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| WORK & EDUCATION HISTORY //
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I started my eduction at Sand Point Elementary, then went to Eckstein Middle School and from there attended Roosevelt High School. I was a cub scout, but never a boy scout. I participated in Junior Achievement, creating a small business called "All Wet Industries." We sold desktop aquariums. My first real job was delivering the Seattle Herald in my neighborhood. As I got a little older, I became a curtsey clerk at the local Thirtftway. I also had a cool job doing woodwork on yachts, where I would sand down and re-varnish all the outdoor wood. Then I entered the restaurant business with a job at Burger Master. I did everything from run the cash register to wash the dishes. Moving more up scale, I then bused and waited tables at Ray's Boathouse.
When the time came for college, I decided to get out of town and attended Montana State University. Bridger Bowl was 15 minutes from campus and Big Sky was 45 minutes away. My cousin Karl runs the National Avalanche Forecast Service out of Bozeman, so I figured between the three, I could ski a whole lot while getting an education.
In the beginning I was taken back by the social scene and cruising Main Street to pick up "chicks." I thought that only happened in old movies? This drove me to the Greek System, where I joined the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. The Greek System in backwoods Bozeman was much different from what I had experienced rushing at the University of Washington. It had a much more diverse range of people. Here I had a great time making life long friends, as well as learning leadership qualities as Social Chairman for two years, then Vice President and as a member of the Silent Six.
While in college I had a few jobs. One summer I spent living in the woods of Swan Valley pealing bark from Yew trees. There's a chemical in them that pharmaceutical companies use to fight breast and ovarian cancer. Another summer I spent restoring hiking trails, digging drainages and clearing down trees caused by avalanches. Good hard labor. To support my ski habit, I worked for two years at Roundhouse Ski Shop. I sold skis during the winter and mountain bikes in the summer.
I did two summer internships at Onyx Software Corporation, which made total customer management software. I created vertical marketing campaigns for their Health Care segment. Onyx at the time had just become a Microsoft Office backed software and was only 50 employees. I thought this is where I'd work upon graduating. I occasionally wonder what my life would be like if I had.
In college I excelled at business courses but struggled somewhat with the core curriculum. The fraternity kept me busy but I seemed driven to participate in more group activities. I joined the Marketing Club for a couple years, where we conducted market research for local businesses and put on a few music concerts. Then in my final year, I joined Advertising Club for one of my most beneficial learning experiences. We put on a boxing event(smoker) to raise money for the National Advertising Competition. The competition consists of students creating and presenting Integrated Marketing Campaigns for a corporate sponsor. Our project was to launch the new Toyota Echo. It proved extremely beneficial to apply all my marketing education to one project, working with fellow students in the business and graphic design department.
Finally after six years of skiing, clubs and getting an education it was time to find a career. I moved back to Seattle and as luck would have it, found my dream job. I got hired at Helly Hansen where a good friend of mine designed the winter apparel. It was fun to market what he designed. I was fortunate enough to work my way up within the company to an International level and have amazing mentors along the way.
I was doing exactly what I learned in college. I was creating integrated marketing campaigns and watching them executed on a global scale. All at the same time getting to meet and become friends with people I idolized. I traveled around the world on ski and snowboard photo shoots, worked with professional photographers, got to go helicopter skiing in Alaska, went on film tours, met rock stars and in turn started to feel like a rock star. My parents thought it was funny that I got paid to travel around the world, put on events, party and go skiing. It was like I was bred for the job.
I learned the most during my last three years working at Helly Hansen. I had the best boss and mentor anyone could wish for, I got to work with two incredible agencies called Cinco Design and Grow, produced two promotional films and had the opportunity to assist in re-branding a global company.
I learned the importance of being passionate about ones' work, being respectful of different cultures and that people are the most important element in business and life. That the most important personal characteristic to have is integrity. Do what you say you will and stand by your word. Much of the success I experienced at Helly Hansen I have to attribute to being surrounded by great people. The time I spent there were some of the best years of my life.
I left this great job and lifestyle during the summer of 2006 to spend more time in Seattle and try to reconnect with old friends. Although Helly Hansen was an amazing job, I spent much of my time living out of hotels. The headquarters are in Moss, Norway and the agency was in Stockholm, both of which I visited almost monthly. I needed to find a little more balance. The plan was to take a little time off to recharge the batteries, get in shape and decide the next stage of my career.
During the second week of unemployment I was out wake boarding. I jumped the wake, caught my toe edge and rag dolled through the water. The fall ruptured the bottom two discs in my spine. Most of the fluid spurted out a little to the left, putting pressure on my nerves. It felt like I had a clamp on my left buttock, I couldn't make my calf muscle fire and had numbness in my left arm. I spent a couple weeks laying on my back on the floor. I couldn't even lay in bed. There's a lot of time to reflect during six months of physical therapy and rehab.
The physical therapy and exercise did however get me in the best shape I'd been in for years. I found pilates, yoga and road biking to be key. At the same time I decided to apply my knowledge to branding myself. Some day I wanted to have my own creative agency, so why not develop my own brand platform, collateral and this website. You know, just in case.
While starting the search for new employment, I did some contract work for Hayter Communications, which involved PR at the SIA trade show for Helly Hansen. Seeing all my friends in the industry made me miss the work and people. I ran into Jason Levinthal, who founded LINE Skis, and we talked about him selling his company to K2 Sports and his need for a Marketing Manager. I interviewed and got the job as Marketing Manager for LINE Skis and Full Tilt Boots.
I was right back to doing what I loved, more photo shoots, writing briefs, media buys, presentations, product development and marketing with an emphasis on web development. But my time at K2 was rather short lived. I had this itch to work for myself that needed scratching.
A pro athlete and friend I'd worked with for eight years wanted to start his own ski film company. He had just edited his first film and we were brainstorming new business models. After multiple discussions he asked, "why don't you stop giving me advice and let's just do this?" That was the moment two new businesses were born: the film company Nimbus Independent and my new business consultant gig called G Brand. All one needs to start their own business is the first client.
So with Nimbus as a client, I left K2 and started my own company. Really it was starting two new companies, as I needed to set up both businesses. Nimbus was a work of pure passion, coming up with treatments, decks for sponsorship, media partnerships, music, distribution, website, TV and overall business plan. Our goal was to change the way ski films were produced and distributed.
Upon getting those set up, I took on another client called Spacecraft Clothing. They are an amazing story and more fashion based than sport, which I was looking for. I did their marketing, launched a couple websites, developed POS, did media buying and business planning.
But the drive I had was more for Nimbus and film making, so in seeking economies of scale, I took another ski film company for a client. Nimbus was already in association with Poor Boyz Productions, in particular we shared a film tour. I felt that for Nimbus to be more successful, I needed to help Poor Boyz, thus growing both brands. You might think there would be some conflicts of interest, which there were, but at the time I didn't think they would materialize.
I've enjoyed working for myself doing consulting for a few years now. It's nice being my own boss and I've learned a lot. Working from home and for oneself has serious perks, but also some drawbacks. There isn't the same creative environment working alone as there is in an office or with an agency. My computer and cell phone doesn't provide the same social benefits that being with real people does. With the experience I've gained so far, I'm looking forward to seeing how my career will evolve and progress.
My life and career so far has turned out better than I ever could have dreamt, yet I still have much to achieve. I have to state none of it would have been possible if my parents were not as supportive as they have been. They are an inspiration and lesson in tolerance, hope and patience. Above all else, I hope to make them proud.
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