This month's "Meet the Member" features Campaign Director, Andrew Harrigan, who took a two month trip to Chile, Argentina and Guatemala last year, and is planning a trip to Japan. He enjoys playing the guitar, and his heroes are Jimi Hendrix, Dave Gilmour, Lindsay Buckingham, and John Mayer.
Tell us a little about yourself and why you come to Unicorn Studios?
I'm currently working as a Campaign Director for a company called Reverse Media Group. Our primary source of business is through an affiliate partnership with Ebay but we also have a bunch of other sites and smaller partnerships.
The company went fully remote during the pandemic and at that time I also decided to make the move from the chaos of the Big Smoke back home to the sunny shores of the Suffolk coastline where I grew up.
Although remote work has its benefits, like being able to access the never ending supply of cupboard snacks or being able to tune into some terribly trashy daytime TV on my lunch break, it can get a bit lonely at times.
So after trying a few local cafes to break up the working week I quickly realised I needed a more permanent solution, with a desk and an environment where work was the priority instead of cappuccinos and cake (just to clarify there is nothing wrong with either of those things).
So I did some googling and stumbled upon Unicorn Studios, I haven't looked back since and I feel this coworking space has the perfect balance of feeling a bit like a cafe (there's free coffee after all), and being able to get your head down, to crack on with some work whilst being surrounded by like-minded people.
What was your first job?
My first job was working at the Orwell Hotel in Felixstowe as a Silver Service Waiter, I loved that job! The true test of a good silver service waiter was the challenge of trying to serve runner beans using a fork and a spoon whilst under pressure, in front of a big group of customers - I'm pretty sure I could still do this but it's not often I get the chance to utilise this skill anymore.
What work accomplishment are you most proud of?
A number of projects I worked on contributed to our company taking the 8th spot in the 2019 Sunday Times Tech Track 100, which is a list of the fastest growing tech companies. We also appeared on the list again in 2020.
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
In my 20s, I was firmly in the night owl category. Late nights were pretty normal and I was guilty of burning the candle at both ends.
I used to live in a 7 bed house share, so any night of the week was fair game for drinks or general shenanigans. Nowadays I'm definitely more of an early bird so late night games of poker or a Tuesday night gig in Camden have been replaced with early morning dog walks on Felixstowe beach or a jog whilst watching the sun come up.
What’s one of your favourite memories this year?
We visited Chile, Argentina and Guatemala last year on a two month trip, the highlight of this had to be hiking the 45 mile "W" Trek in the Torres Del Paine national park in Chile. The views in that area are out of this world and every day you discover new landscapes from jagged mountain peaks to glaciers.
We stayed in little hostels in the mountains along the way called Refugios, and you get to spend the evening having a beer with the other backpackers from around the world.
We would love to go back one day and complete the "O" trek which takes you on a complete loop of the park, but it takes around 10 days to complete and requires a fair amount of planning.
What is your hidden talent?
I play a bit of guitar in my spare time, and have played a few live performances at pubs, and also on stage in front of a few hundred people. The stage performance was part of a group I signed up to called The Guitar Social, where you are put in a band, and tasked with learning 3 songs.
After 8 weeks of practice we had to perform on stage. It was kind of nerve racking, but incredibly fun, and I'd love to do it again.
Guitar is something I always go back to, I often have periods where I don't play for a while, and then all of a sudden I'm hooked again. My guitar heroes are Jimi Hendrix, Dave Gilmour, Lindsay Buckingham, and John Mayer.
We have just moved house, so all of the focus is currently on decorating bedrooms, so the guitars are gathering dust at the minute, but hopefully I'll pick them up again soon.
What’s something you’re planning on doing in the next year that you’ve never done before?
We are currently planning a 3 week trip to Japan. It's a country that's been high on my list for a while so we're hoping we can really do the place justice in that timescale. With most places I visit though, it's generally the food and meeting the locals that I get most excited about, so I'm sure Japan will not disappoint.
If you could snap your fingers and become an expert in something, what would it be?
I would be a pro skateboarder, I loved skating when I was a kid, but was never any good at it. The closest I ever came to living out this dream was playing the OG Tony Hawk's pro skater on the playstation.
What a game (and what a soundtrack as well)! Being able to do these tricks for real would be so much fun, and I could travel the world entering the X games.
When working what is your guilty pleasure?
Beans on toast whilst watching Bargain Hunt - British culture at its finest.
What three people would be your fantasy coworkers at Unicorn studios? And why?
Dave Grohl - I've seen Foo Fighters live more times than I can remember so hanging out with Dave would be a dream come true, and maybe he would ask me to join the band...in this alternate reality they've probably fallen on hard times.
Alex Honnold - after watching the movie Free Solo, where he climbs El Capitan without any ropes, I'd love to know how anyone has the courage to do something like that. I was sweating just watching it on screen.
Sir Bobby Robson - a true Ipswich Town legend, and apparently he was the nicest man in football. He would have had some amazing anecdotes from his time managing some of the best teams in the world.
Would you rather be a tiny unicorn or a giant hamster?
I'm inclined to say a tiny unicorn but it could go either way, I think you could have more fun going under the radar as a tiny unicorn, and I'm pretty sure they have some untapped magic powers, which would be fun to explore.
I'm thinking the giant hamster would just roll around town being chased by crazy kids looking for the world's biggest pet. I'm not sure how fun that would be.
Benefits of joining Unicorn Studios
Productivity
Work-life balance
Cost effective
Collaboration
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