Rich Hackman

If you are looking for someone with a unique, unconventional, multifaceted creative story, you have come to the right place.

In 2008, with a Communications and Digital Media degree in hand, youthful exuberance under foot, and sparkles in my eyes, I made my way to New York City to begin a career in Graphic and Web Design. I developed my passion for visual storytelling, and piqued my curiosity for using multiple forms of media to tell the same narrative.

By 2010, with a recession looming, and my career prospects compromised, I found myself with a one-way ticket to Ghana in one hand and my first ever digital camera in the other (my bank account hated me). This is when I first realized I had an entrepreneurial spirit. With little practice other than photographing the birds and the bees in Central Park, I stumbled into opportunities as the official photographer for a talent agency, and a fashion photographer for a global brand.

Returning to the United States in 2013, emboldened by my success as a visual artist in West Africa, I realized I was no longer a big fish in a small pond. In the US most people already had access to quality graphic design or photography. The rise of social media as a viable business strategy solidified that. I would have to reinvent myself, but also to tap into what I could do better than most: Storytelling. For me, creating stories with moving images felt like a natural progression of my talent and experience thus far.

Fast-forward to 2020, after many years, some high-profile companies, and several consulting opportunities, I start to wonder what the next iteration of my personal development in storytelling looks like. Then, a global pandemic strikes. What my observations and personal challenges during the height of the outbreak taught me were that people craved connection, shared experiences, conversation, and purpose. While I’d already be workshopping two podcast at that point, Happy Hour with Friends and Lessons In Being Human, I realized it was time to fulfill those needs in a more meaningful way. So the Love Me or Leave Me Podcast was created.

I have a four year Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Digital Media, and minor in Theatre from Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania (USA)