MARLONSKI

“HEY TEACH”

Throughout my career, I have believed that great leadership is not only about creating opportunities for yourself, but also about creating space for others to grow, contribute and succeed.

Next to my fulltime position as a creative I am also frequently teaching at three different institutes, Miami Ad School Berlin & Europe, Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam and the Piet Zwart Institute. And sometimes spend my free time coaching and mentoring talent whenever and wherever I can.

Early in my career, as a Junior Art Director, I had the opportunity to contribute to a wide range of projects for brands. It was an exciting introduction to the industry and a valuable learning experience immediately after graduation. Like many young creatives, I learned that the work itself is often only part of the journey. The experience shaped my perspective on leadership and the kind of creative environment I wanted to help build in the future.

Since then, I have been committed to supporting and developing emerging talent whenever possible.

In front of a classroom one is forced to transform experience into bite sized chunks of information that is easy to digest and applicable. I spend several years working with a wide variety of international talent. The most recent experience was at the Willem de Kooning Academie Rotterdam in 2022, supporting & teaching 1st grade Ad students. We are currently working together on briefing for a real client.

Inspiration
At the age of 11 I was invited by Dr. Thecla Rondhuis and IKON TV crew to feature in a Dutch tv program called “Ik dacht bij mezelf“, consisting of 5 episodes where each episode I would discuss philosophical questions along with 10 other school children. This experience left an everlasting impact and would form the basis of how I would later work as a creative. Even though I wasn’t aware of it at the time.

The experience made me think different about everything I thought “was”, suddenly I discovered this powerful tool as a young kid – how great it was knowing that there is a ‘place’ where everything you think is worth exploring, without being told you’re wrong. And go by the idea that any mistake is merely a part of process. It’ll stay a mistake depending on where you’d stop thinking.

But what inspires me the most are people, real stories, actual events and true insights gathered throughout life. I derive a lot of inspiration from how someone deals with ‘obstacles’ or finds their ‘Eureka’ moment(s), and when. And I am a strong believer that no information is useless, everything inspires.

FRIDAY FOUNDRY
Next to my daytime job I am also investing a lot of my time coaching and guiding international talent. This has been going in parallel to teaching at Miami Ad School, due to the fact that some students have additional challenges next to their study. As a result the Friday Foundry was brought to life a platform focussing on bringing young minds within the cockpit to help shape the new chapter of the creative industry and connect young ambitious people with seasoned creatives, strategists, account directors and CEO’s.

Our pilot launched in March 2026 at CAKE Films and in June we will launch our second edition in Cannes.