Meet Jamie (Jay) neale | Director / Choreographer / Creative / Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jamie (Jay) neale and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jamie (Jay), what is the most important factor behind your success?
I am very lucky and also have been extremely persistent in my interests throughout my life. Of course, some may say luck, others may say “you make your own luck.” However, I truly believe it’s a mixture of putting yourself in the right spaces to increase your chances of “luck,” and then combining it with sheer hard work and perseverance. I would say my training didn’t teach me skills but more so how to think. A mindset. A lot of people, creatives, artists, business entrepreneurs and so on, come out of training with a set of skills rather than a way of looking at the world around you. I feel like the world is constantly shifting and evolving – and it really is – so you need to be agile, move with the times and understand what culture and people want. Understanding people is the single biggest piece of advice I would give to others. Knowing yourself and knowing how to communicate with others will ultimately help you organically move through life. It will enrichen your relationships with people and I think this is what being alive is really all about. Yes, we want to create great work and forge “success” but connecting to ourselves and others around us is what matters in the end, because time is short and the older we get the more we understand what’s important and that we are all beings trying to get by happily.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I like to do a lot of things. As a director, choreographer, creative and entrepreneur, it’s sometimes tricky to understand your identity because you love creating and making as equally as you love business and building teams, but society often demands you to “pick one.” So what do you do? In my own mind, everything connects. An incredible book I read recently is called “Connect The Dots,’ which explains that everything in your life – skills, people, and mistakes – all connects down the road, and only when you look back can you see that the unique way you visualize, your taste, and the relationships you have made, are all shaped by a mixed experience; the present version of you almost requires you not to choose but to carry on doing everything exactly as you’re doing it. That’s what sets me apart from others. In fact that whole mindset was ignited way back, when I studied at an arts school called Rambert in the UK. It was there that I learned how to use my mind and how to see things differently. It taught me how you can take one thing and recreate it into something new. How everything connects. This has been the gift of my life. The way I see the world and its connections has led me to the position I am in now, working with incredible brands and artists such as Nike, Paul Smith, Jimmy Choo, H&M, Nicholas Kirkwood, A Cold Wall, Vivienne Westwood, HBO, Puma, Adidas, Years & Years, George Ezra and London Grammar, as well as being part of the creative team for the hit TV film “My Dinner With Herve,” which was Emmy nominated for outstanding television movie, and winner of a UKMVA award for Best Pop Newcomer with the artist Ashnikko.
I work with international brands, clients, filmmakers, musicians and artists as well as building my companies. The companies are a mix of entertainment and tech, with a keen area of interest in NFT’s and web3, which is the future of how we will connect. It’s a rerun of the dot.com era when websites and e-commerce took off back in the 90’s and 2000’s. History repeats itself and it’s exciting to be part of the community which is driving and innovating what will become our future.
My life up to this point has created the opportunities to learn a multitude of skills, which now I am able to see perfectly fit together. The overarching theme to my work is that my interest lies in connecting people who are brilliant at what they do and telling the right stories; seeing it from a zoomed-out perspective to connect the dots and make those introductions and relationships happen. Relationship building is a huge part of who I am. I have never been one to stick to one social group. Even when I was at school, everyone knew who I was as I really enjoyed mixing with different energies and crowds. Only now do I understand this is my superpower and how to use it. Back then I often questioned why I didn’t have one community I identified with. Now that I am older, and looking at where I am now, I see how my path has led me to this moment to harness those communication skills and understanding of different social groups.

It is, in fact, this quest to understand people and one’s self which led me into a deep discovery of what self-awareness is, so much so that I started a podcast called “360 Yourself’ available on all major listening platforms including Spotify and Apple podcasts:

“360 Yourself!” is aimed at speaking to brilliant unique minds about how they fundamentally move around their life with the awareness to be influenced by all around them, and how they are able to connect to themselves. We ask our guests: how do they understand themselves first before adventuring and exploring their space around them? We speak to everyone from actors such as Jamie Campbell Bower (Playing Vecna – Stranger Things), to authors including Deborah Copaken (one of the writers of Emily in Paris) to CEO’s, musicians, sleep doctors, artists, marketers, founders, directors, writers, casing directors, you name it. If you have a deep desire to understand yourself more, then listen to the show weekly. Every Sunday 12pm GMT.

I am voraciously stimulated by learning and growing all the time. I have certainly made some questionable mistakes in my time as I’ve been growing, but that’s all part of growth.
In terms of the lessons I have learned, firstly, there is always time for rest. You can’t function if your body, mind and soul is weak. There is a thing called “balance” and you must honour it. Secondly, kindness will get you everywhere, no matter who is it, your local barista, client, neighbor or salesman. Everyone you encounter you can show love and kindness to. I know there are times when anxiety and life “gets you down,” but time is short and you have no idea how much of an impact you can truly make in your localized space. Thirdly, relationships are everything. You can’t have a healthy, “successful” life without having enriching relationships. No one ever works alone. Life is all about enjoying those moments with other people. Cherish those relationships like a plant, and if you aren’t great at watering plants, I’d suggest to learn how to. A plant, I have learned (and I have many plants), is very similar to a relationship or connection. You must tend to it. You must listen to what it needs. You must water it for it to grow. You can’t simply expect it to thrive, it’s a give and take. All deep connections require the same attention. And finally, everyone is human. I think when you enter the world you believe that professional people with titles are “unreachable” and that they are these unobtainable humans. Honestly, they are the same as you or I. The same worries, the same insecurities, the same doubts. What grounded me and made me feel more comfortable in conversations and building relationships is just talking “human.” We all go through the same things in life, granted others may sometimes have a more colorful life, but finding that relatability will set the foundations to find deeper connections in what it is to be here right now. A Human.

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.
Los Angeles is incredible, you can always find me at the new Soho House on Holloway Avenue. They’re beautiful rooftop is where I spend most of my evenings, looking out to LA thinking of what can be achieved and how lucky I am to be here in West Hollywood. However I have to be honest, travel is one of my life’s delights! I love to travel, try new food, and see how others live. One of my favorite spots is Barcelona in Spain. The seafood, coffee, culture, people, architecture, and liveliness is everything to me. I could honestly live there. The way they live their life could be a lesson to all of us, they live life to enjoy. Another place that’s very dear to my heart is the Cotsworld’s in the United Kingdom. It’s quiet, peaceful, charming, essentially a real-life “The Holiday,” which if you haven’t seen it, stars Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black – and also happens to be one of my favorite films at Christmas.
There are so many places I have visited that I would love to share with someone. I personally think that everyone in their lifetime should visit Egypt. I went when I was younger with my family down into the tombs, and across the deserts on 4-wheeled motorbikes; absolutely one of my fondest memories of traveling. The way the ancient Egyptians lived their lives, how industrial they were, astounds me. I find it fascinating that even to this day we still haven’t understood their motives nor the engineering of how they constructed the pyramids.

If I had all the money in the world, and we only had a week, we would fly from Los Angeles to Sydney (cruise around there and Bondi beach), fly out to Bali (enjoying the simplest of things like nature) then on to Egypt (to explore history at its finest) and finally finish off in Barcelona, Spain, to literally do nothing and relax. In reality of course the time zone differences and travel durations wouldn’t work, but in my imagination that’s what we’d do.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Where do I start! Firstly my childhood school teacher who recently passed away, Dr. Alan Kent, who headed up my drama department. He encouraged me, pushed me and, most importantly, believed in my talent and skills to give me those big breaks. A huge part of gratitude for success comes in understanding the people who were put in your life to learn from and give you opportunities. That word is tossed around by quite a fair few, “I just want someone to give me an opportunity” – I have used it a fair few times myself – and then what happened is either the opportunity found me or I created one. I believe there’s a fine balance between putting yourself in line for those opportunities and going out to make them enter your sphere yourself. A stellar group, whom I certainly wouldn’t be here without, are my family – my mum, dad, and sister, Charlotte – who have sacrificed so much for me being here, financially, time, effort, love, and patience, all whilst I figure out life, and meander through. They have given me so much and, as I grow my own family in the near future, my greatest wish is that I want to give as much love and support as they do. Indeed, there’s that feeling when you meet that one person who pushes you to a new level, to unlock a new self-awareness, that person is SUKKI. She has radically supported and encouraged me as a being that is ever growing. Without a tight support network of your closest friends, life can be tricky. But the support and love from them will help you endure when times get rough at sea. I am lucky to have many close friends dotted all around the world.

An organization I want to say thank you for existing is Soho House Group. Those who know me know how much I love people and connecting. Soho House has been my second home for a long time. It has gifted me the most beautiful relationships, many of which have come from chance meetings, and is indeed a testament to the community and space they cultivate. It’s such a special place and I truly love being there, which is one of the biggest drivers for me continuing to support and encourage so many to join.

A book which very much changed the way I view life, especially in identifying and changing my toxic over productivity in terms of my work ethic when I was younger, is ‘Late Bloomers.’ It’s a fantastic read, and discusses how we bring about success by slowing down to really work on the craft and the process. Only recently have I noticed that I was in a race with myself to be better every day, but not in the most positive of ways. Now I take joy in learning at a steady pace and am mindful of taking moments to quieten my mind when it lashes out at me to “be more productive.” Another fab book I really love is ‘Find Your Why’ by Simon Sinek, who describes understanding and questioning what our purpose is. Why do we do the things we do? I know I’ve spent many times doing things I think I should have done, or doing things I didn’t want to do, because it looked “great.” Now I am acutely aware of my time, and how much I have to focus on the things that are worth my time, and give myself time to figure those out.

Website: www.jamie-neale.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamienealejn/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-neale-24173b59/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieNeale4

Other: 360 Yourself Podcast Show: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GbDCz80x8w4A5MuSq9JfB?si=30e0be91e4ff4501 360 Yourself Podcast Show linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/360-yourself/?viewAsMember=true

Image Credits
Jason Renaud Carlotta Guerrero Durimel Julia Noni Tom Grennan