Back from the dead.
I’ve spent the last 30 years in the grind and hustle that defines the branding and design world. For the first 20 years of my career, my focus was on creating the “cool stuff” for the “cool brands” — brands like Nike, adidas, and Doc Martens. It was a heady world: flying around the world, doing photo shoots of big-name athletes, getting the design accolades, being “the creative guy,” feeling famous. That was what drove me.
Those days are done and that guy is gone.
Well, he’s not gone. I didn’t fall off the face of the earth or find some remote cabin in the wilderness, but I do see things differently than I used to. So much of what I did the first 20 years was about pushing the envelope with the latest design technique that would be better and bolder than anything else. It drove me to do great work, but it also, frankly, drove me to focus on myself.
During this time, I had the chance to work with brands like KEEN and North Face that had a global presence but also had the ability to look beyond just consumerism. These brands had a more holistic perspective. They cared about their people and their planet in ways that were more than just lip service. They went beyond the daily grind and found ways to feed passions. They inspired a sense of belief in something bigger throughout the organization.
This exposure to more purpose-driven brands helped me start the conversation with myself about what my purpose was. I started to realize it was about more than just doing “cool work.” It was about doing “good work” for myself, but more importantly, for others. I started to realize that “good work” is rooted in what’s meaningful and true. It’s rooted in stories that bring people together and make employees feel inspired and customers feel included.
In 2008 I got a wake-up call. The plummeting economy tanked the agency I had invested everything in. Once I shut the doors on this dream I had built up through sweat, money, and a ton of time, I realized that it was time to get on a whole new path. I took some time to reflect and to re-connect with family members in a new way. My career took a new turn: I worked with a start-up, I freelanced for other agencies as well as for some of the larger brands I used to have as clients.
During this time I met Elicia, who’s now my partner at True Story. We met over a coffee and discovered that although we had worked on entirely different types of brands, we shared a common drive to really listen to people and companies and match their dreams with storytelling that yes, sold products and services, but also brought teams together and enabled customers to get more out of their daily lives.
True Story was and is a totally different deal than what I was used to. Our clients come from industries that are far from the world of top-selling footwear and apparel. Our clients come from telecom, construction, financial advising, and other industries I never would have been interested in before. But I discovered something powerful: these companies have real products made by real people who genuinely care about each other and their customer. I now get to know telecom technicians who called South Carolina home. I eat meals with construction estimators who had no clue of design awards. I lead brand exercises for tech entrepreneurs who have put everything on the line for a product and a dream.
Since the launch of True Story four years ago, I realized that by combining my global brand experience with my genuine interest in people I could become a better designer and a better human being. I still care about doing great work, but I now get to experience the “smaller moments” that happen project by project, person by person, interaction by interaction. These are the moments that don’t make it to the design awards stage or even into a portfolio. But when I hear things like “this brand workshop is the best experience of my career,” I know I’m doing something right. I know I’m doing something that matters.
What’s interesting is that while I made my shift, so did the rest of the world. Work isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days of 30 years at a business, easing into retirement at the completion of a career at a company and rewarded at the end with a gold watch. Nowadays, it’s about doing meaningful work. It’s about going into a place where you feel valued, heard, and respected. Great news for me is that we get to help companies craft these kinds of places from the ground up. Although we work with smaller brands we are part of a larger picture that’s about purpose and doing what feels important.
So that’s my story. In fact, that’s my true story. I’m excited about the chapters to come — the people I’ll meet, the things I’ll learn, the places I’ll go. Most likely I’ll never work with Heisman Trophy winners, but I know I’ll experience those moments that matter. And that’s what keeps me going.
