Keeping the theme meeting new people, we are excited to introduce you all (and yes, we mean all of our dear friends from Coral Gables too!) to a new friend of the firm, Daniel Cooley of Cooley Creative Media!
About Dan:
Dant is a digial marketing consultant, and obsessive content consumer and creator from Monmouth County, NJ. For 5 years, Dan has been using creative digital strategies to help business problem solve, find high-value customers and grow.
Dan is also an acting teacher and theater director throughout New Jersey and New York City. Living the indie artists lifestyle, Dan is no stranger to taking a project from conception to distribution under an extremely tight deadline. At the end of the day, Dan’s great love has always been storytelling. His big Irish family taught him the importance of a good yarn before he is able to remember. They also taught him that to really know someone, you must walk in their shoes. Dan tries to bring this to every project that he is involved in.
Now, our favorite part, the meat, and potatoes!
1. What, or who, are you a “closet” fan of?
I am a big fan of the show “Fixer Upper”. My wife loves HGTV and so I was sort of “forced” to watch the shows, but I quickly fell in love with this show!
2. What is the nerdiest thing you do in your spare time?
I am a huge fan of Harry Potter and read the entire series at least once a year or so.
3. What is the most annoying question that people ask you?
How long until I become “number 1” on Google?
4. Name two things you consider yourself to be very good at.
I am a very good acting teacher and director. I have been teaching kids and teens acting for 12 years. A lot of actors teach to make money on the side, but I do it because I love educating young people. I think this has always made me a better acting teacher because I try to make each student the best actor they can be instead of trying to make them perform the way that I would.
5.What’s a favorite family memory that has stuck with you into your adult life? Why?
When I was young, my mother, sister and I would always go everywhere together. When my sister Grace was still young (5 or 6 years old) I would always make her laugh in the back seat. Every time my mom would turn the car I would pretend it made me hit my head or I would make up funny lyrics to popular songs. My sister is one of my favorite people on earth, so the memory of her belly laughing as a little kid has stuck with me.
6. What would you do with your “15 minutes” of fame?
I would try to bring as much attention to bullying and depression in kids and teens as I could. I am one of the founders and directors of a kid and teen theater company that tours schools performing original plays about bullying, school violence, and drug abuse. I would like to help these kids know they are not alone and that there is another way.
7. Have you ever won anything? What was it?
For a number of years I actually earned most of my money playing poker tournaments online. There were a couple big tournaments that I’ve won and I am still proud of those!
8. Who would you choose to be your mentor, if you had the choice?
Either Elon Musk or Teddy Roosevelt. I believe that Musk will go down as one of the most important innovators of our time and I have always been fascinated by Roosevelt’s energy, work ethic and ability to overcome personal hardship.
9. What’s your most significant current challenge?
On March 29th my wife gave birth to our son Declan. Becoming a parent has certainly been challenging but it is also the best thing to ever happen to me! I adore being a father and learning on the job!
Oh no! We’ve reached the end – Thank you so much to Daniel for taking the time from welcoming a baby into the family and balancing a professional life, to participate in our interview.
Fun fact for our readers, we met Daniel through positive interaction on social media. This is the power of using social media effectively; you connect with people from all sides of the world. What’s the best takeaway from this interview? Don’t be afraid of Social Media – become one with it… (Don’t loose yourself though!)
If you’d like to reach Daniel directly, you can email him at dan@cooleycreativemedia.com or check out his profiles below!
Twitter: @CreativeCooley
Instagram: @DanCooleyCreative
Facebook: @cooleycreative
