Meet Grady Olson | Managing Editor and Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Grady Olson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Grady, what do you attribute your success to?
Oh, success sounds weird to me but behind being able to do what you love for a living? Just don’t lean too much into what/how other people are doing around you and don’t be afraid to be yourself. This took me a long time to figure out. Which I somewhat regret but also appreciate. When I was younger living in San Francisco I would get so caught up with what other people my age were doing and how they could afford these nice apartments, trips to Europe, or even buying dinner for everyone. It would eat me alive. And it sucks, cuz I wish I didn’t feel that way, but I’ve learned to realize it doesn’t really matter. The most important thing would be just know that there are no rules to this thing and everyone is blessed in their own ways. Take the wins as you can get them, learn from the losses, but don’t let your score alter your mindset about other people from what their score is. Most people are playing a different game anyways. We all just want to be our most authentic self around people who are doing the same. Wow, that was long. In few words or less, just be yourself and fuck whatever anyone else says, Your people who get you will see it and support you, and who else could ask for anything else?

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Well, I’m the Managing Editor of Gross Magazine, Creative Copywriter for Media.Monks, freelance write for other publications, as well as a poet and short fiction writer. No, it was not easy. Say I’m most proud of just all of it. I started getting published for my writing when I was an avocado ranch hand in Santa Barbara. I moved there and was studying poetry at the city college after dropping out of University of Montana on scholarship. I fell in love with someone who I thought I’d marry, but she got sick and it didn’t happen. But it taught me a lot. I just knew I wanted to write, I loved writing and creating. I never looked at it like a career really though, I was making good money at the ranch, then I’d bartend some nights, and then get published down in LA sometimes. Surf sometimes too when it was good. I thought that was living. Which I guess was. Once I moved to San Francisco to finish school was when I realized “oh, this is not like what I dreamed, there are so many great writers out there.” So I just had to find my voice and how to separate yourself from someone else. From there, I just started taking gigs wherever I could find them. For free, for 20 bucks, whatever. But always be a good person to have around, to be able to converse with everyone. I realized at an early age that regardless of the work or the project, at the end of the day, everyone is just another person that is doing a job. I think Gross Magazine and how we started in our garage in the Outer Sunset in SF shows that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oof, there are some places I can’t give away. But in San Diego lately, I’m loving the Winyl Club at Balboa Park on Wednesdays, Jazz Skate on Thursdays is always fun, some buddies of mine have been spinning records at Fish Tank, Cashbah is always a good venue in my unpopular opinion. Eating? Oof I mean, name a spot. Sushi Deli, J.V’s, Convoy, I’ve seen on Tik Tok that The Taco Stand is where all the kids are going. Go to the smugglers cave in sunset cliffs to jump off when the tide is high and go through the tunnel, bridges of La Jolla, just hang out on the beach somewhere and try to pick up other people’s trash. Go to the public library downtown, we need it!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh 100% that’s what it’s all about. Who you surround yourself with and the support they give you, especially in this ever-changing creative world we live in, is all you can really lean on. Number one, Victor Gonzalez, the founder of Gross Magazine, Gross Creative Agency, and Relish Mag, who brought me in and gave me a room at his house in San Francisco to start Gross Mag. He really believed in me and still does. I love his hustle and drive to just make things happen and bring other people up. My mom. Both of my parents are from the same small town, Anaconda, Montana. My mom and my aunt Diane really brought to light my creativity. No knock on my dad, but we grew up as a working family and he worked his ass off to give my sister and I what we could have. Took him a while to ‘get’ what I do, but he’s coming around to it. A big person I always look up to is my cousin Emily Beutler, I went and stayed with her in Idaho for a few months during covid and she really made me realize that being yourself is the best thing that one can do. Just that understanding that people will appreciate you for who you are, I really needed that during that point of my life. Honestly, everyone up in CDA, Idaho during that time made me realize that. And then, just everyone I’ve ever met or been friends with. Just the support for seeing your friend working on what they’re stoked on and killing it fires me up and I try to surround myself with people who feel the same. So the list would be so long. Montana friends, Santa Barbara friends, San Francisco friends, and of course my San Diego friends, the list is a long one, but I grew up with all of them and we all stuck together and supported each other and it just bring me so much joy. All the love.

Website: https://www.grossmag.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gradythekid/?hl=en

Other: https://gradyolson.com/