I’ve had two major life events since 2020 that really pushed me to where I am today.

I lost my 7-figure ad agency due to lockdowns and ended up moving into my 2008 Toyota Sequoia to drive around the wilderness while trying to figure out what I’m going to do after losing everything I worked so hard to build.

Since I didn’t have anything left to lose, I had the freedom to explore and I begin to practice photography again.

It was hard, but I saw more in the first four months than many do in a lifetime.

Getting behind the camera again was so rewarding and I leaned heavily into photography – I even launched a site for my prints.

It’s a Tumor??

While my passion behind the camera grew, I found out I had a tumor in my leg that took two months to find out whether it was cancerous or not.

This was the hardest thing I dealt with since a traumatic brain injury ended my football career.

(DeepSnap comes from a past sports life and it just so happens to fit moody photography.)

While agonizing over the looming diagnosis, a new level of “who gives a sh*t what people think” was unlocked in my filmmaking and I started stepping in front of the camera in a new way.

A couple of videos went viral and I added 500K followers in a couple of days.

The comments were dark and heavy, but I connected with many people from around the world who seem to be dealing with their own struggle or just need a break in their day.

I now had a new perspective: Don’t wait on life.

There were 2 things I wanted to do “one day”.

Start my own coffee company and make a movie.

So I put them all together and created Grumpy Bear.

The movie is really a pilot for what I hope will be a series which I will release on my YouTube channel.

The funny thing about coffee is that I can only drink decaf because caffeine spikes my blood pressure.

There isn’t much good decaf coffee out there, and I wanted to provide a craft option.

So, a high school buddy of mine who imports and roasts the coffee got together and partnered on a blend that I thought would be perfect to launch with.

I’m hoping to use film in a way to inspire others the way I’ve been inspired. A film festival back in 2014 gave me permission to try something new which is why we launched our first festival this past fall.

This newsletter ties everything together.

Let me be clear.

I am not a victim and I am beyond blessed.

While I have had some adversity, I also have a wonderful support system. Hopefully I can take all of this and provide a little help to those who need it.

There was no cancer, and I got the tumor removed this past winter.