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

Hi Justin, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Learning your audience. Serve them but don’t pander to them. Authenticity is everything in this day and age and is more-often-than-not the difference between success and failure. Find the niche’s, see what makes them tick, because those are the ones that are going to influence the mainstream.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

In any career, if you ever want to do it right, you have to put the work in. I love to learn, and that’s helped me in all my facets of life. When your job is to provide a piece of art (music) or sell a product (advertising), the core can see right through the B.S.

You have to ask yourself “Do you really want to do this?” and if the answer is yes, you already know there’s no point in doing anything unless you can fully commit and be the best you can be at it. I totally didn’t mean to make that an “army” slogan.

I’ve jumped around between music and advertising, both careers that are extremely draining on your mental health…but those big wins kinda make it all worth it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Being an adult and hanging out at Disneyland isn’t cool. Sorry.

With that said, let’s talk about food. Honestly just exploring non-tourist parts of the city are great for Mexican food, whether it’s a pop-up off a main street or a taco truck. With that said, In-N-Out is a staple. If you don’t like In-N-Out, you just don’t like burgers, plain and simple. Go to In N Out. Some other great spots are:

In-N-Out (everywhere) – animal style w/ whole grilled plus chopped chilis.
Mi Corazon (Silverlake) – organic mexican with incredible decor and ambiance.
Main Chick (Long Beach / Culver City) – incredible Nashville meets Korean hot chicken sammies.
Fat Dog (NoHo) – Food is good, the drinks are great. Try “Walk In The Park” or the fat drink of the day.
Firefly (Studio City) – One of my favorite spots. Bar has an old-study decor whilst the restaurant is open air. The entrance is somewhat hidden in the wall, too.
Pho So 1 (Van Nuys) – No frills, no nice decor, community seating, loud….but some of the best pho in LA.
Son of A Gun (Beverly Hills) – One of the best chicken sandwiches ever made. I said it.
Killer Shrimp (Marina Del Rey) – If you like fishing shrimp out of a hot broth using french bread, you’ll be in heaven.
Vegan Street Food Festival (NoHo) – Every sunday in North Hollywood some of the best vegan food trucks gather for some tasty eats. Def worth it, even if you’re not vegan.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Fern Espinoza, my old Creative Director at Microsoft Xbox taught my how to think differently about digital/social advertising and use it in a way to gain trust whilst progressing gaming culture as a whole. I owe a lot of my success to him taking a chance on me.

Website: http://www.justinwhitesel.com

Instagram: @justinismoodyx

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwhitesel

Twitter: @justinismoodyx

Image Credits
Justin Shoots Moods, Shaun Lang, Matt Marcheski, Microsoft Xbox, Facebook / Oculus Gaming, Call of Duty League, Riot Night (Arizona), Charles Kallaghan Masabo

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