A candid conversation with multi-disciplinary creative Rahul Bhatt, who shares his journey from doing wedding videos in Leicester to working with global music artists like Coldplay and Camila Cabello. Born in Tanzania and raised in the UK, 

Bhatt discusses his evolution through various roles at major music labels, his approach to creative work, and his experiences in building visual worlds for artists. His story exemplifies how dedication and adaptability can lead to success in the competitive music industry, moving from digital marketing at Def Jam to becoming a trusted creative force behind some of the biggest names in pop music. 

Bhatt's journey highlights the importance of understanding both the creative and business aspects of the industry while maintaining authenticity and professionalism in high-pressure situations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
• Success in the music industry requires both creative talent and business acumen
• Being adaptable and understanding different platforms is crucial in modern content creation
• Maintaining professionalism and managing politics is as important as creative skills
• The importance of letting go of ego when working on an artist's vision
• Building a signature style while remaining versatile enough to serve different artists' needs
• Gratitude and perspective help manage stress in high-pressure creative situations
• Understanding and respecting artists' comfort levels is crucial for behind-the-scenes work
• The value of continuous learning and adapting to new technologies and trends
• Managing the balance between overdelivering and maintaining personal boundaries
• The reality of imposter syndrome even at high levels of success in the creative industry

Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business

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Rahul Bhatt: [00:00:00] yeah, going into that was

like, I wouldn't

say stressful. It was definitely a learning, curve. you have

to manage the

politics within the

companies and like how, what you say, you have to

be careful. So I think for me it was,

difficult, but I love a challenge. I will,

pursue whatever it is that I want

to do, and I'll keep

going. 

Welcome to Mindful Creative Podcast, a show about understanding how to deal with the highs and lows of creative lives. My name is Radek Malinich and creativity changed my life, but it also nearly killed me. In this season, inspired by my book of the same title, I am talking to some of the most celebrated figures in the creative industry.

In our candid conversations, my guests share their experiences and [00:01:00] how they overcame their challenges and struggles, how they learned to grow as creatives. A creative career in the 21st century can be overwhelming. I wanted to capture these honest and transparent conversations that might help you find that guiding light in your career.

Thank you for joining me on this episode and taking the first or next step towards regaining control of your creative life.

Are you ready?

Radim: Hey Rahul, it's nice to have you on the show. How are you doing today?

Rahul Bhatt: Hello, Ryan. It's been a while. I think like

Radim: 10 years or something, right? Yeah, we haven't spoken for a very long time and you've been on my radar as one of the guests I wanted to bring on the show because our paths, yes, crossed back in London, now you're in sunny LA doing amazing things and we've been Yeah, I thought it was a great way to catch up 

Rahul Bhatt: yeah, thank you for having me. I was looking at, the lineup of who you've had previously and, I do get like imposter syndrome all the time and I was like, [00:02:00] why does writing want me

on the podcast? so it's an honor. Thank

for having me. 

Radim: Oh, thank you. because, everyone's got their own place.

They know they deserve to have. So for those who have may not heard of you, how would you introduce yourself?

Rahul Bhatt: Okay. So my name is Rahul, but, I'm a multi disciplinary creative in

the music industry. specializing in photography, video, directing, design, basically whatever the artists needs are,

I'm there.

for them. Yeah.

And that's pretty much it. I've been in the industry for over 10

years now. 

starting with,

 Def Jam Records, way back in the day, and then,

moving,

to Syco, which is Simon Cowell's record label,

working with,pretty amazing artists over there. One Direction, Little Mix, Fifth

Harmony. 

I'm now in LA, work with Coldplay and people like that.

And

Camila Cabello is my main kind of artists I work with regularly. 

Radim: So yeah, that's me. Fantastic journey, and unpick a few different strands, because I want to find out, what was your drive getting into music industry, were you a kid that wanted to be a [00:03:00] musician, or did you like the media side of things, because I know you studied media, so how did you get into music, and before you get 

Rahul Bhatt: to that?

For me?

it was

always the media

aspect of it, the

videos and,

the photography. Like when

I was

in

high school,

in college,

I did like wedding videos, for people. And that was my exposure, you

know, I'd be going with my dad to record people's weddings. and that was fun,

but. 

I read your book

and you said the first

chapter is like you've been stressed and

that was basically me at

15, doing these wedding videos and stuff.

so yeah, I did that. And then like I

did media studies in college and I got introduced to the world of like music, music videos. And I think

I remember seeing,

I think it was

Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. and I was like, Oh my

God, imagine working

in that environment

and like being with, these artists and stuff like that.

So I kind

of knew from then that

that's what I wanted to do not necessarily the music production element, but like the business behind the music. Yeah. And that's what

I always [00:04:00] found,

fascinating. And, I did

start off in the business aspect of it, doing

digital marketing PR, and then slowly moving towards the creative aspect, photography and stuff like that.

Yeah.

Radim: How does a 15 year old do a wedding video? Because that's a headache for a grown up.

Rahul Bhatt: Yeah, and it was stressful, I'd be helping my dad. I'd be editing the videos and

At

first, I was always like intrigued by new technology, so I'd always try to incorporate whatever the new trends are, I think, We were using DV cams and then moved to DSLR.

So I was like, okay, I want to be like

the first people in my

small town to use DSLR for videos, and stuff like that. So

that always, always

kept me

going, whatever

the new tech was then. but yeah, to say, it was stressful, it's an understatement, it was like, If something wasn't delivered in time, it was the biggest deal and, looking back, it's

only a wedding

video.

Relax. 

Radim: I think there's something really weird about people's weddings and like their expectations because I think it was the comedian Ed Byrne who said, When he was going through the [00:05:00] wedding planning and stuff, people said, this is going to be the happiest day of your life. And he said, surely if it's the happiest day of my life, I'm going to let shit slide.

Like nothing matters.

Rahul Bhatt: But no, no, no, this is,

but I get it, I get it. It's the

biggest day for someone. You don't want anything to go

 not according to plan. So I get it. yeah, I

mean, it was fun. Don't get me wrong.

We had some great times and

saw some great weddings.

So I've been to a

of weddings, but yeah, that

was past.

That's where it all started. And

my family has always been into photography, like my granddad, because I was born in

Tanzania, East Africa. so

my granddad always

had, a photo

lab there. And then we

moved to,

 the UK in 2000. and

my dad did, wedding videos and stuff.

And that's where it started in New York. It's always been in the family. 

Radim: All right. How old are you when you moved from Tanzania to UK?

Rahul Bhatt: I

It was like eight years old. So it was, yeah, it was stressful. Was it stressful? Crikey. Yeah, I just don't know how, you

know, my mom did it.

Mom and dad was like,

looking back,

I was like, moving to a new country with,

three [00:06:00] kids is a

lot for anybody and, 

Yeah. So I'm like looking back, I'm like, damn, mom, you're a hero. 

Radim: That's a nice tribute do it. Cause yeah, I've got two kids before moving to any other country and it's a handful, but, it was a nice link to what you said about Lady Gaga and actually you having that view into.

More on the business side of things, like actually what's behind the scenes, because we get a lot of people who want to be the person. we get mesmerized by the end product. We go Oh, I want to be a rock star. I want to be a pop star. I want to be a DJ or producer or rapper. And I like that.

 you bypass that because I guess, maybe from already knowing how stressful things can be, you aim that. So how did you get to work with Def Jam and then going on to Psyco? Because to someone it'd be like, wait a minute, so you've been doing wedding videos and you're working for Def Jam next.

How does that work?

Rahul Bhatt: So 

 I moved

to London from university.

and there,

I knew then that I always

wanted to be in

music.

So

then, I needed to make [00:07:00] money. So I worked part time at Apple,selling Apple iPhones and doing tech stuff,

what do you call the genius part?

That's

I was at. I did that and then that's

I started to apply for like internships or whatever, work experience at the record

labels.

and,

one of the first companies I

got

into was,

Def Jam and

that was just a foot in the door was

like

 three month or

six month, work experience.

And,

 yeah, that exposed me to like how,

the industry kind of works. It was like

the early days of digital marketing. So I was like

making

banners and

stuff like that and,

using Photoshop to make

banners for

like Justin Bieber, Frank Ocean, and all

these people. and you know that, I knew

how to use Photoshop. So I was like,

Oh, this is easy. I can, do this. That's

how I made me decide I want to do more of this. 

Radim: Will we describe, we had a quick pre chat, before we started recording about the fact that we come from two different generations of working with music, because when I was getting into music as a wannabe musician, or wannabe rockstar and a musician, the visual side of things was pretty [00:08:00] limited.

It was like, here's the album cover, potentially some merch, which is the album cover. And that's it,that, may be a poster, like an ad in, the paper or in a magazine. There was nothing more beyond this, whereas now, we've just opened this Narnia. to content, and obviously what I call the fragmented marketing that as many platforms exist, as many channels we have, as many websites and I can't even put the right word on it, but it's just all fragmented.

And this is the world where you and thrive because How was that sort of step up from the banners for Justin Bieber, all the way to producing content for some of the biggest pop stars and bands in the world?

Rahul Bhatt: yeah, I think to

touch on your point earlier,

I think

right now artists are building worlds on social media,

building worlds around the album.

So I think, there are those people that will still just do photography and

deliver

that. That's great. But now I think as an artist, you have

to

think beyond the album

packaging, think, think

what your social [00:09:00] media

strategy is, what kind of, 

world are you building online, 

so I

think for me, I like to be part

of that. I like to, help create

those photos

or whatever it is,

and the

videos, and then I also like to help, build

like a world around the artists. So for example, Camila with her

recent album, I helped

create the trailers, and like the social

teasers and stuff

like that.

So I

think

yeah, now more than ever, I think it's just being a creative

is just

more than the one

specific thing. 

whether that's photography,

video, like directing,

even design, you have to get involved in. I think,

Yeah, I think that's

kind

of where it's

heading. and I like that.

I don't

like to do one thing and, 

 be done with it. I like to fully immerse

myself

within the world building aspect

it. and it sounds so

like music industry

world building, but you create these worlds and, it's

beyond just the music.

It's, how the

world shows on social media

and, yeah,

like how it looks and stuff like that. So love doing that, I

think

Radim: that's the way it's heading, and love that, I think what's changed [00:10:00] in the world of music, and I think it was a guy called Steve Reid, I think it was the guy, the manager of a band called Incubus, and this is going, let's say, this quote goes about 15 years ago, and he said, once upon a time, you just have to put a poster up that the band is coming.

And then just show up and that would be enough. And now you're obviously doing all of these streams, like live streams and webcasts and, the conversations. And I think we're getting let's say, music fans or music fans are getting so much more value out of everyone because they know so much more about the artists.

They, almost nothing's off limits these days, which when you think about it for, The fan base, that's amazing because they got more access and more touch points, more merge and more, just view into the world of a musician than ever before, but how much more demanding it can seem for the artist, because think about.

My ambitions [00:11:00] of, okay, I want to be a rockstar, right? You're thinking,you're going to be just living a great life and you're thinking, that's not going to happen. You're going to be creative. And you're thinking, I'm going to be creative every single day. I'm going to do creative work.

And then you realize. No, you're going to create some of the time, you're going to be working on your business most of your time. Then you have to make sure your mental health is okay. Because when you think none of the big artists, they make the album and then tour it for 18 months.

That's just a repeat of a repeat. That's not a creative position per se, because, As like those big sets that are just baked in. No, you can't. there's literally I think there's a given condition where the musicians basically almost lose like the perception of reality because you just play the same set all the time and you're thinking, wow, like that is a really hard working job that takes so much out of anyone.

So from you being on that side. In between almost, how do you see your role in content and like how sensitive could it be to [00:12:00] actually get the right message from the musician into the world and now the world building, like how much thought goes into it? Because the nuances can be crazy in my opinion. 

Rahul Bhatt: Yeah, that's a good question. I think, I'm gonna touch on your point earlier. 

doing the

album. I think for an artist, it's usually fulfilling

to make the album, and then, touring it

is almost seeing your work

come to life.

doing these music videos,

is seeing your work come,

what you had in your head.

It's basically putting it out in the real

world. that's what excites artists.

 playing these shows and stuff. Yes, it's repetitive,

but I think seeing

how people receive that. in

the real world. I think it's fulfilling,

 is what I would say. 

I can't speak for the artists themselves, but

yeah, I think that's kind of what, is exciting for, artists a

fan. as you said earlier, like now more than ever,

it's not just

putting the album out and you're done.

It's like

giving,

 fans these

experiences and, things like that. And I a great time to be a fan

because you get,

it's not just, artist is just

on and then off.

like basically

24 hour

access the [00:13:00] artist, which

can be a little

overwhelming. But yeah, 

that's the way it is now. And I

think, fans,

 artists are getting more and

more creative of how they reach the fans,

whether it's like live, experiential,pop ups and things like that.

And that's exciting to me. think would be exciting for a lot of artists and fans

too, obviously. actually? 

Radim: let me take it back by one step because obviously we go from these banners and from Dev Jam to Psyco.

And now it gradually, the content grows, grows, grows because it seems with every single year, generally with everything, like everything gets more intricate, everything gets more exciting, more complicated, more simplified in the same way. Like we got better tools, we got more powerful technology, but.

It's sometimes like, how do you keep up with the process and progress? in your personal journey, when we talk about from, we go from wedding videos to banners to being, a creative director, content creator, like driving all of these big artists out there in the world with their [00:14:00] world building, let's talk about these steps.

Like, how do you get from. the place one to place 20. 

Rahul Bhatt: Yeah, I think, seeing kind of the first insight into the world of music was

Def Jam and

seeing that world and, get seeing your work out there's is the

first kind of like

big

moment, and that was with the banners, seeing it on like the Facebook page of whatever artist it was,

at the

time, it's oh, okay.

that's

fun.

That's exciting. And

then as you go gradually, you,create more stuff

that gets out in the world and you're

like, Oh, this is

actually exciting,

and then So pair

that with the idea that you can think of

something and

you can go out

and create it

So pair that with being out in the world, I think is, what gets you to keep going.

and it's not about the ego aspect. Oh, look, it's on print, so it must mean something. It's not that. It's, 

 it's just seeing it out in the

world. and you help

someone achieve

their vision. I think it's more

about that than, the

ego,Oh, my work is in print or my work is in billboard, or whatever.

I think it's more that

side, like

you [00:15:00] someone

kind

of bring their to life. And that's what keeps

me

pushing more and more,

that's, the part,

 that I like doing.

with the music industry, it's your ego, whatever, you have to let

it go, You're there for the artist's vision and,

You

know, you might see one way and they might see something one way. And you have to meet in the middle slash execute what their

vision is. And I think ego, whatever, you kind

of have to let that go. And that's what you have to do.

you

know, cause I work in the business side of music,

the social aspect

and the creative

So it's like,it's a fine balance,

let go of your ego,

 you

know, you're there to help create an artist's vision.

So Let that be

aim.

that's how you from senior banners to then, 

Radim: Okay. I think you've given me a great few words for a segue to a man that sort of helped you shape your career, which is Simon Cowell and that's ego and help someone shape their vision because obviously the way he's perceived publicly, obviously it's just Simon Cowell. And, Whatever the opinions people might have, obviously, you know him from a totally different side, actually [00:16:00] working for him and spent, how long did you work for Syco?

Rahul Bhatt: I think it

Radim: it was 

Rahul Bhatt: over 10 years, I think 11 years. Yeah. 

Radim: That's a long time. how would you say that when you, for those 10 years, how did you see the industry change and how do you see your ways of working and how do you see the industry change? 

Rahul Bhatt: Yeah, I think it was

so different, back then.

I started on a project, at

Cycle called

U Generation. I think that's what U helped,brand

design or whatever it

was. so I think, that in itself was, an incredible idea. I do

it was ahead of its time.

So that's what kind

of where I started.

So it was already digital tech front

heavy, 

and then, yeah, then going into, and

things like that, it's always

what's the next technology, it was the rise of social media. So

it's like using

that to promote the shows 

Radim: I think idea is like the industry almost changed like from,I would say The industry is more fragmented in a way of, micro genres, because I think 10 years ago it was like, let's create a boy girl [00:17:00] band.

I think that, the thing that's what comes in as a mainstream now comes across differently because it's more about, as opposed to relying on a genre, relying on label. It's more I think people build their own worlds, as you call it. I think that's, the difference, 

when we were doing shows like X

Rahul Bhatt: Factor, it was, The three

kind of main platforms, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever it was. And,

now there's so many options. There's

TikTok, there's Discord, in music, we have Stationhead, where you can just stream music with your

fans, yeah, I think

the tech

side of it is very interesting.

and.

now with AI is also very interesting.

so AI is interesting on

all aspects, even design and Photoshop and

things like that. So

where it started and where it is now, it's like totally different.

Never

in, 10

years ago, I would have thought

AI would be helping

design or AI would be helping whatever it is. so I

that's the biggest difference, in terms of

there's just

more platforms platforms you have to create

content for. 

what you create for Instagram does not [00:18:00] necessarily

work for

TikTok.

So you have to have a whole nother

strategy for that, whole nother team for that.

So

yeah, it's, definitely interesting. in my opinion, it's fun. I love,

TikTok and things like that, but

yeah, it's definitely

more,

way more 10 years ago. First, it was just like Facebook, One post everywhere is fine and now

it's just, can't do that. You have to like really

look at who your audience is. Yeah. You have to really look at who's on your, X, Twitter, whatever, who's on

your Tik Tok, who's following you,

who's following you on Instagram and really, Strategize for that, 

Radim: let me talk about your personal journey, from where you were 10 years ago, or where you worked for 10 years ago, obviously now you find yourself living in LA, were born in Tanzania, you grew up in England, worked in London, now you live there in terms of your personal journey.

experience in the industry.I know the last, 10 years of your life through social media, like Instagram. It's Hey, [00:19:00] Rahul's doing really, really well. That's really great to see. But Music industry can be perceived, Like a twisted fairytale sometimes, it looks amazing glitzy, but your experience of building your own career, building your own business, relocating, starting again.

how did it go? 

Rahul Bhatt: for me, my journey in the music industry was very,

different

Because I, the first kind of experience I had was,

Def Jam and

that was already, the biggest music at the time.

And then going from that

to

Psycho, which again, another, label, TV company.

and

yeah, going into that was

like, I wouldn't

say stressful. It was definitely a learning, curve. you have

to manage the

politics within the

companies and like how, what you say, you have to

be careful. So I think for me it was,

difficult, but I love a challenge. I will,

pursue whatever it is that I want

to do, and I'll keep

going. then same with,

Rahul Bhatt: coming to

LA, I was

like, I want to [00:20:00] work on

this artist, this artist and like help or Be where the magic happens basically in the music world, you

know, you go to America That's where

like the big award shows are and the big, artists are fun and stuff like that.

So I think for me it was like, okay,

I'm gonna go to America and then

you know I didn't move with Simon's company Psycho. So I

working

on America's Got Talent and Artists here. So it's like Fifth Harmony Camilla So it was like, yeah,

it was, getting thrown in those like kind of big names from the beginning.

It was, tough. It

was, to be careful,

you know, understand how the politics work, and also navigating how the

business works, what a manage artist management does.

what, the digital team do, what PR team does. So it's like having to that and then coming to LA

and then having to learn again.

'cause they're obviously different. in both

the countries. So

yeah, it was, challenging, I

love a challenge and

yeah, it's been amazing, but it's been like a big learning curve,

big learning curve for sure.

And I'm still learning and I learn every day and yeah, that's how I look at it. 

Radim: What struck me as quite [00:21:00] mature is that when you already observed the industry, like saying, I had to watch out what's to say to whom and, like being aware of the politics because from personal perspective, you're like, I'm going to say something and see what comes back,pushing boundaries and trying to break the rules.

But I think obviously met you in person and we work, together. I've always impressed how mature you were beyond your years, like you knew how to handle stuff. And I remember being cheeky, trying to extract some secrets about artists. You're like, you're very professional. I was like, Oh, cool.

Just now he's going to go far because I was just thinking off the cuff, like what's there to learn. But with your creative stuff, you mentioned your granddad had a photo lab back in Tanzania and hands on experience creativity coming to life, taking photos and seeing them come to life, I think could be quite sort of life changing and life affirming.

So when it comes to actually your creative expression, Did you have any sort of inspirations? Because mentioned Lady [00:22:00] Gaga and obviously you can see quitea huge stream of pop videos and music coming your way. So you're in the middle of it, but what is that sort of soul expression that You're saying, Rahul, this is my, bit.

This is what I want to do. This is my part, because there is a signature to your work. So how did you see it come into life? 

Rahul Bhatt: Yeah, I think there's for me personally, there's

two aspects of this, 

there's the of business side it.

That's the

scene watching the big kind of Lady Gaga

and be like, I want to work

behind the scenes, not necessarily creating the music

video,

but Oh my God, imagine

being part of the rollout for that.

Oh, 

building the world that Gaga

was building at the time

around that. So I think for me, when I was younger, looking at that, that's the first

inspiration was

like, Oh my God,

music industry, this is what I want to do. And

then, as you get into it, you get the,

your nuances, like your

artistic style, your photography and

stuff like that.

And

I think this is where,

[00:23:00] you

can't let your ego get in the way of, your work because most of the time, and, you

have this

creative freedom in

terms of you have an idea, you can execute

it, but then you are building,

around the artist, it's whatever style want, so you kind of have to adapt to that, and, you

know, that's,

a big part of, I think, what I do is, adapt to

the style.

 I will do my own like personal stuff

that personal

projects that are more like creative, 

more out there, whereas like with the

artists and stuff, it's like

you're building their vision. So it's has to be, true

to their brand.

yeah, I think, yeah, that was a weird answer, but I think for me, It's

the business side and then the actual creative side.

there's two different inspirations, if that makes sense. 

Radim: Yeah, does make sense. I think what you describe it, I think it's almost in a way artistically selfless because you're talking about other people's vision and other people's ways, because I think under what ego is mentioned, [00:24:00] there's so many different ways to see it.

this is a bravado. What is it? Because I've been trying to decipher it recently. And ego is more of like the sense of identity. who am I? am I here for? And some people are the ones who want to be the front of the queue, be known for what they do. And almost get all the glory and accolades.

Whereas the work that you do, need to make the other person shine, but still have creative satisfaction, actually, by doing the work that's worth doing. Because if you didn't have your sort of creative temptation or creative vision, If you didn't create for your soul, then you'd be in the wrong job, and obviously the bigger the art is, the bigger the layer of politics, the sort of the bigger the outcome, the bigger the expectation.

this is where the stakes are really high. So I want to know that obviously I know that you're telling me that you are big on a C word, compromise, like you're happy to find a way that works for everyone, but how much pressure there goes into a rollout around the album campaign, [00:25:00] the world building.

do you, Can you metabolize it by standing on the sidelines and going, I'm fine here, I'm a professional, I can see, or do you get stress and does other people stress rub on you? 

Rahul Bhatt: first of all, I think how I handle stress is definitely different

how other people handle stress. I'm usually,

or at least I look very calm,

on the outside.

I do like

getting

stressed. about stuff you can't control. There's literally point,

if something's not rendered whatever, it's okay, what do you want me to do?

there's that.

And then there's internal, oh, no, I need to get this done.

like today or like in next hour.

so I think

there's different

levels of stress,

know, when we're close to like

deadlines and stuff, obviously that stress level high.

and it does mean I'm up late

finishing work and

stuff like that.

So I think different levels of stress for different kind of

time periods of of different

projects. And with me it's like not just one project, I'll have like [00:26:00] multiple

around the year. So it's once

you're done with one, it's straight onto the next. So you don't even have time to oh, that

was fun.

It's like usually okay, onto

the next. and then, that's where the kind of.

I

think that's where fun

is, to be honest with you. It's okay,

done with one. Let's see what we can do in the next project. And

I think

probably diffeveryone handles

stress differently.

So

yeah, for me, I and not

let it affect me

as much, especially in the work I'm doing. sometimes we'll create,sales or whatever it is, and

then it has to delivered like that day. And, that's where as you said, the C word comes

from. The compromise.

It's okay, we don't have time.

Rahul Bhatt: so what are we going to

do to speed up the process? And, it means you're going to have to compromise on something. and, To me, that's okay. And understand

that to certain creatives that not be okay, and that's totally fine, but

the way I

is, I was always creative, I have the business

in the

back of my head, music business, it's like, okay, I get that, we have to creative

and

deliver like an amazing [00:27:00] product, but also understand deadlines, understand 

why we need what we need and when need it.

also, knowing that, knowing the business side can also be Oh,

I

need to get it done. Cause if I don't get it done, I know what the implications are. 

I don't know. It's just being fully like

in the artist world business, or just the

music business.

 yeah, stressful, but I don't know, I'm still here and do

like it.

seeing.

different

kind of worlds, projects, whatever it is, music come out, it's like a big, fulfilling moment. 

Radim: yeah, I think, we can tell ourselves that in the creative industry, we are always the one who potentially have it the worst.

we've got a lovely job, but, compared to some other people, we get more stress, because we've got all of these things. When you think about it, like how much it goes into A balanced mental health, not a state of mind for a regular person, and then you put people in the room and say, now go and collaborate. And you're going to be a project manager, you're going to do this.

And you get people's [00:28:00] life nuances, life experiences, life stresses, current sort of breakup stories from playing up in the open. And it's like, when you put all of this. into a room and someone says, go, you've got a creative project and everything needs to go smoothly and quickly and that's near impossible.

Like it's, it could be in the music, advertising, branding and all sorts of things, theater, because not everyone is always the one who works on themselves, making sure I need to bring my better version of myself to the creative process, because it's sometimes easy just to, ignore our problems.

So what you describe it, obviously, I think having that sort of positive effect on the process, even though you might be freaking out, in your mind, that's what makes it professional. Because yeah, Decipher your creative process, think who can help you, what you can do with it.

That's, especially when the stakes are so high, that's a growth of a long term career because, if you haven't thrown in the towel now, I think you'll be all right for a while. Because yeah, we tells ourselves stories about other dream [00:29:00] jobs being easier or less stressful, 

 but everything is stressful. 

Rahul Bhatt: to

me, grass is always

greener, it feels that way, but you look at what other people are doing and other jobs and what we're doing is creative and it's

fun. So it's it shouldn't

be stressful.

Of course it gets stressful, like with, deadlines and stuff

like that.

But for me, I

always try and remember, there's other

jobs out there that are like.

Way more stressful, 

and I'm always mindful of that, you

know, I'm grateful where I am right now, even going to

a set and holding a

camera just for the whole day is,

something that I could

have never imagined, and be

doing that as

a job in my mind

still, I'm like,

wait, what?

That's crazy. 

That's crazy that, and

then I get to go home andedit the photos, what kind of job is that?I think for me, that's how I look at it.

if it gets too stressful, you can always,

find

Other stuff that you like doing

to compensate for that, whether it's doing hobbies,

going out, taking photos of, I don't know, flowers or something.

That's probably what I'm going to do at some point. but yeah, that's, how I look at it. I'm always [00:30:00] grateful for every opportunity I

get, Even when things get

stressful, I'm like,

Oh, I don't want to be doing this. It's okay, relax. yeah.

even holding a camera

for

a job is crazy, to be creative is insane.

Radim: Let's talk about you holding a camera on set and doing live photos. Now let's talk about the more sort of practical advice because. It must be daunting, obviously, to do that on a day one. Obviously, now we've been doing it for quite a while, but what do you do, for example, with the talent, again, the talent might not be having a great day.

Like, how do you direct your set? have you got your assistants? Or like, How do you do in a studio setting and in live setting, because obviously like sometimes you can control things.

this is the thing that you can control stuff and in live setting you can't control much, So how do you go between those two what's your tips for this? 

Rahul Bhatt: Yeah, so for me

because

I do more than just live photography. I do studio sometimes.I do behind the scenes, so

I have to adapt the way I work.

in different [00:31:00] settings.

some photographers will only do settings. it's different. It's totally different to,

 doing behind the scenes.

in studios, of course, you'd have your team. and it's good have people that you can trust. like to

the where

if you look at something,

something's not right, you look at that person and they also understand what's not right.

Do Do team is that could be anything from like digitech, lighting assistants,whoever, just regular,

just assistants.

so I think that's in the studio element

and like behind the

scenes element of live is

of like

always

Yeah, have your cameras

ready, prepare everything the night before, whatever it is, just always

be

ready.

and I tend to carry two lenses,

like wide,

 and a zoom like 70 to

200, just so

I'm not like, On you don't have time. Like, when you're on set and doing you don't have time to switch and like, be about it. No, no, no.

You have go, go, go. So

like,you should be ready

to

look at whatever

your setting is and

decide Oh, the wide will be great or the zoom will be

for this.

So you just have to

know. and I think [00:32:00] it's adapt to whatever the scenario is, be a chameleon, like just

figure it out. And also if you're doing like behind

scenes stuff,

be mindful of the talents. I, where the eyeline is, just

imagine yourself, you're like performing and there's people

at you.

That's like the worst feeling. So

just imagine how they feel.

so I was trying to stay out the eyeline

until you're comfortable, until they're comfortable, whatever. I always try and stay out the eyeline, but sometimes you have to get in and,

they may

you, they may

not, or they may just not give the performance a thought. They would

give, so just

be mindful of that. Even if you don't do it, just be mindful. yeah,

I think that's the biggest

things. yeah, and basic housekeeping, just

be organized, know where is.

in terms of

files on your computer and also, in terms of

of know,

your kit.

yeah, think

That's kind

of it.

And just be nice to everyone on set. you never know who anyone is. That's my thing.

Rahul Bhatt: just be to everyone. It

doesn't hurt.

Rahul Bhatt: the crew out there working,and

we're kind

of, In

addition to, if it's even a [00:33:00] music video, it's

like they're, world and we're just coming in and capturing, documenting that.

so that's how I see it. 

Radim: I will make a link between wedding photography and what you just described, being an artist island, because I once happened to go into Adobe session on wedding photography. 15 years ago, randomly. And there was literally some guy who won like the wedding award, but like best wedding photographer for 15 years.

And he was like, look, we do this, this and that, like I've got three photographers. I pretend to take photos. I just chat to people. I pretend to take photos while I've got my three assistants taking photos from the sidelines. So those pictures are the most natural because. as soon as you put camera in person, we start posing.

We don't even want 

Rahul Bhatt: that's honestly, 

Radim: do.

Rahul Bhatt: yeah,

that's like how it

with talent, like

working with Simon, you never like, like photos,

like of him just looking at the camera,

because I also used to take photos of Simon

and Tim and the artists.

he like, when I used to [00:34:00] show him photos, he'd always gravitate towards

the repertoire moments.

because they're the stuff that you can't, Replicate

or it's nice like the true emotions. one of my favorite photos I've

taken and like one of his as

well, is the photo of Little Mix

winning

their first ever Brit

award.

and, I was just there with the camera, and, And I was on the table and I was like, Oh, let me just snap this moment.

It was literally the reaction as they won. And that was like

a very cool photo to capture

and to be, just be in that moment was crazy. 

Radim: yeah. Yeah, it must be hard because we are all different. We are different about how we go about things and some people go down securities and in a different way.

And in a world that you work and you're describing, it comes across like they have to be almost on all the time because you never know who sees you where and what happens. And I did have a Stefan Zagmeister on the show a few weeks ago and he was talking about the fact that they couldn't even do photo shoots with people like Rolling [00:35:00] Stones or Lou Reed or David Bowie because they were just hyper famous, like was impossible to take them to the streets or it had to be a studio environment.

And yeah, this kind of stuff, Putting yourself in the mindset of the artist,I don't you, if you were to really itemize the life of a, celebrity or pop star, you're like, this is what your life's going to be.

would they sign up for it? would they say, actually, yeah, let's me do this because I I think we get in a better understanding of the mental health.

And And artists coming out in this generation, counseling tours because they want to look after themselves, actually. And I think this is, a sign of that we're growing, that we're healing, because how many people we've lost just because they got lost in the industry. 

Rahul Bhatt: I think, yeah, it's, it's important,

to put

your mental health first. And it's good to see artists doing that. and they want to take a break or whatever it is. It's kind of like, okay, 

I think fans definitely understand that for sure. 

Radim: So let's talk about your [00:36:00] artistic expression, because obviously you're very busy working with people, as you said, like Coldplay and Camila others, obviously as I've labeled you as a selfless creative, you're working for the benefit of others born out on their vision.

What is it that you do that creatively I mean, if you even have space for it, that's the caveat, like what would you do when you're not on? 

Rahul Bhatt: there's usually no space

for that, but I'm, actively trying make

like, it is still doing photography, but of like other things, I did I want to

take pictures of like nature and flowers and, the ocean

and

things like that.

So I've started to do that. And I think that

me

is where it's going. I enjoy that, appreciating things you. I

think, yeah, that's

what I,

do to get away

it. it's

still holding the camera, but to me, that's like

amazing, so I, do that.

and then other than that, just

like the basic like cooking,

 going on hikes, going on walks, going to the gym. I think that's yeah. You know, other ways to kind of [00:37:00] keep,

Radim: keep

going, really. You've taken up LA lifestyle, yeah, of hiking. 

Rahul Bhatt: not like that. No, I say hiking. I haven't been on a hike in a while, but it does,

refreshes the mind, just for a walk or whatever it is.

or just being outside, seeing the sun. 

Radim: No, it's definitely sense. it sounds like you're still at that phase where, working a lot is your reality, but it does change because,I'm doing lots of Unpicking of the situation I was in where you would get offered, let's say, a subscription to a magazine.

Free subscription. I'm like, I don't have time to read magazines like no . And it was such a wrong choice for me. Like it was such a wrong choice just to not do that. 'cause we tell ourselves like how much we need to work. we've got existential let's little like it is a survival instinct, 

there needs to be money in the bank, rent needs to be paid, all of that stuff. And then you realize, actually, how could I have done that a lot faster and spend less of my emotional energy on people who don't necessarily actually wondered, how good this could be?

Because even though I'm [00:38:00] sure in your, position, like when you're working on these campaigns and rollouts, There's the expectation from the label, there's expectation from the artist, there's your expectation, and everyone's going to want to do it as best as possible. But sometimes you need to tell me if you do that yourself, but sometimes we just go way beyond of what's needed because we really want it to be good and we spend so much emotional energy, yeah, over delivering.

Yeah,

Rahul Bhatt: That's me. That's me to the team. Always do that. If

there's one thing needed, I'll give

five options. because,

 you're afraid to disappoint or,

you

know, not get the approval you need

and like that. So I think,

it's,

a tough one

because, you don't want

to disappoint, but also,

there will be some times where I'm like,

This

is what I'm going to give and you have to be confident in work.

so I

think, there will be moments where I'm like, okay, I'm really happy with this. I can submit this, as just the one.

And going back to your point earlier about,

having the

time to do 

 magazine or it is, I

think,

even for me, when I get

that time, I

[00:39:00] always want to learn things.

So I'll be on YouTube learning, I don't know,

just

the latest

editing techniques. trick or

it is. So to me, is that kind of working still? I don't think so. 'cause

I'm learning. some people need to like, not

look at a computer screen to switch off and that's totally fine.

But

for me, I'm like, I need to learn more.

So if I

have the downtime,

do watch like films and stuff, but like most of the time I do prefer to be on like YouTube and like learning. It's but

that's just, you

know, how it is. And maybe in the future I'll learn to like

completely.

do something that's not related or not anything to do with work to

switch off,

But for now, I think it's just Oh, what can I do to learn? What's the next thing? yeah, that's just me.I work and yeah.

Radim: It's an exciting stage though, because in this sort of time and age, we have so many tools and so much information available to us. And, obviously I was described in a situation that was just unhealthy for me because I was, Just [00:40:00] more on a sort of commercial path, of course, like times they were not spent working, were spent with learning or trying to be, I was trying to prove myself, I can do this, if that makes sense.

Like I was like, I need to do more, more, more, more, no one's knocking on the door today. Let's do more, more, more. And it was just like, the time is, It's almost enchanting because no one's telling you can't do it, but I think there would have been a few changes that I would love to have made back in the day, like to, not break myself too much, but that path of learning, the path of growing, it's, amazing because you receive artists like John Mayer, for example, saying, Oh, I still learn, I still watch tutorials.

John Mayer, he doesn't need to watch tutorials, he's amazing. And others, it's that path of constantly like, where do I go with this? Because there's no such thing as one and done. Especially in the music industry,you've got one good album. Okay. When does the next one come in?

what do you mean? You just can't do one? No, no, no. You have to do this and do that. Cause as we talked at the top of the conversation, like [00:41:00] we've got more access to artists, they give us more, like there's, more produced and There's more ways to almost fall in love with the work and have emotional reaction and because they do something to make us feel, like, how do you connect with this stuff?

So I think that part, I wouldn't, especially in your ripe age of 31. Yeah. So look, you're still at the right place to. To to give it your all, because you can't be a sprint runner, you can't be a sprinter all your life, obviously you will slow down, but yeah, I love, I love the fact that there is the energy and then you can see what you can do, you're you're stuff for your clients, you're working gives you the edge, especially such a competitive world.

Rahul Bhatt: Yeah, I think, ultimately it's like I said before,

if it's something

like picking up a camera and doing That's.

my creative So that will

help me keep going. I do want to learn what's next in that

world, if it's like

Social media or the next digital trend is.

I want to know [00:42:00] what that next thing is. So

in terms of personal growth, that for me is personal growth and 

growth in terms of Career, whatever it that will help me get

to the next stage.

in terms of personal growth, definitely need to work on, taking

breaks, whatever is.

yeah, and I think

when I was freelancing, you

don't want to say no to any jobs that you get. It's a hard thing to say

no, cause once

you're not available whatever, always be

else and then that's

it, so I think, yeah, it's a tough one, cause you have to like, find the right balance.

but, yeah. 

Radim: Have you ever said a no to a high profile artist that you regretted afterwards saying no? 

Rahul Bhatt: The funny thing is, probably not.

I don't think so.

Even it's like, Two things in one day. I'm like, okay,

make it work as long as the time don't overlap.

no, I don't think I have to be honest with you.

Radim: I'm sure that if was something really like career defining.

Rahul Bhatt: Oh, yeah, exactly. I was like, we'll make it work. 

Radim: we'll make you work. I think this is what [00:43:00] you mentioned. You mentioned the, freelance world because when you're freelancer, I think the joke is almost like freelancer will always pick up the phone.

Like you call a freelancer and they'll always answer because it's such a amazing prospect of working and creating your own business, but it's almost never guaranteed. And there was many conversations on this season and the previous season about like how freelancers are always worried that their job, current job is their last job.

And in a funny way, that will always be one of the jobs will be the last job, but it's about how you prepared for something else. Like how do you build that next step? Because I think in a freelance mindset, it's just now is now, now is a hundred percent. And I totally understand the over delivering and just like,makes everyone happy, even if it doesn't pay exactly as it should be, because you really want to build meaningful connections.

And I can tell you that, being. Craig, I'm trying to work out a month, let's say 14 years ahead on my career, everything, every job that I have over [00:44:00] delivered that I've worked with people and gave them extras and look after them and be nice to them, even though, that didn't always deserve it.

you're banking that energy because it comes back to you in, in the later stage, because you're going to fall to have more people to help you out. Obviously you can have more people, you have more opportunities that grow in a different dimensions. And yeah, I think that part is The freelance part, I think if, there was maybe a bit more guarantee in that career, maybe we would have carried ourselves differently at that time. Whereas being almost turned up to 11 every day and juggling and struggling sometimes as a result, sometimes that is the baptism of fire that gives you a long term career.

Rahul Bhatt: And I think the goal is, to get to a point where

if it's say, photography or

directing or whatever, that your work speaks for itself and you don't have to do that, and

yeah, that's how most kind of creatives operate. but, being in the business is a [00:45:00] different

aspect.

you have to get things delivered, approved, whatever,the deadlines, and things like that. So I think for me, that's,

different. Whereas, the goal always.

your work speaks for itself. It's okay, I've built a style. So I have a signature style that people come

to me for.

And I think that's,

the goal.

working in the business itself is that kind of shifts the goal a little bit, especially for me. 

Radim: So your world is very, can I say pop driven? 

Rahul Bhatt: Where do you see yourself? Pop driven, there's hip hop stuff that I've done. 

Radim: yeah. where do you see yourself heading in the future?

is there any particular genre, artist, style of work that, you've got defined almost as a step going forward or bringing those influences in, in your current work. 

Rahul Bhatt: think that's a great question. I actually thought about what it is.

next

that I want to do. think I like the challenge of kind of [00:46:00] being a creative

creating in the. music industry,

knowing the business side, working in the

business side

and then creating.

I

think

that's what I want to continue doing. And I think I want to do

more of that. That makes sense.

but on the creative side, I

also want to.

Find out what my style is, develop

my style. And, you say I have that kind of style and I think I do, but I do want to hone in little bit more.

It's this is the signature. there's still lots more to learn on that front for me. and,

in an ideal world, I have this

incredible signature

style,continuing to work the

business

or

whatever it is, but I think that's, a tough one, especially

when we about, building a world for an artist, compromises and stuff like that.

I have to see where, that goes. 

Radim: Yeah. Yeah, because you're talking about sort of recognizable style and obviously having this almost different solutions for different artists, because I can see that some of the imagery 

 got like almost like the photo lab look,you're talking about grainy images. Some of this is hyper realistic and it's [00:47:00] almost like when you cater into someone else's world building. you want to have your style, but almost be like the most amazing chameleon that helps them to actually achieve their vision.

So that's interesting. would suggest, start thinking what, the next thing is, because it's almost like coming to these creative roadblocks sometimes or finding yourself, like looking back at 10 year career going Oh shit, that's been 10 years. What does the next years, 10 years come and, how does it applicable?

Because maybe some of these. Pop stars might not necessarily bother making music, in the next five, 10 years.we, I think we can put money on Coldplay being in the game for the next 50 years. 

Rahul Bhatt: with Coldplay, I did, like the art direction for their toe posters.and Phil, I love, I love the

Coldplay team. That's so

nice. and just working with them. It's just such a

dream, Very

communicative and the

band is nice

and there's just,

their shows are incredible. I don't know if you've been to a Coldplay show, but oh my God, incredible.

Radim: I'm happy to see how far you've gone because. As I said, I've been [00:48:00] following your progress through just your social media and I was like, oh, wait a minute.

So I knew that you were always working with some pop stars, but I was like, wow, this is really impressive. So to be building that and having that story, I think must be inspiring for other people just to show them like how you can do it,despite sometimes having the necessary background, because, there's a lot of conversation about, industry plans and there's conversations about nepotism, and you're like, actually you can do it.

You can do it. You can be born in Tanzania. You can grow up in Leicester. you can totally do it because I think good element when you say like grass is always greener, like I would never expect you to say that because not your grass is the greener grass, for some.

So When you create it, I think it's aspiring level of creativity and kind of business side and showing that the versatility of being a modern creative is actually what pays dividends. 

Rahul Bhatt: Yeah, totally. And I, you

know, I hope that your listeners find it useful,

 or whatever, because, I was

looking at who was on your

podcast [00:49:00] podcast

and I said earlier, I was like,

Oh damn, I don't know why he

wants me on there, but

sure speak.

but

yeah, I think that's just,

the imposter syndrome and whatever it is.

Radim: I can reassure you. I had to do some therapy work on this myself in the past, but I can reassure that you're the right person in the right room doing the right thing 

Rahul Bhatt: when you're in the room with these people. Simon, whoever it is,

like I'm a kid, from Tanzania, then

moved to Leicester. what am I doing here? when you're in the room with that, those kind of people, you're like,

oh shit.

and then that's when the imposter syndrome, heightens even more,

you're like, oh damn. but, you just, You're there for a reason, you just gotta embrace it. 

Radim: Look, it's paid dividends, I congratulate you on your career so far and I'm excited what the things you're gonna do next because I think you're in the right place, in the right time, doing the right thing that it's making a difference, in artists lives and the fans lives and yeah, keep on doing.

Rahul Bhatt: Yeah, thank you so much. Thanks for having me. [00:50:00] 

Hey, thank you for listening to this episode of Mindful Creative Podcast. I'd love to know your thoughts, questions, or even suggestions, so please get in touch via the show notes or social channels. This episode was produced and presented by me, Radim Malanich. Editing and audio production was masterfully done by Niall Mackay from Seven Million Bikes podcast, and the theme music was written and produced by Jack James.

Thank you, and I hope to see you on the next episode.