Meet Fernando Martin-Gullans | Ballet Dancer & Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Fernando Martin-Gullans and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Fernando, what’s the end goal, career-wise?
Oh, that’s a tough one! I generally see goals more as signposts than endpoints – they help me determine my direction and get moving, but aren’t necessarily something I have to achieve (the same applies for ideals, but to a greater extent).

Having said that, I currently see my career guiding me towards raising as much money as I can for the charities in the world that help the most individuals, who need help the most, in the greatest ways (the ethos behind ‘Effective Giving’).

Currently, most people spend their discretionary income with a ‘two jar’ approach, spending on themselves and their family (jar 1) and occasionally on causes that they feel a deep emotional connection to (jar 2). However, there’s an incredibly important and neglected third jar, whose benefits most people are missing out on: Spending on the charities that allow you to have the greatest positive impact on the world.

Realizing just how much impact I could have when I gave to the right charities- even as a modest earner at the time- completely transformed my life and was the catalyst for starting my first nonprofit at age 23 to get more influential artists using their platform to support the most effective charities.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I currently do two things: I’m a freelance ballet dancer and the founder of a fundraising & advocacy nonprofit, and as far as standing apart, I’m not sure I’ve got a great answer to this. Perhaps just that my vocations are pretty rarely combined.

What you are most proud of or excited about.

I’m super excited about increasing awareness around effective giving and how much untapped opportunity there is for people who want to have a larger positive impact on the world. Contrary to popular belief, the very best charities can be anywhere from 10 and 1000x more cost-effective than the average, so by simply redirecting some of our donations to these organizations we can significantly increase our overall impact on the lives of others and on the planet.

How did you get to where you are today professionally?

I studied at the Royal Ballet School in London and graduated in 2017. From there I joined the Houston Ballet and danced there for five amazing seasons, before resigning and setting off on my entrepreneurial journey. In late 2022 I founded Artists of Impact and continue to work towards my mission to help alleviate the suffering of all sentient beings.

Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges?

(I’m curious if anyone has ever answered in the affirmative here haha). No, none of it felt easy. Ballet is incredibly difficult, even as a male dancer (I think it’s far more difficult for female dancers). You could dedicate an entire month to improve a single step, and still see little to no progress. The challenge, however, was one of the main things that attracted me to ballet.

Similarly, entrepreneurship has felt even more challenging, but no less rewarding. I love James Clear’s quote, “Entrepreneurship is a personal growth engine disguised as a business pursuit”. Nothing in my life has forced me to grow more than starting my own organization. Whereas ballet trains you to try and perfect every line, movement, or shape, entrepreneurship is all about getting scrappy, moving fast and breaking things (80/20 style). Perfectionism ran deep in my veins as a ballet dancer (and still does to some extent), but as far as I can tell, it really has no place in entrepreneurship (or any form of creation, for that matter).

What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way?

I’ve learned so many lessons along the way, but here are two of my favorites:

1) The most important rule of entrepreneurship that I’ve learned: use what you’ve got and start now!

2) One of the most important rules of life that I’ve learned: whenever you’re feeling lost, stuck, or even hopeless, remember that every new breath brings with it the opportunity for a new beginning. In any moment, you can decide to begin again.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

I hope the world will come to know me as someone who strives to be a positive influence on the lives of others; as the flawed yet aspiring individual who hopes to be a little better each day; as a guy who occasionally uses self-indulgent and overdramatic language to answer interview questions for an online magazine… as a man who, fortune willing, left the world a little bit better.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a sucker for beaches and views, so…

-Beaches: Coronado (for the walks), Windansea (for beach break), Sunset Cliffs (obvious), Mission beach (for the boardwalk)

-Views: San Diego Skyline Viewpoint (Coronado), Bird Park (North Park), Cabrillo Monument (Point Loma)

Alternatively, I’m also a big fan of Balboa Park, Verbatim Books (North Park), all of South Park, and the Downtown Public Library.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Besides the obvious (my amazing parents), I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to both the Royal Ballet School and the Houston Ballet for taking a chance on me and allowing me to be a part of their incredible artistic legacies.

Having said that, I’ll never skimp out on the opportunity to talk about books! Two of my recent favorites are 4,000 weeks by Oliver Berkman and The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer.

Website: https://www.artistsofimpact.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fernandomartingullans/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandomartingullans/