In this episode of Connection Happens, I sit down with creative director, entrepreneur, and Walla Design founder Kevin Fenton for a wide-ranging conversation about creativity, identity, entrepreneurship, and the experiences that change the way we see ourselves.

We talk about Kevin’s unconventional path into the creative industry, what it means to build a business around your own values, and the tension between strategy, ego, and authenticity in branding. Kevin also reflects on navigating identity in professional spaces, the importance of inclusion, and the challenge of holding strong beliefs while still making room for different perspectives.

The conversation becomes especially personal as Kevin talks about surviving cancer and how that experience changed his relationship with control, resilience, ambition, and the idea of “getting back to normal.”

A few themes keep resurfacing throughout the conversation: how much of ourselves we allow other people to see, what happens when the life we planned changes course, and the difference between simply enduring something and allowing it to reshape us.

It’s a candid, funny, and deeply thoughtful conversation about reinvention, authenticity, creative work, and learning which parts of yourself are worth holding onto—and which ones you’re ready to leave behind.