Legacy Builder: Dev Thompson
Dev Thompson is a storyteller and creative whose work moves between personal narrative and collective memory, creating space for expression and connection.
Dev first stepped into We Outside with a screening of his film Brown Boy for the Blerd Clerb community—offering a window into a story that feels both deeply personal and widely resonant. As he shares, “Brown Boy is really the story of how I got in touch with nature.”
Growing up, the woods sat just behind his apartment. Visible and just steps away, but off limits. One day, in need of escape, he ventured. What he found there wasn’t just space to be alone, but a stillness and quietness that felt unsettling initially. As a fellow audiophile and outsider, I wanted to know more about the role of sound in Dev’s relationship with the outdoors.
“I grew up by the train tracks. I had to hear that to go to sleep,” he shared. “That first time I went out into the woods, I couldn’t hear the train tracks, and that’s where the fear came in.”
The whistles of wind and rustling in the leaves. Birds calling and the steady tapping of woodpeckers. Uncertainty of what was moving through the woods around him. Slowly it all became something familiar and grounding.
“Now when I go out, I’m looking for those sounds as a comfort,” he said. “I’m very sensitive to sound. Hearing nature—hearing things walk, hearing the bugs, cicadas… singing, dancing, whatever they’re doing—that’s comfort.”
As a creator, Dev’s practice goes far beyond film—it’s about holding space. Whether through visual storytelling or curated experiences like family kayaking trips or listening sessions with friends, he brings people into deeper relationship with themselves and each other.
While Dev came in with an existing relationship to the outdoors, he says that being in community has offered something different—new layers of connection, new ways of sharing, and new contexts for what he already knew. What began as an escape, became personal practice of acknowledgment and has continued to unfold within We Outside, expanding into something shared.
“Being outside used to be a retreat. To get away from pain. It’s kinda like my church in a way. I still go out there to let things go. To heal. To pray. But lately, it’s been nothing but pleasure. It’s become a place to educate myself, learn my own history, and put my people on.
I’m honored to be a part of this community. I didn’t expect to be invited in in this way. It’s been excitement. I’ve been wanting and working to be involved in my community and when I’m with We Outside, I’m reminded that I’m right where I need to be. I’m so grateful.”
