I’ve been searching for that answer my whole life.
G rowing up in a small town could lead you to a couple things—trouble and sports. I found both. At 15 I was a sponsored triathlete and landlocked skateboarder who loved finding new paint to ruin. After years of terrorizing shopping mall security guards I shimmied down to Southern California to study at The University of California at Irvine. Post-grad, I nearly had my own TV show, but decided that I wanted to sell my soul to advertising—so, I moved to NYC to study at The School of Visual Arts. Old-school ad men like Sal Devito taught me the way while ripping up work and calling me (and all of his students) “useless.”Since working in this business, I’ve had the chance to slang ads at shops like Modem Media/Digitas, Publicis, Juxt Interactive, Blitz, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, David and Goliath and Phenomenon.
You may notice, if doing a simple Google search, that I play tunes with guitars and banjos. I also write and record music as another hobby. I believe that creativity isn’t (and shouldn’t be) confined to one specific vertical. Most creative types are always looking for outlets that inspire other types of creative expression. That’s how I feel about it. And somehow playing music is dingy bars can teach you something that might help sell Diet Pepsi to a soccer mom during the holiday seasons. Below is a little more about how I approach my work.
Thanks for reading.
Awesome 100%
Radical 100%
It ain’t my brand, after all.
Emotion is important in creativity, but it can also get in the way of what’s right for the main objective. I tend to balance my personal emotional feelings and ideas with real-world insights, life experiences and instinct.
Things my grandma taught me about work ethic.
After we’ve worked together, there’s nothing more than I want that to hear that you were stoked with the work and that I was a pleasure to work with in every way. And hopefully we nailed it in less time that we thought.
I take my work serious, but it can’t all be glum.
If you don’t love what you’re doing then stop doing it. Thankfully I love writing, coming up with ideas and using my brain goo. I also appreciate and respect killer collaboration with talented people.