Today we’d like to introduce you to Evan Kinard.
Evan, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
My entire life has been centered around a singular theme, passion. It wasn’t until after college that I found out I had a passion for electronic dance music. October 2012 was my first nightclub experience and the catalyst for making the decision to turn a dream into reality or to die trying.
I went with a group of friends to BASSMNT in San Diego on a whim, and I was terrified. I was 24, and I had a lot of insecurities at the time as well as more than enough preconceived notions about the nightlife scene. I didn’t think I’d fit in and I’d be made fun of for even trying. Well, you don’t grow unless you put yourself in uncomfortable situations and that night happened to be the start of a journey that would allow me to not only live a life of purpose but to help others to do the same.
Immediately after Bassmnt, I contacted a college friend who managed an up and coming bass music artist by the name of Kayzo and asked if I could film his next show. A few months later I was able to attend a hardstyle festival that Kayzo was playing at and brought the only camera I had at the time, a GoPro. The video I created was about as bad as you’d expect from someone with little to no experience, but it showed promise, and I was ambitious. I offered to pay my own expenses and film for free if given the chance to pursue this. I recruited a college roommate who worked for a camera company to help with the filming and together we were able to take on more and more filming projects. For the next five years, I worked from 6 AM to 3 PM for an IT company and then edited videos until I passed out. Rinse and repeat, day after day. As my skills as an editor grew, I was able to attract more and more clients. To me, nothing else mattered, but the business and I invested every ounce of energy I could into growing our brand. This didn’t come without the price of friendships, relationships, and social life. I worked on my birthdays, holidays and took no days off. It wasn’t uncommon to spend 90 hours a week between my full-time job and Killed With Kindness, but it was necessary to get to us to where we are today. Eventually, I was able to quit my full-time job to focus purely on Killed With Kindness.
Killed With Kindness has been an official company for five years now and in that time we’ve filmed at over 40 music festivals for 150+ artists and in more than ten countries. While music is a major part of our story, it is not the only thing we love to capture. We have filmed weddings, entrepreneurs, seminars, corporate holiday parties and celebrity birthdays. From music videos to music festivals, opening acts to headliners, we’ve continued to push our creativity to new limits. We’ve covered wildlife in the Galapagos Islands, interviewed Armin Van Buuren at his residency in Ibiza and captured the energy of a 1,000,000 person party in Zurich, Switzerland. We will be filming at EDC Las Vegas, Tomorrowland in Belgium and a host of other countries this summer as we continue to pursue this dream we call life. We’ll sleep when we’re dead.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
With every video I create, I aim to evoke an emotional response that stimulates a growth mindset. Music can create powerful emotions by itself, and when combined with visuals it can leave a lasting positive effect on the viewer. Each video has a message behind it, an underlying tone. For me, that message has always been passion. A passion for living life to the fullest, whatever that may be for each person. It wasn’t until I started filming electronic music that I realized just how precious each moment is and how big of a part passion should play in what you put your energy into.
I started with a GoPro, and only a short while later I’ve been able to travel the world doing what I love and all because of passion and hard work. Most people might have goals, but very few have a vision. A vision for the world they want to live in and the legacy they want to leave behind. Many may feel lost with no path or direction and when things get tough when the stress of everyday life becomes too great to endure there is nothing to fall back on. I’ve always hoped that the videos I create can help bring back those good memories, can help spark that vision of a world where life is worth living. A world where dreams are worth chasing and where kindness prevails. Sometimes all it takes is a single moment in time, a memory or a good thought that can forever change the life of an individual.
If there is one lesson to learn it is this: “It is possible.”
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
It has never been easier to enter the industry as an artist, and it’s never been harder to stand out. Alternative education through websites like Udemy, YouTube and other online courses, as well as the rise of internet resources that provide ready-made templates and plugins, have led to a flood of content creators and a sharp decrease in the demand for quality. The “free to fee” mentality is present in every vertical and will only get more commonplace has more freelancers enter the market. In order to stay ahead, creatives need to always be innovating and looking for new ways to combine a multi-disciplinary approach to their work. Videography, photography and visual effects can all be combined into an array of different formats for social media platforms, all originating from a single piece of raw content. When it comes to supporting local artists, there are a few issues that have become a core part of my message when speaking to others.
There isn’t enough discussion about the mental and emotional stress that being a freelance artist entails and that is just the beginning. Understanding how to sell your work and run a business is paramount to becoming a full-time artist, and this is something rarely taught in schools. Personal brand is your reputation and knowing how to build a personal brand centered around your artwork takes a lot of hard work and passion. Cities could provide coaching and mentoring for creatives that truly want to pursue a passion for art and help them understand the sacrifices they may need to make in order to achieve their dream job. Workshops centered around monetizing a passion and business planning could benefit a lot of artists that may never think their dream is possible because they just haven’t had someone explain to them the steps they could take to get there.
Social Media can make the life of an artist look glamorous, but no one ever wants to show the hardship behind the dream career. Self-awareness can’t be taught yet it is one of the most important factors in deciding success. The first step to helping artists understand what it takes to thrive in this industry is helping them understand themselves. Most people have a job, the lucky ones have a career and the few and far between actually find their calling. Let’s help as many people find their calling as we can.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can find all of our work at: www.killedwithkindness.com
@killedwithkindness
@epicoptimist
@danielaxbecerra
Contact Info:
- Website: www.killedwithkindness.com
- Email: evan@killedwithkindnenss.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/epicoptimist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evan.kinard.3
- Other: instagram.com/killedwithkindness
Image Credit:
Daniela Becerra
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