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 and started driving around the wilderness trying to figure out what I'm going to do after losing it all.

That gave me the freedom to adventure 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.
While I was gaining passion for creating and getting into filmmaking, I found out I had a tumor in my leg which took two months to find out if It was cancerous or not.

This was the hardest time 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 perfectly.)
While agonizing over the looming diagnosis, a new level of "who gives a sh*t what people think" and urgency was unlocked in my filmmaking and I started stepping in front of the camera in a different 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 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.

We even have half-caff so others can start to taper off of caffeine if they want.

The Grumpy Bear brand also gave us the ability to launch a Film Festival for others to pursue their creativity.

Let me be clear.

I am not a victim and I am beyond blessed.

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

While I have had some adversity, I also have a wonderful support system. My struggles have given me a deep sense of empathy and I pour that into my work.

Lot's of adversity, but I wouldn't be able to empathize to the level I can without it.