Creative career paths aren’t always clean-cut. Go to uni, get a degree, get a job in your field – easy, right? Yeah… not quite.
Some people hit the ground running. Others, like me, get stuck at the start line.
I always knew I wanted to work in design. But honestly? I wasn’t very good at it.
I landed an internship at an agency in my second year of uni – a chance to prove myself. But a few days in, I could feel it – they weren’t happy with my work. I was falling behind. Everything I delivered felt subpar.
I left that placement feeling useless. Questioning whether I’d made a huge mistake. Racking up student debt with nothing to show for it.
And at the same time, I was battling a drug addiction that started in second year, and escalated fast when life began spiralling.
Final year flew by, mostly thanks to a haze of benzos, painkillers and dissociation. Somehow, I scraped through and graduated. But I felt broken.
No jobs. No direction. No self-worth.
“It’s wild what happens when someone believes in you. And even wilder when you start believing in yourself.”
So I went where a lot of people go when they feel stuck – retail.
I bounced between stores for eight years. I was good with people, but felt like that skill would never get me anywhere. The work drained me, and my addiction worsened. But somehow, I stayed afloat.
Until one day during lockdown, I nearly overdosed.
I was just lucid enough to feel myself slipping – heart slowing, breath disappearing. And I pulled myself out. That was the day I got clean.
When the numbness wore off, I woke up. I wanted something more – something I could be proud of. Something I could own.
(It was around this time that I was also diagnosed with complex PTSD. Instead of seeing this as a setback, I used my new knowledge as additional fuel to my fire.)
By what still feels like fate, I messaged an old uni mate just as a role had opened at his studio. He saw value in the one thing I had – my people skills. The ability to build relationships, sell ideas, and get people excited about the work.
That message changed my life.
Suddenly, I was working in the creative industry – not as a designer, but as someone who could champion creativity, fuel the studio, and connect it to the right people.
And it clicked. I’d found the thing I was meant to do.
Four years on, I’m now helping to shape another studio with the amazing Jack Last.
We’ve built something I’m immensely proud of. We work with incredible brands, deliver quality motion graphics, and the inner designer in me still gets a kick every time I see a new project come to life.
I’ve travelled the world, met the most inspiring people, and finally feel like I’ve found my place.
If you’d told me five years ago this is where I’d be, I’d have told you to pull the other one. But grit and determination, paired with a bit of luck and support, can change everything.
It’s wild what happens when someone believes in you. And even wilder when you start believing in yourself.
So I guess my message ahead of World Mental Health Week is don’t give up on yourself. I was close once, but use that anguish and frustration as fuel. You never know where you might end up.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, Mind has a guide to where you can find help. The charity also has a specific resource for those fighting drug or alcohol addiction.
Jimmy Gordon is head of partnerships at OK Social, and co-host of the Months in Motion podcast.