OFFICE is back with BIRKENSTOCK, with @jayseba - star of our 24 Hours in BIRKENSTOCK campaign! Keep reading to find out more about Jay.
- You’ve slept through your alarm… What’s the first thing you do when you jump out of bed?
Taking a shower as that always wakes me up, I can be out the house in 25-30 minutes from bed especially if running late.
- Let’s be honest living in London, we have a plethora of transport at our fingertips (tube, Lime, bus & even boat) – what is your fave and why?
Hmm, I’m pretty much always in a rush if I have to go somewhere but I like it that way. I kind of always give myself just enough time and it feels like a challenge. Because of that I’m usually skating to the tube station, hopping on a tube then jumping on my skateboard once I get out the other side to till I reach my destination.
- Nitty gritty, fave Borough and why?
Probably Newham as a lot of my close friends are from there. Even though I’m from West I’ve spent a huge amount of time in Stratford and surrounding areas. Lots of great & quiet shoot locations in the area too I.e Olympic Park.
- Paint us a picture of your ideal OUT OF OFFICE location & just general vibes
Probably a quiet district of Tokyo, Japan. I stayed in Nishi-Shinjuku recently and I remember on my first morning just heading out with a camera and my headphones & just walking. No plan or destination, just seeing where curiosity takes me.
- &&&&&& What pair of BIRKENSTOCK would you have on this location?
Probably the Arizona Two Strap Brown Sandals, they are soooo comfy so a stroll around the neighbourhood in those would be ideal.
- Back to the office, talk us through your craft and a little bit of your journey up until now?
Oof, where do I start? I think the shortest way to tell this story is that I graduated Uni with the hopes of being an Actor, but through subsequent events of being friends with Filmmakers I ended up shadowing them, doing behind the scenes bits. I learnt a lot and began my journey to becoming a Director / Photographer myself. I prefer it that way, you have a lot more creative control than you do as an actor.
I started out shooting music, bringing my camera to gigs I had tickets for, same with fashion. Frequenting Fashion week, getting in where I could and always strapped with cameras. Eventually I found myself working directly with Brands and Music labels.
I’m so grateful I chose this path, being a creative behind the camera has led me to work with incredibly talented people all over the world from New York to Qatar. I met and shot the person I look up to the most, Tyler the Creator in Paris and even shot his mentor Pharrell the following year in Germany. It can be quite challenging and you have to prove yourself year after year, it never gets easy. But I guess nothing worth doing is easy.
- You’ve had a long day at work, how do you unwind?
I like taking long walks at sunset (my favourite time of day), especially along the thames or down a canal as I like to be near water, its calming. Also watching documentaries about other creatives past & present always centres my mind. There’s a lot of noise online so taking it slow, watching long form pieces about other people with similar journeys helps me remember why I do what I do.
- Lastly, what you having for DINNER?
If I’m being healthy its a boring salmon, broccoli and potoatoes on my gym diet mode. But if Its a Friday ? Chicken Ruby from Dishoom with Pilau rice and a cheesy naan. So fire.
