Aces Interview: Ray Page
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In the social media & tech scene here in Seattle, there are people who are at every meetup, Ignite talk, SMC event and more. Then there are others you never see, because their job has them being a full-time badass here, there and around the country.
Ray Page is the latter. Like so many others, I met him on Twitter and then in real life over happy hour with our dear friend Carrie. All I remember was laughing as hard as I've ever laughed before at the most random jokes the three of us were telling each other. Getting to know Ray since then has shown me he is every bit as creative, curious and passionate as he is hilarious. Anyone that knows Ray knows that he's incredibly fucking good at what he does (he's executive creative director of POSSIBLE's Seattle office.) I am personally grateful to Ray for believing in my future. He was one of the most instrumental figures in helping me find the confidence to pursue my dreams. Read on to see what inspires him:
What's on your playlist right now?
Del the Funky Homosapien
Kitten
The National
Pavarotti
Biggie Smalls
Nas
Daft Punk
Wu-Tang
Rufus Wainwright
Dinosaur Jr
The Cure
& The Smiths.
At any given time, these get me through the week. However, when I need to crank out a presentation deck or ideate around a concept, it’s continuous hip hop every single time.
Describe your style.
Understated, with clean lines. Simple, with mostly solids. I’m a sucker for details, so moods of norway, scotch & soda and nau are my sweet spots. I will never wear pants that resemble salt water taffy. Men, please stop that.
Who inspires you?
I have many, but they have shared traits.
I’m inspired by individuals who fearlessly pursue their passion.
The extremists. The makers. The ones who live without balance. The ones who go against the grain without any other objective except to be the best at what they do. The ones who are motivated only by their internal dialog and not by financial gain, awards or recognition.
Great dads inspire me. The ones who blossomed as people because of their kids. Those that get giddy recounting weekend stories with their children. Yeah, those guys.
What are you reading?
I mostly stick to industry publications; Monocle, Contagious, IDEA, CommArts and various websites. I’m currently reading Present Shock by Douglas Rushkoff, where he introduces the phenomenon of presentism. He shares thoughts around how the “future” we used to talk about pre-Y2K is happening now. And, frankly, how we’re not hard-wired to deal with living in the present. It impacts global economics, social economics and everything in between.
The next book in the cue is Finding Ultra by Rich Roll. He’s the epitome of one of the inspirational types described above. An extremist, who in 5 years went from an overweight middle aged man, to one of Men’s Health Magazine’s top 25 most fit men in the world.
What are you most excited about in the coming months?
My 6 year old daughter choses not to pick a favorite of anything. She loves too many things. So, I’ll take her lead and mention all the things I’m excited about in the coming months.
Summer in Seattle. Zanny. The final episodes of Breaking Bad. Decatur. My daughter’s dance recital. Home renovations. raygr. Continued badassery the creative department produces. Dinner with friends. The Perfect Bite. Tennis lessons / tournaments.
Thank you!
Read all of my Aces interviews here.
