My introduction to graphic design was growing up helping with my dad’s sign and mural business.

I can remember him teaching me how to weed vinyl graphics, use a pouncing wheel and chalk dust or an opaque projector to transfer a design to a signboard or a large-scale wall, and when he first showed me an old bootleg copy of Photoshop 6, which I later used to color my graffiti art.

I used to want to become an architect and majored in it for two years at the technical high school I attended before falling in love with the versatility of graphic design. Drawing graffiti is essentially typography, which led to me submitting a portfolio to art school in Portland, Oregon where I grew up.

I got my first design job doing flyers for my church right out of high school and got my first freelance client while in college. I charged $10 an hour for my first logo design. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Following school, I interned at a tiny design shop, then contracted at Nike, then got a job at a big agency in Portland where I worked on projects for Underarmour, XBox, Nike, Gap, Nintendo, Apple, Microsoft, and Callaway Golf.

In the years following, I ran my own agency and have worked with incredible agencies and brands such as Nike, Adidas, Oculus, Brand Jordan, Champs Sports, Easton Sports, ASICS, Supra, Walmart, Dell, and athletes such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Ken Griffey Jr., Ben Simmons.

More recently, I’ve served as a Creative Director leading on accounts for Expedia Group, Starbucks, Brooks Running, Starbucks, Oracle, and CVS.

These projects often involved a wide variety of skills, from crafting a new/refreshed brand mark, followed by a strategic development of the brand’s overall visual aesthetic, copywriting and advertising, crafting the brand’s digital presence (Website, online communications), apparel development, custom illustration, and digital concepts, unifying diverse sets of packaging, overseeing advertising campaigns, and establishing my clients as leaders in their industries through premium high-end brand development. 

My designs and strategic communications have helped my clients achieve huge goals including raising over $250,000 in donations for Parkinson’s Disease, raising over $2 million in startup capital and participation of over 200 current and retired NFL & NBA athletes for a sports media startup, and solidify a smooth transition and cultural buy-in for a $1.7 billion corporate merger.

Extensive experience has helped me develop a tried-and-tested process for setting a brand up for success.

While products, missions, leadership, and customer bases differ, the core tenets and creative process of what makes a successful brand are very similar.

Uncovering a company’s passion and heart for what they do and then communicating that vision to the people they serve is one of my favorite parts of what I do.

I have a huge passion for connecting with people and helping them discover their personal creativity and the path toward their dreams.

After a healthy push from my wife, I founded a company in 2016 called Frontrunners where I coach, consult, strategize, teach, podcast, write books, and create educational and inspirational content for creative entrepreneurs.

My first book is called STEP 0: a guide to overcoming the obstacles that stop us before we get started, which is designed to help us overcome invisible internal barriers and accomplish our dreams and goals.

I live in Vancouver, WA with my wife, best friend, and business partner Shannon. We spend our days creating side-by-side, cooking, adventuring, laughing, and being in love. We have a little boy named Elliot, a daughter named Lily, and a chunky charcoal lab named Mylo.

I love good design, and I think that the best design is a well-designed life, full of passion, joy and fulfillment.