Our Column Five team is made up of some very special people. They come from all walks of life. They’re creative, and they work very hard. They’re also very interesting. One staff member a week will be profiled on our blog, from our oldest producer to our newest designer, to introduce the people behind the project.
Neil Spencer
Hometown: Trabuco Canyon, CA
Started May 2010
Communications Manager
Describe yourself in 144 characters or less.
I enjoy smiling and making people laugh. It usually happens from me jumping into a conversation halfway, then using my sharp wit to emerge victorious.
What’s your favorite thing about working at C5?
I enjoy the enthusiasm I encounter everyday. People are excited about their work, and the work done by others. Our work is based off of a constant system of interaction between: the cofounders, operations, producers, designers, our communications team…even finance! (let’s hear it for Vince 2.0.) I’m inspired by people working together creatively and always get excited about what they’re making together.
What are you the supreme ruler of?
I’m ruling the Hip-Hop Hood mixtape that the D-Block designers and I are putting together for the OG lady member, editor Katy French. She’s been dying to go to a real “hip-hop” show with us (she’s even been practicing her—I really don’t know I know how to accurately describe it—stance). So, we’ve put together a Supreme mixtape for her. Shout out to D-Block!
I’m also way into underground, electronic bass music—mainly from England and Europe, but there’s some great stuff from the states coming out of LA too. My favorites are Jamie XX (UK), Four Tet (UK), Flume (Aus), and Shlomo (LA).
There’s so much good electronic music out there, so here’s a mix I made on Spotify for people to check out:
https://play.spotify.com/user/
What’s your favorite My Meme is Neil? (And tell us, in your own words, the blog’s origin story.)
My favorite is the Mr. Rogers photo. I put it up as my profile pic, and people loved it. Smashing success, really. I’m under the firm belief that people need more quality memes in their life. The blog started as a joke, and the impeccable producer Brian “The Wolf” Wolford’s Photoshop skills took it to the next level. Each image got more creative and funny. Now, you know when a new meme for the Tumblr has been made right when the link is dropped into our company chat. Random laughter starts bursting like popcorn from all corners of the room.
The site’s “about” section really tells the joke the best: http://mymemeisneil.tumblr.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen/done/experienced?
I think one of the coolest things I’ve ever done was travel to Europe by myself for two months when I was 21. I even planned my trip around Sigur Rós playing in this piazza in Ferrara, Italy, during their () tour. I was told by locals I met that Radiohead was scheduled to play the same piazza the following weekend.
During my trip, I got sick and headed to the coast of Italy to recuperate, and I ended up at the Italian Riviera. More specifically Cinque Terre, in the first city of Rio Maggiore. There, I met a group of wayward French Canadians from Montreal. I asked them how to say “mullet” in French (Le coupe Longueuil), and we became wonderfully inseparable friends after that. Mostly because they’re a ton of drama, and I was a chill surf kid from California who got along with everyone. I basically stopped them from strangling each other. I’ve even been to Montreal numerous times to visit.
The coolest part though, was when I went sightseeing in Munich, Germany. Got tired of museums, so I grabbed a beer and hopped on a train to the Olympic Stadium. I had no idea that Bon Jovi was playing that night! So I scalped a ticket, drank a bunch of beer, and shouted the lyrics to “Livin’ On A Prayer” with thousands of drunk, Bon Jovi-loving Germans. Nailed it that night.
Whooah, we’re half way there
Livin’ on a prayer
Take my hand, and we’ll make it—I swear
Livin’ on a prayer
We asked Neil to feature some of his favorite C5 projects:
History—Mankind The Story of Us: History of Pyramids
Marketo—B2B Social Marketing Universe
Marketo—What Your Brand Colors Say About Your Business
My Meme is Mr. Rogers (Classic mymemeisneil.tumblr.com)
