Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Czmyr.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up as a child of military parents, I had the opportunity to travel at a young age and be introduced to different walks of life, experience diverse cultures and celebrate all that life provided. I spent most of the adolescent life on the East Coast in Connecticut and moved to the Midwest when I was in middle school. Experiencing multiple cultures from a young age, I’ve been able to appreciate the differences in my surroundings and have pulled my creativity and inspiration from those interactions. I have planted my roots in Chicago and call this city home. In late 2017, I launched The Mystic Avenue.
I use TMA as a platform for folks who seek inspiration for their own work, find value in creativity and appreciate beauty in all things. The name draws on inspiration from several different places. Mystic, Connecticut is absolutely a beautiful, seaport town nestled in the south-east corner of the state. The nautical hues and smell of fresh salt water make it a must-visit destination when vacationing on the east coast. Avenues derive from the journey and road that this blog will lead. The new experiences that The Mystic Avenue will provide are sure to be a path worth exploring.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have had a wonderfully engaged support system. My Mom and Dad are pretty great! Going into The Mystic Avenue, I had the idea that this was going to be easy and that viewers would flock (not really). In reality, it takes time and effort – of which, I never seem to have enough of. While it has been a fun project to work on, it is testing my commitment and making me work hard to get exposure.
I didn’t go into TMA with the expectations that I would rise to social media stardom, but I wanted to push my creative limits and commit to a project for the year. So far, it’s introduced me to wonderful people, forced me out of my comfort zone and rekindled some friendship through my posts.
Working a full-time job throughout the week, it becomes difficult to dedicate time to creating new and relevant content. The weekends are great for getting TMA work done but sometimes, I just want to enjoy the weekend and not have to worry about getting a shoot in or writing content. I’m privileged to be able to have these issues, I recognize that, but I still want to provide my viewing with quality work that they can draw inspiration from.
Please tell us about The Mystic Avenue.
The Mystic Avenue is a Chicago lifestyle blog celebrating the creativity in people, places and things. The goal behind TMA is to inspire others to find the creativity within themselves and express it in their own ways. I draw a lot of inspiration from taking inanimate, ordinary objects and creating beautiful still life’s or vignettes to help others see things in a new light. For me, it’s not about having the best, most expensive items or going on the most lavish trips but rather taking what I have and repurposing it, making the most of my experiences and living a life that is mine… and making it beautiful along the way!
I think what is great a The Mystic Avenue is its ability to traverse all genders, ages and stages of life. My viewership is diverse in its makeup and I am proud that, I can push content that is applicable to the masses.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory is growing up with my sister. As cliché as it sounds, she is my best friend. I think back and consider myself lucky to have her in my life. She was there for me through everything and will continue as we grow old. Taking awful family photos together, playing t-ball together and going to college together, we have so many memories to look back on. Through thick and thin, she was there.
One moment in particular that stands out as a fond memory with my sister is when we would be the last people at the dinner table because we didn’t want to eat certain vegetables – I’m looking at your peas and squash. I figured out quickly that if you just scarf them down, you can go and play sooner. My sister, on the other hand, took the longer, play with your food to make it look like you ate more than you did but you’re not fooling Dad, route. I would run around the kitchen with my trucks and toys and taunt her.
Lucky for us, we both (mostly) like vegetables and can laugh about how ridiculous we were.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.themysticavenue.com
- Email: themysticavenue@gmail.com
- Instagram: capture_cody
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themysticavenue/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/themysticavenue
Image Credit:
Cody Czmyr
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