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Today I'm joined by Bianca Valenti, a big wave surfer who has won Mavericks nine times and regularly paddles out into 50-foot waves at Mavericks and around the world. She was doing it before there was even a spot for women to compete in the sport, and has since fought for equal pay across surfing while mentoring the next generation coming into the sport. In this episode, we explore what allows Bianca to look at a huge wave barreling down at her and think, “What's possible?” How can we surrender to the scary things in front of us, dance with them rather than run away, and discover the creative possibilities on the other side? More About Bianca: https://www.instagram.com/bigwavebianca https://bigwavebianca.com/ More About The Creative Current:⁠ https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/ ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

Today I'm joined by a dear friend, Jack Algiere, who founded the farm at Stone Barns Center in New York's Hudson Valley — a 400-acre working farm. You may know it as the home of Blue Hill, one of the top restaurants in the world, featured on Netflix's Chef's Table. In this episode, we explore how to let ideas grow and sprout — as if they were seeds. And who better to explore that with than a farmer? Jack's new book, Seeding Hope, comes out in a week and dives into what plants can teach us about being human. So let's dig into what plants can teach us about how we build, express, live, and create. More About Jack: https://www.instagram.com/farmer.jack/  https://www.instagram.com/chelseagreenbooks/  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/827847/seeding-hope-by-jack-algiere/  More About The Creative Current: ⁠https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

Today I'm talking with Jordana Grolnick. If you've seen Hamilton, there's a good chance you've seen her on stage. She also opened the And Peggy Hamilton tour in Puerto Rico with Lin-Manuel Miranda himself. She's an incredible dancer, an incredible performer, but what we talk about is how she stayed connected to her inner child throughout all of this. She grew up in Boulder, Colorado, in sort of a hippie, crunchy granola dance-style upbringing, and then found herself in some of what you could call the highest-pressure, most intense, performance-oriented places in the world on Broadway. But she's been able, through all of that, to keep in touch with who she was as a kid and that sense of joy and creativity, and she explores how she did that in this episode. More About Jordana: https://www.instagram.com/jordanagrams https://jordanagrolnick.com/ More About The Creative Current: ⁠https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

Today I'm talking to Sean Douglas. He is one of the most prolific songwriters of the last 15 years. He's written with Demi Lovato, Jason Derulo, Madonna, David Guetta, and the list goes on. His songs collectively have over four billion streams on Spotify. This conversation was fascinating because he does not describe himself as one of the best musicians in the world. He knows how to play piano. He's a singer himself. But that's not what he says allows him to be so prolific and create so many hits. It's something else, and we dive into that today. More About Sean: https://www.instagram.com/seandouglas/?hl=en https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/sean-douglas-the-songwriters/pl.a21db6b931394b08a8bd9657599c4539 More About The Creative Current: ⁠https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

I recently spent the day with my friends Alan and Sarah at their restaurant, Sun Moon Studio, in Oakland, California. Within one year of opening, they landed a Michelin star and a spot on The New York Times' list of the 50 best restaurants in the US. They come from incredible backgrounds at places like Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Benu, and Per Se. But what landed for me most in this conversation was how they approach their work, the intention they bring to it, the practices they bring to it, and how that results in something amazing. More About Sun Moon Studio: https://www.sunmoonstudio.com/  https://www.instagram.com/sun_moon_studio_?igsh=ZzIwNXpvNGo0eXlj More About The Creative Current: ⁠https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

Today, I'm excited to have Erin Claire Jones on the podcast. She's one of the world's leading voices in Human Design, and brings such a unique lens to creativity. I met Erin through a Human Design reading with her, and it opened up parts of myself that have unlocked my creativity in ways I didn't expect. If you're not familiar with Human Design, it's a mystical personality framework that offers insight into how you uniquely thrive at work, in relationships, and beyond. Erin founded Human Design Blueprint, which has generated over a million charts, so she knows this work inside and out. More About Erin: https://www.instagram.com/erinclairejones https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinclaire/ https://erinclairejones.com/ https://humandesignblueprint.com/ More About The Creative Current: ⁠https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

Today I'm talking with Jesse McMillin. He's been behind brands like Virgin America, where he helped establish the company and create the famous safety video you might have seen. He then went on to help establish Lyft and led their entire brand as Creative Director. That's where I first got to meet him myself. On a personal level he also has an amazing creative output. He's a painter and a sculptor, and as you'll hear in this podcast, he walks through the world looking at all of it as a source of inspiration. It all fills him up creatively, and he channels that into these incredible inventions that he puts out into the world. More About Jesse: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-mcmillin-a001a16/ https://yesand.com/ More About The Creative Current: ⁠https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

Today I'm talking to Bobby Ghoshal, an incredible human who I first got to know when we worked together in New York City. He served as the head of digital design at WeWork in its forty-five billion dollar heyday, one of the most ambitious scaling stories in startup history. And he's now the CEO and founder of Dupe.com, an incredible app that has helped over two million people find affordable lookalikes of expensive products.He grew up in India, created drawings of Disney characters that he was selling to parents in elevators. He's truly hustled and built himself into who he is today. And when he moved to the US at the age of 15, he taught himself design and never really looked back. What drives him creatively is this idea of making things accessible and affordable for people that he feels like should not be out of reach.It's led to him creating some incredible products and amazing experiences, and he's built an amazing design philosophy around that. So let's dive in and get to know him. More About Bobby: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyghoshal/ https://dupe.com/ More About The Creative Current: https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/ https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

In this episode, I interview professional singer Lauren Jelencovich, whom I met at concert in San Francisco. We discuss nerves, performance, and how she has evolved her practice to build trust in her body. And to top it all off, we also discuss how she also made history as the first woman in recent memory to sing on stage for a mixed audience in Saudi Arabia. More on Lauren Jelencovich: https://www.laurenjelencovich.com/ https://www.instagram.com/laurendariana/?hl=en More on The Creative Current: https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/ https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

My guest today is Ethan Eyler, a creator, a tinkerer, and most notably, inventor of the Carstache, the giant pink car mustache that became the iconic symbol of Lyft in its early days. After Lyft acquired his company, Ethan joined the team and kept dreaming up unexpected, joyful experiences. What I find fascinating about Ethan is that he rarely starts with a grand plan. He starts with something, follows his instinct, and ends up with something people love. We're going to dive into that creative process and the inventions that came from it. More on Ethan Eyler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethaneyler/ More on The Creative Current: Website: https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

Today I'm talking with an amazing human and close friend, Brian Nichols. We first met when working together at Lyft. He's now the founder of Angel Squad, an amazing community that helps you learn how to invest in startups. They've invested over $70 million to date in over a hundred companies and have over 2,500 members. What stuck out to me about this conversation is this unique version of competitiveness that fuels Brian’s creativity. It's not the aggressive win-it-all costs flavor, but rather an incredibly caring and compassionate one. So let's dive in and explore. More on Brian Nichols: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannichols11/ https://www.hustlefund.vc/squad More on The Creative Current: Website: https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

I just dropped an amazing conversation with Mike Faherty, founder and CEO of Faherty Brand, on YouTube and Spotify. Mike co-founded the brand back in 2013 with his brother after being fascinated with fabric and clothing ever since he was a kid exploring with his dad. He then went on to Ralph Lauren, where he spent over a decade getting deeply involved in the fabric mills and the pattern creation. This is a beautiful story of following your passion ever since you were a kid. "When you believe in it that much, you almost don't care if it sells. You're like — I think it's cool." More about Mike: Faherty: https://fahertybrand.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-faherty/ More on The Creative Current: Website: https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033kEQLih42rk49UGsXqMt?si=7fe9cb6aaa904292 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

I'm talking today to an amazing human, a near and dear friend, Tina Seelig, who was also a professor of mine when I was at Stanford. She was a founding member of the d.school at Stanford and is the executive director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program, the largest endowed fellowship program in the world. She has written 17 books on everything from creativity to entrepreneurship and everything in between. If you want to hear directly from somebody who has shaped how tens of thousands of people approach the creative process and who teaches on this, check this out. More about Tina: Her new book: https://www.amazon.com/What-Wish-Knew-About-Luck/dp/0063471361 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinaseelig/ More on The Creative Current: Website: https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033kEQLih42rk49UGsXqMt?si=7fe9cb6aaa904292 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/ Chapters00:00 Introduction 00:45 Meet Tina Seelig 02:15 Stanford D.School Origins 06:30 Creativity and Innovation 12:45 Entrepreneurial Thinking 20:10 Building a Creative Mindset 28:35 Leadership Lessons 36:20 Opportunity Creation 44:10 Final Advice and Takeaways 48:00 Closing Thoughts

Today I'm talking with Cory Wong‬, the Grammy nominated musician, who's put out over 20 albums to date. What was so clear to me from this conversation was the pure joy that radiates from this guy. He's currently touring the world with his own band. He's a lead guitarist in the group Vulfpeck. And if you've ever wondered how to have a lot of fun and a lot of joy in your creative process, check this out. More about Cory Wong: Website: https://www.corywongmusic.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coryjwong/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQqC08JWnJGJIgw43XJ0GXw Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6xt9sJmmyYwWkJv8A6ssiU?si=J-F4386JRd6YWVhiDLWTYA Follow The Creative Current: 👇 Website: https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033kEQLih42rk49UGsXqMt?si=61a53d790ec744b1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidrust/

What if your best ideas aren't something you create — but something you receive? In this conversation, I sit down with Chip Conley — founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, previous Head of Global Hospitality at Airbnb, and founder of the Modern Elder Academy — to explore his creative process and what he's learned about himself through decades of building businesses. Listen in to hear why he believes the most generative thing you can do is stop forcing and start listening. 🔗 Chip Conley: https://chipconley.com/ 🏫 Modern Elder Academy: https://www.meawisdom.com/ 🌊 The Creative Current: https://www.thecreativecurrent.co/ 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg9W4jmy-fA