Erik Fjeldsted

A Personal Brand

FOR THE AGES!!!

Brand Personality“Such an easy-going guy. He makes the best out of any situation.”

Clayton Winter

“Extremely independent, free-willed, an inspiration.”Arlee

Velasco

“ Multi-talented. Writer, performer, socializer.” Bridget

O’Brien

“Like a mix of Rick Mercer and Bill Maher. Elaborate and well-written.”

Andrew Dueck

So What Makes Him So Special?

Brand DifferentiationThe thing that makes me different is that I am a storyteller. I crave a life of action to have good material to tell stories from so I have gone out of my way to discover activities that aren’t normal. I grew up in the middle of the prairies but have been a surfer since the age of four when my dad first put me on a board. I am also a social animal. I’m an only child and grew up without brothers and sisters so I crave being the centre of attention. That is probably one of the reasons I like acting so much. It can be a good part of my personal brand or a bad part depending.  The biggest competition I have would be with other “nerdy” types, like the guys from the big bang theory. The thing that makes me different from them is that I have my social game down. I can strike up a conversation with the ladies if I want to, but I can also help “your mom” with the dishes, a totally, socially acceptable nerd-type.

Words I live by: Brand Values

“Try not, do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

Albert Einstein

“Treat people the way you want to be treated.” My Mother

“Life is better when your chin wears a sweater.”Unknown

Brand VisionThere are many things I want to do with my personal brand. I aspire to be a filmmaker, a director, a producer, a writer, of both novels and screenplays, an interviewer who gets to the heart of an issue that I care about, a comic artist, a musician, an actor. I don’t want to be known for just one thing. I want to be known for having an interest in all things, whether that be health and fitness, cooking, arts and culture, or counter culture, and use that to reach people.

Brand Promise: What’s in it for you?

“I can genuinely promise I am more than a little interesting, sometimes even exciting, because I like to do stupid stuff from time to time. I promise that I will be as committed to you as you are to me. I promise to be fair, honest and compassionate. If I can make you feel anything, it would be humour, compassion and a little excitement. I’ll do my best to inspire.”

Brand NameA personal brand name I have had to endure for many years is “Erik the Viking.” Thank you childhood friends… I’m a proud Icelander and have been known to be a little crazy, like the Viking berserkers of old, minus the temper, so the name stuck.

The students that I teach filmmaking and acting to just call me Erik though. It makes me a little more accessible, human.

 If I were to go with my ultimate dream of starting a production company, I would go with the name I used for my old theatre company in Montreal, Renegade Productions.

Brand Image

His Brand StoryErik grew up in a small town in South-western Manitoba. He was an only child. When he was born, his dad was a lawyer and his mom was a production manager for the local CBC affiliate. Erik was raised just outside of town on a big property full of animals. He grew up riding horses and chasing chickens and pigs.

But his family also travelled and, because he was an only child, he went with them everywhere, especially to Southern California. He was four or five years old the first time he was put on a surfboard. Erik didn’t stay up for long, at all really, but he was hooked. 30 years later, Erik runs to the ocean every time he gets the chance.

For the last ten years, Erik’s worked as an actor living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He’s worked on all sorts of stages and sets, some large, some small; and with all sorts of actors, some famous, some not.

The personal brand that I would like to convey to an audience would be somewhere in the vein of a prairie surfer. Laid-back but aggressive enough to go out and find adventure.Maybe a little like young Jeff Bridges, which is great because young Jeff Bridges is now old so I won’t have any competition.