Amari, our Laner of the Week, is originally an East Coaster from NY/NJ! Born in NY, raised in NJ, then Brooklyn for ten years. But, he's lived in the Bay Area since 2018. After graduating college with a BA in media studies, he worked at ESPN radio for a bit. The past few years, he's been getting back into the media space, working on his screenwriting skills. What else is there to know about Amari...?
What do you like about Mustard Lane or just working events in general?
I love working with Mustard Lane because everything is so well put together. Anytime I have a question it's probably because I didn't look hard enough at my emails. When I do need to contact someone, my questions are answered that day. The experiential marketing field has done a lot for me personally in terms of the long-term friends that I've made, as well as affording me the ability to travel all over the country to places like Montana and Boise, Idaho. I would never have thought to check those places out if not for this field. In general, I love interacting and talking to people, as well as figuring things out event-wise.
When you're not on the Lane...what are you doing?!
Working out, traveling around the Bay/CA, watching sports. There are still so many places for me to visit, since I'm not a California native.
Favorite restaurant or food?
My favorite food is probably is a two-way tie between Puerto Rican and Thai. I'm definitely leaving some other types of food out..I do miss pizza.. it's not the same, but thats a NY/NJ thing - it's not personal. Ha!
What is one of your goals for 2024?
One of my goals is to put more time aside for my media endeavors (screenwriting), and take some new internet classes to keep up with the changing job landscape.
Name a place you'd love to travel to. And why?!
My favorite place to travel to is Belize. That was the first time I truly relaxed and took my mind off of those everyday stresses. In terms of fun stories, I don't know if it was fun, but we met with locals that dealt with the whole John McAfee situation in Belize. (It's the same John McAfee that created the antivirus software.) There are a couple of documentaries that have come out about it, but he escaped to Belize from the US, and then escaped to Guatemala from Belize after becoming a fugitive. He then ended up back in the US after faking a heart attack. The documentary is worth it, and is crazy!
What's your favorite way to spend a day off from the Lane?
Go to the gym, then relax by staying away from my phone.
With the Grammy's just behind us - who's your favorite musical artist?
My favorite musical artist of all time is probably Michael Jackson.
What's your non-Laner hidden talent?!
Wow let's see...I can move my ears! I don't know if that counts still.
If you could have your dream job tomorrow, what would it be?
This is going to sound extremely random, but...an archeologist.
What life lesson did you learn the hard way?
It's okay to ask for help, and use your resources. I had resources that I could have used after I left ESPN, but decided to go on my own, thinking those opportunities would always come knocking.
Salty or Sweet?
A mix of both! But if I have to choose...sweet.
Superbowl or Halftime?
Superbowl!
What's a brand or event that you would love to represent or work for Mustard Lane should the chance ever arise?
Probably the NBA finals. I played basketball growing up, and I'm a huge NBA fan. I used to fly out to all of the Superbowls from 2013 up until the Miami SB in 2020 (covid hit a month later) so I got to experience the NFL. But I never had the chance to experience any high profile NBA events in the experiential field.
What inspires you most?
I would say growth, change, and a fear of being stagnate. The world is changing so fast these days, so you kind of have to reinvent yourself every year just to keep up.
To learn more about Amari, check out his instagram @atronic___life.
Check out our February Blog Post!