Davy Chen loved exploring the world, so much so, he made a career out of it.
“I always had a thing for travelling and getting paid for it, so it was natural for me to get a tourism job”.
His first gig was at a backpackers in 2006 and by 2014 he was working in the big leagues at Flight Centre.
“When I got to my recruitment interview, they showed a picture of what they called the global gathering.”
“What they’d do is put in a couple of high achievers from the company every year from all over the world, and get together and have this two day celebration.”
From that moment, he was hooked. He started on the travel agent side of the business, but soon found he had a knack for technology.
“My manager at the time said why don’t you get a job at Fly Tech, that’s the IT department at head office.” he told Newshub podcast, ‘The Pivot’.
But after making the switch, Covid 19 suddenly brought the tourism industry to a halt. Chen then went from helping his colleagues with their tech queries, to processing their redundancies.
“So you're seeing all of your friends' names show up, and you feel really bad because you know those people, you know their families and what their situations are.”
And then, it was his turn.
“Two weeks before the end of October [last year], I got a phone call from management saying we are going to send you an email regarding redundancy.”
“You pour your heart and soul into it, and then find out at the end of the day you’re just another number in the corporate environment.”
“It’s quite sad.”
With no work, and a lot of time, he did some soul searching, and realised his other love of film was more than just a passion - it was his next move.
So he launched his own videography business called Big Bright Media and looking back, he now thinks of his redundancy as a positive part of his journey.
“I love travel, but I know my passion is video making.”
“Being made redundant actually gave me the opportunity to say ok, I need to make a change, and this is what I want to do.”
And filming sneakers and sports has further fueled his creative passion. With no formal training Davy admits there were moments of doubt, but his advice for anyone thinking about starting their own business is, in the words of Nike, “Just do it.”
To hear how Davy did it, listen to the full and final episode of The Pivot, hosted by Newshub's Wilhelmina Shrimpton now on Spotify or Apple.
