Today, we’d like to introduce you to Holly Mandarich.
Hi Holly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story begins with a deep drive for freedom.
I grew up in Northern Michigan (Traverse City) near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. I spent my later teenage years exploring the National Lakeshore and fell in love with nature, adventure, and all the curiosity that comes along with it. I had my first camera at age 20 and would document everything from friends at the skatepark to landscapes on the lakeshore.
The lakeshore is where I found the edge of the earth, the place where everything made sense, where real reality was accessible, and where freedom lived. I desperately wanted to share that with anyone willing, but as I grew older, adventure, as a priority, seemed to fall away from the community I had at the time. Fast forward a bit, after my 3rd semester at community college in Michigan, because of my first heartbreak, I dropped out. I took the spring off, then migrated to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff the following fall.
In college, I majored in Visual Communications and minored in Photography (running the school newspaper as the photo editor). I knew more than anything that photography got me out and moving around, not sitting behind a computer the entire time; I naturally leaned into photography to start my path. I came out of college with an internship at a newspaper in Calgary, Alberta, where the tabloid journalism world left me feeling discouraged and unmotivated. Even though I was so intrigued by the raw moments of human connection that would show up, I turned to my other skillset of Graphic Design and landed an internship at a full-service boutique marketing agency in Vail, Colorado.
In theory I had the “dream job” I was the first full on designer hire, working on multiple 5 figure websites, creating custom brands, and managing several retainer clients for the company, I felt full-filled in my accomplishments, received praise, and was helping others TELL THEIR STORY through marketing materials. I even had “powder days,” where if it snowed more than 6 inches, our whole team was out skiing till noon! But something was missing.
First and foremost, I was capped at making an underpaid salary with no health benefits. The debt started to pile up, and after 2 years, I started to get antsy. After 4 years, I knew that no matter how much bigger and better I wanted to grow, I couldn’t do it at this company; they fit into a box, and I wanted to fly free. I wanted to push the creative boundaries and grow bigger.
Before reaching the point of quitting, I started to lean into what “felt good” – and at the time, what felt good was hiking 13 thousand-foot mountains on the weekends with my lady friends – all while photographing the whole thing. I started documenting the moments that encompassed true joy, the mishaps, and the in-between. I started to share these moments, and people started to notice.
Time and time again, I got feedback that people could feel my photos, and they would read my story recaps and recreate them. They would experience the joy that I experienced at the moment quite literally.
And that’s when it clicked for me: I could find that spark of crazy human connection that I craved from journalism, be creative in my photography/storytelling, and be outside on adventures, all while getting paid! It became all about creating authentic stories with photos and words – where people could relate to what they were digesting in their content. It became about human emotion – the human experience and connection.
Before quitting my job, I started having people reach out to ME for paid adventure opportunities. I realized that settling was never an option and that what I felt in my gut was that I was here to share the stories and joy of others with the world because what’s better than being alive?
For two years, I spent the majority of my time documenting authentic stories of adventure to bring back the human connection that sometimes gets lost in the marketing world. I believe that authenticity needs to take the forefront of all adventure content creation. Because people need to feel and experience the moment as if they were there themselves! It’s how we connect through content and share our cared-about message.
When covid hit, a large chunk of my time pivoted into coaching. I spent time coaching other photographers on how to hone and perfect their own storytelling skills! I also coach other creatives on how to start up their businesses.
Where I am today is a result and mix of everything from my past. I’ve pivoted my marketing and messaging to really align with the deep truth and intelligence of nature. I believe that when we live in alignment with nature, we live in alignment with god (or insert whatever higher power you identify with). We may seek nature’s truth externally in the world with our eyes, but by learning how to find that innate wisdom inside ourselves (as we truly are nature), we heal the world. Change happens first inside; it’s the paradigm shift we are all so desperately seeking. With my work, I inspire you to find this connection too.
The way I do this now is by continuing to invite people to foster their relationship with the outdoors and themselves. For we will never protect something we don’t care about. I do this by documenting landscapes, wildlife, and authentic adventures for tourism DMOs and through product lifestyle shoots with outdoor brands. I also provide branding and website services to impact-oriented brands who look to foster the same relationship with their audience. Lastly, I do this by coaching other photographers on how to find their niche in the storytelling industry.
My goals for the future include having a TV show or YouTube channel where I travel the world documenting the ways in which we connect with nature and bring its intelligence forth through culture and in ancient/sacred places.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
The biggest struggles along the way have been internal.
Believing in myself has come with mountains to climb that I had no idea were even there. If you choose to embark on the journey of entrepreneurship to share your truth and message with the world, there will always be someone to contest it, and likely, that person will be you. I’ve worked with business coaches, therapists and beyond to form a deeper trust in myself and the groundlessness that comes with being a human.
The human experience is just that, an experience. Being able to integrate this concept has been one of the most difficult things for me to embody. I’d rather be in charge. You will find that duality is important on this journey, for there is never a “right way” – each experience, sometimes heart-wrenching or inspiring, provides an opportunity for expansion. I truly believe the answer is to not know but rather to trust, for it’s far easier to stay with what you know, even if that reality is hell. The brain is biased and will always feel safe in navigating what it knows rather than believing it can be better in the unknown.
That is why I believe what is MOST important in any walk or expression of life is to foster that connection within yourself to the truth.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think one of the biggest differentiators in me as a creative/coach is that I truly believe the root of your why must come from your heart.
I’m not saying there isn’t time for discipline, acceptance of all your emotions (as deliverers of information best suited to keep you safe), tough decisions, hard work, or the other. What I am saying is that through this invitation to be rooted in the epicenter of your heart. It allows you to navigate from god/source energy and to start living from your truth and intuition. To live from where we give without expectation, from where we give without a need for money. That’s where our ticket to freedom is, and it’s where we begin to heal ourselves and thus heal the world.
For me, that is nature and the innate intelligence that lies within us all.
Having the above as my foundation and why brings a deeper, more esoteric, connected sense to my work that people pick up on. It makes others feel seen, and seeing is the deepest form of intimacy. It’s where healing happens.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I believe the quality or characteristic that has contributed most to my success is to never give up.
To always start again.
To do it scared.
To use failure as information.
To not be afraid to pivot.
To revisit the why, the how, etc. But never to give up.
We should always believe in the good of the world and believe that there is reason.
There have been very dark times in my life, where I could not believe emotionally or mentally, but I chose to walk the path anyway, I chose to place my belief in showing up, and to let god take care of the rest.
This has been everything to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hollymandarich.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly.mandarich/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollymandarich
- Other: https://www.theoutbound.com/hollymandarich
Image Credits
Holly Mandarich, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, and UnSplash
