Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Ferrer.
Michael, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello! My name is Mike Ferrer, I am in recovery from drugs and alcohol. I am a dog person, a designer, and a human being.
My quit date is April 9, 2019.
I started my career as an advertising Art Director in Portland, OR and got recruited to GSD&M here in Austin where I split my time as Art Director/CD and Lead Designer for a wide range of clients: BMW-NA and BMW Global, Southwest Airlines, Caesars Palace, AT&T, to name a few.
I resigned from my 19 year tenure at that job to pursue a career in freelancing. (Just a few months after I got clean and sober.)
Being newly sober and embarking on a whole new lifestyle was a bit crazy to make such a huge change early in sobriety, but I did it. It was a calculated decision.
Along with the lifestyle change, I embraced a new purpose, using my skills in Advertising and design, I founded SoberPress during the pandemic. It was an endeavor that helped me stay clean as I navigated being in isolation because of COVID-19.
In August of 2020, I launched my Instagram page: @soberpress, and serendipitously found an amazing supportive community online. At the same time, I was working on establishing a blog soberpress.org where I would soon feature stories of recovery from around the world.
My mission is to inspire a million people for change. I provide a safe place where people can experience and share their stories of recovery. This allows those struggling with an addiction to know that they are not alone and that recovery is possible. When we recover out loud, no one dies in silence.
I’m very much involved in the community holding ambassadorships, appearing in podcasts, running SoberPress on Facebook, and helping with SoberHope.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Striking out on my own was not easy, it was a leap of faith. Honestly, it wasn’t my first go at recovery, I had been through rehab once before and was able to remain clean and sober for about a year before relapsing again.
It was a very important lesson for me to learn, however. I did really well working a program, but as soon as things got too busy at work for me again, I allowed myself to be swallowed up back into the machine. I lost focus of the work I was doing to get better and remain clean—then the inevitable happened: I relapsed.
The second time I got lost, it was very difficult for me to handle right away. I needed help even though I was not actively seeking it. I am lucky that couple of close friends were able to lend a hand when I was really down. I was fighting a slew of emotions and had become rudderless. Fighting against anxiety, depression and self worth, It took a great amount of resolve from me to surrender to the idea that I could no longer function as I should have been. This resolve turned into a fight back up hill to become a better human being. Productive and contributing again for the great good.
My struggles meant that I needed to shed to weight that I was no longer meant to carry. It was a big deal and a leap of faith to move a way from a long career in advertising. But it was also quiet liberating and energizing.
I found new purpose in the idea of serving a community that is hungry for recognition and change. A community that deserves better. A community of people who are incredibly inspiring considering the strides they’ve made in recovery—to become better humans than ever before. Highlighting those challenges in stories became my charge—my purpose.
I had to really catch up to becoming more savvy with technology, to create a functional website from scratch, to learn about SEO optimization, to become really savvy in social media, and be able to grow meaningfully in a very niche target.
And it’s still a process of learning and struggles, but persistence and purpose are a powerful duo. However, remaining humble day to day, having an open mind and remaining teachable is the perfect combination for growth in business and more importantly, as a human being.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have always had a curious streak. As a child I was all about immersing myself in a creative endeavor. I was always dismantling stuff and repurposing the guts into something else. I drove my folks nuts because I was always so restless. They made sure that I was always armed with paints, brushes, art papers, and pens so I wouldn’t go messing with the TV set.
This curiosity extended itself throughout my life. I didn’t care about high school. I was bored and I was always hungry for a challenge. I didn’t care much about learning book stuff. I spent hours in my room rewiring and building speakers. I had an electric guitar and made a lot of noise. I couldn’t afford to buy amps, so I commandeered an old tube amp dad had in the garage. I was able to coax great Van Halen like distortion out of it. It was loud and badass, until it wasn’t anymore.
Mom came into my room bawling after school one day with my report card. Straight D’s with an F in P.E. She gently takes the guitar from me while it’s plugged in and began cutting the strings with scissors. She cried; “Who makes and ‘F’ in P.E.?” as she fell on the bed sobbing.
Things made a drastic change in college, when I really got serious about my art. I was making dean’s list and president’s list. Scholarships. My brother’s no longer laughed and made fun of me. I opened my eyes to what I could really do. I had art shows. I ran the art and literary magazine. Then got accepted to an elite advertising school where I lived in Atlanta: The Portfolio Center.
Having a Post graduate education in Art Direction rocketed me into the Advertising Industry immediately. I became Art Director for a small advertising firm in Portland, OR. I was only 25. I did a lot of work and earned a lot of awards, local and national. I got the Burnbach award at 27 as the best young creative in the Northwest.
I was always curious and different from others. I guess I loved to be defiant and I found a place where I could experiment and be creative and get paid to do so. It was crazy.
I am still very curious and love to be challenged. I still love to be defiant, but in a more calculated and strategic way. I love solving problems and making sense of chaos. It’s the biggest reward when I can create something distinctive within the confines of a narrow path—a good strategy.
In addition to freelance design, SoberPress, and Sober-Hope, I have been experimenting with creating digital art: Paintings, Drawings and Collages.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I really try not to consider myself as a big risk taker. To me that’s extreme, like climbing a building with no harness, or base jumping. I seek risk as teetering on the edge of life and death. If I were to extend my thinking as a “risk-taker” outside of that realm. Yes, I guess, I have. Or maybe it amounts to pure foolishness and carelessness as a child, evolving into a little bit of defiance as an adult.
I mean, I move now with purpose and strategy. I like to calculate and plan. It’s very difficult for me to be irreverent just to be irreverent, although I’ve done that. Sometimes, it is provocative, but sometimes it can come across as clueless and stupid—that’s me as a kid—which can be fun for fun’s sake. Perhaps, that’s my own personal version of risk. I like to be able to speak to rationale that leads to a purpose, ultimately—to be able to think freely but with a harness, so to speak.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.michaelferrerdesign.com/ and https://www.soberpress.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soberpress/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3509692239095770 and https://www.facebook.com/groups/616558783253253
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-ferrer-561b3a/
- Other: https://dribbble.com/michaelFERRER
Image Credits
All imagery used in the Meta Sustainability Report is curated from their own library and stock
