Meet Aaron Gonzalez | Brand Strategist & Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aaron Gonzalez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aaron, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
The principle that matters the most to me is trusting my intuition. It’s so easy to get caught up in everyone else’s idea of what you should or shouldn’t do—whether that’s in business or in life. Sometimes it’s as subtle as ignoring that little voice in your head that tells you something doesn’t feel right. Ignore that voice too long and it can absolutely grind you down. The trick is knowing when to stop listening to others and to just follow your gut. I’ve found that I’m happiest and most free when I’m in tune with my intuition and can just act.

What should our readers know about your business?
Almost three years ago, I left my last agency job to go on tour. Inspired by my love of philosophy & diving deep into people’s businesses, I named my new branding agency “Footnote Creative.” I tried to make myself look like a super legit, fully-fledged agency with language and imagery. Looking back now, it all felt stale and lifeless. I had some early wins but something kept me from talking about my work and “agency” with others. Last fall I realized that the friction was between who I actually was and the image I was putting out into the world. So I sat down and really dug into what I valued and what difference I’m trying to make in the world.

I’ve definitely felt pressure from a world that tries to tamp down your rough edges, tame your wild hair, or dull your bright. It’s a difficult force to push back against but when I decided to rebrand my agency, it was my way of giving myself permission to lean into my kind of weird.

Thus was born “Bad Platypus”.

With the help of…a ton of people, I was able to articulate what my “weird” actually felt like. I’m a hodgepodge of wildly disparate experiences, influences, and tastes so it only made sense to capture that with nature’s genetic “kitchen sink”. It took some time to really embrace the silliness and how it could exist in the business world, but it allowed me to chase fun, banish “boring”, and own my absurdity. And, turns out that’s exactly what I want to help businesses do.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I may be a little biased because I live in Lower Greenville and think it’s great…but I would take them on a tour of my favorite places: a night on Lower Greenville, a concert at Double Wide and Amplified Live, divey drinks at Charlie’s Star Lounge, an afternoon in walking around Bishop Arts, grabbing some records at Spinster. If they wanted to do outdoors stuff, we’d probably bike down to White Rock or walk the Katy Trail.

I was born and raised in Fort Worth so we would absolutely be going to the Stockyards, walking around Downtown and hitting Thompsons, the Scat Lounge, and Sundance Square.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Melinda Livsey and the Brand Strategy community she’s built. I absolutely would not be where I am if it wasn’t for joining that group. I’d initially joined as a way to grow my skills by taking a more in-depth approach to my craft. What I ended up with was a thriving community of like-minded creatives, focused on helping one another grow, one day at a time.

Website: http://www.badplatypus.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/bad.platypus

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronegonzalez/

Image Credits
Ashlee Freese