I want to use this as a reference! Polish your impression experience with surfing and motorcycles. What is the relationship between creators, on and off, hobbies and work?

■Surfing for hobbies, riding a motorcycle, honing your sensibilities, and utilizing them in your work by creators' techniques

Enhancing your hobbies and work, so-called off and on, enriches your life It is said to be However, if switching on and off does not work well, it may affect one or the other. This time, we asked creators who enjoy surfing and motorcycles about the relationship between their hobbies and work.

This time, Hideo Akimoto, who is in charge of creative direction at a video production company.

When I heard about the creative direction and the creative director who was in charge of it, I imagined someone with a fashion sense that deviated from that of ordinary people, or someone who wouldn't stop talking about difficult things. Shita Akimoto has a natural style, soft surroundings, and a sportsman-like freshness.

It is a job called creative direction that is generally difficult to understand, but in addition to beautifully projecting what is visible, we also visualize the images of the invisible things and minds, create them as creations, and appeal with the work. You could say that your job is to make people see things that are hard to see, and to impress people.

Mr. Akimoto, who liked to draw from a young age, studied design when he was a student, and was also active as an artist through VJ (visual jockey * in charge of producing videos played at clubs etc.) when he was young. yes.

Currently, he is a creator active in a wide range of fields, including promotional videos that receive offers from companies, video exhibitions at event venues and museums, and videos played on large outdoor screens.

Mr. Akimoto sighs about the visuals from his time as a VJ, saying, "The hardware and software have evolved with the times, and the quality is embarrassing compared to the visuals produced by young people today." , Their video production became a hook, and the field of work expanded steadily. Now I'm even in charge of shooting.

Mr. Akimoto's motto in his work is not to follow precedents in video production.

According to Mr. Akimoto, video work can become routine, so he always seeks something different from before, and a change in expression.

In addition, Mr. Akimoto says that the most rewarding thing about his work is to make high-quality video and to complete it. It's fun to create works," he said.

However, it seems that you have a hobby other than video production that you have been addicted to for a long time, and a hobby that you are really into lately.

One is surfing. Akimoto moved from Tokyo to Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture a year ago in order to realize her desire to live near the sea, but she moved to the same area where she started surfing. It's because I came.

First, I went to a surfing school with a friend who lives nearby and bought a surfboard at a shop. I started with mid-length boards, followed by longboards and shortboards, and now I own 5 of them. It seems that he enjoys each board according to the size and situation of the waves.

"I'm still not very good at it, but it's interesting that the characteristics of each short board and long board are completely different. I want to ride that kind of board. Come on... I intentionally avoid working in the morning, and enjoy surfing almost every day from 6:30 in the morning during the current season, and around 4:30 in the summer."

And another hobby is motorcycles. In particular, unlike surfing, I have been enjoying motorcycles since I was young.

Mr. Akimoto's current favorite car is the Yamaha XSR700. And two Tricity 125s that I bought as a substitute for legs because it's not fun to just use a scooter.

Since moving from Tokyo to Fujisawa, the commute time and distance have increased significantly, but it seems that the XSR700 is also used for commuting from home to the office in Tokyo. Currently, even though the opportunity to go to the office has decreased due to the corona crisis, I think that using a motorcycle to commute about 100km round trip is difficult, especially in the middle of summer and the middle of winter, but I say that it is not so.

"When I go to the office with the XSR700, I feel more like touring than commuting. When I have time, I go to the office by motorcycle. You can use it, or go to Kamakura and then use the coastal road, and decide the route according to your mood at that time.

Mr. Akimoto says that he doesn't mind the heat or cold because he's touring, not commuting, and just having a good time. .

First of all, the freedom and high mobility unique to motorcycles, here I argue that there are advantages that are different from public transportation and cars, which are the same transportation tools.

For example, if you go to a hot spring resort by train, even if you get off the train, you will feel like you are being moved to your destination on a fixed rail. Even the souvenir shops on the route from the train station to the hot spring area make you feel like you're in an artificially created environment where you have to buy something.

When you use a motorcycle, you are free to move anywhere and how you want, even while moving from point to point. Moreover, encounters with shops and scenery are greatly improved by being able to turn in a smaller radius than a car. I felt a great attraction there.

However, in the case of a car that can be moved freely like a motorcycle, even if you discover it on the way, you will feel the mental wall of having to look for a parking lot. It is said that by riding a car, you can once again feel the flexibility of a motorcycle.

Mr. Akimoto, who enjoys touring on a motorcycle with a high degree of freedom, says that the taste of touring has changed a little since he moved to Fujisawa.

“From Fujisawa, it became easier to go to areas suitable for touring, such as Hakone and Higashi-Izu, so I started enjoying motorcycles as if I were taking a walk. I don't have a specific destination in mind, so I ride my bike in hopes of discovering something.Maybe it's because I feel like I've pretty much gone to all the places I want to go on a touring trip, so I set a solid route to where I want to go. Recently, I've been enjoying touring with the feeling that I'm going out on a motorcycle instead of riding."

In addition to motorcycles, he also walks by bicycle and on foot, but he also told me that there is a difference in "resolution" when driving in a car, touring on a motorcycle or bicycle.

If you enjoy looking at the flowers and plants blooming on the roadside while traveling on foot, the scenery you see changes when you ride a bicycle because the speed range changes. If you are walking or riding a bicycle, you will be able to see the products in the shops you discover while traveling, but you will not be able to see the inside of the shop clearly when you are in the speed range of a car or motorcycle, so you can enjoy the atmosphere of the signboards and buildings. In addition, even if you travel the same route, you can enjoy completely different things, such as the scenery you see in a car and a motorcycle that are covered on all sides.

In this way, Akimoto enjoys motorcycles and surfing every day, but he says that these hobbies, especially motorcycles, have a good influence on his work.

One thing is that the time you spend on the bike is empty, so you can clear your head. As I become nothing, I unconsciously have a conversation with myself, which sometimes gives me the inspiration I need for my work.

The other is that by riding a motorcycle, you can meet beautiful scenery where you can refine the aesthetic sense you need for your work.

It is hoped that visitors will be able to enjoy an experience that is as impressive as the museum exhibits, such as the glittering surface of the sea illuminated by the sun and the breathtaking mountains that can be seen on a sunny day. increase. Encounters with moving experiences are probably brought about by another hobby to enjoy in nature, surfing.

"It is important to hone my sensibility in my work, but as I get older, I feel like I am getting less and less impressed. This allows you to be impressed by the beauty of even a small scenery, such as a sunset.In addition, you can feel the wind and feel the vibrations when you ride a motorcycle.You can meet new people and discover new things through a motorcycle with high mobility. I think it's a big deal for me."

The mobility provided by a motorcycle brings encounters with excitement.It was interesting to see how Mr. Akimoto's hobbies and work are related to enriching life regardless of whether it is on or off.

(Text: Tsuyoshi Tezuka / Photo: Keisuke Maeda)

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