The CWB Association Welding Podcast
The CWB Association Welding Podcast
Skills Canada Series -Season 2- Episode 11 with Clyde Abanid
The CWB Association has had the honor of working with Skills/Compétences Canada on a special Podcast Series interviewing WorldSkills Team Canada 2024 competitors and experts from across Canada to share their skills journey. Join us as we learn about their skills, celebrate their success, and cheer for our Team Canada as they compete on the world stage in Lyon, France on September 10-15, 2024.
Get ready for insights into what it takes to excel in graphic design, including the nitty-gritty of color theory, typography, and understanding target markets with Clyde Abanid, who leveled up from a Graphic Designer competitor to a Competition Judge at SCNC2024. Clyde shares his firsthand experience of the nerve-wracking yet exhilarating world of provincial competitions, where tasks range from editorial projects to challenging packaging assignments. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, or an aspiring designer, this episode promises to leave you motivated and informed.
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All right, I check, check. Good. So I'm Max Duran. Max Duran, cwb Association Welding Podcast. Pod pod podcast. Today we have a really cool guest welding podcast. The show is about to begin. Hello and welcome to another edition of the CWB Association podcast. This special edition is with collaboration with Skills Canada Competencies here in beautiful Quebec City. We have been here all week recording podcasts, telling stories and working with Team Canada to figure out what's going on with this amazing competition. Here today we have Clyde Abinid.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, there we go.
Speaker 1:He's a competitor from Saskatchewan and he's in the graphic design technology area, right? Yes, yes, how are you doing, Clyde? I'm good. How are you Good? How's the week been?
Speaker 2:It's been fun. It's definitely different. It's refreshing being able to walk around and see everyone. Yeah, Because I'm usually on the competing side. So yeah it's very nice.
Speaker 1:Well, that's one of the things we've been talking about with the other competitors is you're not here in your normal role? Right After years of competing and competing, and there's the local, then the provincial, then the national Exactly Now you're on the other side, yeah. So what's your role here? Are you here as a mentor? Are you here as a judge? Are you just just supporting and hanging out? I'm here as a judge.
Speaker 2:Um, I actually judged yesterday and we marked all the way up until 9 pm. Wow, um yeah, so that was new. That was my first time judging ever, so that was pretty ever, ever, ever ever I marked my stuff, but yeah, you know it's different when you're marking other people's stuff.
Speaker 1:So do you find that you're gonna mark other people's stuff harsher than you would mark yourself, or the other way around, honestly?
Speaker 2:I've been like, it's been like neutral. I feel like I've done you know, just assess the way, um, like how everything looks and kind of how it needs to be yeah, exactly, just be fair.
Speaker 1:Being fair is possible so you're in the graphic design technology world. I assume you went to sas poly yes, yes right which one uh, regina campus.
Speaker 2:Yeah, shout out, regina campus. I taught there for eight years. Yeah, oh nice in the welding department.
Speaker 1:It's my home campus oh nice, and that's how I know b the former graphic design champ yeah yeah, yeah, yeah so the sas poly has a reputation for producing top tier graphic designers yeah yeah so when you enrolled into graphic design, did you know that sas poly, like like they're famous for that, or were you just like I'm just gonna do this?
Speaker 2:to be honest, um, I took a year off after I graduated high school, yeah, um, and I was just kind of lost. I looked for, um, I was always into graphic design and so I just looked for graphic design um programs in my area and I found sass polytech.
Speaker 1:I didn't even know about skills or anything like that yeah, and so yeah, that's kind of how it ended up and, yeah, now I'm here yeah, now you're here yeah, now you said you started graphic design early.
Speaker 2:Yes, how early um, I was about 12, I think, when I first uh downloaded photoshop really yes, yes, and why.
Speaker 1:You know what. What made you interested in trying to do that?
Speaker 2:okay, well, I uh, I initially wanted to be like a YouTuber or whatever. Yeah yeah, I wanted to get into content creation, and so I had a YouTube channel when I was 12, and I wanted to make channel art for myself.
Speaker 1:Yeah so.
Speaker 2:I made a profile picture, a banner, for myself.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I started telling friends and family about it and eventually it just kind of caught on and it's been a hobby ever since I was 12 and now I'm here, I guess still yeah, still doing it.
Speaker 1:So tell me about your youtube channel. I'm very curious what a 12 year old youtube channel is like what? What was the content you were after?
Speaker 2:okay, well, it was a mix of everything. It was kind of everything I found um fun at the time. I would upload like gaming videos yeah, I uploaded like call of duty videos. I would make um. I actually do a lot of like speed art videos have you seen those? Yeah, yeah um and just kind of anything I found fun at the time, and what kind of art do you do like?
Speaker 1:what's your favorite type of art to do?
Speaker 2:um, well, like it was a bunch of like graphic design kind of speed art like back in the day yeah, um, and it wasn't good.
Speaker 1:Graphic design are you sure that yes for a?
Speaker 2:12 year old though. Okay, maybe, I don't know, maybe maybe, maybe not to toot my own horn
Speaker 1:um, but yeah yeah, yeah, that's what I did so if you had been into kind of graphic design and and that art and the content creation worlds from such a early age, when you were finishing high school you said you kind of still didn't know what you wanted to do like professionally, yeah, why weren't you thinking about doing that professionally right off the top, like did you have pressure to do something else? Or university, like what was going on?
Speaker 2:okay. Well, my parents always wanted me to be a, an architect. Um, yeah, I know okay, yeah some pretty big shoes to kind of fill um. But like I, I never really was into that um and I didn't think graphic design was like a career I could really go into. Yeah, um, but after researching it, you know, uh, and kind of like looking at the program at sass polytech, I was like whoa, this actually kind of seems like well graphic design is around us, yeah, everywhere literally, literally everywhere yes, yes, clothes we wear, the water bottle, the banners, stickers, everything's.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, exactly exactly.
Speaker 2:So yeah, and then that kind of just reinforced my, uh, my hobby, I guess, and it kind of made me, uh realize that like, wow, this is a an actual career that you can go into.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what did your parents think when you're like mom, dad, I know you want me to be an architect, but I'm gonna go into graphic design how did they feel about that?
Speaker 2:um initially. Well, I took a year off right and they didn't like that obviously um but like they weren't super sure about graphic design, uh, they would tell me to have a backup plan just in case.
Speaker 1:Um, but after seeing me compete in skills, I think that they're they know, yeah, they're like okay, we're like super into it you do like they're super supportive now yeah, yeah, it's great, it's great. So let's talk about that first year of graphic design at sass poly. You come in you don't really know what you're, what you're going to be getting into, right. Yeah, was it pretty easy, since you had been kind of playing with it before or when you started, you're like you know, this is all new, this is, this is way different. What was it like?
Speaker 2:okay, well, so I started on photoshop um yeah and like that was the one I kind of stuck with all throughout my years and I kind of didn't really learn any of the other design programs.
Speaker 1:Like InDesign. Yes, no I actually hated InDesign. My first year.
Speaker 2:I refused to use it, so anytime I didn't have to use it, I would use Photoshop, but yeah, so the first year was mostly about learning like the programs and kind kind of just getting used to uh, going to school for graphic design you know, because it's.
Speaker 1:It's weird because I don't go to school every day to work on a computer to do the thing you've been doing at home, exactly like it's like turning a hobby into, like not a job, but I mean it is a job career, yeah, career yeah exactly.
Speaker 2:so yeah, it was a little weird, a little um kind scary, intimidating to get into, but over time it's kind of just been, you know, a gradual learning growth.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly so when you started the program. It's a pretty big program at South Poly.
Speaker 2:There's usually lots of students, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, did you feel like you fit in right away, like this is the right choice for me? Or were you like still like I'll try this for a year and see what happens?
Speaker 2:um, yeah, well, actually, yeah, like the first week or so, I uh, I was super miserable, I didn't have any like I'm super shy um and so what?
Speaker 1:you're shy? You're not being shy at all.
Speaker 2:This is awesome well I mean, I'm better at it so um but yeah, no, I was like I was miserable for the whole first week but I made a couple of friends after a couple of months of being there and it's like over time it kind of just became like really easy to be around the area and the program, I guess.
Speaker 1:So you're in school, you're going through the course of graphic design. At what point did a teacher come up to you and say hey, have you heard about skills? Do you know what skills is like? How long was it before someone was like come on, clyde, have you look at this?
Speaker 2:okay, well, um funny story. So Kyle and Cody, my two instructors, yeah. I think this was, um, this was going into the Christmas break. They organized this little skills boot camp thing where they offered like a practice kind of competition for everyone in the program to participate in. Yeah, and I participated in that and I did horrible.
Speaker 3:I didn't even finish, so but yeah, I did horrible.
Speaker 1:And then.
Speaker 2:So after that, like a week after that, they called me into their office like super ominous. They're like we need you in the office yeah, I'm like.
Speaker 3:For what?
Speaker 2:yeah, I was like am I in trouble sat?
Speaker 3:me down.
Speaker 2:They're like you need to participate in skills and I'm like what I did? Terrible yeah, yeah and then there, apparently like it was super nice stuff, even though I didn't finish um, which I was super surprised by, but yeah, and like I was really um intimidated yeah at first, I mean being sad now, not knowing like yeah what's going on?
Speaker 1:but and cody is so into skills oh my god like, so in yes, yes that's like his lifeblood.
Speaker 2:You know it is. Yeah, yeah, he lives for skills.
Speaker 1:So once he, he, he put you on the yes, that's like his lifeblood, you know it is. Yeah, yeah, he lives for skills. So once he, he put you on the list, he's like all right, clyde, yeah, we're, you're going into skills kind of all untold right. Essentially, yeah, essentially, were you like down or were you like why?
Speaker 2:well, yeah, I mean, it was a mix of both, you know I was like um, yeah, because they told me all about like traveling and yes, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1:But I also I was like, um yeah, cause they told me all about, like, traveling and doing the school stuff, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:But I also. I was like are you sure I'm good enough?
Speaker 1:You know Cause I mean.
Speaker 2:I didn't even finish.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Um, but yeah, and so they sat me down, um, and like, everything's just been different ever since.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what was that first year of Provincials like for you? How'd you do?
Speaker 2:Oh man, I was like nervous, like super nervous. I didn't talk to anyone on Team Cesc.
Speaker 1:Really, you just hid by yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I was kind of a yeah, I mean, no, everyone was super nice, but I'm just more of an introvert I guess.
Speaker 1:And so yeah, an introvert with a YouTube channel. I don't know if I'm picking it up here. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Well, you'd have to see me out in public. Yeah, yeah, but yeah no, it was super nerve-wracking.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But it was like I was super excited, you know, being able to actually be there and see the whole scope of everything.
Speaker 1:So were you in provincials in Winnipeg last year? Yes, yes, yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:And how'd you do, I well, I got gold, yeah. Yeah, was it any hiccups, or were you worried, or or did you have a really good day?
Speaker 1:I think I was. I did well, solid like the two days.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, um, I would come into school like every day for a month to train, um, and so that was. I feel like that helped me prepare you for sure, for sure.
Speaker 1:So for the people listening, you know what does the provincial competition look like for graphic design. Walk us through day one. What do you do?
Speaker 2:Okay, so day one. So okay. So there's like four possible things. I feel like no three maybe, but usually it's two things that they assign on the first few days. It's either packaging or editorial, and those are the two most common. And so either day one packaging or day one is editorial, and so the day one, I think, I did an editorial project and so I had to make a new. I think it was a cover.
Speaker 1:For like a news article or something or a magazine. Yeah, it was, an was an annual report actually okay, yeah, yeah, super dry, yeah, yeah, it was pretty fun still though um, and so I had to make a cover for that.
Speaker 2:Um, I had to make a bunch of infographics for the inside pages. I had to lay out the inside pages. Um, yeah, and so, like it's basically tasks, you got three hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon, six hours in total. And that was the first day. Second day was a packaging project.
Speaker 1:So what's a packaging project? So a packaging project, uh, they.
Speaker 2:So they gave us um a bunch of cans last year. Okay and we had some pop cans or food cans yeah, pop cans yeah it was like a six pack of like energy drinks I think yeah, yeah, energy drinks um and so, yeah, we had to measure the size, um, make a dial line from it. Uh, design that okay. So, for anyone who doesn't know, a dial line is basically the 2D structure of a box or packaging, basically.
Speaker 2:So if you laid, out a box flat, then that'd be a dial line, anyways, and so we had to make the dial line for it, design the actual packaging, and then, oh, we had to make a logo for that one as well, and like yeah, so basically it's a whole campaign, basically in six hours.
Speaker 1:Okay, and that's a lot. Yeah, right in six hours. So okay, and that's, that's, that's a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Like do people quite often not have enough time, like is not finishing a thing yes, for sure, not finishing is a thing. That's why, uh, time management is a very big um aspect of the whole competition yeah, yeah, and like when you're doing this because a lot of people maybe don't know what graphic designers do.
Speaker 1:No, they might think it's just like the piece of art that goes somewhere, but you're. You got to understand the format it's going into. You got to understand the parameters, where it's going to be used, what kind. And then, like you said, is it a part of a bigger campaign? Yes, is there a? Is there a vibe that you're following or a feel that you got to stick to? You know, do you get taught all that in school or is that stuff you just figure out on your own?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we get taught that in school as well, but obviously with skills and training you kind of have to know more and so, yeah, like so we get the part of the project, the modules, so they give us a target market. Like so, it's a client that you have to design for, and so it's a target market 30 year old.
Speaker 2:30 year old white male who lives in I don't know regina, exactly exactly exactly, and so, yeah, it's like a lot of color theory is also a big part of it. Typography choice is a big part of it because, like, typography is a big thing with um, with emotion, same with color, so everything plays a part in it so I remember b, because I'm really good friends with b and she's a graphic designer.
Speaker 1:She would talk to me about fonts that would make her mad. Is this a thing? Yes, yes, yes, yes. Which is the font you hate the most?
Speaker 2:this might be a cliche designer answer, but Papyrus If you know what, papyrus?
Speaker 1:is yeah, yeah, it can go in the garbage.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly, it's all garbage for sure, for sure. Yeah, I don't like that.
Speaker 1:But, yeah there's definitely some fonts out there that you kind of cringe at, for sure. And what about your favorite font?
Speaker 2:My favorite font. Oh, cody will laugh at this. Um, it's actually, uh, helvetica, which I use in every single design I do um, and they actually told me to lay off the helvetica like lay off the helvetica dude.
Speaker 1:There's other fonts out there yeah, you're a little bit addicted.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a little bit, but um yeah, no, I've kind of expanded ever since skills obviously yeah.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that's my favorite so you get through day one, you get through day two. What's the scoring like of this? What are you looking for as a judge now, when someone hands these items in um?
Speaker 2:yeah. So people would probably think that it's all about, like, the design and everything um, and that is part of it like, so it's 50, 50, half or not 50, 50, I'm not exactly sure. Uh, the split, but it's half design and half technical okay and so design. Obviously it's um. You judge how creative everything is the typography, all that color choice, if hit it, the target market, um, and then all the technical stuff is like if you made the correct pdf, if you have the correct um print marks or you know color bars bleed lines.
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly, I know a graphic designer over here, um, but yeah, exactly things like that.
Speaker 2:Um, they're in at um, maybe if it's a packaging project, like they'll have a window specification that you have to hit, and so just yeah stuff like that.
Speaker 1:That sounds like it's very subjective. In some ways, though, like a color palette choice for sure that's gonna be. It's gonna make different people feel a different way, but I guess, as a professional, you have some expectations of what it should have been right no, for sure, yeah and it does.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it does get um a little uh intense sometimes when people don't disagree on things, right, um, but like yeah, no, it's really like cool to see the process behind marking and see how everyone interprets and uh, different design, you know, and so yeah, yeah, yeah yeah so have you gone out into the private or into the work world yet?
Speaker 1:like, are you working as a graphic designer or has? Like, are you're done school? Like, where are you in your process and development?
Speaker 2:okay, well, I mean right now, um, I, uh, I finished my um, my work, integrated um or not, with work, integrated learning, it's my internship, basically like your co-op. Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah, yeah, yeah um, and so I did that at the saskatchewan rough riders, oh fun, yeah, yeah, I did that for a month, um, and then they actually ended up extending me and hiring me for a month, yeah, a month longer.
Speaker 1:So I'm working there right now yeah, what do you do for them?
Speaker 2:uh well, I just design stuff for them yeah, graphic design.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess you know what the logo is going to be oh well, yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure, yeah.
Speaker 2:And you know the color palette. Oh yeah, a lot of green. I mean, I live in regina.
Speaker 1:So well, let's talk about that a little bit. You know you're from a small town regina, it's not a big province.
Speaker 1:No, we pulled pretty good weighted skills for the size of our school. Yeah, we've had a lot of winners come out of there. But how do you feel when you go to nationals and you're from regina and you're competing against these people from across the country that may have been at way bigger colleges, way fancier institutions? Obviously you won gold, but was it pretty intimidating walking into that and seeing the room of every province's best?
Speaker 2:for sure. Yeah, I walked in and I was like yep, no chance, I have no chance. Yeah, no, I was super intimidated. Everyone looked like they were in good shape, everyone looked super focused on their work, and so that was really intimidating. And also being able to see everyone else's design and like not trying not to compare yourself to them. That's a hard part of the competition, the competition, um. So yeah, I was very nervous going into it is, uh, like cheating a big part of it.
Speaker 1:Like I'm just thinking you got 12 people in a room all trying to come up with a new idea on the same thing. It'd be hard to not look at someone else's computer screen and be like, oh, I like that or I like that, but you don't want yours to look like anyone else's either.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, exactly um, I, me personally, I haven't heard anything from anyone, um, but I'm sure, like, yeah, I get that. Like, yeah, you must, like you know, glance over and kind of get inspired. Maybe um but yeah, no, I haven't heard of that as an issue, at least in my like what I've experienced.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And when you know, like, because Cody is so involved with skills, I know he knows all the rumors across all the institutions. So before coming to Nationals in Winnipeg, was he like oh, you better watch out for this province, or you better watch out for that person, or there was none of that oh, I mean, I mean like yeah, you know who the other good ones are.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, for sure. No, like he definitely like told me, like this province, like you, like it was more so in training, kind of to kind of um yeah, exactly exactly kind of not scare me, but like, yeah, motivate me to work harder, I guess yeah, and which was the one he told you was gonna be the best uh, definitely a couple. I think he said uh, I think quebec definitely yeah, well, quebec does do very, very well for sure, for sure, yeah yeah, well, every second year.
Speaker 1:It's the only commute on world, that's true, which is sneaky, but I guess it's smart, I mean. Yeah, I mean, if you're dedicated that dedicated into it yeah you, do you I guess, yeah, and you know, once you're done this job with, uh, the riders, what kind of stuff would you like to do, like, what's your dream job?
Speaker 2:dream job um I really enjoy doing a lot of stuff for um, for music people, so I do like freelance stuff and I've done some album covers. Yes, yes um, I've done some tour posters, stuff like that. Um, I don't know, it's just really cool being able to do that, and usually these artists they kind of let you, uh, do whatever you want because it's very artistic, you know, and so that's the kind of graphic design I like, um, so yeah, that's that's pretty cool, though, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can kind of tie a few different industries together because, like, musicians are artists and they love visual arts usually quite a bit right, exactly. I mean, I used to make music like as a kid, so oh so you, a youtuber, a musician, uh skills, gold, going to leon, france, but you're shy I'm not seeing it, man, I'm not seeing it. Well, I have a lot of hobbies yeah, I pick up a lot of hobbies, but um yeah, yeah, yeah used to make music as a kid so let's talk about leon, france.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay. So now you've been part of team canada since last year. How has the training changed for you? Thinking about going to france like what, what do you got to do? How do you focus down onto that?
Speaker 2:it's definitely um a lot more like emotional support now too yeah because it's way more intense. Uh, I'm doing a lot more um world level projects and so it's definitely ramped up a little bit. Um, like I just just recently actually, I did a competition with a bunch of international competitors who I'm going to compete against in September.
Speaker 1:Which countries came by?
Speaker 2:So Austria, Switzerland and France came, and so we had the little four-day competition at my school at SAS Polytech back in Regina, and that was super fun, super intense. Who won France.
Speaker 1:It was France, but it was super close, it was really was really good and it was intense, super close um but yeah, it definitely like helped to kind of highlight what I need to work on. See, what the level is that you gotta get to for sure and it was also a little confidence boost, you know.
Speaker 2:It kind of told me where I was at yeah, that you could hang with this level.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I, you know, like, at that point I was like I don't know where I'm at right, there's no chance.
Speaker 1:Exactly just like provincial.
Speaker 2:Just like provincial, yeah but uh, or not provincial national, yeah, but yeah and what about the team dynamics?
Speaker 1:like you got, like you said, team sask, you didn't talk to anybody, you're a little flower in the background yeah you know what about this one now with team canada? Are you still just the kind of uh, introvert, or have you learned like I mean, you're doing this stuff yeah team. Canada has expectations to do videos and content and you know interviews. How are you feeling about being, you know, more of a wallflower or sorry?
Speaker 2:yeah, well, I'm actually kind of grateful because this whole like skills experience has kind of pushed me to be more outgoing and um, and yeah, so I do get a lot more time with team canada, so I've spoken to a lot more of the competitors and um, definitely a lot more conversations than team sask, uh, which I'm happy about. Um, like they're all super nice and um, I'm really close to angie, uh, fashion tech nice um yeah, I like her um brook from 3d game yeah, no, but everyone's, everyone's everyone's chill everyone's chill, yeah, for sure, yeah, I love everyone and what like.
Speaker 1:You brought up a couple of the other kind of tech related courses. You know, when you come into a place like this, you got 57 trades and 800 people here. Do you find that you're interested in everything? Like you come by welding, you're like, wow, that's so cool. Here, do you find that you're interested in everything like you come by welding, you're like, wow, that's so cool. Or do you mainly stick in like your 3d world or your tech world?
Speaker 2:well, yeah, no, I try to look at everything for sure um and like I don't know much about anything, but I mean I see sparks flying and I mean cool, that's pretty cool you know, see people bending some pipes, that's pretty cool, yeah, and just like like all the mechanic stuff, cool, that's pretty cool, you know, see people bending some pipes.
Speaker 2:That's pretty cool, yeah, and just like, like all the mechanic stuff, like that's super interesting to me yeah, yeah um, yeah, no, so I don't just stick to like the electronic kind of area, um, and so you know it's, it's super cool, I like go around, try to see everything what's your favorite thing you've seen so far this week?
Speaker 1:so far.
Speaker 2:So far, probably by cooking, honestly cooking. Yeah, I haven't gone down to cooking yet. We interviewed the girl from cooking from team canada this morning.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, she was fantastic and she was telling me about what they're doing over there. I was like are we allowed to eat that stuff?
Speaker 3:she's like no, I know I was like come on, I know it would be, great, yeah, it's insane they make.
Speaker 2:They're making like stuff out of five-star restaurants. You know, yeah, wow it's, yeah, it's insane and yeah, it's insane they're making like stuff out of five-star restaurants, you know, yeah, wow. Yeah, it's insane and like it's art, you know it is. It's really art, it's art yeah.
Speaker 1:Now, in terms of like the skills that you had, you know, you said you kind of had this skill in you that you like the tech, you like the cameras, you like the visual arts. As you got into graphic design and started developing your career, getting into skills what were some of the skills that you lacked that you're like okay, I gotta learn to do this and this if I want to be on that stage, because everyone doesn't have everything no, there's always things you gotta learn what were the things you really needed to be like.
Speaker 2:I gotta work on that um, okay, well, so I had to train a lot. Um, yeah, and I really wasn't good at following design principles, so I was. I wouldn't use grids a lot at the time, which is very helpful, and so I had to kind of learn to work within a grid.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Which, for people who don't know, you can make grids. In these programs Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator you can make grids to help you, kind of. Align things Exactly exactly. Uh, programs, photoshop, indesign, you can make grids to help you kind of align things exactly, exactly. And so I didn't do that for a while. I had to kind of wrap my head around working in a, in a grid. Um, packaging was hard to wrap my head around I didn't like that marketing angle.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, and just like the like, the whole 3d, because it is a 3d object that you're designing from 2d right you know and so, um, I didn't have packaging in my first year because that's offered in the second year yeah, and I was the first year when I entered, um nationals, and so you had to do something you didn't know how to do. Yeah yeah, so I had I had to train a lot and um yeah, like so a lot of packaging practice and a lot of um uh grids and stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what about your personal life?
Speaker 2:personal life what's changed?
Speaker 1:what? What has skills done to your personal life?
Speaker 2:oh um. Well, first off, I'm way more confident um I can actually talk to people yeah without freaking out. You know, um, if you, if I had to do this a year ago or two, um, I probably would just just not do it just yeah, I probably would just not do this um so, yeah, like it's definitely made me way more confident, um, and yeah like I'm super thankful. I feel like I'm a different person, you know after just even one year of like being involved in this whole thing.
Speaker 1:So do you want to stay part of the skills family after after worlds you know, or do you plan to just go off into your career and sail off into the sun making millions of dollars?
Speaker 2:No, for sure. I really yeah, like I love skills. I'm, I genuinely like it's, I'm like I'm in love with the skills you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:If you could marry skills, yeah, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2:If you could marry skills, yeah yeah, literally because it's it's done so much for me you know it's literally just changed my life like genuinely you know I want to be around this like for as long as I can, for sure yeah, it's very well, and you see some of the volunteers, the judges, the mentors here.
Speaker 1:They have been around in it exactly people have been a part of this for 40 years exactly exactly. Do you see that for yourself?
Speaker 2:yeah, like, yeah, for sure yeah like, even like. Even if I don't come back as an official or whatever, I'm for sure watching, you know yeah you know I'm gonna be watching, keeping up with everything, um, but yeah, like that, that's also what really inspires me too, like seeing people that I saw last year here now yeah it's like whoa, I saw you last year well, we did podcasts last year yeah, and I've seen them here now and they're all like exactly and and I went through skills.
Speaker 1:I was in worlds in russia with my mentor, like with my welding student, and I got to go through this whole thing a few times and yeah, and it really sticks to you. I always tell instructors and people like if you have never checked out of skills, you need to go to one.
Speaker 3:For sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah. For sure, and we're hosting next year, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, like for the Nationals, for Nationals and Regina next year, let's go.
Speaker 3:Regina.
Speaker 1:This is going to be released after the announcement, but this week they're announcing that it's going to be in Saskatchewan and Regina next year oh perfect, so we're going to be the hosts. That's Pauly's, probably going to be super involved we're going to have to put on a good show, brother.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm for sure coming for that one. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:You can like run home for a nap when you're tired, yeah exactly.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's nice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I already thought about that.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God.
Speaker 1:That's going to be nice. Yes, for sure. Now for going forward. Are you hoping to stay on it as a judge like next year? I?
Speaker 2:don't know about judging.
Speaker 1:It's a little.
Speaker 2:It is very, it's very grueling.
Speaker 1:And time intensive too.
Speaker 2:Yes for sure, for sure, and it's heavy on the mind. Because, it's a lot of repetitive kind of marketing.
Speaker 1:You know you're doing the same thing for over and over and over, exactly, and it's a lot of competitors.
Speaker 2:It's a lot of attention you kind of have to pay attention to, yeah and so, yeah, it's um. I don't know about judging, but I'm in some way yeah yes, definitely, I want to be involved in some way uh, maybe you can be the nac yeah, no, for sure. I mean, I met them last year. I went to um a little training thing with them last year. They're good people for sure. I love them, I love them, I love them, they're all like x winners that are just as passionate right, I know, I know exactly, yeah, yeah so and what do you?
Speaker 1:what do you see you know for yourself, like in terms of the further developments? What are the things you still need to learn? What are you still trying to get better at for um, like in terms of skills or and, and your own professional career? Um?
Speaker 2:definitely um for skills wise, definitely packaging and all that still the grids and the packaging.
Speaker 2:Gotta get that, yeah packaging is like that's yeah, it's super hard to wrap your head around because you know again, it's a 3d object yeah and I have to design from 2d, from basic squares, and yeah you know, and so that um, and for personal life, I guess just building myself a little more your brand um no more like um kind of like. I'm still like coming out of my shelf I guess you know and I'm kind of still new to talking to people. I'm new to that and so I want to, you know, just kind of, yeah, grow as a person.
Speaker 1:And how old are you? I'm 20, yeah, I'm 20, yeah, so, like I mean, you have gone far in a short period of time. I guess, yeah, you know what I mean, like if you think about people out there who have been in the graphic design game for 10-15 years. They've never left the province, they've never left the country. And here you are, traveling the world, you know, doing something that you just went to school to do.
Speaker 2:No for sure I'm super fortunate yeah like I, yeah, like I said, you know, it's like my life's definitely changed ever since.
Speaker 1:Yeah and now? What do your parents think? You know now? Now you're a gold medal winner, you're going to france, yeah yeah are they like? Oh, maybe we were wrong to be against this 100%, 100%.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're super, super supportive.
Speaker 1:Are they coming with you?
Speaker 3:No not right now, Like they wish they could, but they're super like they have work and stuff, and so yeah no, but my everything I do on facebook, it's like okay, like you posted that last week.
Speaker 2:No, but I love it. You know, I'd rather have that than not supportive.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, yeah, but yeah, and hopefully team sask has a good team this year here for sure. Like I mean, it was a pretty good size team you guys brought down so it was good to see do you secretly always root for team sask even though you're team canada? Now, of course, of course I'm gonna have to.
Speaker 2:You know, you know. I got my team sask, even though you're team canada. Now, of course, of course, I'm gonna have to. You know, you know I got my team sask jacket in the car just in case I can put it on and be like yeah, I know I'm supposed to be agnostic, but whatever yeah yeah, no, for sure, for sure. I mean I have, uh, the flag that I held up at the thing. I have, like the team, I have the saskatchewan flag hung up in my room just yeah, no, I love yeah, for sure, it's the fourth saskatchewan good, good good.
Speaker 1:Well, to wrap up the interview, just a couple more questions. You know for, for the way the week's gone, you know, here in quebec city, what, what do you feel is different this year as opposed to last year in terms of the conference? Do you feel like, uh, it's bigger, smaller, like what? What's the, what's the comparison?
Speaker 2:um, I definitely find it easier to navigate around. Um, this venue is actually very similar to the one in leon, the one because I went last september to do some practice um, and so it's very easy to navigate. You can just you know wander around exactly. Um, the rbc uh stadium back in winnipeg was a little hard.
Speaker 1:You know it was packed, yes, very packed Floors. And the floors were the big thing you had to go up and down and it was kind of confusing.
Speaker 2:You couldn't get to wherever you want as easily as here. You know it's still pretty big. Like wait, like it's really big yeah.
Speaker 1:But yeah, yeah, you know it's way it's better. Yeah, for sure, and like it's a beautiful area, it is yeah, and what do you think about?
Speaker 2:about quebec city so far?
Speaker 1:oh my god, beautiful yeah beautiful, yeah, but I mean anywhere outside of saskatchewan oh hey, regina is a beautiful, for sure, for sure for sure, for sure I'm not dissing regina, no no, but I mean you know like hi, yeah, here are the hills, the castles, the cobblestone, exactly, exactly very, very beautiful. Have you had a poutine here already?
Speaker 2:yes, my first real poutine, I guess. Yeah, how good was it oh man, I couldn't finish.
Speaker 1:It was huge.
Speaker 3:I also couldn't finish mine it was huge, I got a pulled pork, one with coleslaw on it it was bro it was bro, it was so good.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yeah, no, they hit different, yeah, they do.
Speaker 1:All right, manuel. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. You know, I hope you have a wonderful time in Leon. I hope to get out there. I'd love to see you know the team. Do well, if not represent Saskatchewan out there and come home with a gold medal For sure All right, Well, thanks a lot buddy.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. We hope you enjoy the show.
Speaker 3:You've been listening to the CWB Association Welding Podcast with Max Cerullo. If you enjoyed what you heard today, rate our podcast and visit us at cwbassociationorg to learn more. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions on what you'd like to learn about in the future. Produced by the CWB Group and presented by Max Horn, this podcast serves to educate and connect the welding community. Please subscribe and thank you for listening.