Billions of Views, Still Human: Creativity at the Speed of Culture with Anthony Deptula
This week on the Pixel Retentive Podcast, I connected with Anthony Deptula, President of BMP Creative, one of Netflix’s agencies of record, whose team has produced thousands of social-first videos generating billions of views.
Anthony’s journey spans television, film, digital media, and independent filmmaking, including a feature he wrote, produced, and acted in that premiered at Sundance. But what makes this conversation special is not just the scale of his work. It is the heart behind it. From building creative teams at GoldieBlox and BMP to launching TAG The Magazine (use coupon code Epicmade25 at checkout), an interactive print publication designed to empower kids to create, Anthony lives at the intersection of culture, community, and creativity.
We explore how to move fast without losing humanity, how to lead creatives without burning them out, and why paper might be more revolutionary than AI in the right hands.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
How Anthony went from Ohio University to USA Network and into Hollywood
What it takes to build creative teams that generate billions of views
Why nurturing your team’s personal creative work prevents burnout
Lessons from GoldieBlox and scaling a YouTube channel from 50K to 1M subscribers
The power of synchronicity in building a creative career
How a documentary about breast cancer connected Anthony to BMP Creative
Why a unique voice matters more than ever in the age of AI
How to balance speed, culture, and strategy in high-volume creative work
Why most creatives need hobbies outside of client work
The origin story behind TAG The Magazine
How paper, prompts, and community can give kids their creative voice back
“The future doesn’t exist yet.” – Anthony Deptula”
Anthony shared this while talking about students feeling anxious about AI, layoffs, and the shifting creative economy. His perspective is grounding. The fear comes from trying to predict a future that has not been written. The only thing creatives can control is their willingness to step onto the rink, try, fail, and keep moving. Creativity has always required risk. The tools may change, but the act of making never disappears.
In this episode…
Talking with Anthony felt like tracing the invisible thread that connects art, leadership, grief, risk, and community.
We unpacked his nonlinear college journey, switching majors multiple times before finding filmmaking, and how one professor opened a door when another tried to close it. We explored the full circle moment of producing a documentary connected to breast cancer after his father’s diagnosis shaped his early creative path. And we talked candidly about leadership failures, burnout, and what it really means to care about your team.
Anthony’s philosophy is simple but powerful. If creatives do not pursue their own projects outside of client work, their well runs dry. The same applies to leaders. Supporting personal creative expression is not a perk. It is survival.
We also dove into TAG The Magazine, a tactile, interactive kids publication built to remove fear from creativity. In a world of scroll and swipe, Anthony is betting on paper, prompts, and community to help kids rediscover their voice.
If you care about culture, leadership, creative longevity, or building something meaningful in a noisy world, this episode delivers both inspiration and practical wisdom.
Huge thanks to Justin Johnson, Founder and CEO of BMP Creative, for the introduction and connection.
Until next time,
Carl Cleanthes
Resources Mentioned in this episode:
Justin Johnson: BMP Creative
TAG The Magazine -use coupon code Epicmade25 at checkout
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Ohio University
Stranger Things (Netflix campaign mention)
Sponsor for this episode...
This episode is brought to you by Epic Made.
Epic Made creates memorable animation, digital art, and graphic design to elevate brands.
They are a collective of talented artists across a multitude of disciplines who can handle the creativity and communication of any project. Epic Made has created commercials, key art, social content, and more for leading entertainment brands such as the SYFY Network and Nickelodeon.
To learn more, go to www.epic-made.com or send an email to hey@getepicmade.com.
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