Make money and movies with Fat Llama's kit lending service – read how it works here!

Fat Llama are also offering Mandy.com users £25 of rental credit – claim it here!

Sarah, what is Fat Llama, how long have you guys been running and how did it come about?
The idea was born back in 2015, when Chaz, Rosie and Owen left their corporate jobs to create a co-working space in East London and were left gobsmacked by just how difficult it was to borrow the tools they needed for the project.

So they decided to create Fat Llama — a platform for lending and borrowing (almost) anything from people nearby.

***** Read our interview with Luther DP John Pardue *****

How does Fat Llama work? Who uses it?
Lenders list their spare stuff on the site, borrowers browse to find the object they need, the borrower messages the lender to arrange a pickup — and voila.

A lot of our users are creatives and freelancers (there’s a lot of overlap with Mandy’s subscribers) who need specialist gear at short notice. But our ultimate vision is a world where everyone is sharing anything and everything — we want renting something to be as easy as ordering a pizza.

How is it being used in the creative industries?
The creatives who borrow on Fat Llama are working on all kinds of cool projects — sound recordists on indie films, photographers capturing wildlife, directors filming commercials — and they’re typically using their rentals either as production equipment or props. So for example, Nadia rented an industrial fan for one of her photoshoots, and Charlie borrowed a GIF camera to shoot Serena Williams(!).

What areas is it available in?
We’re based in London (where we have 100,000+ users) and we’re also established in New York, having launched there in January. We’ve got plans to be live in five other US cities (including LA and Chicago) by the end of the year — watch this space!

Tell us a bit about the range of kit you guys have through your users.
We’ve got everything from your entry-level gear to much more specialised stuff; for example, the top five most rented items on the platform right now are:

Zhiyun Tech 3 Axis Gimbal Stabiliser Crane

DJI Wireless Follow Focus

Canon 24-70mm F/2.8L II L USM - Mark 2

LED Panel Lights

DJI Mavic Pro Drone + Extra Battery

But we’re not just about technical gear; you really can borrow almost anything on the site (like bubble machines, pole dancing poles, LED dancefloors…)

***** Read our interview with Cobra Kai DP Cameron Duncan *****

Any idea of the most someone has made through Fat Llama by renting their kit?
Yes! There’s a leaderboard on our homepage that shows the users who’ve made the most money this month — as I write, the top (anonymous) lender has earned £6000+.

And one of our consistent superlenders, Antonio, has been earning up to £4000 every month from renting out his spare camera kit — enough to buy his mother an apartment in Macedonia!

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