"I revel in the underdog. For someone to say, 'You'll fail,' I find it more exciting."

Optimism: "There is so much untapped potential - we are at a good point, it's how do we build on it, " says OOTS managing director Marty Adnum.

MARTY Adnum has been in the business of being creative since 1997, when he founded Newcastle-based Out Of The Square.

Recently named Creative of the Year at the peer-judged NEWi awards for digital creativity, where OOTS also picked up best digital agency, you could say he's on a roll. [OOTS also won Hunter Business Awards' organisation of the year and is the only Newcastle agency that's a finalist in the national digital SEMrush search awards].

"Whatever your industry, if someone says good on you, it's a nice shot in the arm and from my point of view I'm not stopping," he says.

In a world where it's easy to think everything has been "done", Adnum is still full of ideas.

"It it might sound funny but I don't find it hard to be creative," he says, adding he doesn't expect everyone to agree with what he believes is clever. "Being a Gemini, we tend to be good communicators, sponges, and I think that's important to be able to turn observations and learning into something. If you are always open and learning and absorbing, you have more to draw upon."

Adnum, who dropped out of uni to become a cameraman before starting OOTS, says learning doesn't have to be academic: "It's just about being open and observant all the time," he says.

The son of an accountant father with an entrepreneurial bent and a Ukrainian mother with a strong work ethic, Adnum says working in the Newcastle inspires him: "The nature of where we live, the dynamics of lakes, harbours, beaches, it's a good breeding ground."

Once apologetic for its blue-collar foundations, Newcastle, he reckons, is slowly vocalising its worth.

"I revel in the underdog. Coming from a region not in Sydney is great. For someone to say, 'You can't do something or you'll fail,' I find it more exciting to address."

Giving credit to his "incredible" team, Adnum says it is no accident that most OOTS clients are local.

"I'd rather help build local business and Hunter based businesses to be national clients," he says. "It's more, 'How do we help the region shine nationally and then we'll benefit anyway."