#BehindtheSelfie with... Francois Wessels

Two of the expressions you’re likely to see flitting across Wessels’ face…

1. Where do you live, work and play?

Wessels: Occasionally I have to do all three at the agency, but otherwise I live in Plattekloof, work in Woodstock and play wherever there’s Guns n Roses to be heard.

2. What’s your claim to fame?

Wessels: *Cracks knuckles, pops shirt collar, sits back and shoots finger guns* That I got this far simply by setting out to spend my days doing cool things with my best friend and eventual business partner. Be it making award-winning short films, brewing beer that will knock your socks off or opening a full-service agency that sincerely strives to do something cool, unique and groundbreaking.

3. Describe your career so far.

Wessels: It involves a lot of butts: they start off getting kissed, but they all wind up getting kicked. It’s all about working your way up from being down on your knees to handing out roundhouse kicks.

4. Tell us a few of your favourite things.

Wessels: Music. Horror movies. Beer. WW1 History. Random trivia. The people that get all of the above.

5. What do you love about your industry?

Wessels: Knowing that an awesome little idea can change everything. The fact that someone somewhere said something in passing that planted a seed and gave birth to ‘Just Do It’, ‘Got Milk?’ and ‘Think Different’. Which means that anyone can be a player. Doesn’t matter if you’re currently watching the game from the nosebleeds; if you’re in the stands, you’re in the stadium. So swing like a madman and you might just actually knock it out of the park.

6. What are a few pain points your industry can improve on?

Wessels: Being less superfluous. Less unnecessary jargon means being able to convey things clearly without having to resort to using words like ‘superfluous’.

7. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.

Wessels: It involves a lot of strenuous physical activity, what with everyone swinging for the fences. When your agency prides itself on being a collaborative one, we take our time going through everyone’s thoughts and ideas. We’re in the business of dreaming up ideas; executing them is just what we spend our other time doing.

8. What are the tools of your trade?

Wessels: Sincerity, levity, idealism and intestinal fortitude. If it’s brash and naïve to say you want to change your world by having fun, being creative and injecting awesomeness into everything you do, then be brash and naïve.

9. Who is getting it right in your industry?

Wessels: I know I should probably take this opportunity to punt Kilmer & Cruise… *Fireworks explode, massive flag drops, sunglasses descend from the sky and perch on face with DEAL WITH IT sign flashing brightly* but honestly, there are some crazy folks out there doing some enviably phenomenal stuff.

10. What are you working on right now?

Wessels: Growing an agency that’s just not satisfied until it’s mind-blowingly phenomenal. Also, fusion.

11. Tell us some of the buzzwords floating around in your industry at the moment, and some of the catchphrases you utter yourself.

Wessels: Incendiary horizontal integration is bae. #Harambe

12. Where and when do you have your best ideas?

Wessels: Surrounded by others, just going back and forth and spitballing until something explodes out of nowhere. Moulding an idea with a bunch of likeminded passionate folks is what it must’ve felt like when John Paul Jones first started playing that bassline and Robert Plant shrieked in with ‘been dazed and confused…’ Pure goosebump-inducing magic.

13. What’s your secret talent/party trick?

Wessels: *Winks, grabs nearby skateboard, attempts kick flip, falls on face, breaks nose* I rock a mean arsenal of movie trivia.

14. What would we find if we scrolled through your phone?

Wessels: Selfies with my fiancée, archived messages from my mom about visiting on Sunday, blurry shots of Bigfoot.

15. What advice would you give to newbies hoping to crack into the industry?

Wessels: Just swing away. You might miss more than you hit, but then again, you might just land the shot heard round the world.

Simple as that. Click here for more on Kilmer & Cruise, follow them on Twitter, and follow Wessels on Instagram.

*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews.