The Creative Journey That Saved Me
How a dark season sparked Create.Repeat—and why I’m so thankful for this community.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for Create.Repeat and this incredible community.
Two years ago, when we started Create.Repeat, I was a shadow of myself. Battling depression, anxiety, and the existential shift that often hits in your 30s, I felt like life was passing me by, and I had been forgotten.
I had just come off what I call a “creative sabbatical”—a year and a half of not making anything for myself. It was the longest creative dry spell I’d experienced since I was probably six years old.
That dark season was what gave birth to Create.Repeat. I was so tired of the negativity I kept seeing in the creative community. I couldn’t find the inspiration I needed, so I decided to create it for myself.
Every Create.Repeat post has been a note to myself—messages I needed to hear in the moment. To this day, I’m amazed that those messages resonate so deeply with so many others. It’s a reminder of just how universal the creative journey really is.
I won’t lie—creating inspirational content every day can be draining, especially on the hard days when I’m struggling to find my own inspiration. How do you pour into others when you feel like your own cup is empty?
That’s where you come in. This community fills my cup more than you could ever know. Every comment, every re-share, every like, every kind DM—they all remind me why this space is so special. Creatives need each other.
So, thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for continuing to show up for yourself and for your craft. Thank you for creating. The world needs what you bring to it.
As we head into the holiday season, I encourage you to take some time to unplug, reflect on this year, and start dreaming big for 2025. It’s right around the corner, and we have exciting things planned—I can’t wait to share them with you.
Keep creating and repeating.
With gratitude,
- Zack
The Create.Repeat Podcast - ZACH KORNFELD
This week on the Create.Repeat Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of welcoming Zach Kornfeld from the Try Guys. If you’re not familiar, Zach and I worked together in the mid-2010s at BuzzFeed, where he skyrocketed to YouTube stardom.
While Zach is best known for his outrageous and wildly entertaining videos, he’s also a passionate filmmaker with a short film debuting early next year. In this episode, we dive into the highs and lows of being a viral content creator, reminisce about our time together at BuzzFeed, and explore the challenges of feeling boxed in as a creative.
Zach also shares the incredible moment that sparked his dream of becoming a filmmaker—sitting in on an edit session for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with none other than director Michel Gondry when he was just a kid.
This episode is packed with inspiration, nostalgia, and some amazing stories. I think you’ll love it as much as I do—give it a listen (or watch) this week. It’s easily one of my favorites yet.
This week, we’re excited to spotlight Keen, a talented rapper from Washington, D.C., whose music is all about making you feel good and inspiring self-improvement. Keen’s artistry embodies positivity and growth.
Keen wrote “Where the Sun Shines,” the song featured on our podcast, a track that perfectly embodies his uplifting and motivating style. It’s a reminder to keep striving for the light, even when the shadows feel overwhelming.
A Lesson in Trusting Your Instincts: Keen lives by the mantra: “If it feels right, it is.” This principle fuels his creative process and reminds us that the best art comes from trusting your intuition and leaning into authenticity. His music reflects that same raw, heartfelt energy, encouraging others to do the same.
The Takeaway: Take a page from Keen’s playbook—listen to your instincts, follow what feels true to you, and let your creativity shine. Authenticity is magnetic, and when you create from the heart, your work can inspire others to do the same.
Check out his music on Spotify!
If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Talent Show, apply at CreateRepeat.com.
Links keeping us creative:
🤴 Principles: A collection of inspiring principles from startup founder Nabeel S. Qureshi.
🏡 Model Making (1955) A short film about miniature builders creating miniature houses and gardens.
🎸A Late Night Special: A really sweet live recording from Puma Blue that was playing while we put this newsletter together.
🐍 It’s nice that: Alex Khabbazi is animating with unusual analogue tools for their tactile, twitchy effects.
Do you want the Create.Repeat aesthetic on your videos and graphics?
We’ve teamed up with Happy Editing to bring you a curated collection of select editing assets, including film textures, text presets, and an exclusive film-inspired LUT—everything you need to elevate your creative projects. This collection is perfect for any creator’s library, with tools to bring both videos and photos to life.
These film textures and LUTs are what we use in all our videos, and the text preset is how we achieve that cool, grungy look. Right now, Happy Editing is offering a huge early Black Friday sale on the Create.Repeat pack and all their other packs. Don’t miss it—check it out!
Create.Repeat is a community for creatives.
The Create.Repeat Substack is a project designed to be a weekly diary on creativity. Sharing inspiration for artists to keep creating and repeating.
Written and curated by Zack Evans & James Warren Taylor
Each week we will be sharing recent thoughts on creativity, some links helping us stay creative, and soon will be including a talent show featuring an artist from the community. Thank you for engaging with us.
History repeats. Create the future.
Some Final Links:
Check Out The Podcast - Episode #8 Out Now! 🔁
