Farm kid. Builder. Creator. Still chasing what’s beyond the horizon.

Where I came from, what shaped me, and why I keep building.

I grew up on a fifth-generation family farm in Michigan. It was woods, fields, old barns, dirt roads, tractors, creeks, family history, and an endless list of things that needed to be fixed, cleared, built, moved, or figured out.

It was a good place to grow up. It taught me work. It taught me patience. It taught me that most things worth having are built one day at a time.

But even as a kid, I always wondered what was beyond the horizon. I wanted to see the world. I wanted to meet interesting people. I wanted adventure. I wanted stories. I wanted a life bigger than what I could see from the front porch.

A lot of that came from my grandma.

She was one of the biggest supports in my life when I was young. She encouraged me to live beyond what I could imagine at the time and to believe my dreams were not as far away as they looked. She was also ahead of her time. Long before everyone was talking about side hustles, personal brands, and business opportunities online, she was selling Avon, meeting people, building relationships, and looking for ways to create opportunity.

That drive got into me. The idea that you could talk to people, build something, sell something, create something, and improve your life through work and relationships—that stuck.

After spending years working in technology, I was laid off in 2010. At the time, it felt like a disaster. Looking back, it was one of those moments that forced me to ask a better question:

What do I actually want to do with my life?

The answer was photography.

With the support of my first wife, I went back to school at the University of Michigan. Before my junior year, I was already flying around the country photographing destination weddings and commercial assignments. One opportunity led to another, and eventually I found myself working on both coasts and living in New York City.

The farm kid from Michigan suddenly found himself photographing musicians, artists, events, fashion, and people from all walks of life. I worked with organizations including Condé Nast and Live Nation. I traveled. I toured. I built a career doing something I genuinely loved.

I also had the chance to teach photography and creative subjects, including work connected to the University of Michigan, New York University, and other schools and programs. Helping other people find their own creative voice became just as meaningful as creating my own work.

Then life changed again.

By 2019, much of the work that had defined my professional life started drying up. Industries shifted. My first marriage ended. I came back to Michigan with my tail between my legs, unsure what came next.

What I did not realize at the time was that another rebuilding season was starting.

Back on the farm, I helped my parents through COVID, built apartments on the property, spent time in my grandfather’s old shop, and started creating again with my hands. The creativity that once lived behind a camera found new life in woodworking, furniture restoration, metalwork, guitars, writing, business ideas, and whatever else I could make real.

Then life surprised me again.

A woman from Colombia found me through my artwork on Instagram. One message turned into a conversation. One conversation turned into a relationship. Eventually, I found myself living internationally, building a family, learning another culture, and experiencing an entirely different chapter of life than anything I could have imagined growing up in rural Michigan.

Today, I am back in Michigan again.

Not starting over.

Rebuilding.

There is a difference.