#WFH Diaries: David Kolbusz of Droga5 London
As the pandemic continues with no end in sight, and with most folks still working from home, we're continuing to check in with industry pros to see how they're faring. Below, we chat with David Kolbusz, chief creative officer of Droga5 London.
Give us a one-line bio of yourself.
I am the chief creative officer of Droga5 London and the 300th published participant in the Muse by Clio #WFH Diaries series.
Where are you living right now, and who's with you?
I am living at home in London with my wife and children.
What's your work situation like at the moment?
I've put a lot of things on hold. When you've got 299 other #WFH Diaries to compete with, the pressure becomes unbearable. But I've really committed to blowing all those other assholes out of the water with this baby, so sacrifices have to be made somewhere.
Describe your socializing strategy.
I have a job and a family and this column to write. Who has time for friends?
How are you dealing with childcare?
School is back in session in the U.K. Which is a relief because filicide is frowned upon in these parts.
What are you reading/watching/listening to?
With the extra time, I have been extra prolific in my media consumption, curating literary trilogies for myself based around specific themes and programming little film festivals. You're probably looking for examples so I'll use this as an opportunity for self-promotion. I'm renowned for how much culture I take in, and a lot of my peers have come to me for recommendations during lockdown, so I set up an Instagram account that acts as a real-time survey of what I'm into. It's called @davidkolbuszcenterforthearts, which is the most pretentious name I could think up in that moment.
How are you staying fit?
I do as many of my work calls in motion as possible.
Have you taken up a hobby?
All free time goes to extracurricular writing.
Any tips for getting necessities?
While this question may have been relevant some months ago, now that we've made it to the 300th #WFH Diaries, the dust has settled on this old chestnut. Supplies aren't in short supply anymore. But if you believe—as I do—that we live an infinite number of realities simultaneously and can move about the temporal landscape through what we have called "memory," then perhaps it will still be useful to note that at the start of the plague, grocery stores which had supermalls attached to them were less busy than standalone grocery stores because the non-essential retailers were closed. So, less foot traffic.
An awkward moment since all this started.
I was in a grocery store and I failed to realize the floors were marked with arrows to direct traffic. I went down one aisle the wrong way and a man called me out. I was confused and I asked him what to do because I was genuinely concerned for others' safety and comfort, but he thought I was getting shirty with him. It was an awkward, protracted exchange that ended with him telling me he wasn't the boss of me and my frustrated reply was something along the lines of, "Then why are you telling me which way to go then?"
Best work email you got since all this started.
It began with, "If you get this to me in the next week, you will be the 300th #WFH Diaries contributor…"
An aha! moment since all this started.
You don't always get fat the same way twice. When you gain weight and then lose weight, but then gain it back, sometimes it manifests differently.
What's your theory on how this is going to play out?
I'm prepping my answers for the 600th #WFH Diaries: 300 Redux.
