Check Out Rob Woodcox’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob Woodcox.

Rob, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Oh what a ride! I grew up in suburban Detroit – quite cut off from any creative industry or media – I didn’t even know what Vogue magazine was until I was around 20 years old. My family was quite religious and sort of sheltered me from mainstream culture – which turned out to be helpful to my creative process and tapping into my own inner imagination. To this day I don’t own a television and I center my home space around plants, altars to nature and lounge-like spaces for meditating and hosting my chosen family for dinners, tarot readings, art or dance parties – all sorts of gatherings.

I picked up the camera more officially when I was 18. I had played with cameras in the yearbook committee during high school and couldn’t imagine myself in an office or highly technical job. I’ve always been fascinated by people and their stories, and I had this deep intuition at age 18 that I needed to pursue photography, despite not knowing how I’d ever make money or make it sustainable to live. I went to a local school that had 4 massive state of the art studios, all the gear you could ever imagine needing, and a film developing lab. I borrowed my dad’s old 35mm camera and started learning the technical side of photography using film – it pushed me to learn faster and then I decided to switch to digital so I could produce work in a more elaborate direction.

I was working 3 jobs until I was 22 to pay the bills, until I had the courage to take a leap of faith and pursue photography full time. I began teaching photoshop classes locally and quickly transitioned into national and global workshop tours – sponsored by photo brands I’d reach out to. It’s quite extraordinary I was able to channel my creativity so concretely at a young age; I look back a bit in awe that I was able to see almost 30 countries as a freelance artist building everything from scratch.

My travels built a strong foundation for me to delve deeper into my own conceptual world and I left teaching behind to pursue fine art and commercial work simultaneously. My “Bodies of Light” series featuring dancers in surreal formations amidst expansive landscapes went viral, and I landed my first commercial project with Barbara Sturm skin care and the Royal Ballet. They had approached me for my unique style and everything kept moving from there. I incorporated film direction into my portfolio and I’ve since worked with brands and musicians like Universal Pictures, Sofi Tukker, Ry X, Apple and most recently the first collab between Nike and Skims.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Building a career as an independent artist certainly hasn’t been easy all the time. There are highs, thats for sure, like after a big campaign or music video. You feel on top of the world. But the self work and learning to navigate the creative industry is a behemoth of a climb. I’ve had to learn how to set strict boundaries with my time and value – while many brands have developed healthy work environments and power infrastructures, there are many that haven’t developed their framework to a point that the creative process moves smoothly – so I find myself educating clients softly on how to respect the value, time and energy I’m bringing to the space.

That being said, we’re all human and we all have the capacity to learn and grow – especially as the world shifts and modernizes – so I find the process of expanding my creativity and capacity for projects the most rewarding experience. I love surprising myself and getting to look at collaborators with a smile after the work is done and celebrate what we were able to achieve together.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’ve had the immense and surprising pleasure of developing my own visual universe. I say surprising because I arrived at this point through sheer curiosity and by always staying in touch with my inner child and imagination. I never could have predicted when I first picked up a camera that I’d be shooting global campaigns and having solo shows in museums.

My work focuses mainly on the relationship between humans and our environment. It celebrates our ability to connect through love and unity while imagining a future where we create a harmonic balance with our ecosystem. My most known series “Bodies of Light” features nude or semi-nude dancers in organic or sacred geometric formations immersed within other-worldly landscapes. I was inspired by protests I attended in 2017 and 2018 during the first term of our current president – I was inspired at how people were responding and showing up in the face of injustice to unite and push for change. I started this work with a few communities of dancers that I knew personally between Los Angeles, New York and Mexico City and it expanded from there as I traveled the world.

My ability to compose, choreograph and direct large groups of people became apparent and this led to brands reaching out to incorporate my style into their own visions. I’d say people seek me out when they want to elevate the artistic direction of their brand and campaigns and when they want to bring depth and meaning to their audiences.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
My best advice for finding a mentor or networking is to be present and consistent in communities that could be supportive to your growth. I spend the majority of my time outside the home attending exhibitions, summits, dinners and parties with the people I admire and respect around me. I find that focusing on genuine connection and nourishing community instead of asking people for support ends up creating the environment for cross-pollination of talents and resources. All of my opportunities come from people reaching out to me from communities I naturally move through. I try to take the time to ask questions and focus on seeking advice over direct resources. When the connection feels right, people get excited about what I’m creating and want to get involved. In this approach I find that many people become my mentors and we all end up nourishing and supporting each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.robwoodcox.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robwoodcoxphoto
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robwoodcox/

Image Credits
Lu Manzo