I’m a brand new member, so I have no involvement with AAF, yet. Greg Ahrens talked me into joining!
I’m the founder and creative director at SecretPenguin, an experiential branding agency that creates/refines/manages brands to stand out in a busy world.
Prior to that, I was a professional skateboarder and got my start doing branding for the companies I was endorsed by.
My wife’s name is Sara Jean who is an RN Nurse, and we have a daughter named Olive and a son named Baby Bob.
What do you do in your free time? Any hobbies?
I skateboard and go on adventures with my kids.
What is your passion in life?
To leave a legacy through my actions that my kids can base their values on… even down to what clients we take on, how others are treated, how we spend our time, etc.
If you could have any job you wanted, what would you do and why?
The one I have! I get to work with talented friends and create meaningful things for brands I love.
Have you ever had an “Ah-ha!” moment in your career? Explain.
Yes!
After every project, we have put together a list of what worked well and where we fell short.
Over the years, we developed a process for branding from this list.
Our Ah-ha moment was when we realized all of our branding projects go really smooth, and it was when we would take on one-off projects where challenges came in.
We’ve dedicated our agency to focus on branding a few years back, and it has completely changed our business.
What makes a good boss? (If you’re the boss, what makes a good employee?)
What makes a good employee, is someone who cares.
If someone is just going through the motions to pass the time and collect a paycheck, I don’t want to work alongside you. I love people who want to do good work, who want our clients to be happy, and want to make a difference with the work they produce.
I’ve found that you can’t do that well if you don’t care.
