Meet the Team: Stuart Farst

Let’s kick things off by finding more about where you’re from and what your fondest childhood memory is.

I’m originally from San Diego, California but moved to Raleigh, North Carolina in August of 2020. My fondest childhood memory has to be my family’s trips to Oregon each year. We would stay in a cabin outside of Brookings for a week or two. We’d read, hike, swim in the nearby river, play board games, and generally lose track of time. I haven’t been back since 2015, but Oregon is one of my favorite states, so I plan to make a trip of it at some point.

Being originally from the west coast and then making the move to North Carolina (and during a pandemic, no less) was probably no easy feat. What do you miss most about California, and what has been your favorite part of North Carolina so far?

Despite being in a car for 7-9 hours a day, the drive across the country was enjoyable. My wife Celina and I basically had a weeklong road trip, which was a great chance to get away from the stress of moving. As for leaving California, I miss my family and friends the most, but we keep in touch despite the time difference. My favorite part of North Carolina has always been how green the state is. Everywhere is wooded, I have a whole forest outside my window. I also love how much it rains here.

As a content marketing specialist, you’re a content king! What does your typical day look like and what is your favorite part about being a content marketer?

Mornings are usually filled with emails, which typically involve our SEO packages and any content marketing updates. I enjoy reading new info on the industry and keeping up with changes to make sure what we create is the best it can be. Once my inbox is no longer glaring at me, I move over to the calendar and dive into whatever project I’m working on. But my favorite part about being a content marketer has got to be the creativity that Twenty Over Ten and FMG Suite enable.

We hear you’re a big gamer and into game design, which has probably been a useful hobby during quarantine! How did you get interested in this hobby and what excites you most about it?

A lot of what I enjoy revolves around storytelling. Reading, film, and games have been a constant. What’s always attracted me to games and game design is creating an experience for other people. Watching someone enjoy something you’ve had a hand in creating is always a blast and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy content marketing as well. 

If you had a free plane ticket to go anywhere in the world right now, where would you want to go and why?

I enjoy traveling so there are a lot of places I’d like to see. Right now I’d hop on a plane to Australia. I love the landscapes I’ve seen from the country, and it’s a location I’ve never been to. I’d also be a small boat/plane ride away from New Zealand if I wanted my Lord of the Rings vibes. 

Since I can’t provide a picture of me in Australia, here’s a random one from a trip to England, in which a street cat I was friendly to started following me (and even snuck into our hotel lobby).

And since I know we all love dogs, I can’t do mine a disservice by including a cat and not them (Doodle and Ruby):

What type of music are you listening to right now? If we were to check out your Spotify playlist, what artists would we see?

*Opening Spotify* I enjoy almost every genre, so my taste in music is nothing less than varied. Going down my recent playlist I see Bob Dylan, Glass Animals, some movie soundtracks, Tech N9ne, Aloe Blacc, Billy Eilish, Eminem, Red Hot Chili Peppers. . . to name a few.

If you could trade lives with anyone for a day, who would it be?

That’s a tough one. It would be cool to experience a day in the life of a lot of people. For that reason, I think I’d go with someone who interviews others. I’ll go with Sean Evans from a show called Hot Ones. He asks celebrities, actors, etc. really great questions while they both eat progressively spicier food. It’s an off-the-wall format that works really well. Plus I enjoy spicy food so it’s a win-win.

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I’ll go with Hawaiin poké. Anyone that enjoys sushi would love it. Throw some salmon, rice, veggies, avocado, and sauce in a bowl and I’m good.

Favorite candy bar?

It’s not a bar, but as far as candy goes I like anything sour, Sour Patch and sour Mike & Ike’s are good with me. For a bar, I’d go with Snickers or any dark chocolate with oranges.

What do you love most about your job?

The people. A lot of us say it, but it really is true. The individuals at Twenty Over Ten and FMG Suite are some of the best I’ve ever worked with and I’ve learned so much from them over the last few months. As a secondary bonus, being remote is great. My commutes in California used to be pretty long, now my commute is the distance from my Keurig to my desk.