Ryan Campbell (Mr.KOA) Speaks on Finding a New Identity in Photography
Ryan Campbell (Mr. KOA) Speaks on Finding A New Identity In Photography, His Resilience After An Expensive Accident, and Scaling His Business
Sometimes in life things just don’t work out. You grind, putting in your blood, sweat and tears to make your dreams a reality and in a blink of an eye, it can all be gone. Then you ask yourself “Now what?” Maybe you didn’t have plan b because that WAS your plan b! Situations like that can be seen as lesson or a blessing, but for Ryan Campbell it was definitely both. I had the opportunity to interview the Toronto-based creative and get a deep dive on his story from aspiring professional basketball star to star-worthy freelance photographer.
1. Has photography always been a dream of yours or did you happen to stumble upon it?
I absolutely stumbled into photography as a career, but I have always been into taking photos and capturing moments artfully. My first love and dream was to play basketball professionally which I was pursuing after getting a scholarship to the University of Ottawa. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I was injured in my 3rd year and ended up getting cut from my team - a situation that forced me to find a new identity for myself and explore other skills that I possessed.
2. Has being a photographer changed your life in anyway?
I have become much more than just a photographer at this stage in my career - I create visuals of all kinds for brands, I helped to build companies, I mentor youth, and educate peers through my actions in various atmospheres. The decision to become a full-time entrepreneur and pursue my passion as a business creative has definitely changed my life for the better. I have a much larger purpose and motivation to create and build my legacy each day and my expertise and personality has provided me with opportunities to travel the world.
3. Out of all your photo shoots which one do you think showcases your best work yet?
This is a very difficult question to answer due to my personal and internal competitiveness with myself - I always strive to make my most current work my best work. If I had to choose my favourite at the moment, it would probably be the shots I took of Barack Obama this month. I was able to capture the essence of Obama in the photos and really illustrate his personality.
4. Okay, set the scene for us. You’re in Toronto, and the Raptors make HISTORY winning their first NBA Title. Where were you? How did you capture that moment?
I'm in the heart of the city, in Jurassic Park, capturing the entire thing. I was requested by MLSE to capture the energy in the city and the build up leading to the championship. So I was right there in the mix, beside Drake and his team spraying champagne and screaming. I have footage of all of this that will never be forgotten.
5. You’ve expanded your business in a small amount of time. You’ve got the shop, Koa.Pros and now Koa 100 club. How does it feel finally scale as a business? Is there any time for work-life balance?
Scaling my business has been and will continue to be one of my main focuses when it comes to my growth. There are many people who attempt to start businesses, but have no plan, or clear vision on what they really want to come from it. I believe the path I have taken has allowed me to enter this entrepreneurial space with a different perspective than most people - I obtained my business degree with a Bachelor of Commerce and I have worked in the corporate field for 3 years for large companies soaking in as much knowledge as possible before I took the leap to build my own business. At this point, I'm just applying everything I have learned into my own business.
6. Can you name a time you were faced with a huge obstacle and how you managed to overcome that?
My biggest obstacle that I will never forget was Summer of 2018 - just months after quitting my job and pursing full-time entrepreneurship, I was shooting a wedding and tragically fell backwards into a fountain of water immediately damaging over $4,000 worth of my equipment. It was a very expensive accident that I didn't really have time to process since I had to find a solution quickly. I put myself in debt that Summer to repurchase all of my equipment in order to keep my business going. I was able to bounce back from that mishap with a sharper focus and more refined awareness of my surroundings and business practices.
7. For any aspiring photographers out there, what’s a piece of advice you can give them?
Be yourself. Stop comparing. Shoot the things that you like. Learn something new every single day. Be consistent. Continue to repeat those steps and good things will happen. It really is that simple.
8. Looking ahead, are there any new projects you’re excited about?
To be entirely honest, the way my life is setup there are things that may be coming my way that I have absolutely no idea about until they happen. For that reason, I do my best to consciously appreciate each moment that I have in the present and always give my best effort to keep my productivity at a high level. However, I am definitely looking forward to reaching my KOA 100 CLUB goal of working with 100 small businesses and really making a wave in this community and beyond.
9. When it’s all said and done, what is the legacy you want to leave behind?
I hope that I can be a living example that encourages people to believe they can do the things they love for a living - even when nobody else does.
Interested in working with Mr. KOA? Head over to mr.koa.com for bookings, merch and more. Stay connected with Ryan on Instagram @mr.koa