Latest / Crafted Connections / EP 4: The Power of Creativity, Resilience, and Community with Mike Lee

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EP 4: The Power of Creativity, Resilience, and Community with Mike Lee · Crafted Connections

• 0:04
  Katelyn: Hello, welcome to Crafted Connections.
• 0:07
  Katelyn: I'm Katelyn Calhoun, and this is a podcast all about storytelling and building genuine community.
• 0:12
  Katelyn: Here we'll dive into the art of storytelling, unpack strategies for making meaningful connections, and hear from incredible humans who are using their story to create impact.
• 0:22
  Katelyn: So grab your favorite beverage, settle in, and let's craft some connections.
• 0:27
  Katelyn: Hello and welcome back to Crafted Connections.
• 0:32
  Katelyn: I'm so happy you're here.
• 0:34
  Katelyn: I'm so excited to share this conversation with my good buddy Mike Lee today on the show.
• 0:40
  Katelyn: Mike Lee of Mike Lee Productions is a videographer, photographer, creative human, endurance runner, and a community builder.
• 0:49
  Katelyn: And we talk about all that in today's episode.
• 0:51
  Katelyn: So I don't think we should wait any longer.
• 0:53
  Katelyn: I think we should jump in.
• 0:54
  Katelyn: Y'all can get to know him through his own words.
• 0:57
  Katelyn: So again, thanks for joining and let's go.
• 1:01
  Katelyn: Mike Lee in the virtual flesh.
• 1:07
  Katelyn: Thank you for being on the Crafted Connections podcast.
• 1:09
  Katelyn: How are you today?
• 1:11
  Mike: Of course.
• 1:11
  Mike: Happy to be here.
• 1:12
  Mike: You know, the sun is out as of now, but it's also a little bit cold, but it's April Fool's.
• 1:18
  Mike: So maybe the weather is just, you know, pulling a little prank on us, hopefully.
• 1:23
  Katelyn: Yeah.
• 1:23
  Katelyn: Uh we are recording this on April Fool's Day, and it is no joke about how wonderful of a human you are.
• 1:29
  Katelyn: And I'm really excited to dive into your story.
• 1:31
  Mike: Thank you.
• 1:31
  Mike: Yeah, happy to happy to virtually be here.
• 1:34
  Katelyn: I love it.
• 1:35
  Katelyn: I love it.
• 1:35
  Katelyn: Uh, I know we need to get uh together in real life very soon.
• 1:38
  Katelyn: But for now, this is what we have.
• 1:39
  Katelyn: So for the listeners, let's just kick it off with can you tell us a little bit about yourself in your own words?
• 1:44
  Mike: So I am an entrepreneur.
• 1:48
  Mike: Uh I run my own like freelance video photo business uh now, like kind of film photography as well.
• 1:56
  Mike: I would say like very just passionate about like different hobbies.
• 1:59
  Mike: And if I could do the things that I love for a living, like I feel like I'm gonna be like the happiest man.
• 2:05
  Mike: I'm also a huge marathon runner.
• 2:07
  Mike: Uh that I think is like the fuel of my entrepreneurship and like my like like creative spirit.
• 2:14
  Mike: So everything kind of goes hand in hand with me and just kind of finding a lot more intersectionalities in like my personal uh goals and also like business.
• 2:23
  Mike: That's kind of like a very short bio, I guess, uh, but happy to kind of dive in more.
• 2:29
  Katelyn: Right.
• 2:29
  Katelyn: And I I think to just kind of reiterate that one thing that we've really connected over over the years is being multifaceted, but those things that you're interested in are interlinking.
• 2:41
  Katelyn: We both have experience or worked in the in the video industry, uh, and we both, you know, enjoy a good endurance run.
• 2:49
  Katelyn: And I have found personally with my editing background that frame by frame, step by step, is very cohesive.
• 2:56
  Katelyn: And again, again in the business world, right?
• 2:57
  Katelyn: In the in the like the mental capacity to not go job searching when you're like, oh, when are the clients' gonna come, kind of thing.
• 3:06
  Katelyn: And so that endurance, that that mental uh capability, it it all it really does carry throughout so many things. And when you have all these interests,
• 3:12
  Mike: and at the same time, it's like, yeah, we have so much intersectionality, and yet like these things just also don't define us as well.
• 3:21
  Mike: It's like, yes, like I'm a business owner, yes, like you know, and I'm I'm an entrepreneur, yes, I'm a marathoner.
• 3:27
  Mike: But at the end of the day, like I'm still Mike Lee.
• 3:29
  Mike: Like Mike Lee is a human being.
• 3:31
  Mike: Mike Lee isn't Mike Lee Productions, and it's just like that's not a defining characteristic of me.
• 3:39
  Mike: And like trying to find like the nice middle ground between those two.
• 3:44
  Katelyn: It's part of you, but it's not all of you.
• 3:47
  Mike: Correct.
• 3:47
  Mike: Yes.
• 3:48
  Katelyn: We've had great conversations, and I was actually even writing this morning about this the business versus the personal branding, right?
• 3:56
  Katelyn: And your business versus your personal story.
• 3:58
  Katelyn: And in your case, um, you know, you've got your name in it.
• 4:01
  Katelyn: And I recently closed my old business and opened a new business under my name, Calhoun Creative Consulting, right?
• 4:07
  Katelyn: But we talked about this gosh, back in like 2023 when I was leaning, I was considering leaning more into Katelyn's brand versus uh Teardrop Pictures was the old company.
• 4:17
  Katelyn: And and you know, and Teardrop had some love and we met when I was like at the height with Teardrop.
• 4:22
  Katelyn: So so it's almost like it, it it almost was a bit of a death to like to close that and and to kind of close that part of me.
• 4:29
  Katelyn: But I I'm curious about your thoughts on that, right?
• 4:31
  Katelyn: Because we can't wholly identify with with what we do because we are humans and there's so many aspects to us.
• 4:40
  Mike: Absolutely.
• 4:41
  Mike: And I I think when I started Mike Lee Productions, one of the pieces of advice that I had was don't put your name in it because like one day, like you might want to sell.
• 4:52
  Mike: And like I valued that, yes, but at the same time, like it is a part of me.
• 4:57
  Mike: Like that is kind of where I wanted to head.
• 5:01
  Mike: And before I even kind of knew it, like that was like I still wanted like that personality in like whatever I deliver.
• 5:09
  Mike: And now it just so happens to be the marketing like world is kind of shifting towards more of like that personal brand.
• 5:18
  Mike: You see CEOs stepping out, you know, in front of the camera all the time.
• 5:22
  Mike: You see their pages posting more personal things, and you see all of these so-called like influencers become CEOs, and like people are attached to personal stories, not just selling a product anymore.
• 5:36
  Mike: So that's why like I love having my name attached to it because it's like, yeah, you're not just working with the production, you're working with Mike Lee.
• 5:46
  Katelyn: No, I love that.
• 5:46
  Katelyn: And that was all ultimately why I ended up making the decision to close Teardrop and shift over to my new business.
• 5:53
  Katelyn: Was when I looked at it, I was like, everybody who loves Teardrop also loves Katelyn.
• 5:57
  Katelyn: And and so, like, I'm almost having to carry this thing and continually infuse like its own separate brand when it's like, what if we just lean into ourselves, what we love, you know, the people that know about Teardrop, they know about what I'm good at.
• 6:12
  Katelyn: So, like, it's okay not to carry it anymore.
• 6:14
  Katelyn: Now, this is getting a little bit too far away from you, and I want to back up a little bit and talk about the moment that we first met, because I think of it fondly, and you texted me this morning a picture of a Hubbard & Cravens coffee, and it just warms my heart because I almost forgot about how we met.
• 6:31
  Katelyn: And let me just give a little bit of background for folks, and then I'd love to hear your perspective as well.
• 6:35
  Katelyn: But essentially, I love Hubbard & Cravens, Indianapolis coffee shop.
• 6:40
  Katelyn: Uh, they've got several locations, but there's this one at 49th and Penn that I used to frequent so, so much.
• 6:47
  Katelyn: And our dear Mike Lee was at Butler University at the time and you know, would also frequent the shop.
• 6:54
  Katelyn: And I saw him at the shop, like with Premiere open, which is an editing software, with headphones on that are very editing-friendly headphones, with like a fun little like video logo stickered onto the headphones.
• 7:06
  Katelyn: And I'm like, that's a man who knows how to brand and knows how to produce good video.
• 7:10
  Katelyn: And, you know, as a networker, as someone who loves video, who loves story, I was like, I gotta introduce myself.
• 7:15
  Katelyn: And so I did.
• 7:16
  Katelyn: And and here we are, friendships three, three years later.
• 7:20
  Mike: Yeah, and the the most ironic and coincidental thing happened when you gave me your business card.
• 7:26
  Mike: I was like, Calhoun, Teardrop Pictures.
• 7:29
  Mike: I was like, at that time, like I wrapped up my internship at Indiana Humanities.
• 7:34
  Mike: Like, I was like, holy cow, like I've promoted this woman's like pieces of work.
• 7:40
  Mike: Like, I know who you are, I just haven't met you.
• 7:44
  Mike: And I just, you know, when you give someone your business card, that's usually like at the end of a conversation.
• 7:50
  Mike: So like I got that business card after words.
• 7:53
  Mike: I was like, oh my gosh, like I could have totally just told you, like, I've seen your work, I love your work, I'm inspired by it.
• 8:01
  Mike: And so like I immediately drafted up an email, right?
• 8:04
  Mike: And I was like, oh my gosh, like I I've I've been editing and like promoting your piece of work.
• 8:09
  Mike: Like, of course, like let's chat.
• 8:11
  Mike: Um, it's crazy that that is that long ago.
• 8:15
  Mike: It's been a minute.
• 8:17
  Katelyn: It has been a minute.
• 8:18
  Katelyn: I also just love, and I'm gonna swear because it's I'm very passionate about it.
• 8:23
  Katelyn: I love universe shit like that.
• 8:24
  Katelyn: I love these, like, who like we were interwoven uh already through through like our own networks, right?
• 8:31
  Katelyn: I was producing uh a grant-funded film at the time, and you were an intern at the grant funding organization Indiana Humanities, which we both love very much.
• 8:39
  Katelyn: And the people there, shout out, wonderful humans.
• 8:42
  Katelyn: Uh but yeah, no, we were like it it was honestly destiny to become friends and collaborators.
• 8:48
  Katelyn: And it was literally like it was served up on a platter.
• 8:51
  Katelyn: Uh, and you know, you get those like intuitive hits, and you're like, I just gotta say hi.
• 8:54
  Katelyn: And that was one of those moments for me.
• 8:56
  Katelyn: And so I'm so grateful that that we did that.
• 8:59
  Katelyn: And now, like it's so fun, you know, a few years later, I'm excited to to dive in.
• 9:04
  Katelyn: You have been a prolific human with your pursuits and your career and and what you're passionate about.
• 9:12
  Katelyn: So tell me about what you've been producing lately.
• 9:15
  Katelyn: Tell me about what you're excited about.
• 9:17
  Mike: I'm I'm flattered.
• 9:18
  Mike: Using like being described as a prolific human, uh like is is such an honor.
• 9:23
  Mike: I've just been really passionate about like doing the things that I love.
• 9:27
  Mike: I I think oftentimes when people get into like their own business, like they end up just, you know, yes, like you have to pay the bills.
• 9:37
  Mike: Yes, you have to, you know, take some jobs that sometimes you might not enjoy because you need the cash and it's like a means to an end.
• 9:45
  Mike: But at the same time, I'm like, man, like we're entrepreneurs, like you should really just lean into like what you want to be doing because being being your own boss is not easy.
• 9:56
  Mike: Like it really isn't.
• 9:58
  Mike: And if you don't love what you're doing or like what you're pushing out, like you're gonna get burnt out so fast.
• 10:05
  Mike: And we've all been there before.
• 10:07
  Mike: So all this is to say, like, this is you know my second year like being being um like my own boss.
• 10:14
  Mike: I'm really just leaning into like my personal uh like branding.
• 10:18
  Mike: Uh I hate saying branding because it's not branding, but it's just like preaching of like what I enjoy to do.
• 10:25
  Mike: Um, if you notice like all on my social media platforms, like I haven't posted client work since October.
• 10:32
  Mike: And now I'm like in this really fun space of like film photography, and like it grabbed a hold of me so fast.
• 10:42
  Mike: Um, just like analog, analog photography.
• 10:45
  Mike: Yes, like it's so expensive, it's so cumbersome, it's so, it's such a hassle.
• 10:51
  Mike: And I was like, wait a minute, like I love the delayed gratification of this.
• 10:55
  Mike: Um, I love creating and not being taken out of the moment.
• 10:59
  Mike: Um, I always hate like taking a photo or taking a video and then like immediately going to the playback button.
• 11:06
  Mike: It's like it takes you out of that moment of whatever you're capturing.
• 11:09
  Mike: And with film, you take a picture and you can't look at what you just produced.
• 11:14
  Mike: You just have to carry on and you know, not to get deep super fast, but like that's life.
• 11:20
  Mike: Like you just have to have such a short-term memory with it, and you just have to say, like, all right, on to the next frame.
• 11:26
  Mike: And it's not everything doesn't have to be instant, you know, and it's it's just such a beautiful platform and such a beautiful medium.
• 11:36
  Mike: Um, and I just really want to, you know, really lean into it this year.
• 11:39
  Katelyn: And that makes me really excited because the last time we worked together was uh last summer, and and you had not started touching analog yet.
• 11:46
  Katelyn: So it's really cool to see that blossom for you.
• 11:48
  Katelyn: And then I also love, like in a storytelling sense, right?
• 11:51
  Katelyn: That you you take a photo, you can't look at it right away.
• 11:54
  Katelyn: Cause as soon as we started getting like iPhones, iPads, like, and we could just take all the selfies, take all the pictures, you immediately check your face, you know, or you you check the check the shot.
• 12:03
  Katelyn: And especially like in our industry, you you want to do playback to make sure you get it right when there's there's like a level of excellence that you want to strive for.
• 12:10
  Katelyn: But it is kind of fun to have that mystery.
• 12:12
  Katelyn: Going back to the uh the thought around storytelling in that space of analog, uh, tell me about that experience of like you go, you do a thing, you take a picture, you kind of just let it go.
• 12:24
  Katelyn: And then does the memory and the story of your experience when you did that come back?
• 12:29
  Mike: Absolutely.
• 12:29
  Mike: So for context, so I started analog film um in December.
• 12:34
  Mike: So December one, and I am now about, you know, we're recording April 1.
• 12:41
  Mike: So I've shot about 40 rolls of film.
• 12:44
  Katelyn: That's already 10 rolls a month, basically.
• 12:47
  Mike: 10 roles a month.
• 12:48
  Mike: Um, and I don't want to calculate how much
• 12:50
  Katelyn: How many, like how many images are in each roll?
• 12:53
  Mike: So uh 30, 36.
• 12:55
  Mike: Yes.
• 12:56
  Mike: So it's a good chunk of imagery.
• 12:58
  Mike: Um, and I shot about 10 roles in uh Japan when I was over there, which is a whole other story.
• 13:05
  Mike: But when I got the film back, it it was just like I was there again, and it was, you know, just how I imagined it.
• 13:15
  Mike: There's something about like not necessarily editing uh your film photos, and like it's so pure, it's you know, it's what you capture, and it's you know, it's unforgiving in that way too.
• 13:26
  Mike: But that's just the beauty of it.
• 13:28
  Mike: Not to talk about like TSA too, like you have to get it hand-checked.
• 13:33
  Mike: It's such a pain asking for it, let alone with a language barrier too, with international travel, worrying about if they're going to listen.
• 13:42
  Mike: Um, and then, you know, yes, you shot 10 rolls, yes, you shot 360 photos in Japan, and you're leaving it up to a TSA agent to not x-ray it.
• 13:54
  Mike: That in itself is is so nerve-wracking.
• 13:58
  Mike: Uh, because if you x-ray film, it's it's it's toast, like it's gone.
• 14:04
  Mike: There's so many different things of it being a hassle that when you finally get the images back, you're like, wow, like this went through a journey to get developed, to get processed.
• 14:15
  Mike: And it's just been really rewarding.
• 14:17
  Mike: And I feel like it's been fueling my creative cup.
• 14:21
  Katelyn: I love that.
• 14:22
  Katelyn: You did you alluded to this very, very slightly in that story.
• 14:26
  Katelyn: Uh, you went to Japan recently and you did a lot of things, not just photography.
• 14:30
  Katelyn: So tell us about that and tell us about your recent travels.
• 14:32
  Katelyn: Like, it sounds like the last four months have been like quite uh quite jam-packed too.
• 14:37
  Mike: Yeah, I had the amazing opportunity to go to Japan to run the Tokyo Marathon.
• 14:43
  Mike: You know, I fundraised for the Japan Cancer Society.
• 14:47
  Mike: I was one of their runners, one of 35,000 that day.
• 14:50
  Mike: And it was just such a cool experience.
• 14:52
  Mike: I haven't been international for for quite some time.
• 14:56
  Mike: So this was like the first trip in a while.
• 14:58
  Mike: And my parents were able to make it out and support me, not only run, but also just explore, you know, a new place together, which was so, so great.
• 15:08
  Mike: I can't remember the last time I was with my parents for that long, you know, since high school, because I had siblings as well.
• 15:15
  Mike: Um, so just to spend, you know, a good week with them, traveling, exploring new things, um, exploring new food and just navigating, you know, um, everything that Japan has to offer with them was really beautiful.
• 15:28
  Mike: And then being, you know, me, I I made it a business opportunity too and partnered with organizations like We Don't Run from Adversity, which is a clothing brand here in Indianapolis.
• 15:41
  Mike: Shout out uh Mike and Gary.
• 15:43
  Mike: Uh they sent me some of their products to highlight while I was over there.
• 15:47
  Mike: Heartbreak Running Company as well sent me their Tokyo Marathon running kit.
• 15:52
  Mike: So I highlighted them while I was in, you know, just a new environment.
• 15:57
  Mike: And then also Roberts Camera.
• 15:59
  Mike: Um, all of these awesome partnerships and collaborations while I was over there.
• 16:04
  Mike: Um, and they just allowed like my trip to be amplified and just working with all three and at the same time running a marathon and exploring new city, like that is exactly what I want to be doing.
• 16:17
  Katelyn: That's super cool.
• 16:18
  Katelyn: And you know, I I do want to touch back on what you were saying with like, yes, like brand almost can feel like a dirty word sometimes because it's like overused, but I kind of always translate it to story and making sure that you're like sharing your story so that people know what you want to share and who you truly are, right?
• 16:37
  Katelyn: And and so as I'm hearing you talk about analog film, as I'm hearing you talk about your running, your travels, and then finding opportunities to like frankly support small businesses and businesses that you really, really align with, like I love that because it does.
• 16:53
  Katelyn: It's it's not just Mike Lee trying to like, you know, make a dime, but rather like how do we build something intersecting passions and really tell a cool story with like a community of people that I love.
• 17:07
  Katelyn: I'd love to transition into how you think storytelling builds community.
• 17:12
  Katelyn: I think something since we've met, I've seen you more and more lean into community.
• 17:16
  Katelyn: And so I'd love to know your thoughts on that experience.
• 17:19
  Mike: Absolutely.
• 17:20
  Mike: And, you know, one last one last touch point on those three brands is they all are community focused.
• 17:27
  Mike: They all want to help their local creators, their local community members uh when it comes down to it.
• 17:34
  Mike: And so it was such an organic conversation with all three of them.
• 17:38
  Mike: And it didn't feel like business, it wasn't transactional, uh, it just made sense.
• 17:43
  Mike: And like I think that's the best like marketing per se.
• 17:47
  Mike: But yeah, I've been really leaning into community as of late, a huge inspiration of mine.
• 17:53
  Mike: And I'm I'm so grateful to be working with him for the past year.
• 17:57
  Mike: But Patrick Armstrong, uh local podcaster and community advocate here in Indy, really leaning into community and really trying to, you know, make Indy a great place and a spot on the map.
• 18:09
  Mike: And he's just so selfless when it comes to it, just really serving the community, what what it needs, because a lot of times it's from you know, people that aren't necessarily in the community and he is in the thick of it.
• 18:22
  Mike: He he is, you know, a man of the people, um, and just like interviewing and getting down to like the nitty-gritty storytelling of community.
• 18:31
  Mike: And where I come in is just all the digital assets of his story.
• 18:37
  Mike: So I am just the instrument of his community building.
• 18:42
  Katelyn: Very cool.
• 18:42
  Katelyn: And in what ways have you taken that inspiration and kind of put it into your daily?
• 18:47
  Katelyn: Because I I know you're doing things, so I want to highlight those things as well.
• 18:50
  Katelyn: I've got so much to say about the power of like what Patrick does, right?
• 18:54
  Katelyn: In the sense of it's not necessarily about making Indy better, but it's like about recognizing the specialness that it already existing, like it already has, right?
• 19:03
  Katelyn: And then in that it makes it better, and then you have events and like other things to make it even better on top of that.
• 19:10
  Katelyn: And that's why I love storytelling, right?
• 19:13
  Katelyn: But then to speak to you working with him and like you amplifying what he's doing through your art and your craft, and then you being inspired to go out on your own and do community events.
• 19:25
  Katelyn: So tell me about some of the stuff you do in that regard.
• 19:28
  Mike: Yeah, it's it's such a great working relationship because of that.
• 19:32
  Mike: Um, and I truly think like it just takes a couple people to like start something.
• 19:37
  Mike: Community-oriented things are popping up a lot more, and at the same time, it's like we need to promote the crap out of them because if if the community members aren't going to do it, like who's going to?
• 19:50
  Mike: Um, and again, it's the people that are passionate about it.
• 19:54
  Mike: Creating a story about community and seeing like the progression of a community and telling the stories of people that don't necessarily get a platform all the time is really powerful.
• 20:07
  Mike: And like that's pure storytelling, no matter like if it's on a video or photo or you know, podcast or you name it.
• 20:15
  Mike: You know, I'm inspired by people of New York.
• 20:17
  Mike: Like that was way ahead of its time.
• 20:20
  Mike: And it's like if we could highlight just like, you know, average, I hate to say average because they're not average, but you know, just like a man on the street.
• 20:28
  Katelyn: What yeah, what's going on there?
• 20:30
  Katelyn: What's going on behind him?
• 20:31
  Katelyn: I'm I'm so deeply passionate about that.
• 20:34
  Katelyn: I do believe that like there is no such thing as an average person, right?
• 20:38
  Katelyn: We all have these like incredible stories that that just need to be surfaced, right?
• 20:43
  Katelyn: That just need to be like someone just needs to thread it out, ask a few questions.
• 20:46
  Katelyn: I think you made a great point in saying that like people who are like the foundation of community are are like working tirelessly to to get it there.
• 20:56
  Katelyn: Not very often are the is the light sh like shined, shone, graced upon them, but they are highlighted, right?
• 21:03
  Katelyn: It's not often they're highlighted.
• 21:04
  Katelyn: Yeah, and and to to highlight them is just such a good thing for communities.
• 21:10
  Mike: Yeah, and a rising tide, you know, lifts all ships.
• 21:13
  Mike: I think a lot of times competition, oh, everyone, everyone's my competition.
• 21:18
  Mike: I should, you know, like gatekeep a bunch of things.
• 21:20
  Mike: And it's and it's like, no, like if we share things, if we celebrate each other, like we're going to inherently be better.
• 21:29
  Mike: Um, and it's like that's why I love to collaborate, and that's why I love to share the wealth and to to really just see like everyone blossom because that's gonna inherently make me better.
• 21:41
  Mike: Yes, it's like I'm a competitive person in nature, but I'm like, okay, like if I see someone doing a cool thing, I'm like, all right, like if they're doing that, like I want to find my avenue.
• 21:52
  Mike: Like that inspires me to do, you know, what I'm passionate about.
• 21:57
  Mike: And same thing with community, it's a thankless job um but it's like if I could if I could tell their stories because who's who's gonna you know who's gonna remember that like 15 years down the line if there's not a video or photo or you know evidence of it.
• 22:14
  Katelyn: Documenting it's a big deal documenting it and then sharing it um makes such a great impact uh and I I just love that and I love that you I mean you've been involved in that work for I mean over a year now at least right year and a half
• 22:28
  Mike: yep yep yeah and just like if we want to talk about the photo walks that I've been hosting too and you know come come June hopefully it's gonna be the fourth iteration.
• 22:38
  Katelyn: Let's back up a little bit on that then.
• 22:39
  Katelyn: So yeah in in regards to like Mike Lee um kind of leading certain community events tell me a little bit about the photo walks that you've hosted in the past.
• 22:48
  Mike: Yeah it's inherently just an open invite to any creator whether you only have you know your phone or like a digital camera or like whatever you know camera you may have like just it's an open invite for anyone to show up and it's started just like meet on Monument Circle and let's just walk around and you know chat.
• 23:11
  Mike: Oftentimes creators are introverted they are shy but if you talk to them while they are doing something that they love, you know, it's such a natural conversation that way.
• 23:23
  Mike: So I really just wanted to lean into that community aspect too and I wanted to involve you know people like Robert's camera and people like a coffee shop different companies and organizations that see the value in creators and to bring them alongside and really just kind of create like one afternoon of different like spaces that people can go in.
• 23:47
  Mike: So like the third iteration we went to Robert's camera where you know creators can try different lenses, different cameras then we walked over to good neighbor which is a clothing company we did like model photography, flat light photography, highlighted their brand and then we walked over to Caffeine Coffee, which is a local coffee store and highlighting their drink menus there.
• 24:08
  Mike: So it's really just like all about breaking down the barriers for uh people to chat and then but also like bridging people to like if a creator wants to get into the coffee space.
• 24:19
  Mike: That's such a beautiful thing that I got to be a part of and kind of facilitate.
• 24:24
  Katelyn: There's a few things I want to like pull out from what you just shared.
• 24:27
  Katelyn: One, you are giving creators a space to meet each other to to like have a little bit of accountability to just play because I think often we are like monetize, monetize, monetize, and we lose doing it for fun uh not speaking from experience sarcastically definitely speaking from experience right uh so that's one thing it's great for the creators.
• 24:45
  Katelyn: Two, you are not only like highlighting in social media these smaller local businesses and like bringing them to light by like crazy tons of creators showing up highlighting things, tagging them so that like the marketing is insane, but you're also bringing 10 plus people I'm sure there's more but like let's just say 10 plus people to let's say a coffee shop on a Saturday that's gonna make their week like to bring that many more customers like they're not going and just taking photos like I'm sure you don't have to buy a coffee right but like when have I I personally have never been to a coffee shop and not gotten myself a little beverage treat.
• 25:21
  Katelyn: Right.
• 25:21
  Katelyn: So it's like so you're benefiting these businesses, these creators and you're building community.
• 25:27
  Katelyn: I know that you yourself have made crazy tons of friends through that experience and gotten have gotten closer, have like had collaborators.
• 25:33
  Katelyn: So you're you're feeding this creative ecosystem with those, right?
• 25:36
  Katelyn: And the thing is you've only done three and it's already shown amazing ripples and like that's the magic of small community work.
• 25:45
  Katelyn: It impacts individual lives and it's not just nobody's out here average and mediocre right it's so cool.
• 25:52
  Katelyn: It's so cool.
• 25:53
  Katelyn: And we are at this point the third photo walk we actually were worried about too many people showing up we had about 35 people show up and these spaces can't hold that many people that's amazing to have that problem.
• 26:10
  Katelyn: So you know the the fourth one I really hope as many people show up, but at the same time it's like man, I really hope we kind of have like a sweet spot of creators, but it's a great problem to have and this is just one day.
• 26:24
  Katelyn: I've been seeing shout out my friend, Lee - he hosts photo walks about every month and like a little bit more casually I don't want to take all the credit but I feel like I inspired him to you know have another creative outlet for the community.
• 26:41
  Katelyn: And like that's what it's all about just to inspire others to do their own thing and really just say like hey like I did what I'm inspired to do.
• 26:50
  Katelyn: Like now you should do the same because like if I could do it you could do it.
• 26:54
  Katelyn: It's like one of four or five different community things that I'm you know planning which is which is awesome to see.
• 27:02
  Katelyn: Oh it's gonna be a fun fun year and fun summer very cool.
• 27:06
  Katelyn: Hey friends - quick interruption to tell you about something I'm super super pumped about.
• 27:11
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• 27:20
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• 27:28
  Katelyn: Whether you're a business owner, a creative, or someone who just knows that your journey matters, Doc(YOU)mentary walks you through how to turn your experiences into something truly meaningful.
• 27:38
  Katelyn: The course officially drops next Thursday, April 17th, but if you want to be first in line, hop on the wait list now! The link is in the show notes.
• 27:47
  Katelyn: I cannot wait to see what you create. I believe that you produce very high quality work, right- we talked earlier about prolific, we've teamed up to put proposals in for clients, we got the gig, we produce work that that I'm personally very proud of and it's always lovely to to hand off the the filming portion right and not be a a one lady band if you will, uh, and so yes, to speak to that, with the pursuit of being prolific, how does the pursuit of excellence and keeping the quality fit in with all of that?
• 28:24
  Mike: Yeah, that I mean- I never, ever, want to sacrifice quality, like I think that in in granted there are spaces for iPhone content, there's spaces for for any piece of platform or medium that that you're filming on, but, like for me, what makes me special is like, I want to do this at the utmost quality, like, that is a non-negotiable of mine.
• 28:52
  Mike: So like very very rarely see you know me posting iPhone content.
• 28:57
  Mike: If I'm working with a client or you know organization, I want them to trust my work and like I want my work to speak for for myself at the end of the day like if you are hiring you know Mike Lee Productions you're going to get you know this gold level standard of quality.
• 29:15
  Mike: I I feel like that's the main stressor, um of a lot of organizations when they're hiring people it's like well, is the quality gonna be up to par and like to have that just solidified in in my you know name and branding and image is is again, me pursuing being a prolific human, like that, that's the first step.
• 29:38
  Katelyn: Totally.
• 29:38
  Katelyn: Now, for folks, like, how would you break down the the measurement of that?
• 29:45
  Katelyn: Like when you are looking at something and whether it be posting, or whether it be producing for a client, like how do you evaluate and balance making sure that that quality happens when being a human is not easy.
• 29:56
  Mike: Well, for starters, very, very, logistically ,like a lot of companies, they want to highlight their their work and events on social media and on website, and so how can we you know social media 9 by 16 horizontal for website, you know, 16 by 9 so it's like how can we get both you know mediums and both crop ratios at the same quality and so it's like I specialize in that doing vertical and horizontal video for the same event.
• 30:28
  Mike: And then I also um you know I've we briefly touched on it but hiring other people out to get the best quality.
• 30:38
  Mike: Yes it's like quality of cameras and you know resolution but also quality and I'm going to hire out folks, again, uplifting the community, and network of creators, to you know, outreach to people that, you know, might know something that I don't and that will bring something to the table that I don't necessarily.
• 30:58
  Katelyn: Absolutely.
• 30:59
  Katelyn: When you're evaluating what to hire out, like in my case, I consider myself stronger in story, and like, while yes, I can operate a camera better than your average human, I prefer not to, right?
• 31:09
  Katelyn: And so in that way, too, how do you kind of delegate that, how do you sort that out in your mind, um, what do you consider to be your strengths?
• 31:16
  Mike: Yeah, that's a great question.
• 31:18
  Mike: I love just like being on set.
• 31:20
  Mike: It's really hard for me not to do everything, but I know I can't do everything all the time.
• 31:25
  Mike: So, for an example, you know we're heading into May, one of my people that I work with is a 500 festival.
• 31:31
  Katelyn: For those who don't know, Indiana, Indy 500 it's a big thing I'm from Ohio originally and I found out very early on in my time in Indianapolis that it's basically like an extra holiday that Indiana gets.
• 31:43
  Mike: Yes, May is such a great month to be in Indianapolis.
• 31:46
  Mike: Uh, so the 500 festival they promote you know the race, but then also, you know the princess uh program the Indy mini marathon, the 500 festival parade, so, with all of these huge events, like I can't be at, you know, all the places all at once.
• 32:03
  Mike: So uh, let's take the Indy mini marathon, it's a uh 13 mile, you know, half marathon course.
• 32:10
  Mike: If I am, let's say, at the start and finish line, I need someone, like, in the course, you know, at mile, like, 8 or 9.
• 32:20
  Katelyn: Like you can run, but you can't run that fast.
• 32:23
  Mike: Exactly.
• 32:24
  Mike: I can't do that with all my camera gear as well, so like, delegating duties for for that or, you know, delegating a photographer because I feel like I'm more prolific in in video um and I want a like true photographer's eye for that.
• 32:41
  Mike: So speaking on the quality, too, if I am solely focused on the thing that I'm passionate about, I'm going to do the best work that I could possibly do because my brain is solely focused on video.
• 32:54
  Katelyn: I love that, I love that.
• 32:55
  Katelyn: Knowing yourself, knowing what you love to do.
• 32:58
  Katelyn: I, I do believe that there's something about when you're passionate about something, that it, it almost can make you better at it and does make you better at it.
• 33:06
  Katelyn: Like I think it's just inherent because you want to spend all your time on it and then therefore you think about it all the time and that obsession and passion turns into like greatness, right?
• 33:14
  Katelyn: I want to back up a bit because this is Crafted Connections, right and it's all about connecting through story, connecting through who people are, and I want to make sure we really get your essence, right?
• 33:26
  Katelyn: We've talked a lot about work and a lot about business because frankly, you and I are obsessed.
• 33:30
  Katelyn: I honestly have a lot of friends that just they're also just obsessed with their work.
• 33:33
  Katelyn: When it comes down to it, like, what's your background, where are you from, where are you going?
• 33:39
  Katelyn: Let's talk about that a little bit more.
• 33:41
  Mike: I, I grew up in a Chicago suburb.
• 33:44
  Mike: I I didn't know that I wanted to be a creator until you know I picked up my first camera, it was the GoPro Mark II and you know, I didn't necessarily like know I wanted to be in front of the camera, or you know, pick up a camera necessarily, but I just loved the detail, like, oriented hobby at that point.
• 34:07
  Mike: I didn't necessarily know that I wanted that to be a profession of mine.
• 34:12
  Katelyn: When did that turn for you?
• 34:13
  Katelyn: Like, from the like, oh I'm having fun, this is technically fun, yay yay yay, oh, we've gone too far- I'm in this now.
• 34:21
  Mike: Yeah, yeah- it was really just like, a friend of a friend wanted a video done and you know, uh like, oh like, I could pay you a hundred bucks.
• 34:31
  Mike: I'm like a hundred dollars?
• 34:32
  Mike: Like I like as a high schooler or as a college student, I'm like, oh my gosh, like, I could get like Chipotle bowls like, all week with that um
• 34:42
  Katelyn: Living in luxury!
• 34:43
  Mike: Yeah! I was like this is really fun.
• 34:46
  Mike: Like, if I could make a living off of video, like, and that just seems such a like a far-fetched idea, but in college that dream of mine came really fast and I'm not a business person by any means which is so funny.
• 35:01
  Katelyn: You aren't, but you are, you know what I'm saying?
• 35:03
  Katelyn: Like you didn't, maybe study it, or like see yourself getting an MBA, but then like you're out here in the real world, like, doing the dang thing, right?
• 35:11
  Katelyn: And that's really where the rubber meets the road- is when you're actually doing it.
• 35:14
  Katelyn: And that's awesome.
• 35:16
  Mike: I mean I feel like I've been doing the same thing, I've, I've been running since I was in sixth grade, and I was I've been filming anything that I could get my hands on since the seventh grade.
• 35:25
  Mike: So, really, like I've just been scaling up ever since I was, you know, a little kid in a suburb of Chicago.
• 35:32
  Mike: I truly do believe like wherever I'm at in my life, like whether I'm in Indiana, whether I'm in Chicago, or you know wherever this world may take me, I'm gonna be doing the same thing because those two passions aren't going anywhere.
• 35:48
  Mike: Like, they, they are here with me to stay.
• 35:51
  Katelyn: I would love to dig into, what kinds of challenges have arisen over, over the time in your work and and in work and play, honestly?
• 35:59
  Mike: If, if anyone knows me, I, I am a huge sucker for trials by fire.
• 36:05
  Mike: I don't pursue these these super hard times in life but, when they eventually do come in life, like it's like all right, yeah like, let's, let's you know try and overcome this like game on, uh type mentality, and for me, like a lot of my challenges have been like physical.
• 36:24
  Mike: So like, in senior year of high school going into the outdoor track season, um, you know last track season of of my high school career, uh I collapsed my lung and I was in a hospital for a couple days, had to get a chest tube because something called spontaneous pneumothorax- it's when your body grows a lot faster than your internal organs can keep up and so these air bubbles, these air pockets, are forming and at any given moment those air bubbles can pop and apply pressure onto your lungs and to your organs.
• 37:01
  Katelyn: Just to kind of understand a little bit why it happened, right, now was it then induced by your athletic activity, or how did that kind of, just you were out here just trying to grow your body and your body's just like, the lungs have decided not today because a bubble is like, no, thank you.
• 37:16
  Katelyn: Wow! And what does that feel like, and like, because anytime I hear about lungs collapsing, I'm just like, that sounds like so scary.
• 37:24
  Katelyn: Like, I don't really have a passion or interest in scuba diving because I'm like, I like oxygen, right and so
• 37:30
  Mike: I I I like to breathe, um, and so does everyone else.
• 37:33
  Mike: So with that point it's like yeah, it was super scary.
• 37:37
  Mike: I didn't know what was happening, all I knew is that I couldn't breathe, um, super well, and ended up getting an x-ray of it, um, that evening and the doctor told me that my lung was 40% collapsed, immediately got surgery put a chest tube in my my rib cage and then I was like okay, how can we make this an opportunity, like, how can we come back from this even stronger?
• 38:04
  Katelyn: How did you use it to up level, to, to take the next step?
• 38:07
  Katelyn: You know like, how did you recover or overcome that experience?
• 38:12
  Mike: I still had one heck of a track season, uh that, that that year, less than a week after I was in hospital, I was back on the track, um, because I wanted A: to to, you know, get right back on the saddle but then also too what I didn't know, was like, that inspired my, my teammates to to also do that because they're like, if Mike is beating me at a workout, like, and he was in the hospital, like just not too long ago, like I gotta get my ass in gear.
• 38:43
  Katelyn: Well, and that's something too, right, and you shared with me that you want to be the best version of Mike Lee that you can be, right, and, and we all are are different, and we all have different experiences, but like how do we be the best version of ourselves?
• 38:58
  Mike: Right.
• 38:58
  Mike: Like, I just overcame an Achilles injury, like, me collapsing a lung, I took that as fuel you know, yeah, that was, that was, years ago, I was like, if I could overcome a chest tube and still run like I can I can overcome this.
• 39:14
  Mike: Like, these are two extreme examples, but what I want people to to take away from my story is like, you can overcome like your chest tube, or your marathon, or you know your injury like whatever challenge that someone has, like, I want them to feel inspired and empowered to you know really just tackle it.
• 39:34
  Mike: It's a lot easier said than done but, like when a challenge does arise, like, just have the mentality of like I'm going to be rewarded if like, I like, if I overcome this.
• 39:46
  Katelyn: Well, it was a pleasure listening to you today and hearing your story, Mike and I do want to encourage people to check you out on the internet if you want to see beautiful things, be inspired.
• 39:56
  Katelyn: Mike's you know, got it going on - can you share with them where they can find you?
• 40:00
  Mike: Of course.
• 40:01
  Mike: Uh so mainly Instagram, uh mikelee_ productions, you'll find right now at least, a bunch of film photos and coffee content, uh, which is great, but uh yeah, feel free to shoot me an email, contact is on Instagram, always down to uh to get a cup of coffee and you know chat about your story.
• 40:23
  Katelyn: Oh yeah.
• 40:23
  Katelyn: Great human to know.
• 40:24
  Katelyn: Mike, thank you so much - I appreciate you, and uh, we've done it! We've crafted a connection.
• 40:31
  Mike: Yes, we did.
• 40:32
  Katelyn: Oh gosh, I promise I won't say that every time, I just needed to right now.
• 40:35
  Katelyn: Crafted Connections is lovingly produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm, dedicated to helping people and brands tell their stories in a way that resonates.
• 40:48
  Katelyn: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and connect with us on Instagram at Crafted Connections Pod.
• 40:55
  Katelyn: Keep creating, keep connecting - until we meet again.