Back in October, we hosted one of our Explore Instagram meets in Shanghai with InstaMeet Shanghai. I finally got the chance to sit down with Leon, founder and organizer of InstaMeet Shanghai, and talk about his story and to share his experience with us on the collaborative Instagram meet-up in his hometown. Here's what Leon had to say:

"We started InstaMeet Shanghai in January 2014, when we all first met in Laoximen and the Bund for a WWIM. Before that meet, there wasn't a network of Instagram users in Shanghai. Part of the reason why I wanted to organize that first one was to see who else was out there and because I felt a city as big as Shanghai needed something to help connect this talented community. Ever since then we’ve been organising meets nearly every month. The thing I probably like most about the meets is the social aspect. We’ve tried to keep the events very casual, cool and non-commercial - it’s mostly about meeting new people, exploring new places in Shanghai and improving your shooting by meeting up with other photographers. Every month it’s interesting to see how different people can shoot the same location but in very different ways. This particular meet we did with MIGHTYKILLERS at 1933 was a great one because we got to catch up with Kevin Mao who came to represent MK. Also the location at 1933 is incredible for exploring. For many years this was an abandoned and disused slaughterhouse from the 1930s. The structure is full of winding paths, ramps, and air bridges that go up and down. It's a great spot for meeting up and shooting."

We couldn't be more stoked on the turn out of the meet and we are grateful to be apart of such a dope community of creatives. Every event we have put together, we have been blow away with the support and the amount of talent in every crowd; time after time. We have put together a handful of contributed photos from the meet by:

@k_mao / @instameetshanghai / @danieullec / @hx1125 / @movable / @panvelvet / @sleepingforest1226 / @tuki6

What's your goal each year?

You may have a resolution that you've set to accomplish or you may just want to live each year to the fullest. Whatever the objective is the end result is always the same, to be better than the previous year.

For MIGHTYKILLLERS, 2015 was HUGE. The #MKEXPLORE hash tag grew from 50,000 posts in the beginning of the year to 777,000 as of today! We even had the opportunity to connect with people from around the world through our MKEXPLORE meets. As we made stops all over from Mumbai, Tokyo, Shanghai, Pacific Northwest, Sacramento, Boston, Toronto, and the list goes on and the support grows with it. Being able to host meets across the U.S. and internationally has always been a shared dream by everyone in the company. This wouldn't of been possible if it weren't for the community and the support you've shown.

Not only did we get to connect with individuals, but with companies as well. Collaborating has always been a huge part of our core beliefs, so it was exciting to work with many industry leaders from Jaguar Land Rover Motors to SanDisk, and even other creatives such as Duarte Inc. We can’t thank them enough for letting us bring our own sense of style and touch to each project, and we look forward to any new projects in the future.

Many may not know, but MIGHTYKILLLERS first started out as a clothing brand. We may have evolved a bit from a basic clothing brand, but our roots are still very much in fashion. We believe that everything is connected from fashion and styling to photography and travel. This year, we pushed out even more product while designing each piece with high quality materials that we wear everyday. The amount of support we’ve received from each drop has been incredible. For the next year, you’ll be sure to see more releases with the same dope designs.

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Now for me personally 2015 is probably best summed up into one word, unexpected. If you told me in the beginning of the year that all of these things would happen I probably wouldn’t believe you. That’s not to say that I live a boring life with no excitement, but rather it’s a justification as to how amazing the year was. It definitely had some rocky times and moments of uncertainty but honestly would life be any fun if it didn’t?

One thing that stayed pretty consistent was my group of friends who've stuck with me for sometime now. Year in and year out they have always been there for me, and always continue to push me to do better. Whenever I see my friends/family succeed it always fills me with a sense of pride, and this year was a testament to that. From passing the California attorney bar exam to getting married, I’m pretty sure all of them had it covered. It was a big honor to not only see two of my best friends get married this year, but also be apart of their special day.

I had the opportunity to travel a lot this year; not just with a group of friends but also by myself. Up until this point I never realized how life changing traveling alone can be. If you haven’t already, I highly suggest just taking a trip by yourself somewhere. It doesn’t have to be far or expensive; just get out of a familiar surrounding. Every time I went away, I found out something new about myself, and improved on something old.

Within these last few months, it really started to hit me that I'm getting older. I realized that people come and go in your life, but when some people come in they really make an impression and help you see things in a whole new perspective. Those are the people you really have to thank because a fresh new perspective will always give you a whole new outlook. So with that, I'm excited to be looking towards whats in store for 2016.

Cheers.

Travel

mkexplore