Before cannabis, I spent a decade telling stories for other people’s brands. Here’s how it unfolded, in my own words.
Before 2007 · Mercury · Artemis · Artist management
Where it started: music
Music was my first love, and my first career. I started in college marketing at Mercury Records, then became a product manager at Artemis Records, working on gold and platinum records by Baha Men, Kittie and Kurupt. I wanted to work with artists I was more passionate about, so I started managing punk and emo bands, including The Juliana Theory, Open Hand, Celebrity, Number One Fan and Autovein, and guided them through albums, tours and major-label deals.
What I did: artist manager · major-label deals · product manager
2007 · Hurley · Toyota / Saatchi & Saatchi LA
Hurley and Toyota: the bridge
In 2007, as I was winding down my management company, Darren Doane brought me on as executive producer to help build Hurley’s in-house creative agency. It was where music, surf, skate and youth culture met commercial production, and my bridge from bands to brands.
Our first big break came with Toyota’s agency, Saatchi & Saatchi: an early branded-content collaboration to launch the 2008 Sequoia. We made short documentaries following the Geiselman surf family on a cross-country road trip, from contests in Santa Cruz to their home in Florida. Darren directed; I produced.
What I did: executive producer · producer · creative agency · business development
LEVEL4: We went all in
Toyota loved the Geiselman films and asked us to shoot another campaign with extreme ski legend Scot Schmidt. So Darren and I left Hurley to launch our own agency and production company, LEVEL4, with Toyota and Saatchi & Saatchi as our first clients.
After Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours,” everybody wanted Darren to direct their videos. For the next two years we ran around the world shooting music videos and concert films: Jason Mraz, Zac Brown Band’s “Toes” and the Pass the Jar concert film, Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl, Colbie Caillat’s “The Little Things,” Buckcherry and more. Darren directed; I produced and executive produced.
What I did: co-founder · executive producer · head of production
2010–2011 · LEVEL4 · Microsoft Bing
Starting over, and the Bing years
In early 2010, Darren left LEVEL4 to start his own company. I decided to keep LEVEL4 going and rebuild it. New opportunities came in, I started directing, and I assembled a new team of creative people who took the company into its next chapter.
Microsoft put a huge push behind Bing, and entertainment and culture were a big part of the strategy. For a few years we shot dozens of projects connecting Bing with musicians, athletes, bloggers, entrepreneurs and emerging influencers. It’s where I learned to interview people and shape their stories. In 2011, Bing sent us to Sundance, where we covered Bing Bar performances, interviews and premieres, then edited around the clock in a rented ski house. Personal highlight: interviewing one of my guitar heroes, Slash.
What I did: director · interviewer · branded series · fast-turn content
2011–2015 · Jeep · Chevrolet · GMC · Kia
Hitting the road with Jeep and Kia
Our relationship with Toyota opened the door to more automotive work with Jeep, Chevrolet, GMC and Kia. We got good at combining compelling driving footage with human stories, whether the subject was an entrepreneur, a celebrity or an adventure on the road.
Kia was one brand with very different stories. For the Kia Soul, we made four spots in one day with Jabbawockeez and Affion Crockett: dance battles and offbeat comedy. Boyz II Men surprised fans with serenades for the Sorento, and Christina Milian hosted a geocaching race across Los Angeles for the Kia Rio.
What I did: director · executive producer · writer
Music was still my home turf
A decade in the music business paid off on the brand side. I knew how to earn an artist’s trust and protect what made them great, so brands and agencies kept bringing me artist-led work: Bing films with Foster the People, Kreayshawn and Theophilus London, live films with Grammy-nominated Alabama Shakes for American Family Insurance, and Samsung sessions with Frank + Derol.
What I did: director · executive producer · artist interviews
I got to direct World Cup champions
For SKLZ, I directed ambitious, anthemic brand films with athletes at the very top of their sports: World Cup champions Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan of the U.S. Women’s National Team, and Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Evan Longoria.
What I did: director · executive producer
Stories that move people
Starting in 2012, healthcare became a growing part of our work, telling human stories about patients, doctors, families and the people whose lives were affected by the products and treatments, for clients including Boston Scientific, Acadia Pharmaceuticals, University of Arizona Medical Center and Amgen. It was a different kind of work, but the goal was always the same: find the story worth telling. Learning to tell authentic human stories in a highly regulated category is experience I carried with me into cannabis.
What I did: director · interviewing · restricted-market storytelling
It’s all about the team
Rebuilding LEVEL4 taught me that one of my greatest strengths was bringing the right people together: directors, producers, cinematographers, editors and artists, working as one team to solve problems for our clients. I learned how to lead talented people and bring out their best. That’s what made the ambitious work possible.
After ten years telling stories for other people’s brands, I was ready to move to the brand side. In 2018, I made the leap into cannabis and started helping build a new industry.
What I did: team builder · executive producer · director
