I originally went to school thinking I was going to be a computer programmer. Then I took a photography class and things went in a completely different direction.

I bought my first DSLR, started teaching myself everything I could about photography, and quickly realized I had found the creative outlet I didn't know I was looking for. Photography led to video. Video led to social media. Social media led to branding and marketing. Somewhere along the way, what started as a hobby turned into a career.

Over the past decade, I've worked across marketing, brand strategy, social media, photography, video, advertising, PR, websites, email, events and just about everything in between.

I spent more than seven years leading marketing for March First Brands in Cincinnati, where I worked across a growing portfolio of breweries, distilleries, restaurants and taprooms. I helped build brands from the ground up, launch new locations and products, manage a creative team and figure out how all of those pieces worked together.

One of my favorite projects was Astra Hard Seltzer. I came up with the name and overall brand concept, worked with our designer to bring the visual identity to life, and developed the voice and social strategy behind it. What started as an idea became a brand that sold roughly five million cans in its first few years.

But I've never been someone who only wants to sit in meetings and talk about creative work.

I still love picking up a camera.

That's a big reason Because Motorcycle exists. What started in 2013 as an excuse to make riding videos with friends eventually grew into a credentialed motorsports media outlet and freelance creative business. Today I spend race weekends photographing and filming professional motorcycle racing, creating everything from still photography and short-form social content to longer documentary-style weekend recaps for racers and teams.

That combination has shaped the way I approach marketing. I understand the strategy, budgets, analytics and business side, but I also understand what it takes to actually make the thing. I can develop a campaign, direct a creative team, write the copy, analyze how it performed, and still jump into Premiere or Lightroom when something needs to get finished.

I'm endlessly curious and probably always will be. Whether it's marketing, photography, motorcycles, technology or whatever rabbit hole I've fallen into this week, I like learning how things work and figuring out how to tell a good story about them.

That's pretty much how I ended up here.