Spotlight: Eugen Sakhnenko Interview
Ever find yourself wondering about the people behind Worker Bee and who they are IRL? Well you have stopped by on the right day friend. Continuing with our Team Spotlights, we want to introduce you to Worker Bee Co-Founder, Eugen Sakhnenko.
You may recognize him as the face of the Worker Bee YouTube channel. He is our media producer, artist and future space traveler around the studio. When he isn’t going crazy for all things space related, and living his best creative life, he steers the ship of Worker Bee here on Earth and charts the course for new and exciting galaxies projects.
Eugen’s work as a photographer has been published and exhibited internationally; his clients include the New York Times, Nike, Winkreative, Canada Goose, and others. If you’ve been wondering about what else makes him tick, we were able to snag Eugen for a quick Q&A before his afternoon run and here’s what he shared with us:
Worker Bee: Good Morning Eugen! Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy day to chat with us.
Eugen: Hey gang, so glad to sit down & talk today! Let’s get into it.
Ok perfect, we’ll start with the basics: Where do you live?
Parkdale, the best neighbourhood in Toronto. You know how people talk about neighbourhoods where you personally know the store owners, your coffee is ready before you order, and you always run into someone you know when walking down the street. That’s Parkdale!
We’re jealous we don’t live in this neighbourhood tbh, good thing we can come to work here though! Are you willing to tell us your favourite place to grab a drink in Toronto?
I’m really loving Northwood and 416 Snackbar, they are two of my favourite spots. (check them out - @northwoodto & @416snackbar respectively)
How would you describe your style?
Comfortable creative…
Quick! What's your favourite item in your closet right now?
I have an awesome NASA t-shirt from the natural history museum and more recently an awesome hoodie from a local coffee shop. We give companies like Nike free publicity by walking around covered in their logos. I would much rather spread the word about causes I believe in and support local businesses that contribute to our community.
Where did you go to school to learn your craft?
I went to Ryerson for their image arts program with a focus on photographic studies. I had mostly applied to business schools and applied to image arts just to see if I could get in (the program is very limited space wise). When I got in to Ryerson I realized spending 4 years in art school sounded like a much more interesting experience. Plus, most people who go to business school don’t actually starts their own business, which I knew I wanted to do.
Ryerson Image Centre, Photographed by Eugen Sakhnenko
Perfection! That answer leads us into our next question - when did you realize that freelancing & running a small business was right the right career path for you?
Well... I was never someone who wanted a particular job as a kid other than being an extreme sports athlete or a spy. In high school I took a course called entrepreneurial studies that made me realize for the first time that you could start a business and basically do whatever you wanted while creating the kind of world you want to see. From that moment I knew I wanted to build businesses and help others do the same. I also learned how to spell entrepreneur, I was very proud of that.
So what is it about Worker Bee? What do you love about your job?
My absolute favourite part of my job is going on location, getting behind the scenes access to unique places and meeting the people who are working on incredible things. It always amazes me that for every photo or video I’ve made I was standing right there. As soon as I see the picture I get transported right back to the shoot and imagine every little detail about it.
Eugen photographing a campaign for Roots in a remote cabin.
Worker Bee Supply has been yours (and Becca’s) world for a few years now, but was there ever a time you wanted to throw in the towel?
I can’t say it didn’t cross my mind a few times in the early days when you’re broke and nobody cares about you, and you haven’t had an inquiry in months. I’ve also worked as a consultant for a startup and other companies, which more than anything confirmed that the only option for me is to do self driven creative work.
Is there any honest advice you would give to those starting out?
Anything worthwhile takes a really long time, longer than you might think, especially if you’re impatient like me. The best time to start was yesterday, but the second best time was today. My biggest regrets are about not starting things earlier. Get started and pack for the long haul.
Are you willing to share with us where you find inspiration?
Inspiration is everywhere, I read a lot, listen to a ton of podcasts, watch documentaries and explore the city with Becca! But mostly, the universe is an amazing and fascinating space, if it's not inspiring you, you’re not looking close enough. The more you learn the more inspiring it is.
What kinds of things do you do outside of work that keeps you motivated to pursue a life as a creative?
The biggest motivation comes from reading and hearing the stories of other creatives and entrepreneurs. I love biographies, business books, and stories about transformative companies.
Hit us with your favourite inspirational quote.
I’ve always liked Herb Kelleher's quote “we have a strategic plan, it’s called doing things”. It reminds me that you just need to keep moving forward, solving the problems in front of you one at a time. They add up to a huge impact.
We do love talking about positive impact around the office don’t we! We work hard but we sure do like to dream, how about we wrap up with a fun question: What's your dream vacation?
Long term I plan to go to space, most likely low earth orbit, though I wouldn’t say no to a trip to the moon as well. In the near future I’d love to experience a solar eclipse and a rocket launch. I got to go to Kennedy space centre a few weeks ago and that was definitely one of the most amazing and inspiring places I’ve ever been. Oh and I also want to go to a Formula 1 race! That might happen this summer. 🤞
Oh man, we can’t wait for summer… ok our last question is if you were a new addition to the crayon box, what colour would you be?
Worker Bee Yellow of course!
There ya have it folks! Eugen gave us the scoop and we hope you found out some new facts about him. Thanks for stopping by the WB Blog, we hope to see you next time. Happy Creating.
LOVE WHAT YOU READ ABOUT Eugen?
You can find him on Insta at @workerbeesupply. Make sure you subscribe to our email list to learn about when the next Team Spotlight or Freebie is released!