About

Origins

I was born hearing-impaired. Frustrated with my listening-impaired family, I ran away from home at age 16 by sneaking into an Eagles roadies' van.

For the next 5 years I had a front row/backstage experience that brought me some of my best memories and changed my destiny. I was very happy despite my hearing becoming worse. 😂

21-year old Jenny, a roadies girlfriend, took me under her wing. She believed in me, saw my potential, and turned me onto the creative scene in L.A. 5 years in she told me once again that I was college material. Her UCLA parents facilitated my GED, and when they saw my scores directed me to ACT, SAT, and SAT II.

"You can go to any college," Jenny said.

I'd seen Glen Frey's classic University of Colorado shirt and decided I'd go there. It was a full circle moment, albeit 100 miles north from home.

Relationships: communicate without judgment

Creativity and Relationships

Being on the road and hanging out with creatives was the best education. I majored in Marketing at CU. I almost dropped out because there was very little creativity in business, and my natural gift of analysis—inseperable from creativity—didn't come into play until my third year.

There's a lot of creativity in relationships. There's no single right way to do it except just communicate without judgment and see where it goes. My professors were rigid, even dogmatic, during lectures. Everything is about how to make more money for your employer. The best way to do that is find ways to connect with your audience.

Concerts remain lucrative. Everyone goes for the experience they can't get from listening in their home or car. The audio quality is off the charts, and if it's Rock n' Roll, it can be insanely loud. Led Zeppelin was loud but the bass-drums-guitar interplay beautifully served Robert Plant's vocals. It landed every single time.

What stuck with me were the relationships. Music people thrive in relationships that creates more creativity.

Trust must be earned

Relationships & Trust

All of my work is the result of the trust I earned with people. I'm honest about what I do. I love meeting people and finding out what I can do for them.

In the case of the brochure I designed for former President Ford, my client was close friends with the Mexico Ambassador to the US who asked my client for help who in turned asked me. My client was to do the delivery himself and seemed nervous about it.

"No problem" I told him, "tell Ford that the person who created this beautiful brochure worked the (only) parking lot booth at Vail."

On a cold winter night former President Ford and Jack Nicklaus were walking out of the parking garage when Nicklaus slipped right outside the booth. I immediately jumped out in front of Ford to help Jack back onto his feet.

Two Secret Service agents instinctively grabbed me by the armpits and pulled Jack and I up. I said, "Stick to the green stuff, Jack." He and Ford glared at me, and then they started cracking up.

Thus, my client attended the Symposium with an ice breaker to share with former President Ford. He remembered it, welcoming my client into his extensive global contacts.