so, i'm starting to write again...

Hey there.

I don’t know how much you know about me and my background.
But… I’ve been thinking about writing again for a really, really long time.
Like for years. I kept going back and forth because idk…
Busy? Priorities? Or maybe I just like being lowkey, but I also kinda miss having a place to dump my thoughts.

It reminded me of when I first started writing.
It was back in high school, final year exam stress.
(Spoiler: I didn’t even score that well in the end lol)
I registered a Blogspot account and just started typing whatever was in my brain because it felt too heavy to hold everything inside.

And somehow that random blog shaped my whole life because of the journey I took.
I even kept the same username till now - bryanlyt.

When I turned 18, I started getting invited to blogger events.
Made new friends and connections.
I got paid to write advertorials for brands.
Invited for media trips, locally and internationally.
I was also seeded with new phones every other year that I didn’t need to buy a phone for years.

And as I picked up photography to take better pictures for my blog, I started getting invited to music festivals and concerts.
I’d have media passes to meet the international acts and interview them as well.
Mainly because my blog was optimized for Google Search (SEO) and I had tons of website visits based on those event coverages.
With that, Nike gave me the chance to meet the Arsenal team when they came to Malaysia in 2012.
(I’m a loyal supporter despite them not winning a trophy for years lol. But it’s coming this season!)

It felt crazy at that age, I was still in my early to mid 20s. Like… do I even deserve these?
You could say I was kinda like one of those “content creators with perks” from the blogging era, before Instagram and TikTok influencers even existed.
But honestly, compared to how the social media scene is now, all of that feels pretty common (and even sorta expected by some influencers).

Anyway apart from the blogging perks, I met this one guy through another mutual friend from the blogging scene.
His name is Ming Han (he only has a Chinese name, but his English is better than me).
He ain’t a blogger, but I knew he had just started a YouTube channel at that time posting webcam vlogs ranting about his university car park issue.
Long story short, he had ideas + I had the equipment and skills.
So, we decided to collaborate and produced some short films and skits together on The Ming Thing YouTube channel (with Wong Fu Productions as one of our main inspo at that time).
My first video produced with him was a hit, went viral because it was featured on 9gag.
But… it was all still just for fun + he was still trying to complete his final year university.

Next thing you know, people I met from the blogging scene knew that I was doing video production and YouTube.
They started getting my help and referred clients to me as well.
That was how we got our first few paid brand deals for TMT YouTube.
Like, we actually got paid for making videos instead of a 9-5 corporate job?
That still blows my mind sometimes.

Me and Ming Han barely knew each other for two years and somehow decided “yeah, let’s start a company.”
Core Studios was established.
People always say don’t start a business with your friends… but we’ve been at it for the past 12+ years and still alive, so idk man… maybe sometimes it works.

In 2016, we started Blankslate as our social media agency.
Then, COVID hit in 2020.
We had to merge Core Studios and Blankslate into one full-service creative agency.
Funny enough, it was initiated as a safeguard / survival decision, but it turned out to be one of our best moves. We’ve been growing every year since.

Along the journey, I also stepped back from creative work and focused on business growth, company culture, operations and systems.
Because of that, I honestly don’t even know what I specialise in anymore.
I’ve done… almost everything?
Creative, production, social media, ops, client management, sales, hiring, managing people, building systems, etc.
Jack of all trades, master of none.
Some might think it’s better to specialize.
I kinda like being able to do many things though. Keeps things interesting.
I reckon that knowing how every department works has really shaped my leadership journey with the team as well.

Over the years, my reason for showing up kinda shifted.
From wanting to make cool work and earn more, to wanting to help my team grow in experience, leadership, and their careers.
Looking back, I’m kinda glad I went through all those phases.
It’s the reason I can be here in Perth now without the whole thing collapsing.
The team back home is solid, everyone knows what to do.
I still support them from afar, kinda proud of that tbh.

Right now, I’m in an unfamiliar season.
I’ve never lived abroad my whole life and yet…
Me and my wife are currently in Perth, Australia.
She’s building her medical career here, while I’m leveraging my agency experience to support one of the local agencies here with their business growth.

Is Perth a nice place to live in? I think so, yes.
Do we miss Malaysia? Yes, for sure. The people, the food, the affordability (lol).
Do we know if we’re going to be here in the long run? Honestly… we’re not sure, especially with how tight the Australian visa allocations are getting (and the house prices, my goodness).
God has His plans for us, and we’re just doing our best with the time we’ve been given here.

I also tried a bunch of ‘side quests’ this year, just because I had spare time during my career break. Invested in a few courses, joined communities, engaged in mentorship sessions, explored stuff I’ve always been curious about (AI stuff, e-commerce, digital products, coaching, etc.)
If I was still in Malaysia, I don’t think I’d have the time or energy to even attempt half of these experiments.
Some were alright, some failed miserably.
But honestly, each one taught me something… so it’s all good.

And maybe that’s why I’m starting this newsletter.
I’m not here to teach anything. I’m not here trying to be famous.
I’m also not here to pretend I have some wise long-term plan (because I still don’t).
You never know what’s going to come at you, until you reach that phase.

This is just a place to… keep track of things.
Things that are somewhere in between my old self and my future self.
So that future me can look back and judge my old self (lol).

When I opened my old Blogspot the other day.
It felt like opening a time capsule.
Some posts made me cringe. Some made me smile.
And, I want that again for myself next time.

So… here’s a blog? A newsletter?
Combined into one because I can’t keep up with social media algorithm nowadays.
If you’re here reading this, great. If nobody’s reading, that’s totally fine as well.
And if you’re back in Malaysia and wondering “how’s Bryan doing in Perth?”
I guess you can consider this the long overdue update until we meet again haha.
I’ll try to write once a week. Try.

This newsletter is free-to-read right now
But if I turn on paid subscription one day
Like something small, less than the price of a meal
Mainly just to make it feel a bit more private for me
And also to see who’s actually invested in my updates haha

Would YOU actually pay for a subscription?

Think of it like buying me a meal, I guess?
Just trying to gauge if it’s even worth turning on the paid feature.

Anyway, that’s all for now.
Thanks for reading my rambles.
Feels nice to write again.
Circling back to where it all kinda started for me.

See ya in the next one!

- bryanlyt.