ALTER EGO

I love the Rocky movies.

The classic underdog story about a boxer who has a dream.

Rolling with the punches, fighting through the pain and tears.

Getting his one shot to win the greatest title in the world.

It was a big inspiration for me.

But also it gave me an identity.

An alter ego.

Growing up I would always imagine myself in another world, as someone else.

My autism created these worlds to help me deal with reality.

Getting bullied at school, being judged by my superiors.

But Rocky helped me imagine myself as someone fighting against it.

The underdog who would prove the doubters wrong, and make a name for himself.

And when I discovered advertising, I found a craft I could funnel my alter ego through.

Fast paced creative thinking, I saw as mental punches and quick combinations.

And big ideas as crushing haymakers.

Advertising provided me a stage to make my alter ego a reality.

The “Creative Brummie” was born.

Like Rocky’s ring name “The Italian Stallion”, I gave myself name to perform by.

When I was aiming to break into Watford.

The most highly regarded advertising course in the industry.

One Minute Briefs, a group on twitter, gave me the briefs to train towards the interview.

Everyday they would post a brief, and I would answer it as Creative Brummie.

I started to make a name for myself, drawing up all my ideas as scamps.

And entering over 15-20 at a time.

I even made a spectacle at another course interview.

Challenging the fastest thinker in the class.

Eventually I caught the attention of Watford.

When I arrived at the interview, I came with a book full of scamps.

This was my big fight.

My one shot to break into the best ad school.

I presented like Creative Brummie, 16 campaigns in 3 minutes.

The following day I was offered a place.

My alter ego sparked my career.

The imaginary world my autism created fuelled my individuality.

And empowered me.

It helped me stand out amongst the competition.

Nowadays I describe myself in third person as “Dan Scott”.