Quan Mai



SS: What's your 9-5? Or let's be real, your full-time hustle?
QM: My 9 to 5 is doing graphic design for a small beauty company in Santa Monica. Essentially, my work is my play. As you can see, if I didn't do it for work, I still do graphic design and photography for personal projects too.

SS: You wear a ton of hats. Art direction, videography, creative consulting, graphic design. How did you get started in all of this?
QM: It has been a long time coming and I have been cultivating my multimedia skills for the past 10 years. Most of what I know is self taught. I think we all have lots of interests and layers to us, and I like exploring my potentials. The question is not why, the question is why not! Sometimes I have an idea but it won't work in image form, so I explore it in motion form. Whatever skills I don't know naturally I always try to learn and teach myself. After all, we live in a DIY era.

SS: Do you have a specific creative approach to your work?
QM: I suppose I do. There's a similar pattern I've noticed in my creative approach. 

"...I like exploring my potentials."

SS: Where do you draw inspiration from? 
QM: I draw inspiration mostly from music and films. I obsessively spend hours on Spotify curating playlists. When I was younger and first moved to the USA, I always taped MTV's Making of The Video and wanted to be a music video director when I grow up. When I listen to music— I see the whole music video in my head. I value my strong sense of vision.

SS: The theme of this issue is Creative Process, do you have one?
QM: Yes. I usually write down my ideas in my Field Notes journal. Then I think of the mediums I want to execute my ideas in — should it be in video? animation? photos? Regardless, there should always be a story, that's where art direction comes in. A sense of direction and narrative in the final product.

SS: Tell us about a project you've worked on where the creative process was a bit more challenging, or different. 
QM: I worked on this short video for The Cut at NY magazine, where I got a tour at Coco Chanel's apartment on Rue Cambon in Paris. After filming all footages, I realized the camera's microphone was dead the whole time without batteries. So we had footages but no sound (!!!!!) And I had to meet up with my friend who was the subject, to re-record voiceovers, and the whole project became more stressful than expected. But we got it done.

SS: Describe your "dream" project or client.
QM: My dream project is to travel the world while being able to support myself through working remotely. I used to daydream about this idea of staying at a city for a short period of time to collaborate with local creatives on a community project, and once it's done I'll leave and move on to the next location. Learn. Create. Expand my horizons.


"Too many selfies, but so little knowledge of the Self."

SS: If you were to work in any other industry, what would you be doing?
QM: I don't think I want to be in any other industry, the creative design field is my calling. However, if I had to pick, I would be a gardener or botanist. 

SS: Where do you hope your work as an "online influencer" takes you?
QM: Sadly the term "influencer" makes me cringe. Haha! I guess because people have been abusing that lately by producing false online facades. I do hope to influence people by my authenticity, but it comes down to what your objectives are. I use my Instagram more as a portfolio. I do hope it takes me to new heights of creativity, self-awareness, and deeper connections. Too many selfies, but so little knowledge of the Self.

SS: What's next for GeneticBoi?
QM: I recently just moved from NYC out here to start my new life chapter, living my teenage dreams in sunny California. Right now I want to focus on my day job and save, working on myself physically and mentally, exploring California to create contents, and be that West Coast weekend warrior I have envisioned for myself.

FOllow quan on INstagram @geneticboi and see more of his work at www.geneticboi.com