Welcome to Faces & Places – my new interview series that explores the amazing, interesting and inspiring faces of Chicago and the world, the places that define these makers in their element of creativity and how travel affects their lives.
I started this series not long into the launch of this passion project/ travel website after discovering there is too much awesomeness in the Chicago community not to share – I think it’s really important to collaborate and create new things with people. I am drawn to thought leaders who listen to their gut and follow their hearts - people who are creating really meaningful stuff, or new ways to solve problems, or just to put a little bit more positivity into the world. And I realized I really missed interviewing people - I have a degree in journalism and it makes it really hard to not constantly ask questions.
I thought it would be an interesting project to put myself to the task of answering some of the same questions I ask of my subjects!
MZ: Tell us a little about yourself.
MZ: My name is Megan Zink. I love fried cheese curds and a healthy dose of adventure. I love storytelling – it’s in my blood (I come from a boisterous Irish and Czech family) and I was a data nerd before it was cool. I have been in the digital marketing industry for over 5 years, but for my next move, I want to focus on digital editing and content management, strategy and development.
Currently, I’m the associate marketing manager for a chain of 10 upscale health clubs in Chicago. I’ve always had a passion for fitness – I’ll try anything once. I’ve belonged to boxing gyms, I love long runs on the lakefront and I haven been doing Pilates for the past year and a half. I’m a huge believer in continued education and I have learned a LOT. One of my greatest accomplishments to date is completely overhauling our content management strategy related to fitness and wellness.
In addition to my marketing responsibilities, I am essentially the managing editor of our blog. I research trending fitness, wellness and community topics and assign story ideas, manage deadlines, copyedit, publish and promote the content. I oversee 150+ subject matter experts (our employees and members) and I train them on a weekly basis about the importance of content marketing. This process, along with a syndicated content strategy, has accrued over 100,000 views to date, a 354% increase in subscribers and over 4.2 million impressions. We’re now focusing more on the incredible success stories of our members and the incredible fitness journeys of our employees, which the Chicago community can really relate to.
Curious to know more of what I do? You can check out my resume here!
MZ: Okay, that’s cool, but what about you as a creative individual?
MZ: My content management focus at my company is also partially what drove me to finally start my own travel website, which focuses both on Chicago and my global travels. I create hi-res photography-heavy travel guides for busy people. Because I love telling people’s stories, I also recently launched this new Faces & Places series. Finding out what gets people out of bed in the morning and makes them tick is my JAM.
Random side note – I hate public speaking, but I knew I had to get better at it. So I forced myself to take 8 months of improv at Second City and I think it helped a lot. I put that on hold to focus more on my website passion project… but if I took more classes I think I’d take a writing course!
MZ: What’s your creative process like?
MZ: When it comes to being creative, I really like to solve problems – so I try to focus the ideation process around creating a solution. And finding out what people are passionate about gets me really fired up. I love telling people’s stories I think deserve to be heard.
Oh! And data. When in doubt, nerd it out. I find that looking at data really helps me to create a solid roadmap when it comes to working on a project and making decisions.
And when I get really desperate for new ideas… I eat. I snack a lot. Though it might just be my brain trying to procrastinate!
MZ: Where is the last place you traveled/favorite place you’ve traveled?
MZ: Asking me to name my favorite travel destination is like asking someone with children to name their favorite child… it ends with guilt and probably a donut. But in all seriousness, the most major recent place I traveled was Ireland.
IT. WAS. EPIC. My husband and I did a 9-day driving trip through southern Ireland, over the entire Wild Atlantic Way and saw the Cliffs of Moher, Dingle (I giggle every time) and a ton of other cities. I literally cried on the Cliffs of Moher as the gale-force winds slapped me in the face with life, it was so beautiful. I also ate my weight in Kerry Gold butter and I have no regrets.
MZ: How do you find inspiration from travel?
MZ: Travel is so important because it opens your eyes to new perspectives. It shows you new angles. It teaches you to be humble and to have an open mind. So I think travel helps me to cultivate all these things, which are so important for creating. Especially when collaborating – you have to be tolerant of other’s people’s ideas and strive to look at them with new eyes. That’s where the most creative problem solving happens!
MZ: Favorite coffee spot/place to get work done in Chicago?
I honestly get pretty distracted but as long as I have my giant over-ear headphones on blasting classical piano or weird new age music, I can concentrate. The Allis at Soho House is always a favorite!
MZ: Favorite place to find inspiration in Chicago?
Everywhere! I might be biased, but this city is the best city in the world. There are so many places full of creative energy – like the Museum of Contemporary Art (and of course the good ‘ole Art Institute). And I love to people watch in Millennium Park because it draws crowds from all over the world. And you really can’t beat running on the riverwalk or the lakefront path on a breezy fall morning – that’s where I get some of my best ideas and do my best thinking… before I take 273 pictures of the sunrise.
MZ: Why is that place important to you?
Because it’s such a wonderful balance of urban bustle and green space that our city specializes in. I get a creative buzz from the energy of the city – but I am truly inspired by nature. It gives me clarity and gets me jazzed about creating.
MZ: Anything else you want to share?
Man. There’s so much to share. Don’t hate – collaborate! And life is too short to be anything but happy. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands. And believe in yourself and trust your gut because most of the time it’s right. And if you’re feeling stuck or down on yourself, take a step back and look at where you’ve come from, even just since the day before, because chances are it’s a lot further than you think. And hustle. Be better than you were yesterday. And a wise colleague once said, “always show up - you never know what will come of it.”
And continued education is the most important thing. Never stop learning or trying new things.
