Leslie Carvitto goes Off Script, On Brand with creatives

The digital world is dominated by curated feeds and polished success stories and photographer and creative producer Leslie Carvitto isn’t buying into it.

She is more interested in what happens behind the scenes. The pivots, the burnout, the breakthroughs and the uncomfortable in-between moments that rarely make it online are exactly what fuel her podcast, Off Script, On Brand.

Hosted by the regional Victorian creative, the podcast explores honest conversations with artists, founders and makers building meaningful businesses and creative careers on their own terms. Season one featured guests including artists Erin Reinboth and Jessi Rebel, furniture maker Imo Roberts of Al and Imo, surf photographer Cait Meirs and Retreat Yourself founder Kate Williams, all daring to divulge the unsexy side of success.

Keep up to date with all things arts, exhibitions and stage here.

For Carvitto, the idea for the podcast emerged naturally through her photography work, where conversations with clients often became far deeper than a typical photoshoot.

“As a personal brand photographer, I was spending so much time getting to know and photographing these incredible female founders and creatives,” she says. “During shoots, we’d end up having these deep, honest, heartfelt conversations, and we’d both walk away feeling really seen and heard.”

Those moments revealed a disconnect between the realities of running a creative business and the carefully packaged version most people see online.

“Building a business is a lot, and there’s something comforting knowing you’re not alone in your experiences,” Carvitto says. “But it felt like such a sharp contrast to what we see online, especially on social media where everyone’s focused on the wins and highlight reels.”

Wanting to create a space for more honesty, she launched Off Script, On Brand as a platform for vulnerability, reflection and authentic storytelling.

“I started the podcast to create space for those real stories to be shared,” she says. “Also, I love a good yap, deep conversations, and quality time is my love language, so honestly, a podcast felt perfect.”

The result is a series that feels refreshingly unfiltered. Across season one, guests speak openly about creative risk, personal growth and the emotional realities of entrepreneurship, offering listeners a more grounded perspective on what success actually looks like. There were compelling conversations, loose laughs, and the honest truths. 

Carvitto hopes those conversations help listeners feel less isolated in their own experiences.

“I hope listeners can see parts of themselves in my guests and feel less alone in their own experiences,” she says.

The response so far suggests that honesty is resonating. Carvitto says listeners have reached out to share how deeply certain episodes connected with them, inspiring them to let go of perfectionism or seek support in their own lives and businesses.

“I’ve already received so much incredible feedback from listeners,” she says. “Messages about how deeply certain episodes resonated, how they felt inspired to share more of their own messy middle in business, be less ‘curated’ or ‘perfect’, how a conversation shifted their perspective, or even encouraged them to finally reach out for support they needed.”

 

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A post shared by Leslie Carvitto | Surf Coast Brand + Lifestyle Photographer (@lesliecarvitto.photography)

The podcast also captures a broader shift happening across regional Victoria, where creatives are increasingly building careers outside traditional industry expectations. According to Carvitto, many regional artists and founders are finding momentum by embracing authenticity rather than chasing trends.

“I think a big part of it is that people are leaning into their authenticity and creating outside the rules they’ve been taught to follow,” she says.

After years of experimentation, many creatives are becoming more confident in defining success for themselves.

“They come back to their own vision and get really clear on what they want to create, how they want to work, and what success looks like for them personally,” she says.

Carvitto’s photography work has also given her an intimate view into the strength of regional creative communities, which she describes as collaborative, resourceful and deeply supportive.

“There’s a lot of collaboration, people sharing opportunities, recommending each other for work, and genuinely wanting to see one another succeed,” she says.

That sense of connection sits at the heart of Off Script, On Brand. More than a podcast about entrepreneurship, it is a celebration of creatives building lives and businesses with honesty, courage, and authenticity, and a spotlight on our homegrown go-getters.

With season two launching in mid-June, Carvitto is continuing to create the kind of conversations audiences are clearly craving: less polished perfection, more truth.

You can binge listen to each episode of Off Script, On Brand on Spotify and Apple Podcasts here.