Meet Megan Rakos | Creative

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

Hi Megan, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Supay has been on a hiatus since February of this year, and it’s because of me. I have to take accountability and say that I completely failed my work-life balance. It started with a tiny pill that I haven’t been consistent with since I was diagnosed with cancer. At 21 years old I didn’t like anyone telling me I needed to do anything, learning the hard way was preferred. I’ve tested my body’s boundaries with the flux of side effects that occur when my levels are off-balance. My body responds in two major ways – it brings me into a frustrating realm of depression or an unsettling jittering bout of panic.

This journey has brought me to my knees while feeling like a selfish brat asking “why is this happening to me?” Part of the solution is right in front of me while others are climbing nail and tooth to reach theirs. I get stuck in a loop asking myself too many questions and I know it’s destructive to my mind. I’m learning how to plant seeds of consistency as I dive into a new chapter of taking care of myself.

One of my favorite hobbies is fishing off a jetty into the ocean. I can control where I walk, where I put my backpack down, where I place my bait…but the ocean controls the tide which is dictated by time and weather. I can be prepared with a perfectly baited hook but that doesn’t guarantee a fish.

Balance is ever-changing and finding peace in the unknown with a great deal of patience has really helped me. I have to move where the water takes me and create a sense of harmony as each new path appears. I feel like a complete hippie saying that but it feels right.

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

I haven’t been able to sit still in my profession. Before I graduated college I had 9 design/marketing internships. After college, I had multiple side jobs and full times positions but I always left at the 1-year mark. I wanted to find a company I could grow with until I realized there isn’t one out there for me. My search for stability started and I’ve held state or government graphic design jobs since. The security gave me time to create my own path that lead to Supay.

A lesson I hope to pass on is to show your true colors during the interview. I think most people want to fit in and become whoever our boss wants us to be but that was never practical for me. I didn’t like dressing up every day, I didn’t like holding my tongue or pretending to like to certain aspects of my job. As I evolved I was vocal and created my own mold for how I design and what works best for me.

Supay is a brand created by misfits searching for a glimpse of their identity. Sam and I were both born in Peru and adopted as newborns. Sam was raised in NYC and I was raised in the suburbs of MN. We have very indigenous features but only speak English as we were raised by white families. We’ve struggled with fitting in our whole life and decided to make an apparel brand showcasing our roots.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My itinerary would be pretty relaxed. If I had a week to bring my best friend around I would spend half of it in Manhattan and the other half in Long Island. In Manhattan, we’d have to get a bagel and cream cheese from a local shop, a slice of pie from Freddy and Peppers, and a funfetti cookie from Schmackarys…all in the first 3 hours :)! I’d want to show them all my favorite restaurant’s witch is defiantly transitioning into new places since I started removing all animal products from my diet. There’s a lot of restaurants that have plant-based meals on their menu so I’m not too limited around the city! I’d take them for a bike ride along the Hudson River down around the tip of the city and stop at Pier 17 for a beautiful view of the Brooklyn Bridge and grab a mango margarita. Another favorite place of mine is the High Line. I love it because of the grass. I really miss dirt, trees, plants, and weirdly enough, bugs, from Minnesota! It’s a refreshing slice of nature and artwork inside the dense concrete jungle. I’d have to swing by Brooklyn to visit a few of my sweetest friends as well. Ultimately, I’d see where the day takes us, that’s my favorite part about NYC – you never know where you’ll end up. For the other half of the week, I’d take them to Long Island to rent a cute house on the beach. We’d get our backpacks ready with pliers, sunscreen, snack, go pros, fill our camelbacks, load up on bait and set our alarm clocks for 4 am. I’d love to wake up every day and find a new place to fish from or even head onto a party boat and fish deep in the ocean. I can’t get enough of being outside and would find my favorite sandbank to camp on for the night. I love NYC because so many things are at your fingertips. You can feel on top of the world while touring a skyscraper, the next moment you’re racing around a speed boat at the bottom of the statue of liberty, and in less than an hour, you could be relaxing on a beach.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have two sets of parents who went through hell for me so I do like to acknowledge them when I can. It took a lot of bravery for my birth parents to send me, a tiny newborn, to the unknown lands of America. It took my adoptive family a lot of grit to keep up with raising an incredibly stubborn and witty child.

I’d also like to shout out Sammy Herscher! He has one hell of a heart to choose me at 13 years old, a spicy Peruvian chili pepper, to be a part of his dream. Life grabbed hold of us and threw us in opposite directions many times throughout 17 years of friendship. Sam’s vision was grand, it felt impractical, it sounded crazy and I ran from him for a long time but it came true. I booked a 1 way ticket to NYC, packed 2 suitcases, and I belived in the dream. We’ve put in a lot of time and effort into studying the dynamic energy of each other and have created a consistent balance among ourselves.

The following quote is something Sam said recently. It’s a quote about the ocean but I relate it to the unknowns of life and it helps me keep myself accountable. “The ocean is so beautiful yet incredibly powerful. Keep your body aware of the surroundings such as rocks and when you feel the current, be mindful because the second you drop your guard the ocean won’t hesitate to take you. Respect the ocean.” -SLH

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