Are You Creative?

AJ is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dlala Studios making video games in Witham in Essex. Dlala Studios made the Battletoads sequel in 2020 and more recently Disney Illusion Island starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. Illusion Island is available on the Nintendo Switch. How did AJ start a computer games studio from his Mum’s garage in 2012? Starting as a programmer as a Game Content Developer...

Art as escape and a therapeutic outlet. Kat Toronto is Miss Meatface. Garry Vanderhorne the wrestling promoter told us about her in EP1 of Are You Creative? Miss Meatface is a photographic alter-ego for Kat. She was an escape for Kat to express how she was feeling at a dark time in her life in 2015 - like an art therapy. Kat uses latex masks to remove her identity and create the anonymous characte...

PROFESSIONAL violinist! Making money doing the creative thing that you love. Life as a musician can be hard. It’s not a 9-5 job, and there is a lot of practicing! Streamlining practice, and finding the time to do it. Diminishing returns in practicing. Setting goals for quality practice. What is score reading? Being inspired by an older sibling learning music and attending her cello lessons. Big up...

The Marilyn Monroe of Essex. The most chaotic episode ever. Goldy does EVEYRTHING creative! New rave. Nick’s Pot Trumps cards are now in the Chelmsford Museum recent additions cabinet. Is Chingford in Essex? Can you ever really refer to yourself as creative? Is Goldy the most glamorous person in Essex? Like a Parisian flamingo with mermaid legs - in the best way!  - OFFICIAL! Editor of an aestheti...

Special audience questions edition from Essex Podcast Festival. What’s the coolest stunt Andy has done? A high fall. How high? 100ft!  What’s your favourite movie you’ve done a stunt in? Grimsby was the most fun film to shoot.  What stunt did you do in Harry Potter? Andy was a student as a 30-year old man, and a Death Eater and had to go to Wand School to learn the actions.  Have you ever done a s...

Stunt performer and stunt coordinator. Has the best imdb page in the world - FACT! Including loads of 10/10 films, and also falling off a cliff in Emmerdale. Getting burned by a dragon on Game of Thrones - Dracarys!!! Learning to be set on fire by scuba diving. Andy’s stunt origin story. Gymnastics, high-diving, judo, theatre. Assessing risks on set to make it safe for you and actors. South Essex...

Craft brewer and founder for Radio City Beer Works and Radio City Social venue. Creating beer alchemy with just four ingredients to make loads of different flavours, colours, bitterness, gravities. Beer magic! Learning about wort and brewing process. Being self-critical for growth and improvement. Aromas, head retention, drinkability - all the factors to consider in brewing. Having a flavour visio...

Adam is MUSIC BOY! Musician, music teacher, studio owner, producer, rockstar! Being in pop-punk tribute bands, and coming up with puns for names - Blinked-182, Dookie and Half-Real Lavine. Supportive parents, and living out their rock fantasies. Starting young and finding music. Is 8 too young to learn guitar? NO! Seeing Adam playing drums at Teddy Rocks with pyrotechnic flames on stage - ultimate...

James's journey from photography into high-end film processing and printing. Owner of BlueSky Printing and London Film Lab. Working for Björk! BJÖRK the Icelandic music legend! Printing on special papers and hand finishing artwork. Being a paper expert and choosing the right paper for a print. Setting up colour managed environments (yeah we’re going deep into printing!) Does Bjork want paper...

Sade’s journey from school teacher to author. Being a top 50 children’s book in the US - A Fun ABC (US edition: A Visit to Grandad). Leaving London for Nigeria. How Sade’s experiences growing up in both London and Nigeria built the foundation for her first book. Working as a Reading Consultant in Nigeria. Donated books and lack of representation of Nigerian children’s lives and experiences. Fundin...

Photos for the first manned Moon mission. Photo finishes for horses. The first televised Queen's speech. Jack's done a lot! Making photographic film to send to the Moon. Being lead scientist of Ilford special projects. High speed cheese. Yellow light. Radiation. Seeing if it was safe for humans to land on the Moon. High speed film image quality trade off. Silver halide science! Testing f...

By order of the Peaky Blinders. What comes first - the button or the sweater? Knitted turbans. Is knitting like computer programming? Making sweaters for Wonka. Etsy costs for craft creators. Boo to fast fashion! Making handmade affordable. The 1930s and 1940s body shape. Decoding old knitting patterns. Finding the right yarn. Collecting a horde of buttons. Being born in the wrong decade. A creati...

Trigger warning: Early talk about s*lf h*rm. Gay jobs vs Day jobs. Being on a fancy video shoot for a TV ad. Coming out as a trans woman at work. Getting pro make-up. Unmasking. Identity. Air quotes in different fonts. Being in The Sims in real life. Is Sangita an energy vampire? Pretending to be geezer Dads to fit in. Adelle’s media empire of #not stuff. Adelle and Jordan Grey’s parallel trans jo...

Making belly button piercing inclusive for all body shapes. English sushi. Staring at people’s ears. Bespoke ear curation. Natural vs unnatural stones. Alan & Ron’s jewelry designs. Copycats copying Cat’s jewelry. Four dimensional jewelry shapes. Finding inspiration for designs in nature. Inclusive body jewelry. Ear transplants. Needles vs guns. A whole needle portfolio? Turning people away ca...

Becoming an actor. The journey from creative awakening to reality. Jaiden Smith in Karate Kid to Top Boy. We are Creative Gods! Is panto more fun than telly? Ice skating skills. The Brit school. Pretending to be a sausage like Benedict Cumberland. Music with Adele. Meeting Jessie J. Casual school visits from Tom Holland. Being a tree. Supportive teachers vs unsupportive teachers. Shrek auditions....

Building a supportive film making community with the Independent Horror Society. How much would it cost to make a feature film about a killer swan? What’s a DOP? Introducing Nickipedia. Do you need to go to University to work in film?  Advice for making your first film. Finding collaborators. Learning from YouTube. Dolphin impressions. Bill vs Ripper. Best gore in a horror film. Bill Kill 3: Tripl...

Organising a street art festival. Don’t mess with a mother seagull! Twig art. Learning how to spray paint. What’s an Open Reach box? The London Police and their cheeky LADS. Making Chelmsford more cultural and civic pride. Chexit. Running out of walls to paint. The barriers to organising a street art festival. Scotty Brave’s Grayson Perry portrait. More seagull attacks. Graffiti gang vs The Wicker...

How to get into books? What’s a bad first sentence? Alan Kazam and the alternative Harry Potter universe. Nick pitches 'Robo-Tindal: Judgement on Chelmsford'. How BookTok has sent physical sales through the roof. Boardroom sausagefests. Fiction Girl and her sharpened commas. Female-run publishing and smashing the glass ceiling. Working with literary agents to get your book seen by publis...

How did Garry set up an inclusive wrestling scene? Is wrestling creative? How do you turn a human man into an evil duck? What is Sangita's wrestling name? How did Garry help to mould Essex legend Will Ospreay into the AEW Superstar he is today? Bacon balaclavas? World Records for wrestling? Would Mr. Bean make a good wrestler? Can you wrestle in tweed? And how do you get into wrestling as a p...