Meet Dylan Gibbs: Leasing Agent Turned Full-Time Photographer and DJ
It’s late 2021 and Dylan has a home open scheduled. Dozens of prospective buyers are expected to attend and Dylan, having been a leasing agent for only a couple of months, doesn’t want to mess this up.
His phone rings as people start arriving. It’s a hugely popular, household-name brand, asking him to take their professional photos that very day. It’s his dream job… But he can’t take it.
The missed opportunity sets the wheels in motion for a life and career reassessment. And what better time than the New Year to make big things happen?
In 2022, Dylan is trailblazing the path to his passion, taking his side hustle as a photographer and DJ full-time. He worked 127 photography gigs and 67 DJ gigs in 2021 and this year, he’s ready for more.
We chatted to Dylan all about his exciting new life path and what 2022 looks like for him as part of our January series following the change-makers all around us.
What is your big move in 2022?
I’ve quit my job as a leasing agent and am pursuing full-time photography! I want to grow my business by hiring new people and expanding into new market segments.
What was the final straw that made you decide 2022 was the year to make the change?
Just sitting at my real state job and thinking, “this is not it, this is not how I want to live the next few years of my life.” I was just not happy.
I’d be moving home opens to go DJ at the Perth Mint, then run to take photos for Red Bull. I was just like, “this is inhuman”.
As a kid, when people asked you “what do you want to be when you grow up?”, what was usually your answer?
I was a man of many phases. I mean, we’re talking firefighter, we’re talking, like, astronaut… Nothing really related to what I’m doing.
I definitely stumbled into photography as something that was way more enjoyable than I thought it would be in theory!
If you could go back to the start of 2021, what would you tell yourself?
It’s tempting to say, “I shouldn’t work at the real estate agency.” But I think I’m a better person having done that. I think I understand myself a lot more.
I could have had more clear goals. I’ve found that it’s very tempting to want to achieve so many things, but you have to actually simplify that vision before you can effectively follow through.
Maybe part of me was waiting to finish uni before really committing. I had my foot off the gas, maybe a little too much.
Lots of people struggle to find motivation to do what they want. How do you find it?
If you know what motivates you, that helps you to be productive. Knowing yourself is the key to being very self-directed in whatever it is that you do. It’s like a superpower. Because you can be like, “I wanna do this thing”, and then it actually happens.
Who do you look up to?
Martin Garrix. Not only is he a successful musician, but he’s just a really happy person and that’s so inspiring – to see him travel, bring his family and friends, and just have a genuinely really good time.
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In terms of photography and videography, Sam Kolder. He’s worked with a lot of big DJs and travelled a lot. He’s a super happy guy as well.
Where do you see yourself at the end of 2022?
I hope that I’ll live a bit of a simpler life. I say yes to a lot of things, and I think once I have clear goals about what I’m doing in the next year, it will be a lot easier to know which opportunities to take, and which not to.
Not only do I want to be successful as a company in terms of the money and the brands that I’ve worked with, but also in terms of living my life around it in a really coherent way.
Plus, probably managing a bit of a team, hiring photographers and systematising the business.
What is your advice for someone who is wanting to change careers or life pathways?
I think it has to start with experiments.
For a lot of people, the way that could work is probably through side hustles and doing things in the evening after their day jobs. Even if you work 9pm to 5pm, there’s still [after] 5pm to do whatever you want.
The rewards you get for following your curiosity are going to be the best use of your time in the whole week. You’re learning about yourself and what you like and don’t like.
I have no FOMO about the paths I could have gone down, and I’m so happy to be where I am now.
You can check out Dylan’s business, FoxxCreative, here.
Images by FoxxCreative.
