Entering the graphic art field in 1999, via guerilla media, as a nightclub, concert and event photographer it lead 10 years of being lead designer and creator for multiple, now defunct websites and even dabbling in public access television and helping release a few DVDs.

My professional career started when I joined Valpak, a company specializing in direct mail coupons, in 2000.

For over 20 years with the company I helped design coupons, postcards for companies all over the United States, large franchises and small mom and pops. The job was all about producing ads, sometimes with limited information, having to decipher brand identity, theme, offers, regional preferences all with a high standard of quality and quick turnaround.  

My top skill was rebuilding, sourcing and creating vector logos and created a large library of common, national and secondary logos for artists to speed up their workflow. I also participated in many special projects along the way creating company mascots including giant mech robot promoting plant safety, a superhero q-tip for helping give quality tips and a full superhero team for a flyer to promote the different levels of marketing.

I am also a stilt walker, a skill passed down from my dad. Over the years I have made multiple costumes with the stilts but one in particular has got the most notoriety. My wampa costume built in 2010. Built as a love letter to Lucasfilm and one of my favorite movies, Empire Strikes Back, I always was fascinated by the lore that Lucasfilm could never master the costume. It took many attempts on their part, and eventually it came down to a force perspective man in a suit, no stilts. That to me was a challenge worth taking on, can I do what they could not? 
 

At their large convention, Star Wars Celebration in Orlando Florida, I debuted my attempt at the costume to great praise, from not only the fans, but from costuming groups with connections to Lucasfilm. After joining the 501st Legion a Star Wars charity costuming group with strict film quality standards, I adopted the board name and persona of "WampaDude" and things took off. I got to be part of many promotions, Disney parades and even sports teams and culminating with being chosen to participate in a global campaign with Adidas as their model for the new sets of Star Wars themed shoes.

The wampa costume also allowed me to dabble in video media again, with posting old videos of the construction of the costume. A decade of wearing the costume, wear and tear has the suit ready for retirement, the choice came, do I rebuild or retire it. I chose to relaunch the youtube channel after a long hiatus, and wanted to tell what worked, what didnt didn't, and to mentor future costumers that want to take on such a big task of building a large stilt costume. 

If there was one lesson I learned from my dad, and all this experience it was one simple message. 

I use my tools to help people.