In My ROOM WITH ADAM
Meet Adam Holm: the creative powerhouse and co-founder of Blonde, a creative agency known for its inclusive approach to filmmaking, graphic design, and content creation. Driven by his passion for storytelling, Adam's journey to success started from humble beginnings as a nightclub photographer with an unwavering determination to pursue his dreams. Today, Adam's work has not only garnered the attention of the creative world across Europe but has also paved the way for countless young talents to find their own paths.
Adam's rise began with a relentless drive to express himself, despite facing personal trauma and hardship. He saw the potential in blending his creative interests with digital technology, seizing opportunities to learn and perfect his craft. It wasn't long before his resoluteness led him to establish Blonde with his two partners Daniel and Philip in 2016 after they encountered barriers to enter the advertising industry.
Blonde's rapid growth and success can be attributed to the unique vision and commitment to nurturing young talent. As a compassionate mentor, Adam aims to create possibilities for young creatives, giving them a platform to transform their passion into a fulfilling career. His devotion to helping the next generation of artists is both inspiring and admirable, making a lasting impact on the lives of countless individuals.
Beyond his exceptional work, Adam's true legacy lies in his ability to foster community and human connection. With plans to expand Blonde globally, Adam's vision for the future is to continue providing opportunities for young creatives, empowering them to achieve their dreams and change the world through their art.
RF: Let’s start, tell me a bit about yourself and how you got here today.
AH: I started as a party photographer in Copenhagen nightclubs when I was around 14 or 15 and eventually I went more into private parties and weddings and birthdays and everything in between. So I was doing a lot of that for some time and eventually I went into doing my own parties and I started as a promoter for parties in the centre of Copenhagen.
RF: That’s a pretty young age to start shooting parties at clubs, what was that like?
AH: Really intense but amazing. But I did that 100% for maybe a year and shot at parties three times a week. I was up until 5am so I would shoot the pictures, take the train home, go directly to shower and then go to school. So it was a real hustle. But it was also my passion. But then I got tired of it after a short period of time, because I did it so much.
RF: A real night-crawler
AH: Yes, so after I transitioned from photography to promoting I was the one organising tables, selling the bottles, booking the DJs, photographers and videographers, getting the fancy people in at first at the pre parties, you know, organising everything. By the time I turned 20 I was tired of it all so I retired from the nightclub business. It was really intense at such a young age but I loved it. Around that time I was rethinking my relationship with photography which I was very passionate about ever since I was maybe 10 or 12 years old and I really wanted to get my hands on it again. Social media all of a sudden had a video function on Instagram and more and more brands were starting to create video content for themselves. I was very much into music videos at that time because a lot of my friends were artists and I used to book them at the clubs. So I was already in that scene and I really wanted them to help them create better music videos.
RF: Did that juncture coincide with the founding of Blonde?
AH: Yes, me and my friend Daniel were on summer vacation from college and then we just started with doing one video for a DJ-friend and then we did a couple of club promos, and you know, we hit it off pretty well. And then the demand started to take off pretty fast within a month or two. And then I actually dropped out of college, the same summer. I was supposed to do one more year and I thought, okay, I'm just going to take a break from college, and I'm just gonna, you know, I'm gonna start this thing [Blonde], and then maybe next year, and we'll see how it goes. And then, seven years later, I'm still not at college, I never went back.
RF: So where did it go from there?
AH: We started doing content for restaurants, bars, clubs and DJs and stuff like that. But it all went pretty fast because of the network we had from the nightlife scene. We had two or three years just doing music videos all the time. Just working 24/7 and creating art for the best artists in Scandinavia and that was amazing. But it's also tough because you know, you can't make any money out of it. You need to use 100% of the budget to actually create what the artist is expecting but also balance that with what you want to create yourself and how that can help you climb up the ladder in the industry, right? We also did some PR stunts through our own merchandising, we put our logo on some old Gildan hoodies and we started giving that out to friends of the house, you know, influencers, the artists that we were working with and influential people in Copenhagen, and all of a sudden we had, you know, a lot of hype going on. We had a lot of people asking for these hoodies like 1000s of pre-orders to actually get it ready because we didn’t have it stocked properly. We didn't really have it produced yet. And then you know we sold like 100 hoodies on our website in 24 hours. Eventually we sold our hoodies in Storm fashion which was back then the most hyped fashion store, I would say, in Copenhagen.
RF: Did that juncture coincide with the founding of Blonde?
AH: Yes, me and my friend Daniel were on summer vacation from college and then we just started with doing one video for a DJ-friend and then we did a couple of club promos, and you know, we hit it off pretty well. And then the demand started to take off pretty fast within a month or two. And then I actually dropped out of college, the same summer. I was supposed to do one more year and I thought, okay, I'm just going to take a break from college, and I'm just gonna, you know, I'm gonna start this thing [Blonde], and then maybe next year, and we'll see how it goes. And then, seven years later, I'm still not at college, I never went back.
RF: So where did it go from there?
AH: We started doing content for restaurants, bars, clubs and DJs and stuff like that. But it all went pretty fast because of the network we had from the nightlife scene. We had two or three years just doing music videos all the time. Just working 24/7 and creating art for the best artists in Scandinavia and that was amazing. But it's also tough because you know, you can't make any money out of it. You need to use 100% of the budget to actually create what the artist is expecting but also balance that with what you want to create yourself and how that can help you climb up the ladder in the industry, right? We also did some PR stunts through our own merchandising, we put our logo on some old Gildan hoodies and we started giving that out to friends of the house, you know, influencers, the artists that we were working with and influential people in Copenhagen, and all of a sudden we had, you know, a lot of hype going on. We had a lot of people asking for these hoodies like 1000s of pre-orders to actually get it ready because we didn’t have it stocked properly. We didn't really have it produced yet. And then you know we sold like 100 hoodies on our website in 24 hours. Eventually we sold our hoodies in Storm fashion which was back then the most hyped fashion store, I would say, in Copenhagen.
RF: That’s really cool, it feels really representative of how multi-faceted companies are becoming.
AH: Totally, back when we sold the hoodie, it was in the Christmas of 2017, so it's a while ago but still a huge accomplishment. We created this production hybrid agency and creative hub for the new generation. I think when we started Blonde we thought already from the beginning like, ‘Okay, this should be a place where we can grow together as young creatives’ and ‘this should be a place for the new generation where we can create opportunities for each other through passion together.’ So it has been our core value from the very beginning..
RF: That’s really amazing. What were some of the challenges you faced in the beginning?
AH: We didn't really say no to any jobs or tasks. In the beginning, we said yes to everything, and we took everything in. So as soon as your capacity is not the same as your demand then you start asking for help. We were working 24/7 and we didn't sleep, we thought, okay, we need to hire a person. We didn't even look at the finances and how much profit we were making. We just let our teams grow with the demand. At some point, we blew up and we went from being six or seven people to being 30 people in a few months, you know? That was crazy.
AH: It was fucked up and something I never thought I would experience and something I never want to experience again, because it was, you know, real human beings. It was a crazy time because we didn't know anything. No one ever taught us. I never got my foot into the industry as a young person so I didn't know how to react. I didn't know how to do it.
RF: No one teaches you how to manage 30 people, right?
AH: No, exactly. But you know, in the beginning, it was just all about the demand and delivering on the demand. We wanted our clients to be satisfied so badly. And we wanted to deliver a great product because we were passionate about our product. Blonde was never about the business. It was about creating great art and creating incredibly executed films, and eventually graphic design and still photography. That was it for us.
RF: What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind with Blonde?
AH: To create jobs, opportunities and possibilities for young creatives, to help them gain a professional career within their passion in the field of filmmaking, graphic design, still photography, and storytelling. I want to help turn young people into young professionals so they can live off their passions so they can do this every day. Because that was my biggest dream. When we started, Blonde was the first dream I had and it has come true. So I want to help make the dreams come true for as many young creators as possible in the world.
RF: That's really beautiful, man. I feel like young people are always left behind in the industry.
AH: For me, it's more about it has always been about the people and the opportunities we can create for the people. I was so desperate to find a person that wanted to help me live off my passion. I was never able to find that person. Then you know with success, then it comes right but when I was inexperienced with no money and didn't have a clue of how to get my foot in the industry, that was where I was the most desperate. And so far, so good. A lot of these kids are working here today. I'm sitting looking at five or six of them right now.
RF: How do you find balance in running a business now since you've been doing this for so long? I'm curious about what that looks like for you.
AH: In the summer of 2021 I was hit pretty badly with burn out and I was basically out 100% for almost a full year. I was unmovable for many, many months. I wasn't at the office and I can’t thank my partners enough too, how they took the whole thing and how they approached the situation with me. My whole life changed forever.
RF: How are you now seeing your life now? What are the things that you've learned from that experience?
AH: I think I really changed my perspective on how to live life and how to survive in this working environment in this industry but also having yourself as your worst enemy, because I have a hard time making compromises because I'm a perfectionist. So for me, I figured out that at the end of the day, I really had to deal with my expectations of myself. I would set goals for myself every day, every week and every month, and for the company as well. I just had really, really big ambitions and high expectations for everyone, including myself, but it was unhealthy. It came to a point where it was unhealthy for me and for everyone around me. But also for my family, because you know, I’m not able to focus at any given point when you're at family dinners, or at a party or whatever, like, wherever you go, 24/7 when you wake up, when you go to bed, you think about work, and you think about how to optimize and you think about what to do next, and you think about what's wrong. You think about what's wrong all the time. That was my worst enemy. I had to get rid of that and gain a more positive mindset. I had to learn to take the freedom of taking some time off, and, and not working all the time, not worrying all the time, not thinking about the next move. Eventually, the older you get, the more you're gonna burn it out, you know, and you're, the more you're gonna break. So I think it was just a matter of time.
RF: How did you change the way you were living?
AH: You know, you swap in a yoga class from a drinking dinner, try and have a new perspective on being social with clients and collaborators was tough because when we started it was just drugs and alcohol and rock and roll and just going you know, but now I go to a yoga class with colleagues and friends or clients or collaborators.I can do all these healthy things and we can have a healthy meal and we can we can have a walk. My mindset is different now. How I approach my work life balance is completely different.
RF: I want to talk about the role your home plays in your life. What does your home mean to you coming out of what you've gone through in the past year?
AH: I think, for the first time in my life, ever since I moved away from my parents, I finally have a good relationship with my home. Ever since 2017, I think I moved into the place where I live now. My relationship with this apartment has always been difficult because I never put in the time and the resources. I also didn't have any resources, I didn't have any money to put into the apartment. And I didn't care that much, I didn't know what to do. So there was a tough relationship I had with my home for many, many years. During COVID it was tough when I was home. Like, the energy to make a better home for myself and optimise the place. I was burnt out and not having a home that was nice to be in was fuel to my stress and anxiety.
RF: What changed?
AH: I think now it's come to a point where it's different, I’m in a different headspace. I also live with my girlfriend now and she has really helped to make it a home. So she's been a great help and I also think when you get older again you learn from your mistakes and you learn from your failures, you know what not to do, and you know what to focus on. And I realised that to be in peace, you need to have peace at home. There's a lot of stuff that still needs to get fixed but it's better than ever before.
RF: You have a really beautiful home. Talk to me about the furniture behind you.
AH: You know, the sofa and the colours on the walls, I can't take credit for that. But one thing I'm actually I think the thing I'm most happy with in the whole apartment is actually the table and that's from my good friend Gustaf Westman. When I got the table in the apartment, it really changed the whole vibe and environment. It's interesting what furniture or an object can do for your mindset, and how it can redefine how you look at your home and how you can create more peace with yourself.
RF: What else would you say are your favourite objects in your home?
AH: Definitely my bed, because anything that my friends make whether it's clothing, art or furniture, owning something my friends created means a lot to me. I take pride in supporting them and their business. I also have some small Tintin figures that I find inspiration from.
RF: You actually look quite similar to Tintin too.
AH: I also got him tattooed on my right arm.
RF: What does he mean to you?
AH: I think he's just a funny, happy guy who's hungry for exploring the world. He's taking every task with a smile, and he's a go-getter. I admire him for that, and I admire him for his energy.
RF: Do you have any rituals or routines in your home that are sacred to you, that help you bring you this sense of a home home
AH: I always fire up a candle or palo santo. Good smells are important to me. I'll always take a cold shower in the morning too.
RF: I appreciate you, man. Thank you for your time. Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for sharing your traumas. I think what you're doing is really cool. Your work is awesome. Your intentions, I think, above all, is really what stands out. I wish you all the success man and I wish you all the success in your journey of finding balance.