an end goal in mind, I’m well aware that it is an ambiguous target, and the whole process of working towards it is why I’m here… But, since you asked, my end goal is to succeed so massively as a human being that my efforts toward goodness ripple across generations of humanity and bend the arch of existence dramatically toward enlightenment.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

That’s a GREAT question, and I can thank my friend Ian Hotchkis for giving me the easy answer to this! Ian is a brilliant filmmaker and a Creative Director at Sonic Gods, the media company I have worked at for the last few years. Ian recently sent me a text that said I have a “really amazing gift to generate and articulate ideas so quickly.” So big shoutout to Ian because that is bafflingly humbling to hear from someone I immensely admire. But I do think that’s what sets me apart.

I’m not sure how this happened, but on at least six occasions, I have been dubbed “The Idea Guy.” At one point, I even thought about branding myself with something like “Charlie Forray – The Idea Guy!” but that felt a little too verbose, even for me. However, I pride myself on the speed at which I can come up with clear ideas and then put them into action. I think many artists possess this skill, but the practice of refining ideas into action items, bulleted lists, and summaries sets my work apart. I probably get that skills from my mom, so shoutout to MOM!

This was not an easy skill to learn, though… I am not fastidious by nature. But, I identified early in my career that I had a significant amount of raw ideation ability, and if I could harness it, I’d be an idea machine.

“Charlie Forray – Idea Machine” is also a good name for a personal brand.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A great house party in LA is unbeatable, so ultimately, we’d end up there. I’m sure this is the case in many major cities, but a Hollywood house party has an energy unlike any other because of the entertainment industry. I also LOVE people, so if a friend comes into town, I will always encourage them to go to a party with me. Because then I get to introduce them to my other friends, and they, in turn, have more people in this world who have their back. Plus, the star power of an LA house party is legit. You can fall into a conversation with a celebrity you’ve spent your whole life admiring, and nine times out of ten, they live up to the hype. Significantly few times have I interacted with a celeb who hasn’t been an intensely dynamic, present, and giving conversationalist. Everyone has a unique worldview, passions, fears, hopes, and dreams and is on their spiritual journey. Screw the saying, “never meet your heroes.”

You should try to meet all of them; humans are dope; get to know as many as possible.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Quickly and without hesitation, the answer is my wife, Ellie. She’s my best friend; she helped me quit a nearly decade-long addiction to cigarettes, she grows with me in every way, and I owe so much of my success to having her as my teammate.

Professionally, I’ve also been fortunate to have “Friend-tors.” These professional creatives are usually farther along in their career than me but take me on as an employee or creative consultant and then grow alongside me. To quickly name a few: Zane Lamprey, Gil Nevo, Chris Hayman, Michelle Delamor, Michael Roud, and Giorgio Sease. Google each of these people, and I guarantee you will advance your career just by inspecting theirs. They’re all fantastic, and I’m beyond lucky to have worked with each of them.

Instagram: @charlieforray

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-forray-84591429

Image Credits
Michael Roud (Main Photo)

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