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

Hi Macey, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?

When we founded Antifragile in June of 2020 as two teenagers with a simple Instagram post, we would have never predicted the impact it would have. Within just a month, we had a tight-knit following of over 1000 people, a dedicated team of over 25 people from all around the world, and over a couple hundred submissions for our first print issue published in September that same year. Antifragile blew up bigger than we could have imagined. I largely credit this to the powerful web of social media and community connections, but also to our authenticity and dedication to our mission. We founded Antifragile with a committed mission to making the unseen feel seen and establishing a safe space for young creatives like us. Because we, the team and creators behind the platform, are the very audience we seek to empower, our audience is able to feel a genuine connection to us. This authenticity, along with a well-defined niche and aesthetic, laid a solid foundation from the start. Our unwavering commitment to these values has allowed us to connect authentically with thousands, each resonating with our mission.
Personally, as a creative, my success is as far as the social connections I have cultivated. Though many people see me as a social butterfly, an avid networker, or your go-to person when it comes to connections with people, I’d like to say that I wasn’t always this way. I was an introvert that posed as an extrovert for a long time, still socially anxious to this day, living by the phrase, “fake it ‘till you make it”. I’m sure I’ve made a lot of wrong impressions, but at least it got me out of my shell. As a creative, the ability to network is crucial. For those who are wanting to branch out and get better at making connections, here’s my advice:

Genuine connections stem from genuine self-understanding.

My ability to form so many genuine and meaningful connections is rooted in a grounded, introspective relationship with myself first. I have always been a highly introspective person, dedicated towards personal growth and the pursuit of authenticity. Understanding my values, strengths, weaknesses, has allowed me to interact with the world with both confidence and vulnerability. Meanwhile, my self-awareness has allowed me to identify and connect with those whose values align with mine, making the process of building connections and communities more intentional and focused. I believe we learn the most from the people around us, and so I try to keep an open-mind to the lessons the universe offers me, reflected in everyday interactions. By being intentional with my time, words, and actions towards the people in my life, I not only strengthen my connections but also enhance my personal and professional growth.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

My art, spanning from photography, experimental film, and zine making, often confronts themes of radical vulnerability. I often think about what it means to make art in an oversaturated media landscape where everyone is scrolling past a million things a minute. We’re in this era where we’re mostly consuming short-form content that was created within an hour, and then broadcasted to the world with the tap of a finger. You could spend months pouring your soul into a piece, only for it to land next to someone’s casual beach picture. Eventually, everything gets lost in the sea of endless scrolling and double-taps. It’s crazy, and I feel like everyone is shouting into the digital void in an attempt to feel real, because all of it isn’t really physically real.

As an artist, I feel pushed to dig deeper within my work, to be conscious of how I am contributing to the digital chaos. The pursuit of depth, authenticity, and significance becomes a counter-movement in-and-of itself. The challenge is not just to capture attention, but to make viewers pause, connect with the work, and to really think and feel something. I also feel called to engage spaces, community, and create tangibility, which is what drew me to founding Antifragile Zine and our emphasis on physical print magazines in the first place.

Transitioning from a studio art background, I have recently put painting behind, and have instead embraced filmmaking and photography which allow me to engage more deeply with people and community and reach a wider audience. My practice as a media maker heavily emphasizes the process of creation itself. I’m inspired by thinkers like Grace Lee Boggs and Adrienne Maree Brown, who emphasize transformation on a grassroots level and the profound impact of everyday interactions. Their philosophies resonate with my aim to provoke thought and inspire change through dialogue, moments of vulnerability, art that challenges conventional perspectives.

Currently, I’m working on one of my biggest projects yet, a narrative short film which tells the story of three best friends—Jade, Carmen, and Frankie—seniors in high school who skip class to embark on a psychedelic journey of self-discovery and connection. Unlike typical coming-of-age films featuring predominantly white, straight characters, this story centers on three queer POC whose identities enrich the plot but aren’t the source of conflict. This film is about youth and freedom, the complexities of friendship, the challenges of growing up with intersectional identities, and the universal quest for meaning and belonging. Shedding light on the psychedelic renaissance, I also aim to shift the mainstream portrayal of psychedelics in media away from the focus on horror and party culture and instead highlighting their role in profound self-discovery—portraying magic mushrooms as the catalysts for the characters’ exploration of identity, spirituality, and self-love.

You can check out more of my work here 🙂
maceykeung.com

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.
An absolute must is a sunset at Torrey Pines Gliderport—this is my favorite spot in San Diego. We’d do a beach day between the crevices of the rock formations at Windansea followed by fish tacos at Oscar’s Mexican Seafood. We’d head to a Thursday Jazz Night hosted by Studio Sessions and discuss the current state of contemporary art culture in an oversaturated media landscape. We’d get Turmeric Thai Garden and then conjure up more ways to bring together artists and community while gazing over the city at Mount Soledad Memorial. If Lucky Stars Market or HotSpot flea isn’t running that weekend, we’d go to Kobey’s Swap Meet, and afterwards, we’d each get 3 chicken tacos from the drive-through at Los Panchitos because they are the best. We’d grab Moscow mules from Sidecar Bar, suck at pool, and then I would absolutely slander you in foosball (it’s my secret talent). If we have a full tank of gas, we’re also going to Slab City, Joshua Tree, and Mount Laguna.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

Honestly, I have to give my shoutout to magic mushrooms. I would not be where I am today without them. I started doing shrooms in quarantine in the summer of 2020, when the entire world was on pause. I was a graduating senior in high school eager to begin a new life, eager to meet this new version of myself in college. Having recently come out of a breakup I had completely lost myself in, I hit a low point in quarantine, until shrooms transformed it into what became the greatest period of self-growth in my entire life. I had these profoundly spiritual and tremendously impactful experiences that allowed me to truly internalize self-love, confront difficulties of the past and shed away the insecurities and doubts that held me back, and then it was like I was given a blank slate—an opportunity to start fresh and completely redefine myself through a new lens.

In retrospect, quarantine was the perfect time to be doing shrooms—seemingly endless time for self-reflection, exploration, and personal growth. These psychedelic experiences allowed me to experience a profound sense of gratitude, reignited my passion for life, and I found myself existing in a state of endless inspiration, creativity, and motivation. That same summer, I channeled this newfound energy into creating numerous paintings, learning to both skateboard and roller-skate (two of my big hobbies today), and led me to founding Antifragile Zine. I truly believe that magic mushrooms were crucial in providing me the mental clarity and inspiration that fueled these creative endeavors, helping me transform my ideas into tangible creations.

Currently, I serve as the Vice-President of the Psychedelic Club at UCSD, with the mission to shift the stigma surrounding psychedelics and provide awareness to their health benefits.

Website: maceykeung.com

Instagram: spacey._.macey

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/macey-keung-113652210/

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