From Bablake To Brooklyn

The Careers Department is a firm advocate that the most fulfilled former pupils find the best employment in sectors that combine their strengths and skills with their own strong interests and passions.

An indulgent attempt to prove this theory was the excuse for our Head of Careers to take a flight to New York and cross over to Brooklyn to meet Shyam Panchal (1994-2001), current Director of Digital Products at VICE Media.

The J train over the Williamsburg Bridge and a short taxi ride from real America, Marcy Street, brought Head of Careers Mr Mark Woodward to the hip and cosmopolitan Bedford Avenue area to meet Shyam. With the dramatic skyline of Manhattan just a block or two away from Shyam’s envied employer and the bright wintry sunshine lighting up the snow-packed streets, a welcome coffee and muffin at Fabiene’s proved the perfect companion for a short interview and catch up with Bablake gossip.

Winner of the then L6th CV Challenge, a key member of our Drama group, a proud performer at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2001, and a fond member of Mr Ian Appleby's 6th Form tutor group, Shyam’s path contradicts the Careers adage a little since he was persuaded by school and his parents to study Further Maths (which he dropped for Maths), Chemistry and Biology for A Level rather than his original choice: Art, Business Studies and English. A successful Economics degree at the London School of Economics followed after a gap year working in London for a PR agency, which Shyam still rates as life-changing.

His creative character and street culture knowledge combined with his exceptional Economics knowledge have created a potent force and his strong digital background has found him work in market-leading media agencies in London, before taking a transfer to New York with BlinQ Media as an associate director.

His working life is now set in a world Shyam lives and loves, while his analytical education and degree topic offer the technical skills to deliver market-leading strategy and impressive ROI results. The move to New York has made Shyam feel 21 all over again, with creative freedom.

Traditionally, the interview warm up took the form of some 'Quick Questions’:

Vice UK or NYC?
NYC. I know the London guys have a lot of fun but haven’t worked there…yet.

Vice? The Face? Or i-D?
 i-D is my favourite property within the VICE family, though The Face will always have a nostalgic place in my heart.

East Side or West Side?
East. I lived in West London when there, but I spent most of my free time East. I live on the East River here, so I’ll have to say that.

Manhattan or Brooklyn?
Brooklyn. Manhattan is Disneyland for adults!

Old School or Nu Skool?
Old school - I know where I stand with the past. I don’t even know what ‘nu skool’ is anymore.

Vinyl or Download?
I spent a while collecting vinyl and agree it certainly sounds better, but I download way more and couldn’t live without it.

Waffles or Bagels?
Bagels. I can’t do waffles. Too sweet! And I’d be conflicting my pseudo-Jewish heritage, if I denied bagels the win.

Take-Out or Home-Cooking?
I love my mum’s cooking, but since she’s not around, I eat take-out way too often. Groceries are expensive in NYC.

Suitably warmed-up, the interview then turned to more direct questions about Shyam's role, ambitions and advice for current pupils.

You are now Director of Digital Products at VICE Media.What does that entail and how did you land that job?
Through my career in London working at a number of media agencies, I’ve built up some experience in digital planning and buying, and broadly an awareness and interest in digital media. The speed at which the landscape evolves is fascinating and exhausting, and to stay ahead of the pack you need to commit both your personal and professional time – so it’s important to enjoy what you do in this industry.

I’ve always loved VICE content, so I made it an early ambition to work here one day. I joined VICE as an Account Director, but it soon became apparent that I missed the media side, so pushed for a move back into that department. The role opened up on the digital products team, which is responsible for all the media products that we sell to brands – rich media display and video formats, native advertising, social activation, audience segments, programmatic solutions, and much more, mostly around innovating what we sell and all very technology-related. I was well out of my depth initially, so I made friends with the head of the department and ‘sold myself in’ over a few beers!

It’s been a very steep learning curve, but VICE is a really supportive environment with some of the smartest people in the industry, so they’ve been patient while I get up to speed. I love going into work every day because I don’t know what to expect and I know I’ll learn a little more by the time the day is out.

VICE is a growing media influence. The UK is aware of VICE as a trendy magazine but is there more to it than this?
Absolutely. VICE is so much more than a magazine now - we have content across 10 verticals (including music, fashion, food, technology, sports, and most recently, news) which aligns with our millennial audience’s passion points. Since our recent investments by A&E Networks, NewsCorp and others, we’ve really been able to grow and move into new verticals, and that’s allowed us to bring a whole new brand of content to the internet – VICE Media and HBO recently announced a major deal involving the launch of a daily VICE newscast, as well as more weekly programming hours of VICE's Emmy Award-winning documentary show through 2018.

Alongside our editorial, we have a stand-alone advertising agency, which produces content and advertising for brands, which is the side of the company I work within. The work with brands helps us to grow and keep doing the things we want to do as a company, so there’s a symbiotic relationship between editorial and agency.

2014 was a huge year for VICE, and 2015 has shaped up to be even bigger. It’s an exciting place to be!

What advantages would you say there are working in New York?
Where do I start? New York, as most will know, has a hugely vibrant atmosphere with so much happening at any one time. The pace of life is extremely fast, it’s tempting to be doing something at every waking minute, so that can be very exhausting. That said, I’m managing to experience a very unique place – Williamsburg is beautiful and fun, and constantly inspiring. I get to walk to work in under 10 mins which is a huge benefit, and something that a lot of New Yorkers get to do with Manhattan being the centre of the city but also where most people live, unlike London.

From a work perspective, it’s easy to network here. I’m exposed to some really important profiles in the industry – from Shane Smith (CEO of VICE), to Tom Freston (founder of MTV), and many others in just the last few months – so it’s a good place to learn and easier to make an impact. Salaries are higher too, to reflect the higher cost of living.

It’s the heart of hip-hop culture which means a lot to me to be so close to. My local pizza place just unveiled a new piece of street art covering the whole building, of Ren & Stimpy, one of my favourite childhood shows, so that made me happy! Stuff like that happens all the time; culturally you’re over-stimulated in NYC and it always feels like you’re missing out on something amazing!

What do you miss about the UK?
I recently returned to the UK, and realised I missed more than I thought. I still rate London as my favourite city in the world, and have lots of memories of my 13 years there. The club scene isn’t what it was anymore, but there’s nothing like that over here – London cultivates underground sounds and movements such as dubstep, grime, garage and drum and bass - and there’s not as much of that here as I thought there would be. The ballroom  or vogue culture here is still a thriving movement though, and harks back to a very cool time of New York in the 80s.

I miss family and friends of course, but people are always passing through NYC – either on holiday, or a business trip. Other than that, the top 5 things I miss are: proper smoked bacon (the US has no idea), fish and chips (such a cliché), a Sunday roast in a pub (very few proper pubs), the Coventry Kasbah (would be considered so hipster over here), and Match Of The Day (on at 5pm EST which just feels weird).

What memories do you have of Bablake? Which teachers had an influence on you and why?!
So many good memories! Drama was a big highlight - all the friends I made during after-school rehearsals and taking a show to the Fringe were so much fun.  The annual trips to Le Fousseau were amazing and I still have so many funny stories from that time.

Without trying to be too fawning, I had a good relationship with most of my teachers because I was genuinely interested in a lot of my subjects, even though I wasn’t great at them all. I was awful at Maths, but supported unconditionally by Mr Jenkins and I credit him for my A at A-Level and my getting into LSE. Mr Faulkner tutored me on Economics during his personal lunch breaks, and let me play jungle mixtapes on the school bus on the way to Games. Mr Dougall taught me how to read for pleasure and cultivated a passion for books I still have today, and Mr Woodward kept me informed with alternative music scenes that allows me to drop in lots of knowledge during that crucial moment on Trivia Night. It was a mix of influences that made me who I am today, and a lot all of them came from my time at Bablake.

I felt my time there was underappreciated, by all of us – spending every single day with your best friends, making memories that will last a lifetime, is something I really miss.

What advice would you give your 16 year old self?
16… what was I doing then? Pretending I was older than I was to get into drinking establishments in Coventry, no doubt. I’d probably say… don’t take things too seriously as you still have time to decide on a career, but find and follow a passion and make sure you are smart about your degree choice as that can open or close a lot of doors. Oh, and wear less hair gel!

The media route will not bring riches quickly. It is often said those working in that area live a high-life lifestyle via their work, but are below the poverty line for property and wages.

This is so true. My London media colleagues and I used to be treated to lots of expensive lunches, dinners and parties but still needed to borrow money to pay rent! I think that’s changing somewhat as industries realise that’s exploitative, but you do need to work hard and make it a few rungs up the ladder before you earn a decent salary. All the more reason to love what you do and make sure you can work on a hangover.

What next for VICE?
The HBO deal is huge and will further shape our position in the market as the leading voice of news that matters. We’ll continue to grow our content in areas and movements that inspire and engage us and our audience, and we’ll be moving offices soon to our new headquarters which is hugely exciting. There’s a lot of talk in the press about us having a cable channel by the end of the year which will be huge – but I can’t confirm or deny that: ;-) .

What next for Shyam?
Definitely a few more years here in NYC, learning as much as I can about the ad-tech market and making some important contacts, and travelling around the USA as much as possible - then probably a move back to Europe, either to Amsterdam or Barcelona I think. I tend not to plan too far in advance though, I’m having a lot of fun here with good friends and a good role at an exciting company so not rushing to change that anytime soon- sorry Mum! Feel free to follow me on Instagram for a visual diary of my adventures and experiences!

After the interview there was a tour round VICE, including a photo by the infamous VICE bear, giving further insight into the fascinating open-plan hot-desk operation, which has already expanded its workspace and has plans to move to bigger premises locally soon this year. Time then remained for Mr Woodward to enjoy the last few amazing Kent Avenue views over to Manhattan, take a lingering look at the hip Wythe hotel, make a pledge to return to have a dig around the Rough Trade Records hangar, before it was time to gather up family from the amazing Sweet Chick boutique restaurant and jump back onto the L train to take a walk up Broadway.

Bedford Avenue and Williamsburg had left a favourable impression - first as a thriving tolerant area and then as yet another part of the globe where an impressive Bablake former pupil is making an impact on our world.

Meanwhile Shyam is loving the NY lifestyle and recently booked the 10-person cinema at VICE to host a screening of Music Nation, the Dazed and Confused documentary series on underground music scenes in the UK. With episodes on punk, grime, jungle and garage already shown, he is certainly doing his bit in transatlantic culture swaps!