Influencer: Erik Proulx

Erik Proulx changed my life before I even met him. He created a film called Lemonade, the story of people starting to do their life’s work once they were let go from their jobs in advertising agencies. I saw the film right around the time I was graduating from college about to start my career with a fresh new advertising degree. After watching the film, I swore to myself I would never become one of those people who got so sucked into work they lost track of their passion projects. If this blog, my freelance photography business, my Friends in a Frame photo project and bucket list adventures are any indication of pursuing passion, I like to think I stuck with that plan.

So, when I met Erik in Detroit last fall at TEDxDetroit, I was even more blown away by the way he approached life, work, passion and creativity. Since then, we’ve become good friends and talk often about things that inspire us and drive us to uncover new levels of creativity to create amazing things. Without a doubt, I’d call Erik my most important “inspiration” influencer.

His current project is a bit of a follow up to Lemonade, it’s a documentary called Lemonade: Detroit, and it’s the story of the revival of a great American city many have written off. Having grown up in Michigan, the project is close to my heart and I can’t think of a better person to work relentlessly hard to tell the positive story we see from the inside to those in doubt.

I’m thrilled to have interviewed Erik for this series because when I asked him about his passion, he talked my ear off about his kids and how their childhood curiosity teaches him how to look at the world in a simple, beautiful way many adults forget. Anyone who smiles this much talking about something is clearly deeply touched by it. That’s what passion is all about.

Everyone should be so lucky to have an influencer in their life like I have in Erik. His work on his films, his commitment to spreading a positive message and his endless pursuit of creativity are constant reminders that I have a chance every day to do the same. His influence alone has helped me emerge from “artistic dark periods” when I thought I should just give up photography and times when I feel a little jaded about the way people have given up on things (like Detroit) when it’s tough to see the light.

Get to know Erik. Say hi on twitter. Check out Lemonade. Learn how he’s building Lemonade Detroit literally one dollar at a time. He’s absolutely someone worth knowing.

This post is part of an ongoing series. Meet the rest of my influencers here.