Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Heath.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in a super rural area outside of Eugene, Oregon on a small farm. We got like two tv channels. No radio stations. And the nearest kid my age was like 5 miles away so I spent a lot of time alone doing weird shit like looking for animal bones in the woods and collecting rocks.
It also meant that I had a lot of time and space to focus on teaching myself how to play music. At 7 or 8, I started playing trumpet at school. Which led to guitar, drums, piano…I even played tuba for awhile. I started a band when I was 15 and about five years later, a version of that band was signed to an indie label. We toured. Played some shows on the Warped Tour and then broke up in 2004.
I dropped out of college in ’07 and got a job as a writer at an agency here in LA. I ended up getting hired as a writer’s assistant for season 3 of Eastbound and Down. Then took a job at CAA as a marketing exec. I went back into the agency world for a bit at a few different agencies then decided to start my own agency almost two years ago called Party Land.
Has it been a smooth road?
Every chapter has had its drama. I feel like I’ve lived five different lives and each comes with its own special brand of ups and downs. But, overall, I consider myself incredibly lucky to have led a life that’s been as exciting as mine has been. And to that point, whether it was easy or a struggle, it’s all been beautiful. I love the life I’ve led so far.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Party Land – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Party Land is an advertising agency. Boringly put, we partner with brands to help solve their marketing problems. Our work leans hard into comedy, so a lot of the brands we work with come here because they want to make really fun, funny work that actually does what it’s supposed to: Make the brand famous.
We knew that naming our company Party Land would self-determine a lot of things…we get to pay attention to our happiness, and our client’s happiness, at all times. We get to hire for positivity. Transparency in everything we do is mandatory. Even the location of our office is important. But, one thing I didn’t see happening was that we’d become a beacon for brands and people who are just sick of…business. The root word of business is busy and while I love hard work and productivity, the grind of the modern business world and all its greed kills your soul.
So we have a responsibility to uphold the tenets of kindness, generosity, and trust. I literally see us as the playground at a school where everyone else has to watch us being fucking weirdos on the monkey bars from their cold desks in math class.
You come here to be happy and laugh for a living. And if that’s not your thing, there are a bunch of other ad agencies down the street you can go associate with instead.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
As I mentioned earlier, I grew up in the woods, so my heart is always going to feel most at home there. Here, there isn’t much in the way of nature as I know it. So, I do feel like a fish out of water most day–like I’m just renting LA until I go back to my forever home in the trees next to a stream.
But we are raising our children here and I love that they’ll be exposed to culture(s) in a way that I never was. They’ll have a much richer understanding of the human condition because of their experiences in Los Angeles. For that, I love this city and am grateful for the time I’m given here.
Contact Info:
- Address: 114 Washington Blvd
- Website: www.partyland.co
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @partylandla
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