Vlad had six months to learn English or get sent back to Russia..

No film school. No connections. A phone and pirated editing software he couldn't afford.

That's where this episode starts. With a 13-year-old kid who didn't speak a word of English, opening Google Translate while the other kids opened Snapchat.

Ten years later, Vlad Nikifarov (aka Vlad) is a 22-year-old creative director and videographer in Minneapolis. He lands brand deals with Adobe, Young LA, and Delinquents Truly.

He gets paid to travel. He lives with the same creators he used to watch on YouTube before he ever picked up a camera.

But this conversation isn't as much "stategy" as it is a story underneath the story.

The doubt. The loneliness of not having friends who speak your language. The first paid gig for $150.

Working at Marshalls with headphones in, listening to the guy who would eventually fly him to LA. The shoots where he went completely mute because he was so deep in his head. The moment it felt weird to call himself an artist and the day he claimed it anyway.

If you've ever felt like the dream is for other people, this one is deadass for you.

In this episode:

* How Vladka landed brand deals with Adobe, Red Bull & Young LA with zero connections

* The green card lottery win and the six-month ultimatum that followed

* Why calling yourself a creator feels weird when nobody in your family is one

* The spec ad strategy that got Yes Theory to DM him in 20 minutes

* How he funded his first camera, then quit the job and went full time

* Why your creative passion should be the full-time and rent money the side gig

* The biggest mistake young videographers make (and the habit that fixes it)

* How to engineer your authority before you feel qualified

* The DM that turned a Marshalls shift into a flight to LA

* The truth about being terrified on big sets, even after you've "made it"

Find Vlad on Instagram

(work) — https://www.instagram.com/vladdkkaa/

Personal — https://www.instagram.com/vladsjournal

00:00 — From pirated software to Adobe

06:20 — Six months to learn English or get sent back

09:45 — "If I can learn English, what else can I learn?"

18:42 — First gig: $150 (and what it taught him)

25:50 — How Adobe actually reached out

32:10 — The Marshalls voice memo that changed everything

41:18 — The Yes Theory spec ad that worked in 20 minutes

1:02:15 — The biggest mistake young creators make

1:14:50 — Why it felt weird to call himself an artist

1:26:40 — For the kid who feels meant for more

Kids Like Us is the podcast for ambitious 18–30 year olds who feel something needs to change but don't know where to start.

Hosted by Syd Meyer: 22-year-old agency owner, sponsored kiteboarder, filmmaker, and world traveler who built this because she needed it when it didn't exist.

Real stories. Raw conversations. Evidence that the life you picture is closer than you think.

New episodes weekly. Subscribe/follow so you don't miss the next one.

Folgen-ID: 1000763453485

GUID: aa835064-1b8b-4050-aec2-4bb2ebcb7e1b

Erscheinungs­datum: 24.4.2026, 18:37:43