Alright so today I tried reaching out to Ben Matthias, this designer dude whose work I really admire. Wanted to pick his brain about some creative stuff, yeah? Here’s exactly how it went down.
The First Try
Started simple – checked his Instagram cause everyone’s on there right? Saw he hadn’t posted in like 3 months but shot him a DM anyway. Typed up this whole long message about how much I dig his color choices. Hit send… crickets. After two days? Nothing. Zero. Zip.
Switching Gears
Went full detective mode next. DuckDuckGo searched “Ben Matthias contact” like crazy. Found some old Behance portfolio page with broken contact form links. Seriously? Felt like hitting dead ends everywhere.
Then remembered – duh! Checked his YouTube videos for contact hints. Commented under his most recent video:
- “Hey man awesome tutorial!”
- “Would love your thoughts on my project”
- Left my Twitter handle
Still nada. Felt kinda dumb talking to the void.
The Hail Mary
Got desperate and tried LinkedIn premium trial. Found his profile but his inbox was closed unless you pay. What a racket! Almost gave up when my buddy goes “Check Dribbble” – boom! Active profile with “Open to chatting” badge!
Sent this simple pitch:
- Mentioned which pieces inspired me
- Asked ONE specific question about his workflow
- Kept it shorter than a tweet
Twenty hours later – actual reply! Said he’s swamped but will circle back next week. Small win!
What Actually Worked
Turns out:
- Shorter messages = better
- Platforms they currently use > old profiles
- Specific questions > vague “let’s chat” requests
Funny thing? Almost missed the Dribbble badge cause I was looking at his website footer like a dinosaur. Lesson learned: stop overthinking and check where people actually hang out right now.
