In an interview with Bored Panda, Vas (@vas_the_pirate on Instagram) shared: “I run the @mr_m0nch page for my cats. I won’t go into detail on my professional background as it is boring, irrelevant to this, and will put myself and the readers to sleep, but one thing I always enjoyed is photography and it’s been a creative outlet for me throughout my life. I also love cats, and so I enjoy capturing my cats in silly and creative ways that make myself and the audience smile.”

As for the cats, Vas wrote: “I have two cats, Chibi and Kitty. Chibi is the black and white tuxedo you sometimes see on the monch page. She is very demure and chill. Kitty is Mr. Monch (this is just the name I came up with for the Instagram account, and it kind of stuck now), and he is the exact opposite of Chibi. He grew up with dogs in another household, so he’s picked up a lot of their habits like begging for food and panting. They are very much yin and yang.”

Vas's interest in 360 cameras, as previously mentioned, began when he received the Insta360 X3 camera as a birthday gift. He has since upgraded to the newer X4 model. Vas mentioned that he takes some inspiration from a couple of funny Instagram accounts that use a 360 camera in a creative way (@yung_dawnn, @imjarons and @kipcrossing).

Regarding the creative process, Vas commented: “I rarely have an idea of what I want the end result to be when I start creating the photos or videos. Usually, I will run the 360 camera in 360 video mode, then rotate the video in the editing software and just look for funny, goofy, and unique angles, which I then snapshot, and edit from there in my editing app. My #1 goal in this process is to crack myself up; if it makes me laugh, I know I have the shot that I want to use.” 

“There’s a quote I really like by Rick Rubin, and I think it really embodies my approach very well: ‘Something I say in the book is that the audience comes last. And I believe that. I’m not making it for them. I’m making it for me. And it turns out that when you make something truly for yourself, you’re doing the best thing you possibly can for the audience.’”

We asked Vas what he would like for people to take away from his photos.

He wrote: “I always try to combine my photos with a song I enjoy, and the combination of the music and the photos creates a certain vibe, and might even tell a story between the slides. Sometimes that vibe might be happiness, sometimes it might be motivation, I think it’s different for each viewer. I’m not really thinking about the end result, when I find the right combination of music and pictures, I think that’s it, and I share it. The audience takes it from there, and often finds parallels or references that are significant to them that I had not intended originally.”

As for the funniest reactions Vas has heard about his pictures, he shared: “There are two common comments I see that really crack me up: ‘This is better than therapy,’ and ‘I have no idea what’s going on but I love it,’ and I think that kind of captures the vibe of the goofy 360 videos and pictures I create.”

Lastly, Vas added: “I am now partnered with Insta360 as a creator, and if you would like to see which cameras I am using, please take a look at the linktree on either @vas_the_pirate or @mr_m0nch pages. If you decide to order a camera through the links there, you will receive a free gift with your order, and I, as a creator, will get a commission from that sale, so it helps us both out.”