Today, we’d like to introduce you to Johnny Michael.
Hi Johnny, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ll start this story when I made the decision to move to Miami from Michigan in 2017… As for my career, I’ve worked in creative marketing and advertising as a copywriter for about the past ten years.
Currently, I work with Razorfish/Publicis Groupe in Coconut Grove. Along with that, I officially launched my brand, Hi, as a business in late 2023. The brand’s mission is to spread friendly energy, and we do that by creating products and fashion that celebrate greetings from around the globe and encourage people to connect and interact.
I also see the Hi brand as a concept that can grow by partnering with tech that connects people and by building a community that brings people together with events. I am also into comedy and short filmmaking — and I work with a group to make funny sketches for the internet and on a series where we review public benches in Miami.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There’s been some ups and downs. I could really go into the depths of this one. Growing a business takes time, patience, a range of different skills, and staying focused and committed to the right things at the right time. Juggling all of that with a creative career, which also grinds away my time and energy, has been a main challenge. It’s difficult to always know what to work on next and what to focus on. I’m aiming to get the brand into international airports. Because I feel like the concept would work really well for people traveling around the world and wearing different greetings.
And then there’s the focus part… fighting distractions and bad habits with the wrong types of media consumption is also a constant battle. It’s a noisy world. I try to fill my mind with healthy, educational, and quality entertainment as much as possible.
The other key is to try and focus on creating things that actually bring value to people and building a successful brand that people trust and want to share with their friends.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My career has been in marketing and advertising, and I specialize in copywriting. I’ve written just in about every medium including commercials for global brands. On top of that, I started my own brand called Hi, worked on fashion and sports photography, directed commercials, created short films and comedy sketches… I like to think that everything I do ladders up to being a director or creative director.
Creating stories is really what I enjoy. Truth is something I gravitate towards.
While it could sound like a classic case of a creative with too many hobbies… I would argue (maybe defensively) that these things all lead to a path of creating entertaining forms of communication and media. Some themes of my work include human connection, humor, and love. If I had to make one of those niche boxes for my future self, it would be “director of golf and comedic content and films.”
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
It’s probably correct to say I’m still growing up, but I’ve stopped getting taller… comedy has always been a compass and a thing for me. I love making people laugh, in the past, I’ve performed stand-up and studied comedy through improv theaters and various ways like watching great films or taking classes with the Second City online. I still watch SNL every week. Even if it’s on YouTube the following Tuesday…
Dancing is fun. I also played a lot of golf. Something I wish I could afford to do more of. I heard at some stage I actually thought I was a Ninja turtle. I have fond memories of owning a stuffed Barney and a Mickey Mouse… how far back are we going here? Food is great too… assuming you’ve tried the stuff. My family has a strong Italian heritage background, so there was a lot of good food around, and I loved to cook as a grown-up.
Pricing:
- $50 Greet Tees
Contact Info:
- Website: https://happyinteractions.co/
- Instagram: @happyinteractions
- Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/hijohnnymichael
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkkc1-wgz4fZaZJtyhGealfcoT87VqXL1&feature=shared
- Other: https://www.hijohnny.com/
