Page 14 - AdNews magazine Jul-Aug 2021

Profil
Career Highlights
‘It Gets Better’ and ‘Wear it Purple’ existed to fight homophobia, and the only reference point for gay people in mainstream media were a narrow selection of Will & Grace, the original Fab 5 [Queer Eye for the Straight Guy] and Ellen.
“Feeling like you don’t fit in at a time when you’re still trying to figure out who you are makes it hard for any kid to find confidence in themselves. So going through school feeling like there was something wrong with me was quite an alienating experience. That was the most difficult time in my life.”
At his high school formal, Long’s peers awarded him ‘Most likely to come out of the closet’, a joke he views as a defining point in his life.
“At the time I just felt like they didn’t get what kids in my position were going through internally,” says Long.
Free from high school, and putting away his violin, Long began a double degree at University of Technology Sydney studying communications, journalism and international studies, where he also studied for a year in Japan at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Long was drawn to journalism because it would allow him to leverage his knack for storytelling and writing, combined with a clear career pathway.
However, once he began his journalism courses, Long realised he was probably too “mild” for the life of a reporter.
“I remember one of my first assignments was to go and chase down a story from Kings Cross where I ended up being kicked out of the injecting room while trying to get a sound bite,” he says.
“One of my first tutors was a real hard news journo who I found both inspiring and slightly terrifying. It didn’t take long for me to figure out I was probably too mild for a life of cold calling and chasing stories from people who obviously didn’t want to talk.”
Coasting through journalism, in his fourth year, Long studied abroad in Tokyo as part of his international studies degree and had the “time of his life”. “2010 was a highlight — it was one part study and many parts partying. On my first day off the plane, an agent scouted me for a Gucci event in downtown Shibuya which led to a string of odd promotional jobs. To this day, the pinnacle of my success is hand modelling for page 78
of Vogue Homme Japan.
“Japan is a crazy place full of contradictions that certainly fuelled my
interest in culture and contemplating why people do what they do.”
In 2011, Long returned to Sydney for the final year of his studies. “I had no idea what I was going to do,” he says. “I was no performer,
I wasn’t a journalist and hand modelling wasn’t exactly a lucrative trade so I took a sub-major in advertising and surprisingly things clicked.”
2011 2013
2015 2019
2020
PHD intern
PHD account executive
strategy director
Sydney head of strategy
AdNews Emerging Leader
which time he earnt spare change teaching violin after school.
“I haven‘t touched it for a long time now so I couldn’t play to save my life,” says Long. “But it taught me the difference between being a good player and a good per- former, and my nerves meant I certainly wasn’t the latter.
“Now, whenever I feel that rush of adrenaline before a pitch or pres- entation, I am relieved my sweaty palms don’t have to attempt double stop harmonics or spiccato.”
Completing his HSC in 2006, Long describes high school as “a bit of a rough” experience. At a time when the LGBT+ community faced a lot more stigma and discrimina- tion, he was a teenager coming to terms with his own sexuality.
“It wasn’t all doom and gloom, but there were definitely moments when I found it difficult,” he says.
“It was before projects such as
What others say
Mitch’s intelligence and passion, combined with an incredibly open and collaborative attitude make him a sought-after strategist and respected leader. He’s always one step ahead, asking the right questions and taking the time to understand businesses, products and consumers. This translates
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real impact. Freya Harvey, Google AUNZ Product Marketing Manager, Hardware
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