Meet Zachery Kline | Videographer & Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zachery Kline and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zachery, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Well, quite frankly balance is a tricky thing to master, and it’s different for everybody, especially when one is pursuing their career or a passion of some form. I believe that the world is ever-changing, and with that comes unbridled chaos, so I understand that we all must find our own methods to move with this change and adapt. My method was through a very strong work ethic, and compassion for the people around me; family, friends, and co-workers. Professionally, my employment started at the age of twelve when I worked for my father as a part time employee in sales and production. He runs a manufacturing business handmaking leather goods, and to this day I still work for him at Altai Leather in Jerome, AZ.

When I got into college, I kept the job with my father but branched out into restaurant work for a full time gig, starting as a dishwasher until eventually working my way up to a cook, then kitchen manager. I chose this lifestyle of two jobs to afford my education. I had very few scholarships, and everything I paid for was out of my own pocket between tuition, housing, etc. I did this for 4 years up in Flagstaff as I attended NAU. It was definitely a challenge, especially during the last semester of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nonetheless I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and minimal debt, and I am proud of that much, as well as the hard life lessons I learned from having to push myself.

After college I did freelance work for about a year and a half, most of it unpaid. But thanks to a recommendation from my longtime friend and now partner Sushila, I accepted a job opening at Yavapai Broadcasting in their television department. For the past 7 months now I have been able to apply my education in filmmaking and graphic design to the new job, and it has been a wonderful learning opportunity unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

Yet the work life balance remains a struggle for me, after all I am still the same workaholic after these many years, and what can I say: Old habits persist, and I am one stubborn fellow. However, in recent months I came to find that I had no awareness of balance for most of my young adult life, for I only looked to the tasks before me and never much further. Whether it was in my studies or my occupation, I tended to neglect important relationships, and time enjoying myself, in devotion to my work.

Recent changes in my personal life have led me to realize that I need to consolidate my commitments and stop stretching myself thin, as I have done for my entire young adult life. I still work an average of 50 to 60 hours a week, so the struggle remains for now. As much as I have enjoyed the job at Yavapai broadcasting, and the wonderful people I work with there, my goal is to step away from it in December, and return to the Freelance side of videography and graphic design. I will also work full time at the leather shop to help my family; this will lessen my travel time by half, and the expenses that come with the amount of driving I do on a weekly basis. Truly, the desire to improve relationships with my spouse, close friends, and my loving family, these factors that led me to reconsider my work life balance.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
After working in a nursing home kitchen for the last half of my restaurant career, the tail end of it taking place during the start of Covid-19, I returned to work full time for my father in the same business I described earlier. One year later, after freelancing as a graphic designer on various short films and independent projects, I found employment at Yavapai Broadcasting, thanks to Sushila Kandola. I’ve learned a lot from my co-workers at all the jobs I’ve worked at, as well as my managers, general sales experience, and overall customer/client interaction through honest business practices. I am the most proud of my work ethic and willingness to get the job done to the best of my ability. Experience in dealing with the best and the worst of scenarios in the food, manufacturing, sales, and entertainment industries have shaped me to be the dedicated person that I am today. Diligence and stubbornness led me to this point, and I will be the first to admit that I tend to work harder than smarter much of the time, but nonetheless I have pulled through thus far.
I am the most excited for not only applying what I’ve learned to my Freelancing career, but also to my job at the leather shop with my family, bringing my media and marketing talents to the table. Most importantly however, I am excited to keep on learning and adapting, for that is what life is all about.
If the world were to know anything about me, it would be that by helping others to the best of my capability and knowledge is how I have been the most fulfilled. I don’t technically have a brand yet, but my story has been one of hard work, struggle, and achievement. I am proud that I am out of college debt free, and despite the hardship of my demanding work life, that I have at last found some small measure of peace. Not only because of my determination, but also due to the help of those closest to my heart.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would show them a bit of quiet, take them for a walk in nature or the woods or a kayaking trip. I would take them to the humble but nicer local spots for eating or business, being part of a small business myself, maybe show them around Jerome, Old Town Cottonwood, or some of the lakes near my hometown in Prescott, maybe even simply take them to a movie or watch a show on streaming services. Otherwise being the introvert that I am, I’d spend a good deal of one on one time with them, because I firmly believe in diverging a bit from the madding crowd. I would make an exception with bowling however, the crowds are worth it there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
For starters, I owe so much of my success to the love and support from my relatives, parents, grandparents, and siblings. Every one of you has given me the strength to keep on pushing despite the odds, you’re in everything I do. My late friend Chuck Garton, the man who taught me how things are never quite what they seem at face value, for better and for worse. Sláinte brother.
I had many professors, but among them three will always stand out as my greatest educational mentors: Barb Waak, a great influence in fine-tuning my writing skills, Bill Carter, who showed me passion for the craft of filmmaking, and Tim Schwartz, my greatest guide into the world of graphic design.
I must also give thanks to everyone I’ve worked with over the years; whether our interaction was good and bad, each one of you helped make me the person I am today, and for that I am grateful.
To the employees and managers at Yavapai Broadcasting, especially Jackie Bessler, do I owe my sincerest thanks; not only for their continued support, understanding, and grace, but most importantly for providing for me the first big leap of my career.
And to Sushila Kandola : As one of my best friends for over 6 years, and now my dearest love, I absolutely cannot imagine a life without you.