Michael Boychuk of Little Hands of Stone on Creative Masochism

Passion is a must

Michael is a creative director with over 25 years of experience. Prior to cofounding Little Hands of Stone, he spent the majority of his career at various agencies, including Wongdoody, SK+G, Leo Burnett and others. Michael also served as global ECD at Amazon, where he built the company’s internal creative agency in addition to launching Prime Day, Alexa and four Super Bowl campaigns.

We spent two minutes with Michael to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired. 

Michael, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I was born in Singapore and grew up in Montreal, Fort Worth and Seattle. After college, I lived in L.A., Las Vegas and Chicago before moving back to Seattle, where I live now.

How you first realized you were creative.

I won a contest in elementary school for drawing a monkey. I’ve been trying to win awards for creativity ever since. Here’s a picture of me getting the prize, wearing a suit:

A person you idolized creatively early on.

In college, I heard Tracy Wong give an inspiring speech laced with about a thousand F-bombs and so much creative energy that I decided then and there that nothing on earth would stop me from working for him. And despite having zero useful skills or relevant experience, I did it.

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

During the first week of my freshman year, my father committed suicide. Coming to terms with his death taught me a lot. Most importantly: that life is short and not to be wasted doing things you don’t love.

A visual artist or band/musician you admire.

In college, my grandmother gave me a copy of a book with a collection of posters by Tadanori Yokoo. If you’ve seen his work, you know how fresh and fearless it is. When I’m stuck, I stretch out my brain by diving back into his work.  

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.

I just finished Jeff Tweedy’s memoir Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back). I love Jeff’s wonderfully weird music, and in the book he shares both his life story and his writing process. It’s funny and smart and I can’t stop thinking about how the lessons apply to the work we do. 

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.

In 2000, my LHoS co-founder Matt McCain and I did a campaign for the Los Angeles Dodgers that was shot with a hidden camera. The premise was, there are things you can do in a ballpark that look pretty bizarre when you’re not at the game. We filmed an actor saying “Hey Batta!” to a woman eating soup in a restaurant and talking trash to a Giants fan on a bus. The campaign won a Gold Lion and the lessons we learned set into motion a creative philosophy that became Little Hands of Stone. 

A recent project you’re proud of. 

We recently finished a PSA about teen suicide for Seattle Children’s hospital. The mental health issues affecting young people are an epidemic that should not be ignored. Making sure our kids are OK starts with asking a simple question: “Are you thinking about suicide?” If you haven’t asked the question, stop reading this and go do it. Now.

Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago. 

One of my all-time favorite things is the “Fresh Mex Fresh” campaign Tracy did at Goodby many years ago. To hammer home how fresh Chevys food was, they shot, edited and aired “fresh” spots every day. Incredibly hard to pull off, conceptually brilliant and funny as hell.

Someone else’s work you admired lately. 

I love work that wipes its proverbial butt with the “you can’t do that” rules. That’s why I love Liquid Death. It is so dialed into the moment. They’ve created a playground for content and creativity, and I can’t wait to see how far they will go to top themselves. From this to this to this. Also, as a former internal ECD, I love to see a client team stretching boundaries without fear.

Play

Your main strength as a creative person.

I am passionate about the work and will do anything I can to make it as good as humanly possible. I love ideas that are difficult to make. We call it “creative masochism.” Like hanging skiers in a chairlift 25 feet off the ground.

Your biggest weakness.

One’s greatest strengths and weaknesses are often the same—and I’m no exception. Passion is good, but sometimes it is best to take a breath and learn to accept the twists and turns of the creative process.

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

Tracy Wong birthed me into this industry and taught me a million things—chief among them the value of setting almost impossibly high standards and sticking to them. Susan Credle showed me how to be relentless in bringing the right idea to life. She also showed me the importance of generosity. 

How you’re paying it forward with the next generation of creatives.

I’ve taught college design classes and I jump at the chance to speak to young creatives. But I’m not doing enough, so thanks for the push. (If you’re a next-gen creative and there’s something I can do to help you, please reach out.)

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

Teaching. I love how much I learn speaking to people.