My name is Björgvin Benedictsson and I’m originally from Iceland but have lived in Tucson since 2010. I moved here from Madrid, Spain because I met a girl there who moved to Tucson to go to law school so I followed her after my audio engineering studies in Spain and stayed. Liz Pocock and I have now been married for 8 years and have an 8-month old daughter named Lilja Sif. I spent my first years in Tucson studying at Pima Community College and then transferred over to the University of Arizona where I received a Bachelor’s Degree in both Business Economics from Eller and an Entrepreneurship Degree from the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship.
I love being an entrepreneur and I currently run Audio Issues where I help musicians and producers make better music. I grew Audio Issues from a small student blog into a profitable online business and I’ve created courses and written books to help my audience succeed with their music. Audio Issues gets 200,000 page views per month in traffic from organic SEO, has 50,000 email subscribers, 13,000+ happy customers, and has allowed me to set my schedule, travel the world, and work from anywhere.
I also recently acquired AZ Baking Company where we sell locally sourced cookie mixes made with mesquite flour. AZ Baking Company is dedicated to creating premium baking mixes for anybody who wants a deliciously different, easy-to-finish baking mix that comes together in minutes while knowing that every bite gives back to the community and strengthens our local economy.
In addition, I consult and mentor as an online marketing and digital product strategist through my BBenediktsson.com brand where I help creatives transform their knowledge into digital products they can sell on autopilot so that they can spend more time with their family and friends.
I’ve also been a coach and mentor to multiple businesses, both as a freelance marketing strategist and a guest speaker for the University of Arizona, Phoenix Startup Week, SAE Insitute Madrid, and the TENWEST Impact Festival. My advice has been featured in publications such as MusicTech magazine, Startup Tucson, The Huffington Post, CD Baby’s DIY Musician’s Blog, Audiotuts, and the SAE Institute.
I’ve also been a professional musician in numerous bands around town, such as The Long Wait, Laura and the Killed Men, Eric Schaffer and the Other Troublemakers, and The Carnivaleros.
When I’m not helping musicians, making cookies, or working on businesses I like to enjoy the local food and craft beer scene, hang out with my family, and read.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
My wife is the bad-ass boss CEO behind Startup Tucson and my daughter Lilja Sif is the cutest baby in the world. My parents and sister still live in Iceland and I try to see them as much as I can, although COVID has certainly made that more difficult. I am also close with my wife’s side of the family and her parents and brother have moved to Tucson since our daughter was born.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
I love helping people succeed, whether that’s with their music or with their marketing.
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
There are too many to name but off the top of my head, I love TEN55 Brewing Company, The Cup Cafe at Congress, El Charro, and Rocco’s Pizza.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
I first visited Tucson in 2009 but didn’t permanently move here until 2010
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
Kit Estes or the dancing star man probably has the kindest and most wonderful energy of anybody I’ve ever had the privilege of performing for.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
Vietnam or Madrid. Vietnam is an amazing country I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to but Madrid always has a big place in my heart.
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
I can’t pick just one, but I love The Greatest Showman, Rock of Ages (Extended Edition), Crazy Stupid Love, Finding Forrester, and Scent of a Woman.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Read as much as you can and don’t hesitate to invest in getting help from people who have accomplished what you want to accomplish.
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
Spending my summers in Iceland
Q: What is your go-to band when you can’t decide what to listen to?
Foo Fighters
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Leruas Mexican Food that was on Broadway and Campbell but was closed due to the Broadway widening. It was my favorite Mexican food place in Tucson.
Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. He seems like the nicest guy in rock ‘n’ roll and I think we would have a lot of things in common to talk about. It would be a Sunday and I would take him to Ruiz’s Sonoran Dogs on the corner of 22nd and 6th and then we would walk into downtown for a brewery tour of TEN55 and Pueblo Vida and some other bars, ending with a stop at Borderlands to listen to Kevin Pakulis’s band
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
I think Tucson has changed a lot since 2010 and I love how we’ve revitalized a lot of our city without losing the “old pueblo” feel in our culture.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Still in Tucson raising a family, helping entrepreneurs, and growing my own businesses while having the flexibility to travel in the summer.
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
There are many quirky things about me because I am from Iceland, but it’s hard to decide on one thing because I’m worried I’ll come off as pretentious…so although people may know me to be good at marketing and self-promotion, I think I share the Icelandic sense of humility and Norse stoicism that helps ground me.
Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
Vietnam
Q: Favorite month? favorite holiday? The best single day on the calendar?
October in Tucson. Christmas/Yuletide is probably my favorite holiday season and I’d have to say my birthday on August 10th because that’s when I splurge on comic books at Heroes and Villains.
Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
A Sunday Funday on a nice and mild afternoon hanging out with friends on the patios of downtown Tucson.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My daughter.
Q: What is one or two of your favorite smells?
My mom’s Christmas ham and cheese croissants or our mesquite chocolate chip cookies from AZ Baking Company 🙂
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
State of mind
For All That You Do,
Thank you Bjorgvin Benediktsson from The Faces of Tucson.
We Appreciate You
