Chris Naka

Creative Development  ·  Production  ·  Strategy

Brooklyn, NY  ·  Contact

I've made work for avant-garde art spaces, mass internet audiences, tourism boards, global brands, legacy media, esoteric theatrical institutions, daily podcast listeners, Reddit threads, fan-fiction writers, and award juries.

Atlas Obscura
Charlie's Place podcast artwork

Limited Series Podcast  ·  Atlas Obscura / Visit Myrtle Beach  ·  2025

A five-part documentary podcast about Charlie Fitzgerald, a mysterious Black businessman whose Myrtle Beach nightclub became an unlikely site of integration in the Jim Crow South. At Charlie's Place, music, dancing, and nightlife carried a charge that was joyful, radical, and increasingly dangerous.

My part

Helped shape the series from pitch through production, including early creative development, host and production-partner selection, story structure, episode outlines, and script notes.

Recognition
Ambie Award Winner — Podcast Advertiser Innovator Award Also nominated: Best History Podcast  ·  Best Production & Sound Design
6 Signal Gold Awards History  ·  Diversity, Equity & Inclusion  ·  Documentary in Brand Storytelling  ·  Listener's Choice — Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Press
A

The Atlantic

"20 Best Podcasts of 2025"

BBC

BBC

"10 of the Best Podcasts of 2025 So Far"

The Atlas Obscura Podcast artwork

Daily Podcast  ·  Atlas Obscura / SiriusXM  ·  Launched 2021

A daily audio guide to the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places, told in 15 minutes or less. Each episode takes listeners somewhere unexpected—across the world or in their own backyard—to meet the people, histories, rituals, and mysteries that make a place come alive.

60M+ downloads  ·  1,300+ episodes  ·  #1 Travel Podcast on Apple Podcasts

My part

Contributed to the launch, development, and ongoing production of the show, helping shape its sound, tone, production approach, and brand-partnership offerings.

Recognition
Signal Award — Best Daily Podcast (2025) Part of 8 Signal Awards won collectively by Atlas Obscura podcasts in 2025.
iHeart Podcast Award — Best Travel Podcast
Piano Pat and the Sip 'n Dip Mermaids Oahu's Koko Crater Trail Bug Love Mysterious Horned Helmet of Henry VIII

Atlas Obscura Editorial Video Program

2018–2025

Helped build and lead Atlas Obscura's editorial video program, shaping the formats, workflows, filmmaker relationships, and creative standards behind its original video work.

What we built

Recurring formats

Developed and produced editorial series including Object of Intrigue, Infrequently Asked Questions, and Atlas Tries.

Original documentaries

Produced an award-winning slate of filmmaker-led shorts and in-house originals.

Partner work

Carried the editorial video approach into projects for Delta, Apple, Nissan, Toyota, and Chase Sapphire.

Small Town, Big Story

Documentary Video Series  ·  Atlas Obscura for Brand USA  ·  2021–2025

A documentary travel series built on the belief that America's small towns are packed with hidden wonder. Hosted by Dylan Thuras, the series uncovers singular celebrations, local lore, unusual rites of passage, and overlooked histories hiding far from the obvious landmarks.

My part

Developed and helped pitch the Brand USA series, directed the Regional Emmy-winning pilot, and continued shaping the format as it grew into five seasons.

Recognition
Regional Emmy Award Outstanding Arts/Entertainment-Long Form Content
Blue Man Group

Bowling in Slow Motion with Blue Man Group

Creator Collaboration  ·  Blue Man Group x The Slow Mo Guys  ·  2017

Originated the collaboration with The Slow Mo Guys, developed the concept, wrote, creative-directed, and edited the final video. It trended on YouTube upon release, reached the front page, and has roughly 9.3M views and 9.1K comments.

Audience reaction
"Definitely one of my favorite episodes and probably one of my favorite collabs I've seen. Top notch."
"The Blue Man Group are strange as fuck and I love it."

Blue Man Group x Wattpad: Fanfic Your Fanfic

Fan-Fiction Contest + Short Film Campaign  ·  Blue Man Group x Wattpad

Created and pitched the Blue Man Group x Wattpad partnership after noticing a weird gap: almost no one had written Blue Man Group fan fiction. The campaign invited Wattpad's community of 45 million writers to invent Blue Man Group origin stories; I adapted the winning submissions into scripts and directed the official shorts starring actual Blue Men.

About this film
This film, written with Wattpad creator @SherriLT514, begins with a mob hit at a diner, a ruthless hit man, and an unlikely trio taking a very Blue Man approach to witness protection.

iPhone 6 Unboxing

Social Video  ·  Blue Man Group  ·  2014

Directed and produced Blue Man Group's answer to the iPhone 6 unboxing boom: a familiar YouTube ritual made messy, silent, and extremely blue. The video earned wide pickup across tech, entertainment, and general-interest press.

Press
BI

Business Insider

"The Blue Man Group Just Made The iPhone 6 Unboxing Video To End All Unboxing Videos."

HP

HuffPost

"Blue Man Group Unbox Their iPhone 6 In True Blue Man Manner."

BGR

BGR

"The funniest thing you'll see today: The Blue Man Group's disastrous iPhone 6 unboxing."

The Forge

Music Video  ·  Blue Man Group  ·  2016

Directed and produced the official music video for The Forge, the lead single from Blue Man Group's album Three. No brand partner, no pop-culture hook: just an original BMG music video that reached the front page of YouTube and drew 4.3M views.

Audience reaction
"You know, for a group that started as a bit of a joke, these guys do some incredible work. Don't ever stop being unique, and definitely don't stop being Blue."
"Sometimes you can feel the BMG can get old and tired. But, then they pull out something like this…and you become a fan all over again."
👽 r/IAmA

We Are Blue Man Group. Ask Us Anything.

Reddit AMA  ·  Blue Man Group  ·  October 2017  ·  6,311 comments

Planned and ran Blue Man Group's Reddit AMA, turning a standard Q&A into a character performance: the famously mute Blue Men answered many questions with original images instead of text. The thread dominated the front page of Reddit on the day it published.

Most Creative AMA of 2017  ·  r/IAmA
Selected exchanges  ·  Reddit
r/IAmA  ·  Oct 24, 2017  ·  6,311 comments
▲7,956
u/THSiGMARotMG

Do you paint "other" things blue besides what's visible?

u/BMG-Blue-Men23,420 points
Blue Man Group image response: Do you paint other things blue besides what's visible?
▲5,102
u/W0LF_JK

What's the meaning of life?

u/BMG-Blue-Men2,729 points
Blue Man Group image response: What's the meaning of life?
▲4,481
u/PeppersHere

Do you remember me from the audience? I was the guy in the 8th row in a sweatshirt a few years ago.

u/BMG-Jeff5,410 points

That guy! Pants, right?

Stormtrooper Audition

Social Video  ·  Blue Man Group  ·  2015

Directed and wrote a sketch for Blue Man Group tied to the release of The Force Awakens, using actual BMG staff and performers to turn a casting and training program promo into a piece of social creative.

Press
PBL

Playbill

"Watch What Happens When a Storm Trooper Auditions for Blue Man Group."

BWW

BroadwayWorld

"VIDEO: Watch BLUE MAN GROUP's Stormtrooper Audition Video!"