Appen met Nate Woodhead, VIRTUE's Executive Creative Director

Recent kreeg Nate Woodhead de rol van Executive Creative Director bij VIRTUE, de agency van VICE Media. Vanuit een cultuur gedreven point of view helpt hij merken zichzelf te uiten. We spraken Nate over waar hij zijn inspiratie vandaan haalt, en hoe hij dit gebruikt in zijn rol bij VIRTUE. 

Hi Nate! This is Maartje from Fonk Magazine
Hey Maartje
Happy Monday

Good to chat to you (: How have you been?
Good to chat to you too. I've been good thanks. Had a big workshop in Mexico last week so been a bit jet-lagged but I think I've made it out of the other side now.
How are you?

Ah, have you been able to take some sunrays and inspiration back home with you from Mexico?
Thanks, I've been good as well (:
Yeah, I have. México City is incredible. The people, the buildings, the culture. All made me feel very inspired.
And I bought a whole load of Mexican craft things. Rugs & pottery mainly.
The work we did out there was pretty good too!

Were you travelling with Virtue?
Is being surrounded by different cultures important for you to feel inspired?
Yes, we were out there for Diageo. We’re their global culture partner across a few of their brands. This trip was for Johnnie Walker.
Totally, I grew up in Northern England - it wasn’t very diverse at all. I’ve been a bit of a cultural sponge since I left home and thrive from meeting new people with different perspectives on the world

Cool! So not just tequila on the menu?
Some Mescal, lots of food and a whole load of inspiration.

What made you feel attracted to leaving home? Have you always been interested in different parts of the world?
Sounds good!
It's pretty incredible to go and spend time with local teams to work through cultural tensions and creative opportunities. Zoom culture has it's place but creative magic happens when you get lots of smart people together in one place

How have you been experiencing that in your new role at Virtue?
I grew up in a tiny village in North Lincolnshire in a house full of love. I had a great childhood. In my early teens I realised that I'm gay and that became a driving force behind me wanting to have a life with more colour to it
Working at VIRTUE is brilliant, I've been here just over 2 years and it's been a thrilling ride. Taking on the permanent ECD role for Europe is a bit of a dream come true for me.
We have the most incredible clients, a very talented team and being able to combine all of those things with a clear creative perspective is a daily treat

Definitely sounds like you made that happen (:
Good to hear! How are you experiencing working with different visions in one team?
The different visions and perspectives are what makes the magic happen. We're often working with people on the hardest bit of their campaigns or brief - making work in varied formats that has proper cultural resonance. We approach things as a cultural exchange - brands have to give to get and that requires a diverse set of perspectives to make real
Sometimes things can get a bit feisty but I think a good bit of tension around the ideas and brief can help make the best work

A cool and unique approach!
Definitely part of the job sometimes, haha
Thank you for your time and responses Nate, wish you all the best in your new role
Thanks so much Maartje, lovely to chat to you! I hope my Whatsapp waffling was interesting.