A true creative creature,

I was born and raised on a farm in rural Victoria (Australia) near the Great Ocean Road. As a young child, I spent time climbing trees and exploring derelict farm buildings, chasing sheep on my BMX, and just being wild on our old homestead on the hill, affectionately known as ‘Summerhill.’ I spent my early years with bare feet in the mud and my fingers and eyes in all the beautiful details. I would play in the creek, building tiny worlds - observing the natural world in wonder- of all its life and decay. 

As a kid, I was always creative- immersed, enthralled, and drawing inspiration from the natural world; I was free to explore. Of these creative and wild pursuits, my parents and siblings fully supported me. It was a wholesome lifestyle centered around garden meals and trips to the beach. I remember feeling a part of it - the same as nature. I didn’t think about it then, and I still don’t - I am just part of it - part of the natural world and the wildly big universe. 

Early on, my parents recognized my affinity toward creativity and had me attend art school at Geelong Fine Art School with Robert Drummond. They also encouraged me to spend a lot of time with my mentor/uncle- the late Peter C Webb, in his studio to paint and draw when I was a young boy. He significantly influenced my creative sense, and later, when I was older, I was lucky to be around other incredible artists such as Simon Buttonshaw, Rohan (Bags) Robinson, and my dear friend and mentor Clayton Barr. 

I spent my university years living in a lofted warehouse in Chinatown in Melbourne and studied at R.M.I.T. Graphic Design. I worked at The Lounge nightclub and got through those three university years with only charm and raw talent. It was not a lot of hard work, but I pulled all-nighters to turn in design projects by the skin of my teeth. This was a fantastic course that exposed me to the kind of design thinking and principles I still use. One thing that inspired me was the talk I attended by a few of the guys from the Tomato Design Collective from the UK. They talked about chaos theory and how everything is available to you at your fingertips - no need for fancy equipment and supplies - as they threw together campaigns for Nike with torn tape and scrap pieces of paper.   

After my time in the city, I returned to the coastal enclave of Torquay, Victoria, Australia, where I grew up and began to work alongside the founders of Quiksilver and Rip Curl’s sons and daughters. The surf culture in this town shaped me and my love for the ocean, design, and art. I got to work alongside great people and mentors such as Jeff Sweeney and Ryan Scanlon. However, it was a small world, and I eventually felt claustrophobic. I yearned for new experiences and new travels. When I turned thirty, I moved to Laguna Beach, California, where I worked my way up to be the art director of the board short and tee shirt business for North Americas at Rip Curl in Costa Mesa. This was a fresh new beginning and an opportunity to reinvent myself. I fit in very well with the surf lifestyle of southern California and I didn't have to reinvent myself - I just adapted as an expat.

In Laguna Beach, I met my beautiful wife Dominique, and when she was pregnant a few years later with our son Baxter, I moved over to Vans, where I became their first dedicated global board short designer. I was able to build their trunk program from the ground up. Starting with fit and fabrication, I traveled overseas. I picked fabrics, designed all the trims and details, and made all the engineered and repeat textile art - I also worked with Scott Sisamis with athlete connection and the marketing campaigns. I had the pleasure of working with Ronnie Reyes and Chris Reed, other creative collaborators and mentors. I loved to travel and create with other great designers and artists. Matt Nosbusch, Matt Cater and I went on some amazing adventures to document the essence of a country, a place, a trip- the places along the way created great stories and experiential themes that we would turn back into curated product lines. One of my most enjoyable experiences was working on collections for some of my favorite surfers. Joel Tudor and Nathan Fletcher and others. I would develop concepts and work with them to test fabrics and prototype samples. A little video from Stab Magazine about my role here- https://vimeo.com/114198024

After two years at Van’s, I moved to Volcom and became the men’s apparel artist. I worked closely with Beau Campi, Jeffery James (JJ) Gonzales and Eric Williamson. This was the most creative design position I held and the most fun company to work at. I traveled overseas with other exciting designers and artists and, in turn, created some inspired and fun seasonal direction, color and textile print stories. I provided art for all the designers on the men’s apparel team to develop and execute seasonal themes, through board shorts all the way through wovens and into the snow outerwear. Here is a snippet from an exhibition we made out of one of our themes - Magnetic Vibrations

After leaving Volcom, I traveled to the East Coast, where we made our new home in Princeton, NJ. We were bi-coastal for a while but still reside at our beautiful property, Atrium on the Brook. We love it here as we continue our life, nestled in nature and embracing the seasonal cycles of the East. My wife Dom has boosted her businesses here, and I started working on my passion project, State of Nowhere. A brand (or more of an art project) about my love for the ocean and meditation. I’m moving into a significant new phase of my design and art life now, enjoying the process more than ever and helping to weave essential visual stories for outstanding people that are doing remarkable things.