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HBO and The Ringer's Bill Simmons hosts the most downloaded sports podcast of all time, with a rotating crew of celebrities, athletes, and media staples, as well as mainstays like Cousin Sal, Joe House, and a slew of other friends and family members who always happen to be suspiciously available.
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🎬 What do Star Wars, oil painting, and storytelling have in common?
Turns out: everything. In this curiosity-fueled episode, filmmaker and multi-hyphenate creative Andy Maier (Soon Agency) joins host Matt Johnson to talk about building a life powered by relentless learning, visual storytelling, and the kind of curiosity that launches careers 🚀.
From working with Apple, SpaceX, and Microsoft to touring in his metal band Opponent and picking up oil painting during a creative pivot — Andy is the living embodiment of “just figure it out.” 💥🎨🧠
If you've ever felt like the underdog creative, this one’s for you. Andy drops storytelling gems faster than Yoda lifts an X-Wing.
🎸 Fun fact: Andy composed the metal version of the Font Awesome theme song in a single day. That’s some serious Jedi speed 🤘.
🎙️ What We Cover in This Episode
🤖 Why being curious is better than being talented
🎥 How oil painting made Andy a better compositor
🧱 The concept of “armature” and why your story collapses without one
🌱 Why telling the truth is the best brand strategy
🤝 The power of surrounding yourself with curious people
✨ Building "wells, not fences" in your creative career
⚔️ Star Wars, Iron Giant, and the real meaning of “The Force”
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome to Podcast Awesome
01:00 – Meet Andy Maier: Creative Jedi & Founder of Soon
02:30 – Early creative career and figuring it out on the fly
05:15 – The underestimated power of curiosity
08:20 – From DIY music videos to working with Apple and SpaceX
10:45 – Why storytelling is better than trends
13:30 – Building a creative life around community and friendships
16:00 – How oil painting made Andy better at... everything
19:00 – The merch moment: painting turned t-shirt design
22:00 – What’s real? How to build grounded storytelling
26:30 – Invisible Ink, Brian McDonald, and story armature 101
32:00 – Why Marvel’s Phase 4 struggles (and what X-Men got right)
34:00 – Star Wars, Joseph Campbell, and unlocking “the Force”
37:45 – Where to find Andy and his work
38:30 – Bonus: The origin of the metal FA theme song 🤘
🔗 Links & Resources
🔥 Andy’s work – https://www.soon.agency
🎶 Andy’s band Opponent – https://www.solidstaterecords.com/opponent
📖 Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald – https://shorturl.at/E9101
🖖 Font Awesome’s Heavy Metal Icon Episode – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FlsrtKCI1Y
🎧 More Podcast Awesome episodes – https://podcastawesome.com
#PodcastAwesome #StorytellingMatters #CreativeJedi #VisualStorytelling #FilmmakerLife #MotionGraphicsArtist #DesignNerds #FontAwesome #CuriosityWins #InvisibleInk #CreativeProcess #OilPaintingForDesigners #BuildWellsNotFences #NerdCulture #MetalVibesOnly #StarWarsStorytelling #MakeSomethingAwesome
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