Mason YOST

What was your very first job?

Neighborhood Lawn Artist

Please describe, in your own words, what your job is and what work it entails.

Creative Lead for Running at Adidas. In Brand Design we create experiences for athletes. We believe that sport has the power to change your life, and that creativity and imagination are the catalysts of change. On a daily basis that means crafting direction for the image voice and tone of Adidas Running. We work as a team of artists and athletes, to create & execute campaigns in real time across anything with a screen.

How did you discover that the creative world was right for you? Was there a time in your life that you credit to this discovery? What was there train of events that brought you to where you are today?

If anything the creative path has been one of constant discovery for me. That’s both the most terrifying and fun place to be. When you have ideas bigger than your skills and you have to take the trip with others to make a collective dream a reality. For me, still understanding the balance between creating myself and collaborating with others is a constant source of growth

In your constantly growing and expanding industry, how do you find inspiration to keep your work fresh, innovative and relevant?

Inspiration happens best when we’re active. It’s equal parts cultural anthropology and creating something yourself. When I look to inspiration, I’m really looking for insights that spark action. For me, if I don’t make something with it, it doesn’t count. I’m constantly returning to the core of the craft, trying to learn from the masters, and constantly sharing with the team to see how we can push to someplace new.

If you had to pick one piece of work or project that you are most proud of, more for the creative work and innovation it required, rather than its recognition or industry “success,” what would it be? 

Working on concepts that use existing media (medium) in a new way. Early on, I was fortunate enough to work on a campaign for Nike 6.0 where we created five 6-second vignette films – each featured an individual story of an athlete, each was wildly different. When combined together we basically turned one 30-sec spot into 5 spots. Reinforcing the 6.0 branding, and creating content that didn’t behave like a traditional spot. Being a part of that process changed the way I’ve looked at executing a concept…because there really are no rules to this thing.