After starting his career at LA Fitness, he made an unexpected pivot.
EXPERT OPINION BY MARC BERMAN, FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, PROGRAMMING INSIDER
Paul Thayer. Illustration: Inc.; Photos: Courtesy subject; Adobe Stock
For Paul Thayer, the comic book was never the end product. It was the starting point.
In 2021, Thayer created Project Naosis, which became the flagship property of Visual Vibration, the publishing company he founded. What began as a single comic has grown into a broader portfolio of original characters and stories, with ambitions that extend into collectibles, animation, merchandising, and other forms of entertainment.
Today, Visual Vibration publishes Project Naosis alongside properties including Hybrid, Omega 2090, Crimson Payne, Voltage & Imperium, and Lethal Leopard. Thayer’s goal is to build original intellectual property that can develop an audience first through comics and potentially expand into other formats.
His path to that business began
His path to that business began in an unexpected place: the fitness industry, where he became a vice president at LA Fitness at age 23.
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Thayer’s experience in the fitness industry taught him how to sell, manage people, set targets, and measure results. Those skills would prove valuable when he began building Visual Vibration.
As Thayer devoted more time to his creative ambitions, particularly after COVID-19 hit, he focused on developing Project Naosis and bringing it to market. He quickly discovered that creating a comic book required far more than writing a story. He had to find artists, edit the work, manage printing, publish the books, market them, and ultimately sell them. The process confirmed that building his own entertainment property was more than a creative pursuit; it was the business he wanted to build. Ultimately, it led him to leave an established position at LA Fitness and venture into entrepreneurship.
“I taught myself how to write, taught myself how to edit, and taught myself how to publish,” he said.
