Daring Forever (Find your Extraordinary)

Mel Castan is a Mexico City-born, Barcelona-based animator, illustrator, and community builder whose creative journey has taken her from advertising school to motion graphics to founding two community projects for creatives. ~
She talks with Radim about growing up in a military family with a spiritual streak, discovering illustration as a meditative practice, and building spaces where creatives can process burnout, imposter syndrome, and identity beyond the usual networking event.
Takeaways
Mel is a Mexico City-born, Barcelona-based animator, illustrator, and producer who's spent nine years building a career across advertising, motion design, and community-building
Growing up in a military family — her grandfather a retired army general who turned to spirituality after retiring — shaped her comfort holding contradictions together
She describes creativity as a lifelong practice tied to her ADHD, and drawing as a meditative practice since childhood
A mapping show by Amon Tobin reshaped her sense of what creative work could be and pulled her toward studying motion graphics in Barcelona
She spent her first days in Barcelona intentionally getting lost in the Gothic Quarter, without a phone or map, as her way of learning the city
She co-founded Frames by Friends, a five-year community for Barcelona's animators and motion designers that grew from an expected 20 people to 75 at its first event
Her current project, Side Project, builds spaces — Honest Conversations and Work in Progress — for creatives to process burnout, imposter syndrome, and identity beyond networking
She describes "vicarious learning" — the idea that sharing our struggles with others makes them feel lighter and less isolating
Her guiding philosophy is that ideas have home, and her role is to be that home for others
She's letting Side Project's future shape itself without attachment to a fixed outcome, trusting that showing up consistently will reveal the next step
Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic
daringcreativity.com |  desk@daringcreativity.com
Books by Radim Malinic Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFc
Free audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobook
Book bundles  https://novemberuniverse.co.uk

Lux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/  (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)
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A short bonus episode showcasing a few standout moments from this week's guest interview with Pep Salazar from OFFF Festival  ~
Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic
daringcreativity.com |  desk@daringcreativity.com
Books by Radim Malinic Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFc
Free audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobook
Book bundles  https://novemberuniverse.co.uk

Lux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/  (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)
November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)

Pep Salazar, director of OFFF — the design and creativity festival he's shaped since 2007 — joins Radim to unpack what it really takes to build a "city for three days." ~ 
Pep traces his own unlikely path, from a teenager who dreamed of being an actor in a small town near Barcelona, through his formative years building Sónar, to the moment he realised passion alone can blur your vision and every idea needs a manager to make it real. 
They talk about why OFFF shows unfinished work instead of polished portfolios, how a team of seven becomes thirty-five once the doors open, and why Pep would rather rebrand the festival every five years than let it stand still. This is a conversation about risk, honesty, and the invisible, exhausting, joyful work of building a community that actually means it.
Takeaways
Passion can blur your vision — every big idea eventually needs a manager to protect it and make it real
A festival isn't a finished portfolio piece; showing the process and the unfinished idea is what builds real trust with a community
Location does double duty — the city gives you context, but the venue has to speak the same language as the event itself
Curating without a fixed theme keeps a lineup honest and lets creativity stay wide instead of narrow
Saying no to most people who want the stage is one of the hardest, least visible parts of the job
Deliberately rebranding every few years keeps a design festival credible — you can't ask others to embrace change if you won't
Growth doesn't have to mean franchising — co-producing with local partners builds real community instead of a copy-paste event
The job is made of a thousand three-minute conversations, and learning to actually enjoy them is its own skill
Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic
daringcreativity.com |  desk@daringcreativity.com
Books by Radim Malinic Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFc
Free audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobook
Book bundles  https://novemberuniverse.co.uk

Lux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/  (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)
November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)

A short bonus episode showcasing a few standout moments from this week's guest interview with Lidia Scarlat  ~
Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic
daringcreativity.com |  desk@daringcreativity.com
Books by Radim Malinic Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFc
Free audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobook
Book bundles  https://novemberuniverse.co.uk

Lux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/  (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)
November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)

A short bonus episode showcasing a few standout moments from this week's guest interview with Dan Woodger  ~
Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic
daringcreativity.com |  desk@daringcreativity.com
Books by Radim Malinic Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFc
Free audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobook
Book bundles  https://novemberuniverse.co.uk

Lux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/  (Use: PODCAST for 15% off)
November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)