Today we interview one of FGX’s writers Anton Friedman
He’s known for a love of cats, ninjas, and ignoring people standing by his desk. Seriously, some people have waited for up to ten minutes. We keep magazines on the table to read while they wait for him to ‘notice’ them. Did we mention he loves cats?
CATS
Hey, how you doing today?
I’m quite busy. Can we make this quick?
Sure. What you busy with?
I’m livestreaming my cats. They’re in the living room these days, so I’ve moved the webcam there. The last I checked, they were napping.
And half an hour ago?
Also napping. Cats nap a lot. That’s why it’s called a “cat nap”. It’s from cats. And their napping.
OTHER THINGS
When you’re not… urm… livestreaming your cats, what do you do exactly?
I make the magic happen. I’m a creative. I create. All kinds of things. Mainly, sentences using words as their most basic parts. But I’ve constructed sentences out of cluedo pieces too, once.
Alright. So, you’re obviously from an advertising background.
Yes! Copywriter, actually!
Does that mean you put a sell-spin on your creative?
Technically, it’s called content. I just personally call it ‘creative’ as a reference to my days in strictly above-the-line advertising. FGX is something more that just an agency though. It’s like a megalith robot with many different functions, like creating code, building websites, making apps, doing social media, managing communities on social media platforms, and of course, content creation. And we also do traditional advertising. I basically beg for them…
TRANSFORMATIVE TYPES
You do seem the begging type… but enough about your personal life…
It’s weird how you get me.
I probably know the answer to this, but if you could turn into any animal, what would it be?
A leopard!
Should have guessed a housecat is a bit too wussy.
Well, yeah, when I run around the streets of Jozi as a feline of some kind, I don’t want to have to worry about being picked off by an owl. They take cats out!
Why specifically a leopard?
A leopard is stealthy like a ninja, but deadly like a pirate with a bottle of rum.
I’d be a unicorn.
Newsflash! Nobody just called. He said he cares!
Do you have a special bond with anybody at the agency?
Well, we are all about teamwork, but special bond award goes to… drum roll… Cordel. He’s my design neighbour. We’re both geeks and stuff, but we also come up with cool solutions to creative problems together. Plus, he’s really handsome.
GROWN UPS
If you’re that way orientated, I know someone who…
No, I’m not. But I’d change my mind if he was a doctor. I have this weird ache at the back of my knee…
I think that’s called a growing pain. You get it if you haven’t grown up yet.
That actually makes a lot of sense.
What do you do in your spare time?
I paint, do art, play PlayStation, watch Netflix, and also spend a lot of time wandering around the house, wondering about the meaning of it all…
Have you figured it out yet?
Nope. But I’m pretty sure it involves cats.
Okay, we’re done. You can go back to livestreaming your cats now.
Hurray!
They doing anything interesting?
Yes! They’re still napping but they’ve switched sides while we were talking. Can’t believed I missed that. Can you put a sad emoticon in when you post this? ☹
Sure.