Before he was a photographer and filmmaker, Ming Poon helped run his family’s Hong Kong-based microelectronics firm. He had to learn the business from scratch at age 27 when his father passed away.  “China is super hierarchical,  and many people weren’t psyched to be doing business with someone so much younger than them,” says Ming. “I had to learn to be super respectful to everyone.”

Working in the mainstream business world, Ming says, “I learned that a lot of people just punch the clock at work.” Working as an outdoor creative, on the other hand, he frequently finds himself with a crew at the trailhead at 4am on stormy February mornings because that’s what it takes to get the right shot. “People will show up in horrible weather to do something that might only work out fifty percent of the time,” Ming says. That entrepreneurial nature is found in many outdoor industry creatives, athletes, and businesspeople. They are willing to take financial and even physical risks because they love the work. “Entrepreneurs are always driving,” says Ming. “Surround yourself with passionate people and you’ll be more inspired.”