Meet Benjamin Bramblett | Owner of Forty1 Media

We had the good fortune of connecting with Benjamin Bramblett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Benjamin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I never really planned on my business being a business at all; it started off as more of a hobby. I developed a passion for photography in high school, so I bought my first DSLR my senior year and started snapping away. I kept this up for a while, mostly taking pictures of friends and family until I took off to college.

I went to Georgia State University in Atlanta, pursuing a Film/Media major and thinking I was going to direct the next big hit at the cinemas. This plan quickly fell apart, though. I struggled with a lack of purpose in that first semester, and it felt like I was just doing high school all over again. It occurred to me at some point that I was paying thousands of dollars for knowledge that I could get from YouTube for free, and after the first semester, I was already in debt.

I dropped out to build my own videography business. I was ready to be self-taught and learn the hard way if it meant personal autonomy, fast-tracked experience, and control over my career. That’s how Forty1 Media was born.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
This might seem odd, but I don’t focus on making my creations different from other people. I only want them to be different in the sense that they are of higher quality than most other content. Right now I’m dedicated to deeply learning my craft, and that means a lot of replicating the role models I have who make incredible videos and photos. My goal is to be as good as them, and THEN to be different. I love Kanye, so I use him as an example for this. He established himself as an artist and now his music is much more experimental.

I’m very excited to constantly be learning and honing my skills as I produce content. The growth curve for content is definitely exponential; it starts off being very difficult and time-consuming for little-to-no recognition, and then suddenly you have hundreds of people cheering you on because they think what you’re creating is great.

It was not easy to get to the point I’m at today, but I’m glad I did it this way. I wasn’t kidding about learning everything from YouTube for free, in fact, I’ve learned more stuff that’s applicable to my business from social media than I did from any class in school. When people ask me where I studied for my role now, I typically tell them YouTube University. What has been hard, however, is finding connections and mentors that know a lot about content creation outside of a school setting. I’ve mainly managed to do this through online groups (like Praxis) and talking to people in-person at events whenever I get the chance. Here’s a tip I’d give to any upcoming entrepreneur: Talk to EVERYONE. You’ll hone your social skills and make connections you would’ve never expected. Also, people from different industries from yours will still have great general business and life advice, so don’t ignore them.

My story is more about telling other people’s stories. I want people to know that my business is committed to helping other businesses take their social media to the next level so they don’t miss out on the wonders of digital outreach and brand-building.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting Atlanta, I’d definitely take them to Piedmont Park first. I’m addicted to the outdoors, and Piedmont Park is huge and full of cool places to check out.

Next, we’d go to Little 5 Points and explore all the stores. My favorite is definitely Criminal Records, and there’s also a sneaker store, thrift store with vintage clothing, and much more. I’ve heard The Vortex is a good place to eat but I haven’t been there.

Atlantic Station is another place you can’t miss, and where I worked while at school. It’s beautifully designed, and if you go in the summer you might catch the Atlanta Open, a pro tennis tournament.

The Georgia Aquarium is also a great experience. After that, we’d go to The Varsity for some hamburgers and an FO. Funny enough, most locals tell me that they dislike The Varsity because the food is greasy. When I was growing up, my dad would always take us there to eat, so maybe I’m just nostalgic about it. Let’s just say if you have an iron gut, you won’t regret it!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shoutout Mark Price for being one of the first to trust me to work with him and help develop his content. He’s a great client to work with, and a great friend.

I’d also like to shoutout my Mom and Dad for supporting me and believing in my vision when I dropped out of school. They understood the circumstances and they’ve stuck with me through various trials.

I have to give glory to God for allowing me to meet all the great people that I do. I’m always praying I’ll meet the right people. Quick story: I had been trying to get in contact with a videography team that makes content for a coach who is killing the social media game. I tried for months through email, Discord groups, etc. to no avail. Last week I randomly stumbled across one of his videographers in person at a pickleball tournament and finally made the connection. I would have never thought that is where I would meet them, but I did!

Shoutout to Praxis for redefining the way I look at business and my career, You can find more about them at www.discoverpraxis.com.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forty1media