Ep 10: Benjamin Von Wong - Social Artivist Who's Generated 100+ Million Views

Benjamin Von Wong is Canadian mining engineer turned social
artivist/photographer who designs campaigns around social impact
and has succeeded in raising over 100 million views for different
causes including plastics, fast fashion and electronic waste. He
has a Guinness Book Record, a community of over 500,000 followers
and tries to change the world through amplifying positive impact.





Who is Benjamin Von Wong?





Von was born in Canada and his parents are first-generation
Chinese Malaysian immigrants. With something of a “chaotic”
childhood - he went to 13 different schools in 3 different
countries - there was nothing in his background that suggested
that he would end up with an artistic career. 





Instead, he became a mining engineer in Nevada. 





Until one day, driven by a breakup, he purchased his first $100
camera from Walmart. A purchase that set him down the crazy,
artistic trajectory he is currently on. 





I just woke up one day and realized that I didn't want to be an
engineer for the rest of my life.





Becoming a Photographer


The transition into being a full-time creative wasn’t immediate,
and some of the things we discussed included:


Why quitting his engineering job was less a question of
courage, and more out of “fear”

Why photography ended up being the thing that drew him in for
the long term;

How he first got his start in the industry, and the most
popular platforms to use at the time;

How he ran a Kickstarter to fund his Von Wong Does Europe
Tour; 

Some of his projects including the 365 day project; and

Von’s 3 most impactful work prior to entering the social
impact space.






Within 3 years, Von obtained the highly sought after global
campaign with Huawei where he had to create an angel with fire
wings. 





Entering the Social Impact


After the Huawei campaign, he felt empty. And this signified
another pivotal point in his life, only this time it was into the
social impact space: 


Why was it so hard to enter the social impact space?

Why was the mermaid with 10,000 plastic bottles project so
successful?

How does he measure the impact of art?

Does he worry about alienating potential clients after
entering the social impact space?

What is his metric of success?






To learn more, visit: www.sothisismywhy.com/10