A Quick Interview With Brandon Bunch
Story By: Brandon Bunch
Photos Provided By: Brandon Bunch
In this month’s Campfire Chat our Content Director, Brandon Bunch, has performed an interview with someone very special… Himself. Sit down, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.
Who are you, and what are you doing here?
Hi, my name is Brandon Bunch, and I like long rides in the desert. I am the Content Director (we made up our own titles) here at UTV Sports Magazine, and also the in-house photographer, videographer, and squirrel.
Squirrel? Are you a small furry rodent that loves packing nuts in his mouth?
I do love trail mix (the kind with M&Ms in it), but no. Also we try to keep nuts out of the office because Keith is one of those strange people that will die if he puts (tree) nuts in his mouth. But to answer your question, I get distracted very easily.
Interesting. So how did you find yourself as the “Content Director” at UTV Sports Magazine?
A good friend referred me to Keith (the owner), as they needed an in-house photographer, and I was hired on part-time. Several short months later our magazine editor departed… This was a big problem since the editor was the only employee that had any actual editorial experience. As I was unhappily repossessing cars for a living, the decision was made for me to come onboard full time, and Keith and I would try to figure out this mess. Somehow we’ve produced 17 issues since then, and the lights are still on.
I see. How many people does it take to produce a fine magazine such as this?
The answer should be at least ten, but there’s three of us in the office full time. Keith, Kyle (our resident angry-looking teddy bear grease monkey), and myself. Plus we thankfully have Angela, who is the incredible designer that lays out every page of the magazine, a bald man named Cody that is our writer in training, as well as many talented contributors and friends that help us fill the pages with fresh new content every month.
Very cool, Brandon. I also see you have a nice mullet… How did that come about?
Well to be frank, I just wanted to show Dustin Jones what a real mullet looks like.
I’d say that’s a job well done!
Thank you!
I’d guess it’s been your life long dream to become a photographer?
Absolutely not.
Ok then, so how did you end up being a photographer?
Around the time of finishing high school I became friends with some wedding photographers that needed a video assistant… I helped out at a few weddings and eventually picked up a camera, and long story short, I figured out how to use the camera. I never expected to make a career out of this, but after 8 years of shooting wedding photos and videos, while working many different jobs to actually pay the bills, photography has officially become my career. It’s been a crazy ride, but I love it.
What makes a fancy wedding photographer like you decide to start working in the off-road industry?
Well I grew up riding and racing quads, so naturally all of my friends also rode quads or dirt bikes. Once I figured out the basics of how to use a camera and got one of my own, I found myself bringing it to the desert to shoot pictures of said friends. I enjoyed it enough to know that would be the direction I’d want to go with all of this, but just wasn’t sure how to get the career part of it started…
I’ve always been a fan of desert racing, and I had shot a lot of video at weddings, so on a whim one day in 2015, I sent a Facebook message to John Tuba of Tuba Art Films pleading for him to hire me… And he did! I’ve learned a lot working with John over the years since then, and also have made a lot of friends in the off-road media world that are now a massive help to the operation of this magazine.
Wow, that’s all so interesting.
Hey, you asked the question!
Alright then, something more fun… What’s the best part about working at UTV Sports Mag?
Whew, that’s a tough one. I could go the mushy route and talk about how awesome it is to work every day with a group of people who are willing to give it their all to make something work, or just talk about how badass it is to get paid to shoot photos and beat on UTVs… But really it’s both. It’s not often you get to work with people who are all so passionate about something; it makes all the difference in the world when the going gets tough and the deadlines are looming. And seriously, where else would I be able to make fun of a real Kyle that wears a real Monster hat for breaking stuff and tipping over in a UTV, or have to coach my boss (Keith) into not driving like an old geezer in order to try and get a good cover shot?! I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
How many Monster Energy Drinks do you guys consume in one day?
I’d guess hundreds or more between the three of us per day.
Jesus, don’t you worry about heart attacks?
Absolutely.
