LIFE AFTER VO: GRATITUDE AND DISAPPOINTMENT

It’s been a month and a half since I officially left the voice over community and stopped working as a full-time voice actor. I was seventeen years old when I first used my voice on Dutch Public Radio. I’m sixty-one now, so I effectively ended a career of forty-four years.

In addition, I’ve been a very vocal member of my community, writing a weekly blog for more than twenty years, doing interviews, being a guest on podcasts, and a presenter at conferences.

Saying goodbye to all of the above wasn’t easy, and if you want to know ALL of my reasons, you can read about that on this blog, or watch the 15-part series on my YouTube channel.

So, how did people react, and what’s it like to not be involved anymore?

BEING APPRECIATED

In the first few weeks after my announcement I was pleasantly inundated with kind, sweet messages of appreciation and sadness that came from all over the globe. Yes, some folks were sad I had hung up my blogging hat, and they thanked me for being a voice who dared to say what others were afraid of saying.

I can literally copy and paste hundreds of complimentary comments from colleagues, but that seems self-serving for someone who’s always been in it for the music, and not for the applause (although I will admit that it’s awfully nice to hear people clap, since there’s no farewell party for the self-employed).

When I left “the business” I was honestly wondering if I had ever made an impact on more than a few people, or if I had ever had moved the proverbial needle in a positive way. Having read all the comments, I now have visible proof that I did touch a few lives here and there, which was quite gratifying.

NO PUSHBACK

Here’s something that took me by surprise: after having explained my many reasons for leaving VO, not one person gave me any pushback. Not one colleague told me they disagreed with my rather damning analysis of the industry. Only ONE person said I sounded a bit “out of character,” but that was it.

As far as I can tell, most of the people who watched my videos and read my blog, are still active as voice overs, so there must be something keeping them in an industry that (I think) is rapidly becoming less relevant. Perhaps I sounded too much like a canary in (what used to be ) a gold mine, and people are too focused on digging from gig to gig to make a living in the dark.

Didn’t I tell them to “mine” their own business?

I also noticed that people congratulated me on my “retirement,” even though I had made it clear that I wasn’t retiring. I am simply shifting my focus. I’m still recording voice overs for my legacy clients, and I am open to interesting new projects with a decent budget (a contradiction in terms, these days). However, I’m no longer actively auditioning for anything, and I can’t describe how good that feels!

SOCIAL MEDIA VLOGGER

Also, you may have seen that I still talk about voice overs on sites like TikTok (yes, this is another hyperlink). After all, it’s something I know quite a bit about, and it’s what some people expect I would do. Between you and me, I’m using this as a learning experience to make myself more comfortable in front of a camera, talking off the cuff.

Writing blogs posts like this one gives me time to organize and edit my thoughts. When I’m vlogging, I’m basically improvising which (as you can probably tell) is often challenging for me. I have to search for words, and I’m not nearly as articulate as I hope I am in this blog. But vlogging allows me to reach a new audience, and it forces me to keep on tickling my brain cells and be more spontaneous.

DISAPPOINTMENT

Here’s one last observation I want to pass on to you.

I’ve talked about things that pleasantly surprised me, but here’s one thing that disappointed me after I called it quits.

We live in a time of “out of sight, out of mind.” People tend to flock to the flavor of the week, and to whatever makes the headlines. What’s in the past is history, and thus is old news.

I am old news, and one day, you will be too.

Call me weird, but I believe in the wisdom of elders. I believe in passing the baton, and in learning from those on whose shoulders we stand. But do we, really?

There are so many blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels in our community where they interview so-called “experts” who have been in the business for no more than five years. I once listened to an hour-long interview with a self-styled “Instagram influencer” on growing your social media, and this person had no more than 500 followers whereas I had over 5000 (before I got hacked). And even 5000 followers is no big deal these days.

Anyway, after I announced my departure, I would have expected at least one or two people to be interested in doing some kind of exit interview with me, or perhaps ask me to write a guest post for their blog. After all, I believe we can learn more from someone outspoken with 40+ years of international experience, than from someone who -only four years ago- took an introductory voice over training and has a Fiverr account.

But what do I know?

It’s literally none of my business anymore.

Let’s end on a happy note, shall we?

I love life after VO!

The short Vermont summer was wet but wonderful, and the trees are already coloring for fall. I’ve been helping my wife with the PR for her business, and I’m slowly learning how to make my mark on more visual social media.

I’ve also learned how to completely strip and refinish our huge deck, and how to do simple home repairs as someone with two left hands. When it gets colder and we need to spend more time inside, I’ll take up my writing project which I’m very excited about.

If you have recently left the VO industry or you’re seriously thinking about it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. What were your reasons for leaving, and what are you going to do now? How do you see the future of VO in a world of AI? And if you’re staying, why are you, and how exactly are you future proofing your career?

Drop me a line!