Today we’d like to introduce you to Allan Strapasson Pin.
Hi Allan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story started in a remote town in the South of Brazil – where I was born. Since my years of existence, I felt motivated to work towards creating a better world. It’s been an intense and culturally very rich journey. So far, at the age 28 years old, I have lived in seven different countries: Brazil, Italy, South Africa, Ireland, UK, France & USA. I am vegan and every day, I try to be the best version of myself. Below, I will walk you through that with more details.
I was born in a very small town in the South of Brazil. Growing up there as a gay wasn’t easy – so I tried to spend my energy in social projects towards creating a better community to live. When I was eleven years old, I joined LEO Club Constantina – RS. LEO Club is Leo clubs are a youth organization of Lions Clubs International. Leo clubs encourage youths to develop leadership qualities by participating in social service activities. As a junior member, I was providing unpaid services for the benefit of the community, donating time and knowledge. Being in contact with other young people who have similar goal was inspiring. As a member, I was collaborating in projects which included social inclusion, climate causes and conducting fund-raising projects – and all of that made me realize that it’s possible to build a world where people care more about each other. At the age of sixteen, I grasped the opportunity to live abroad by joining another NGO. AFS Intercultural Programs is an international youth exchange organization – which consists of programs that educate and empower people with essential intercultural knowledge, skills, and global understanding. My country of destination was Italy – where I spent my final year of high school in Brescia – Lombardia with lovely host families. I believe moving abroad by myself in a very early stage of life was the biggest factor that influenced shaping who I am. I say that because as a teenager, our mind is incredibly open and it’s a great time to experience and learn new things.
In 2012, I joined the best business school in Brazil: ESPM. By the end of 2015, I graduated in Advertising and Marketing. During the process of choosing my career, I was very concerned and insecure – the pressure was high. However, since my early days, I was very passionate about photography and video – I even remember using my mother’s analog camera as a little kid (without her knowing). I always wanted to study something in which I could leverage my creativity and help the community – while also being able to work internationally (as a long-term plan). By choosing communication, I was choosing my passion but also the unknown – in which I believe is fundamental in every moment of my life – otherwise, I would get bored. During these four years of university, I joined three internships – always in the creative industry.
After graduation, I grasped opportunities to travel globally, first landing in Cape Town, South Africa – photographing orphans in townships – to express their humanity, raise social awareness and connect myself with projects I truly believed in. When my project ended and my visa expired, I was still feeling the need to explore places and learn about new cultures.
I decided to move again to Europe. This time, I lived in Cork (South of Ireland) for a year. I joined an English College and I worked as a videographer – shooting wedding parties every weekend on the whole island. I really loved my time in Ireland and realized that I would like to spend more time in Europe. So, I did some research to understand what were the possible ways that I could establish myself in Europe.
I started gathering documents to prove that my ancestors were born in Italy and then migrated to Brazil. After spending time and money for approximately a year in Brazil – I organized all the mandatory documents to apply for my Italian citizenship. And, to accelerate this process, I moved to Italy and applied for my Italian documents from there. I spent another year working on that in Italy while doing some freelance jobs (photographing for fashion weeks, magazines, Italian fashion brands and marketing agencies).
November 2017: I finally got my Italian passport and decided to move to London – UK, where I spent three magnificent years, meeting incredible people, and working in several studios as a photographer – until I decided to expand my academic education.
January 2020: I joined ESCP – The World’s First Business School. The expectation was to go to campus but with Covid-19, we all had to adapt into this very challenging lifestyle of staying indoors and attending online classes. In January 2021 – I moved to Paris – where I did my internship at L’Oréal. In the process of finishing my master’s study and internship, the pandemic made me rethink my lifestyle and even my dreams. I realized that many of the dreams I had – were not mine anymore. And since July 2021, my boyfriend and I, we divested most physical possessions and became digital nomads. It’s been intense, seeing the best of many cultures.
Always trying to leave a good footprint behind and less carbon footprint, I am constantly involved in sustainable projects – which helps me to enrich my ability to co-create, learn and advance as a human being. As a creative and eco-conscious person, I am working to launch my own swimwear brand: Verdinha – which means “little green” in my mother language, Portuguese. The idea is to offer a flawless collection of ethical swimwear that not only look incredible on but are also harmless for the planet. With a strong respect for the planet we live on, Verdinha is arriving to the market with the concept that sustainable is the new sexy. The website and social media of the brand will soon be available.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As a digital nomad and content creator, I faced many obstacles that I call “positive problems”. Things like visa application, languages, education, travelling and cultural differences are all good problems to have. Having many bumps along the way is what makes it more challenging and interesting. However, not all problems are positive and not all problems should be seen as fundamentals. Things like global warming, racism, homophobia and inequality are obstacles in which we all should get together to fight against it.
I will bring an example: I think the biggest obstacle along the way was accepting myself as a gay man. I was born and raised in a very conservative area in Brazil – where the society always imposed that everything which is not man and woman (straight couple) – was wrong. And unfortunately, many parts of the world are still like that. Fortunately, I was able to overcome all this stupid and toxic pressure from society. Today, I live my own life without considering what a conservative society would say about me. Took me years to accept myself but I understood that there is nothing wrong with me and that I shouldn’t feel bad for living my own life. As an artist, it’s incredibly refreshing and powerful to keep moving towards your beliefs without fears – especially if all you want to spread is love. And I keep fighting for that! We all should keep fighting for a better planet, for more love and less conservatives in power.
It’s pretty sad, but most of the people in power (our representatives), are conservative. They are not pro life or pro planet. So, as awakened people, we need to be loud, we need to vote, we need to protest, we need to be represented and represent our community. And most important: we need to take care of our planet because there’s no planet B.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an environmentalist, entrepreneur and creative communicator specialist with hands-on experience creating and managing content creation and marketing strategies to bring up a brand to life in a sustainable way. With a master’s degree in marketing & creativity, I am very proud of my ability to understand trends and being an eco-conscious creator. I believe that we should leave the planet better than we found it – creating an ecosystem that is truly sustainable – even if not perfect all the time. And that’s what I try to show in my photos and videos: how beautiful our planet is and the importance of taking care of it. It’s hard to name something that I am most proud of, and that’s why I can’t pick only one story. I would say that I am proud of everything I’ve done so far – and even some mistakes I made – but why would I feel proud of my mistakes? Because I am learning from it. Because I constantly look back and try to improve as a human being. And that is what sets me apart from others: my ability to learn, adapt and change again, very fast – when needed. It’s about having the courage to stay in some situations, but also the courage to leave when it’s time to go.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I have so many good memories, but one that is super fresh in my mind is back in my hometown in Constantina/Brazil – specifically in my grandparents’ house. My family is big and when growing up, we had many kids in the house (counting cousins). I used to meet my cousins several times a week and we played many different sports/games – sometimes we even went to my grandparent’s room while they were outside in the garden – and we used their clothes to dress up and take videos and photos pretending to be other people. We were content creators for our time (but nothing is online). My cousins and I had the time of our lives playing together. From theatre presentations during Christmas to outdoor games, we created unforgettable memories together. Another strong memory I have is travelling with my parents and my sister – my parents are travel lovers too, and since I was very young, they already took me and my sister around to explore our state and some other beautiful spots in the South of Brazil. I remember it all and it’s fascinating.
Contact Info:
- Email: strapassonpin@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allanpin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allan.pin1/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@allan.pin
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allanstrapassonpin/
