Meet Alex Schulte | Vice President/Creative Director

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

Hi Alex, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I am the Co-founder/Vice President/ and Creative Director for Mango Mustache Media so I wear a few different hats. In the creative realm, I LOVE taking risks! The best creativity comes from taking risks, thinking outside the box, and trying something that might not have been done before. For example, we specialize in creating podcasts for our clients; something that’s been done many times over by our company and countless others. But taking those creative risks is what, hopefully, sets us apart from our competitors. Some examples of risks we might take include sending an email to a potential guest who might be a bit out of your league, or recording off-site to captivate your visual audience in a different setting.

Interestingly enough, while wearing the same “hat” of a Creative Director, something I refuse to take risks on is our tech. We have backup recordings happening at all times, files saved in multiple places, and processes in place to ensure that nothing recorded is ever lost. Of course, technology is never completely reliable, so a part of that job is also having patience and worrying about what you can control. And sometimes, you can control risk.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As creative director, I’ve helped clients create more than 20 different shows, and in those shows – numerous episodes, and from those episodes – numerous clips. As you can tell, I love repurposing my content. Something that happens to a lot of artists in creative burnout, and one way I’ve learned to fight that, is to not move on to the next project until you’ve explored every way you can utilize what you’ve already made. Inevitably you will move on to the next project because of deadlines or maybe you’re just following that creative itch, but I would recommend trying to finish what you’ve started rather than moving on to something new and shiny. Yes, as artists it’s good to follow your instincts and explore other ways to express yourself, but you must also remember that it takes a lot of work and consistency to be a professional artist.

If there’s one thing that I want to know about myself, is that I’m the guy who is vulnerable and empathetic with my peers and that I always try to create a space where other creators can express themselves and take risks without feeling like there might be any negative repercussions from “failing.” I put failing in quotations because there is no such thing; everything is a gift.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, I’m from Cedar Rapids, Iowa so I hope they are visiting in the summertime because that’s when this area comes to life. We have festivals, concerts, live music, great restaurants and bars, and an amazing bike trail that connects our neighboring cities and towns. So, to answer the question, here’s how the perfect day in Cedar Rapids would go: It’s Saturday morning in the summer so we are going to start at the Farmers Market where we’ll grab a breakfast burrito and then a N’Awlins cold brew from Dash Coffee Roasters, and then peruse the local vendors and maybe take home a candle or homemade peanut butter or whatever tickles your fancy. After that, we can head to the Newbo District for some local restaurants. Inside Newbo City Market there are plenty of local shops to get food from, or to buy a souvenir to take home, like a mug with a picture of Hillary Clinton saying “I’m just chilling in Cedar Rapids.” After lunch, if we don’t need a nap, it’s time to jump on our bikes and go for a 5-mile ride starting near Czech Village at the bike bar Broken Spoke and have a beer, continue to ride to Sag Wagon a couple miles further where we will have another beer, and then make our way up to Loose Chain where we will – you guessed it – grab another beer. To finish up the night, we’ll drop off our bikes and jump on a Veo Scooter provided by the city and head over to McGrath Amphitheater right on the Cedar River to catch the national act that’s touring through town, and if we aren’t satisfied, we can head to Moco Hot Dog Bar & Game Room for some great local live music… and maybe a beer too.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
“Who deserves a shout-out?” Well, there is certainly no shortage of people deserving a shout-out in my case because, after all, it takes a village. But I’ll start with my parents. The older I get the more I see where my creativity came from both of them. My mom worked in financing houses growing up but she always loved to paint. I think I fell in love with the visual side of art because of her. My dad was a radio disc jockey for 30 years so I was inspired to work in media and entertainment because of him. Both of them are the most charismatic people in the world and HUGE extroverts so I attribute my favorite attribute about myself to them; the ability to connect with others.

I also MUST give a shout-out to my business partner, Josh Ross, because without him, Mango Mustache Media wouldn’t be possible. He brings business expertise to our business and does all of the things that I don’t enjoy doing so that I can focus on creating, which I think is something that every business owner should keep in mind: find people who love doing the necessary things for your business that you don’t like, or even don’t excel at.

Website: MangoMustache.com

Instagram: @mangomustachemedia

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mangomustachemedia

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPvA8tHwUF4GL432pLndbaw 

Image Credits
Studio Photos were taken by Tyson Niles The 3 pictures of me were taken by Forrest Moore