BACKSTORY

I love creating things. Ideally clever, insightful and funny things. Could be an ad, or a TV show, or just a T-shirt. Whatever it may be, it's the creating part that gets me out of bed in the morning.

This has led me down an interesting path. I started my career in advertising as an account manager in Los Angeles agencies. While I enjoyed developing strategy and building brands, I decided I wanted to create the ads. However in the middle of transitioning into copywriting,  I turned a chance meeting into a career making reality TV. After moving back to K.C., I returned to copywriting.

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The chance meeting that changed my career trajectory was connecting with a producer on the comedic dating show, Blind Date. I talked my way into writing a spec script, and then got hired with the warning, “It's sink or swim. You get six weeks to figure it out.” I figured it out and worked the entire seven-season run of the show, even managing the writing staff at the end. I then went on to work on 20-plus other shows.

Here’s some things I learned working in wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am world of unscripted TV:

• Don’t give up on a great idea.

• But don’t be overly precious about your ideas - there’s always another creative solution.

• You realize you’re getting the hang of it when you kill your own good ideas because you just know you still have a better one in there.

• Don’t take it personal. Some people just yell.

• An alarmingly large percentage of the population that will do anything to be on TV.

I started Super Jumbo Monster Truck, a line of T-shirts created to reflect the energy of our rambunctious boys, because my wife said there’s not enough fun clothing for them. Well, now the world has slightly more choices.  

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I also love mountain biking and take weird enjoyment in riding excessive distances. I have twice completed both the 200-mile Dirty Kanza race in the Flint Hills of Kansas and the Leadville 100 in the Colorado Rockies. Basically, I'm down with pain, bring it on.