Nathalie Kossek on Creativity, Identity, Burnout, and Building a Life That Fits
In this episode of Shoot Wisely, the Creators Podcast, Amir Ebrahimi sits down with visual and creative director Nathalie Kossek for a conversation about creativity, identity, culture, burnout, and what it means to build a life that actually fits who you are.
Born in Toronto to a Polish family and raised in Ohio, Nathalie grew up navigating two cultures while being surrounded by two very different influences at home: a deeply artistic, intuitive mother and an engineer father who brought structure and discipline to the family.
That balance between creativity and structure would eventually become a defining part of her career.
Natalie takes us from journaling and writing as a child to discovering photography, documenting the people around her, and eventually finding her way into surf and action-sports culture. Her path would take her from Ohio to California, from an early internship at Surfer to photography, modeling, art direction, and ultimately creative direction.
But this conversation isn't just about Nathalie's career.
We talk about the ways creativity becomes intertwined with identity, what it feels like to grow up feeling like an outsider, and how photography gave her a way to connect with people. We explore her lifelong relationship with horses and motorcycles, and how both have helped her get out of her head and back into her body.
Natalie also opens up about burnout, living in a van during COVID, building that van with her father, and reconsidering what success and safety actually meant to her. She shares her decision to stop using cannabis after recognizing that something she once used as a coping mechanism had begun holding her back.
We also get into the distinction between art direction and creative direction, the importance of delegation and trust on set, and how to maintain a point of view while working across different brands and industries.
Ultimately, this is a conversation about refinement over reinvention—and about creating a life and a creative practice with enough soul, perspective, and intention to actually feel like your own.
In This Episode
- Growing up between Toronto and Ohio and navigating two cultures as the child of immigrants
- How Nathalie's Polish family and creative upbringing shaped her identity
- The balance between her mother's artistic, intuitive worldview and her father's structured engineering mind
- Feeling like an outsider and how that experience influenced her creative perspective
- Why writing and journaling were her first creative outlets
- Discovering photography and becoming the person who documented her friends and surroundings
- How photography became a way to connect with people
- The role horses have played in Nathalie's life since she was seven years old
- Why riding horses continues to be a grounding and almost spiritual experience
- Motorcycle culture, embodiment, community, and getting out of her head
- Discovering surf culture and action-sports magazines from Ohio
- Calling Surfer magazine and finding her way into the industry
- Moving to Los Angeles and discovering that the reality of California was different from the fantasy
- Modeling as another extension of her visual identity
- How the modeling industry and agency world have evolved
- The transition from photographer to art director and creative director
- Why creative leadership requires learning to delegate and trust other people
- Maintaining a point of view while working across different brands
- Burnout, COVID, van life, and building a van with her father
- Rethinking work, safety, independence, and self-trust
- The difference between art direction and creative direction
- Why the best creatives bring a distinct point of view to the room
- Refinement over reinvention
- What it means to "shoot wisely"
Timestamps
01:00 — Baby names, Polish roots, and growing up between Canada and Ohio
02:23 — Where Natalie grew up and how her creative journey began
04:22 — Immigration, trauma, and why stability mattered at home
06:54 — Why creative work feels tied to identity and soul
08:05 — Her mother's creative life, folklore, and intuitive worldview
010:25 — Creativity as a hobby versus a real path
11:21 — Writing, journaling since age 10, and the beginning of her creative practice
12:29 — Discovering photography and becoming the documentarian friend
14:06 — Feeling like she didn't fit in and using images to connect
16:40 — How giving people images became a way of making friends
17:48 — Moving from Canada to Ohio and navigating immigrant identity
20:14 — Being the new kid and feeling visibly different
24:12 — Horseback riding, horse camp, and a spiritual connection
26:03 — Why horses bring her back into her body
27:23 — Motorcycles, embodiment, and getting out of her head
31:57 — Motorcycle culture and community in Los Angeles
35:03 — Buying her first bike for Babes Ride Out
37:58 — Surf culture, magazines, and calling Surfer from Ohio
42:18 — Moving to LA, rent shock, and expecting it to be temporary
44:52 — Modeling, agency changes, and industry inclusivity
49:42 — How creative direction emerged from photography and observation
55:26 — Learning to trust others and delegate on set
59:40 — Staying authentic across brands while continuing to evolve
66:28 — Burnout, van life, and building the van with her dad
81:12 — Art director vs. creative director
84:32 — What "Shoot Wisely" means to Natalie
Notable Quotes
“Creativity actually has a cost and a value to it.”“I think the most valuable people in a room of creatives are the ones that have a point of view.”“Refinement over reinvention.”
Key Takeaways
Refinement over reinvention
You don't always need to completely reinvent yourself. Sometimes the next stage of your creative life comes from refining what already feels true.
Point of view is everything
Technical skill matters, but the creatives who bring a distinct perspective to the room are often the ones who become indispensable.
Creativity needs structure
Natalie's story reflects the tension—and balance—between intuition and discipline, imagination and structure.
Get out of your head
Horses, motorcycles, movement, and physical experiences have helped Natalie reconnect with herself and escape the constant mental noise that can accompany creative work.
Creative direction is about people
Moving from photographer to creative director meant learning that leadership isn't about controlling every image. It's about communicating a vision, trusting others, and knowing when to let someone else contribute to the work.
Build a life that fits
Burnout forced Natalie to reconsider not only how she worked, but what kind of life she actually wanted to build around her creativity.
Ways to conect with Nathalie Kossek
Website
Social
Linkedin
About Shoot Wisely
Shoot Wisely, the Creators Podcast is hosted by filmmaker, photographer, and creative producer Amir Ebrahimi.
After more than 20 years working in production, Amir created Shoot Wisely to have deeper conversations with the people behind the creative work—to understand how they think, what drives them, how they found their way into the industry, and what they've learned along the way.
Because the camera isn't the hard part.
The hard part is getting close enough to people to understand why they create.
