Meet the Brownthought Academy: Jimmie Flora
UNDSCVRD was inspired by our late friend and marketing master mind Marco Jastillana.
To honor his memory and to uplift the next generation of creative thought leaders, the Jastillana family and Kultivate Labs is unveiling the Brownthought Academy (BA): Marketing Bootcamp.
The Bootcamp is a 4 month paid internship where 3 interns learn all aspects of marketing from email campaigns, social media, website maintenance, paid social media, and the fundamentals of socially conscious economic development. Interns will learn on the job by working on the marketing campaign for UNDSCVRD. At the end of the program, the interns will pitch a campaign idea or product to launch that they will manage. The best idea will be funded by the Jastillana family.
What is your name?
Jimmie Flora
How do you identify yourself?
he/him/his
Where are you from?
I’m Ilocano and I was born in Manila, Philippines. My parents are both from Pangasinan — Urdaneta and Umingan, respectively. Japan is where I grew up. Las Vegas, NV is my hometown and I currently reside in the Bay Area. My dad is a veteran in the air force, so growing up a military brat, I moved around every three to four years. I’ve had the privilege to live in different countries, across the U.S. and experience various cultures + ways of living at a young age.
Why did you apply for BA Academy?
I applied to the BA Academy for several reasons.
The first reason being growth.
I’m a student for life and a seeker of truth. I’ve been in school 10+ years and finally graduated with a degree in business administration in 2018. So my life has been a bit unorthodox and has been an uphill battle. I spent several years traveling as a photographer, working remotely as a marketing coordinator & digital content marketer for e-commerce businesses and nonprofit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I’m currently pursuing a fine arts degree in individualized studies to expand my practice as an artist.
My intention is to come from a heartspace and develop a passion to bridge multiple disciplines, critical thinking and research.
Learning about the Brownthought Academy marketing bootcamp, I saw it as an opportunity to develop my marketing skills and to learn from a team of Filipinx American creative thought leaders that produce the Undiscovered SF creative markets. Being able to learn from my fellow Filipinx people, experience working as a team and feeling that sense of cultural roots is something I never had in the context of my career.
The second reason being community.
Moving to the bay in 2016 in my mid twenties, my priorities were rebuilding my relationship with my parents & family, focusing on school, working and doing all the in betweens that I needed to do so I can restart a life here. Going to several UNDSCVRD SF events with my family really provided an opportunity for us to reconnect and make new memories surrounding our culture. It really has helped bridge this generational gap and forms new dialogue around what it means to be Filipinx American. Seeing this Filipinx renaissance happening in the SOMA district excites me. It gives me hope as a Filipinx American. Being a part of what Kultivate Labs is doing for the culture and community is inspiring. I’d love to be a part of this family in some shape or form and be developed to be the next generation of creative thought leaders.
What was your most memorable experience at Undiscovered?
Okay, so my memory is kinda hazy on this one. My most memorable memory would have to be last year’s season 3 October event. I brought my parents and siblings to the city. This was the time UNDSCVRD had the basketball court pop up with the beautifully painted court mural with bright blues, oranges and yellows. Literally the performances and foods were the highlight. It’s nice not having to cook your own filipino dishes and share it with the fam.
What do you like to do for fun?
My passions include poetry, line art, getting lost in a good book and living a holistic lifestyle. In 2018, I self published a poetry book, “The Unreality of Time.” It’s a collection of my poetry from 2006-2018. I also love being out in nature, listening to music, exploring existential thoughts with others, writing rhymes, cooking and spending time with my partner.
Pick a Filipino food or dish that represents you + explain why
Pichi Pichi. That filipino dessert that’s gelatin like and has the coconut shavings on top.
I think because it’s sweet, soft, and comes in different colors. Lol to me it represents enjoying the simple things in life. Enjoying the present time and being in the moment. A lot of filipino desserts can do that to you, haha.
What's one thing you've learned about yourself during this global pandemic.
I enjoy being active and will probably continue living an active lifestyle. Especially the first several months during the shelter in place. I felt antsy and needed a way to release that extra energy. This global pandemic gave me the opportunity to begin within and reexamine the way I view things, especially with my health, diet and fitness. I’m seeing my body more as a vessel — a temple worth caring for and nurturing. Like being conscious about what I’m feeding myself mentally. visually. sonically. literally.
My past mindset on working out and fitness was for vanity purposes so this is huge for me. haha
Finding the joy in living an active lifestyle can be simply waking up early to take a quick jog before everyone in the house wakes up or intentionally unplugging yourself from technology and reading a book.
What's your jam right now? (This can be a song, funny video, piece of content, netflix show, livestream, etc.)
Oooh, I’m currently enjoying Boiler Room dj sets on youtube, heavily playing ESTA., Whooligan, Joe Kay, Kaytranada, etc. Live sets are my jam. I think that in-person energy, seeing the DJ physically respond to the music, the crowd going hype, it is high-key necessary during these quarantine times.
What does being Filipino mean to you?
Being Filipino means multidimensional. We are an artistic, passionate, resilient, spiritual, creative, left brained, right brained, beautiful thriving people. Like literally in anything we put our heart and mind to, we are able to overcome and achieve it.
The crazy part is that I’m rediscovering so many aspects about my Filipino-ness that I rejected or took for granted. This time around I’m owning it.