🦥 #14 From Delivering Food to Million-Euro Agency: How Wout Lambrecht Built Ethos Media

Today

• ✋ Antwerpreneur: Wout Lambrecht (Ethos Media)

• 🍦 Scoop: Most expensive fruits you can buy in Japan

• 🧃 Giggle Juice: By @extrafabulous.bsky.social

• 💎 Quiz Question: Which driver has won more Belgian Grand Prix?

✋ Antwerpreneur: Wout Lambrecht

When Wout first picked up a camera, he had no clients, and no real plan. What he did have was an instinct for storytelling and an almost unreasonable willingness to work for free if it meant getting closer to the action.

Five years later, that instinct evolved into Ethos Media, a Belgian creative agency known for crafting visual experiences for some of the world’s biggest events, from Formula 1 in Saudi Arabia to MotoGP in Qatar.

But the path here wasn’t obvious. And it certainly wasn’t easy.

A Snapshot of Ethos Media

• Founded: 2020

• Founder: Wout Lambrecht

• Headquarters: Antwerp, Belgium

• Business: Content creation, video production, 3D visuals, event production

• Revenue: Over €1M in 2024

• Team: 6 full-time employees

It Started With Deliveroo and a Dream

Before he ever set foot in a production tent, Wout was delivering food while saving up for a camera.

His dream was to become an A&R (artists and repertoire) representative. But when COVID hit, the live events scene stopped and networking in the industry was very difficult.

After COVID ended, he started filming artists for free, showing up with his camera at concerts, festivals, and nightclubs. Often bluffing his way backstage by telling security he was on the aftermovie team. He had no permission, no accreditation, just a sense that this is where he needed to be.

Six months of free work later, he had built a reputation for being fast, professional, and able to capture the energy of a live event in a way few others could.

The calls started coming.

The Breakthrough Project

That reputation earned him a call from Marc Van Sintruyen, who is now his business partner. This call would be the beginning of everything: a chance to lead a production team at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Spa, Belgium.

He was 22 years old, managing a crew of 15 people for the first time, operating in one of the most high-pressure environments imaginable. The work was intense, the stakes high, and the hours long. But they delivered beyond expectations.

That single project opened a new world. It led to a follow-up gig at F1 in Saudi Arabia. Then MotoGP in Qatar. Each one larger and more complex than the last.

Ethos Media became more than just a Belgian video agency.

Going Global: From Belgium to the Middle East

Today, Ethos Media operates in Europe and the Middle East.

Their work includes:

• F1 Belgium & Saudi Arabia: Aftermovies, social edits, and screen visuals

• MotoGP Qatar: Live coverage, recap content, and broadcast-quality edits

• Red Bull Belgium: High-energy visuals for large festival activations

• New Balance: Store opening campaigns with local and global appeal

• Cultural festivals in Saudi Arabia: Qadsiah Festival and Year of the Camel

Through it all, one principle guided the team: Emotion travels. Whether it’s in Belgium, Doha, or Riyadh, the power of a well-told story cuts through language, culture, and context.

“In our sector where we want to create emotion. Emotions get triggered by the same things. It's always about the people, the fans, the experience. If what you show them makes them feel something, the rest takes care of itself."

From Video Content to Content Powerhouse

The shift from video content creation to full-service production didn’t happen overnight. It came from necessity.

As the size of the projects grew, Wout began noticing gaps in the way events were being run, disjointed creative teams, unclear responsibilities, and a lack of logistical ownership.

So he decided to take responsibility for the full experience.

Today, Ethos offers end-to-end solutions across three core pillars:

1. Strategy: Campaigns, content calendars, creative direction

2. Captation: Shoots, photography, on-site content

3. Post-production & experience: 3D animation, motion graphics, live visuals

This approach helped them stand out in a crowded market. More importantly, it let clients breathe easier, knowing that someone was not just delivering the content, but advising and managing the chaos.

“Most companies know how to film. Very few know how to handle the moving parts of an event with thousands of people, accreditations, logistics, challenging timelines, all these little things are a huge headache for a typical video company, but not for us"

When they made this shift to becoming a full-service content powerhouse, they tripled their revenue.

Bold Moves That Accelerated Growth

The founder shared three pivotal decisions that catapulted the business:

1. Hiring his first employee: "I noticed I couldn't grow the business fast enough if I kept focusing on filming. So I hired a freelancer to do the filming, without even knowing I'd have to pay social security and taxes. When 2-3 clients canceled on us, we started knocking on doors and bars to see if we could make videos for them because I had to pay his salary. He still works for us today and has one of the most important roles in our company."

2. Expanding services on the fly: "For a music festival in the Middle East, I heard that the company that hired us didn't have anyone for 3D visuals. So I flew two 3D guys from Belgium and bought a computer. I told the client that we'd agreed on us doing it. We did it for free and took a loss, but that led to new projects."

3. Investing €50,000 in business coaching "After the first session, I implemented some changes and already recovered €25,000. The main idea was to work together with clients to help them think bigger so we could broaden up campaigns.”

Wout’s Work Ethic: Morning Routine

To stay productive with a growing business, Wout has developed a morning routine that starts the night before.

"I know the time I have is before 9 AM, which is usually when clients and team members start reaching out. So, I prepare everything the night before. I have my computer ready, water set up, and when I wake up, I work with zero distractions for two hours before taking a break to go to the gym or head to the office."

Building a Creative Hub to Combat Isolation

Beyond his core team, the founder has built a creative hub in Antwerp where professionals work and collaborate.

"Our creative hub in Antwerp was built to solve a problem I faced early on. Feeling stuck and isolated in the creative world. I always had a hard time finding a community as a freelancer."

The space brings together photographers, videographers, designers, marketeers, and freelancers to collaborate and grow together.

"It's all about sharing experiences, bouncing ideas, and growing together. They talk to each other, help each other, and transfer work between them. Most get their rent back thanks to the work in the community."

This hub creates a network effect, with specialists helping each other and creating opportunities for everyone involved.

Paying It Forward Through Mentorship

Wout dedicates two days each week to mentoring others and credits four “mentors” that are fundamental to his success:

1. Miguel Fernandez: A Sony executive who let him shadow and learn the music industry.

2. Marc Van Sintruyen: His business partner who brought knowledge of the events industry.

3. Armani-Rochas Decock & Bjorn Cornelissens: Two financial mentors who taught him about business and performance.

"Thanks to these people who helped me, I want to give back by doing the same. It gives me a lot of satisfaction seeing others implement my advice and grow."

He currently coaches 10 people one-on-one over a six-month period.

Common Struggles for Content Creators

Through his mentoring, he's identified patterns in what holds new content creators back:

"They say they don't have consistency with clients. Then, they say they don't have enough sales skills. When in reality, the reason is that they can't overcome the mental barrier of reaching out to people."

Another mistake: "Focusing too much on brand and visibility before ensuring your product is good. People think about building a new website, logo, gear. But this isn't what you need to focus on at the beginning."

His practical advice on sales prioritization:

• Warm outreach: Begin by mapping out your entire network and reaching out to the people you already know. These existing relationships are your warmest leads because they’re familiar with you or your brand, which makes them far more likely to respond positively and engage in a conversation.

• Cold outreach: Once you’ve fully tapped into your warm network, shift your focus to cold outreach. This means connecting with people you haven’t met yet. While the response rate may be lower and conversions may take longer, it's crucial for expanding your reach and building new relationships.

He also warns about a common trap: "While you're drowning in client work, your sales pipeline is drying up. When you're very busy, you stop selling."

The Future of Ethos Media

Looking ahead, Wout wants Ethos to be "the go-to agency for entertainment on a grand scale. We want to stand for competency and quality. When people hear our name, they can expect excellence."

He's now implementing concepts from his trading hobby to the business, like risk-to-reward ratios for projects.

"You need to cut the small and medium performing opportunities and only keep the high performing ones. The result will be much better."

Lessons from the Journey

The most rewarding part of building Ethos Media? Seeing people grow.

"When I remember how everyone started and where they are now... When they started, it was very difficult for them to find a job, and now they could do whatever they want in their life. That's very rewarding."

His advice for content creators is practical and proven through experience:

1. Start small and focus on cash flow: "Your first investment should always be in whatever brings cash through the door fastest."

2. Use networking strategically: "Networking is the foundation of success in the content creation industry. Because relationships drive opportunities."

3. Understand what you're really selling: "It is important to understand that in content creation, people don't buy your videos, they buy the result of them."

4. Recognize content's true power: "Content is a multiplicator that you can implement in your business to heighten and enlarge all the efforts that you're doing."

His advice to his younger self is simple but powerful:

"Keep going. For several years, I wrote that in my journal every night. 90% of my work came from insecurity, feeling I wasn't good enough and had to prove myself, which caused a lot of anxiety. But it's going to be okay, you're on a journey, you're not perfect, just try your best."

Wout’s journey is a reminder that success doesn’t come from having it all figured out at the start. It comes from showing up.

From sneaking into concerts with a camera to leading productions in the Middle East, he built Ethos Media as a platform for growth. For clients, team members, and himself.

Wout’s Recommendations

• People to follow: Alex Hormozi

• Podcast: The Diary of CEO, Iced Coffee Hour, The Joe Rogan Experience, and Modern Wisdom

• Books: Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Millionaire Fastlane by M. J. DeMarco, and $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi

• Current song on repeat: He listens everyday to the Prière album by Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard and Yom

• Favorite place in Antwerp: His gym, Release

Where can you find Wout?

You can find him on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Antwerpreneur-to-Antwerpreneur Q&A

Open and green spaces are disappearing in cities. From your point of view, what can cities do to protect and increase these areas as there is more people?

Wout’s answer: “I’m not an expert and I don’t know anything about it. But, I think cities are built without a strategy, so I build more apartments or hubs instead of building more houses. This way, more people will live together in one place and around them you can create green spaces.”

🍦 Scoop

Japan doesn’t just grow fruit. It crafts it.

Take the Zentsuji Watermelon, for example, coming in at $94 a piece, it’s the 7th most expensive fruit you can buy in Japan.

Here you can see the rest of the top 10!

🧃 Giggle Juice

💎 Quiz Question

Which driver holds the most wins at the Belgian Grand Prix as of 2024?

A) Michael Schumacher

B) Lewis Hamilton

C) Ayrton Senna

D) Max Verstappen

_{You can find the answer at the end}