STORYTELLING FOR
THE TIMBERWOLVES
STORYTELLING
FOR THE TIMBERWOLVES
Greetings! My name is Matthew.
I am a Minneapolis native, a lifelong, die-hard Timberwolves fan, and a career storyteller. For 15 years, I've used words, visuals, and bold narrative strategies to craft stories that build empathy, scale businesses, and drive tangible community impact.
This website is a pitch crafted for the eyes of the Timberwolves organization. In this new era for the Wolves, I am pitching that a Storytelling Director be added to your operations and that you consider hiring me for the role. Across this site, I'll present the business case for the role, my credentials and alignments as a storyteller, an extensive sampling of original content ideas and production treatments, and a personal narrative showcasing the centrality of the Timberwolves in my life.
Putting myself out here like this may be audacious, even silly. But having recently lost my daughter, I am choosing to commit only to the most fearless and imaginative part of myself. Life is too precious to settle for anything less. This vision is a dream, and knowing I gave it my all is the only way to be at peace with the result. I'm confident in the value I can bring to the Timberwolves organization.
🙏🏾 Thank you for your time. 🙏🏾
THE CASE FOR A TIMBERWOLVES STORYTELLING DIRECTOR
THE CASE FOR A TIMBERWOLVES STORYTELLING DIRECTOR
THE CASE FOR A TIMBERWOLVES STORYTELLING DIRECTOR
Storytelling breeds innovation.
Modern sports organizations require agile, visionary leaders who can oversee cross-functional creative teams, collaborate with diverse talent, and craft authentic stories that reflect the franchise’s value. A storytelling director combines radical creativity with strategic oversight to be on the cutting edge of content innovation and community activation. It is vital in the era of modern business to understand the transformative power of storytelling and to have teams and leaders adept at making it tangible.
Storytelling breeds innovation.
Modern sports organizations require agile, visionary leaders who can oversee cross-functional teams, collaborate with diverse creative talents, and craft authentic stories that reflect the franchise’s value. A storytelling director combines radical creativity with strategic oversight to be on the cutting edge of content innovation and community activation. It is vital in the era of modern business to understand the transformative power of storytelling and to have teams and leaders adept at making it tangible.
Storytelling produces consistency.
A Storytelling Director will build an incredible storytelling strategy and embed this strategy into the core of the business’s operations, ensuring consistent and compelling narratives that resonate with fans, partners, and the broader community. This role champions coherence, reliability, emotional engagement, and cultural relevancy, turning stories into powerful tools for fostering loyalty and community. In a rapidly changing business ecosystem where content drives impact, revenue, and global reach, we must be not only innovative in our approaches and understanding of the storytelling landscape but also consistent across all storytelling efforts, including the quality of the content, the tools we use, the methodologies that shape our work, etc.
Storytelling produces consistency.
A Storytelling Director will build an incredible storytelling strategy and embed this strategy into the core of the business’s operations, ensuring consistent and compelling narratives that resonate with fans, partners, and the broader community. This role champions coherence, reliability, emotional engagement, and cultural relevancy, turning stories into powerful tools for fostering loyalty and community. In a rapidly changing business ecosystem where content drives impact, revenue, and global reach, we must be not only innovative in our approaches and understanding of the storytelling landscape but also consistent across all storytelling efforts, including the quality of the content, the equipment we use, the methodologies that shape our work, etc.
Storytelling humanizes the brand.
Stories shape how we see and engage with the world. And for a business, especially a professional sports team whose success depends on local buy-in and community fervor, stories are the glue that tethers it all together. A good story enables empathy, respect, and passion. Stories make brands feel more approachable and genuine and can make our superhero athletes feel more human. We live in the most intrinsically motivated age in history, meaning people are driven by their values and connect to the things that stir emotion in them. How and why we tell stories matters just as much to our audience as which stories we’re telling. People look daily for opportunities to feel more connected; the Timberwolves can provide that in spades.
Storytelling humanizes the brand.
Stories shape how we see and engage with the world. And for a business, especially a professional sports team whose success depends on local buy-in and community fervor, stories are the glue that tethers it all together. A good story enables empathy, respect, and passion. Stories make brands feel more approachable and genuine and can make our superhero athletes feel more human. We live in the most intrinsically motivated age in history, meaning people are driven by their values and connect to the things that stir emotion in them. How and why we tell stories matters just as much to our audience as which stories we’re telling. People look daily for opportunities to feel more connected; the Timberwolves can provide that in spades.
Storytelling creates mini worlds.
Wolves fans are unrivaled. We have been die-hards for decades. And yet, we can still reach new heights of fandom, support, and connection. If we want to grow the community’s affinity to the Timberwolves, we must find new ways to make them feel seen and heard, as well as a sacred part of this modern era of the Timberwolves experience. Storytelling is the most efficient and effective tool for diversifying audiences and driving engagement. Let’s build a little universe where the broader community feels like a family, fans feel like they have a role, and the Timberwolves are a fulcrum for comfort, accessibility, visibility, joy, and strength—all things Minneapolis deserves after all it’s endured in recent years.
Storytelling creates mini worlds.
Wolves fans are unrivaled. We have been die-hards for decades. And yet, we can still reach new heights of fandom, support, and connection. Suppose we want to grow the Twin Cities and the broader Minnesota community’s affinity to the Timberwolves. In that case, we must find new ways to make them feel seen and heard, as well as a sacred part of this modern era of the Timberwolves experience. Storytelling is the most efficient and effective tool for diversifying audiences and driving engagement. Let’s build our little world where the broader community feels like a family, fans feel like they have a role, and the Timberwolves are a fulcrum for comfort, accessibility, visibility, joy, and strength—all things Minneapolis deserves after what it’s endured in recent years.
Storytelling creates mini worlds.
Wolves fans are unrivaled. We have been die-hards for decades. And yet, we can still reach new heights of fandom, support, and connection. Suppose we want to grow the Twin Cities and the broader Minnesota community’s affinity to the Timberwolves. In that case, we must find new ways to make them feel seen and heard, as well as a sacred part of this modern era of the Timberwolves experience. Storytelling is the most efficient and effective tool for diversifying audiences and driving engagement. Let’s build our little world where the broader community feels like a family, fans feel like they have a role, and the Timberwolves are a fulcrum for comfort, accessibility, visibility, joy, and strength—all things Minneapolis deserves after what it’s endured in recent years.
Storytelling is forever. Marketing trends come and go.
The most effective brands, campaigns, services and products are driven by a clear understanding of their “Why?” Think about Apple, Google, etc. Addressing our “why,” even beyond the goal of a championship, will help establish a baseline identity around which all operations, marketing, and outputs can orbit. It provides us with an ethos, a reason for being and caring as much as we do. From there, we build our “how” and “what,” articulated through pathos, values, and the stories we shape in its image.
Storytelling is forever. Marketing trends come and go.
The most effective brands, campaigns, services and products are driven by a clear understanding of their “Why?” Think about Apple, Google, etc. Addressing our “why,” even beyond the goal of a championship, will help establish a baseline identity around which all operations, marketing, and outputs can orbit. It provides us with an ethos, a reason for being and caring as much as we do. From there, we build our “how” and “what,” articulated through pathos, values, and the stories we shape in its image.
Storytelling is forever. Marketing comes and goes.
The most effective brands, campaigns, services and products are driven by a clear understanding of their “Why?” Think about Apple, Google, etc. Addressing our “why,” even beyond the goal of a championship, will help establish a baseline identity around which all operations, marketing, and outputs can orbit. It provides us with an ethos, a reason for being and caring as much as we do. From there, we build our “how” and “what,” articulated through pathos, values, and the stories we shape in its image.
Storytelling increases engagement and loyalty.
Nothing builds brand equity like stories that earn the community’s trust and convert passion and nostalgia into genuine engagement. Who do we do this for, if not the community? The Minnesota Timberwolves have always set a high bar for what it looks like to support and invest in the community, even through the lowest of lows. But if our goal is to “win” together as a community, I believe investment in a Storytelling Director is necessary to build the sustainable trust, empathy, awareness, and engagement we seek with our neighbors. As we continue to build toward the future of the Timberwolves, relatable stories will help foster the trust and authenticity with the community necessary for building long-term customer relationships and brand loyalty. The fans that show up next year will be driven by the stories we tell this year.
Storytelling increases engagement and loyalty.
Nothing builds brand equity like stories that earn the community’s trust and convert passion and nostalgia into genuine engagement. Who do we do this for, if not the community? The Minnesota Timberwolves have always set a high bar for what it looks like to support and invest in the community, even through the lowest of lows. But if our goal is to “win” together as a community, I believe investment in a Storytelling Director is necessary to build the sustainable trust, empathy, awareness, and engagement we seek with our neighbors. As we continue to build toward the future of the Timberwolves, relatable stories will help foster the trust and authenticity with the community necessary for building long-term customer relationships and brand loyalty. The fans that show up next year will be driven by the stories we tell this year.
Storytelling increases engagement and loyalty.
Nothing builds brand equity like stories that earn the community’s trust and convert passion and nostalgia into genuine engagement. Who do we do this for, if not the community? The Minnesota Timberwolves have always set a high bar for what it looks like to support and invest in the community, even through the lowest of lows. But if our goal is to “win” together as a community, I believe investment in a Storytelling Director is necessary to build the sustainable trust, empathy, awareness, and engagement we seek with our neighbors. As we continue to build toward the future of the Timberwolves, relatable stories will help foster the trust and authenticity with the community necessary for building long-term customer relationships and brand loyalty. The fans that show up next year will be driven by the stories we tell this year.
Storytelling helps us stand out.
In an ocean of evolving basketball media that tends to look and sound the same, let’s make ourselves unforgettable. Truly dynamic storytelling helps us cut through the noise and differentiate ourselves based on values, personality, and purpose. I think of storytelling as the ultimate value proposition. Let’s make our storytelling strategy one of the things that makes us different from everyone else; it is something we do uniquely that nobody else can. It takes significant focus, intention, passion and investment.
Storytelling helps us stand out.
In an ocean of evolving basketball media that tends to look and sound the same, let’s make ourselves unforgettable. Truly dynamic storytelling helps us cut through the noise and differentiate ourselves based on values, personality, and purpose. I think of storytelling as the ultimate value proposition. Let’s make our storytelling strategy one of the things that makes us different from everyone else; it is something we do uniquely that nobody else can. It takes significant focus, intention, passion and investment in storytelling.
Storytelling helps us stand out.
In an ocean of evolving basketball media that tends to look and sound the same, let’s make ourselves unforgettable. Truly dynamic storytelling helps us cut through the noise and differentiate ourselves based on values, personality, and purpose. I think of storytelling as the ultimate value proposition. Let’s make our storytelling strategy one of the things that makes us different from everyone else; it is something we do uniquely that nobody else can. It takes significant focus, intention, passion and investment in storytelling.
Storytelling deepens emotional connections.
Stories are more powerful than facts and numbers—they evoke emotion and help brands create a lasting impression. A well-crafted narrative can help a brand stand out in a crowded marketplace. But telling these stories of our community means first valuing the story of each person—recognizing that every member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and every fan that attends a game or watches on TV, is a layered, emotional being with unseen depths worth exploring. When we understand storytelling at this depth, the value we create multiplies. A dedicated Storytelling Director will help the Timberwolves deepen emotional connections around the team and build lasting brand equity.
Storytelling deepens emotional connections.
Stories are more powerful than facts and numbers—they evoke emotion and help brands create a lasting impression. A well-crafted narrative can help a brand stand out in a crowded marketplace. But telling these stories of our community means first valuing the story of each person—recognizing that every member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and every fan that attends a game or watches on TV, is a layered, emotional being with unseen depths worth telling stories about. When we understand storytelling at this depth, the value in the words we create begins to take a new shape. A dedicated Storytelling Director will help the Timberwolves deepen emotional bonds around the team and build a lasting legacy, driving engagement, growth, and fan loyalty.
Storytelling deepens emotional connections.
Stories are more powerful than facts and numbers—they evoke emotion and help brands create a lasting impression. A well-crafted narrative can help a brand stand out in a crowded marketplace. But telling these stories of our community means first valuing the story of each person—recognizing that every member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and every fan that attends a game or watches on TV, is a layered, emotional being with unseen depths worth telling stories about. When we understand storytelling at this depth, the value in the words we create begins to take a new shape. A dedicated Storytelling Director will help the Timberwolves deepen emotional bonds around the team and build a lasting legacy, driving engagement, growth, and fan loyalty.
Storytelling strategy ensures sustainable success.
Did you know Pixar has a 6-part storytelling model? And 22 storytelling rules that their content must follow. These are a part of their Story Structure, the spine of every narrative they produce. Many brands have them, but not enough. These models are a science, a consistent formula and an unchanging recipe through which we develop our stories at any length or medium. They allow diverse stories and fluid opportunities to be told while ensuring all content hits specific beats, accomplishes key business goals, and feels unmistakably on brand. I want to establish this level of granularity for the Minnesota Timberwolves across all channels.
Storytelling strategy ensures sustainable success.
Did you know Pixar has a 6-part storytelling model? And 22 storytelling rules that their content must follow. These are a part of their Story Structure, the spine of every narrative they produce. Many brands have them, but not enough. These models are a science, a consistent formula and an unchanging recipe through which we develop our stories at any length or medium. They allow diverse stories and fluid opportunities to be told while ensuring all content hits specific beats, accomplishes key business goals, and feels unmistakably on brand. I want to establish this level of granularity for the Minnesota Timberwolves across all channels.
Storytelling is the bridge between business and humanity.
Business ought to be humane—the two are not mutually exclusive. Revenue and performance do not have to come at the expense of community impact and earnest connection. The Timberwolves have always done a decent job of acknowledging this, and in this new era, they appear to prioritize this humanistic approach to business development. I’m curious what it looks like to push this further. We need to be radically human and empathic in our approach to storytelling and trust that our business goals will come to pass if we do. How do we capture the real value of this team, their hard work, and the joy they provide to the community? How do we push the community further and make fans and neighbors part of a larger tribe?
Storytelling is the thin line between profit and humanity.
Business ought to be humane—the two are not mutually exclusive. Revenue and performance do not have to come at the expense of community impact and earnest connection. The Timberwolves have always done a decent job of acknowledging this, and in this new era, they appear to prioritize this humanistic approach to business development. I’m curious what it looks like to push this further. We need to be radically human and empathic in our approach to storytelling and trust that our business goals will come to pass if we do. How do we capture the real value of this team, their hard work, and the joy they provide to the community? How do we push the community further and make fans and neighbors part of a larger tribe?
Storytelling is the thin line between profit and humanity.
Business ought to be humane—the two are not mutually exclusive. Revenue and performance do not have to come at the expense of community impact and earnest connection. The Timberwolves have always done a decent job of acknowledging this, and in this new era, they appear to prioritize this humanistic approach to business development. I’m curious what it looks like to push this further. We need to be radically human and empathic in our approach to storytelling and trust that our business goals will come to pass if we do. How do we capture the real value of this team, their hard work, and the joy they provide to the community? How do we push the community further and make fans and neighbors part of a larger tribe?
WHY ME? WHY NOW?
Why me?
Why now?
THE BOY AND THE WOLF:
A BRIEF COMING-OF-AGE STORY
I've watched almost every game this team has played since I moved to Minneapolis in 1999, and I'm elated to be witnessing a new era of sustainable success. The city deserves it. The organization deserves it. And the NBA is better for it.
I'm also a storyteller by trade. And a damn good one. The ideas and instincts named in this pitch exemplify the realities I've helped manifest for over 150 brands over the past decade, including Nike, Jordan Brand, the American Red Cross, Ford Motor Company, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), SPEAK MPLS (Minneapolis Public Access Television), Ace Hotel, Echoing Green, Simon & Schuster, BRIC, Living Cities, and many more. I want to bring my fierce passion, creative instinct, and collaborative spirit as a storyteller to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I am a multifaceted talent who can lead and serve this team's unique storytelling needs. As someone who studies the Timberwolves, consumes its content and follows its many media personalities, podcasters and journalists, I understand the Minnesota Timberwolves—not just as a basketball team but as a business. I've observed the maturation of the Timberwolves as a leader in dynamic social media content, video editing, and the development of a distinct tone. These are great strengths that most NBA teams don't yet have. But I've also identified missed storytelling opportunities, a lack of consistency in quality control (such as interview audio), and an emerging desire to continue evolving the brand as one of the NBA's most audacious and memorable franchises. A deeper investment in storytelling helps us get there. And I'm the right person for the job.
For over 15 years, I've been a copywriter, creative strategist, and multimedia storyteller, helping businesses worldwide elevate their brands and community impact through storytelling. I want to bridge my sharpened expertise with my love for the Timberwolves. With the final news of new ownership under Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and the expected refinement of the Timberwolves organization, I am proposing a new role be introduced in the Timberwolves organization: the Storytelling Director. And I am suggesting that I take on the role.
I live and work in LA (via Chicago, Minneapolis, and Stockholm). My educational background includes a Master of Arts in Writing and Publishing, a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Architectural History (DePaul), and countless creative and business-oriented incubators, accelerators, and cohort programs. I have been an entrepreneur since I was 18, starting a nonprofit for international relief aid in Sub-Saharan Africa for eight years, followed by a boutique branding agency called Gumbo Media, where I built a team of over 40 creatives to help dozens of brands better tell their stories, package their products, and elevate their services and impact globally. When I'm not writing for brands, I'm writing and publishing personal essays to an audience of thousands. After almost two decades of building businesses and executing high-level creative ideas, I'm ready to take the next step in my career.
I'm uniquely positioned to help the Minnesota Timberwolves elevate its storytelling as a Storytelling Director. I possess a rich blend of creative, business, managerial, and people skills that align me well for an inaugural role such as this. As a graphic designer, creative director, and brand strategist, I possess the visual expertise to navigate robust storytelling ideas from concept and development to visual execution. I am adept at stewarding creative collaborations with creative and operational teams to advance business goals and storytelling impact.
I would love to be part of the Timberwolves family.
I've watched almost every game this team has played since I moved to Minneapolis in 1999, and I'm elated to be witnessing a new era of sustainable success. The city deserves it. The organization deserves it. And the NBA is better for it.
I'm also a storyteller by trade. And a damn good one. The ideas and instincts named in this pitch exemplify the realities I've helped manifest for over 150 brands over the past decade, including Nike, Jordan Brand, the American Red Cross, Ford Motor Company, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), SPEAK MPLS (Minneapolis Public Access Television), Ace Hotel, Echoing Green, Simon & Schuster, BRIC, Living Cities, and many more. I want to bring my fierce passion, creative instinct, and collaborative spirit as a storyteller to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I am a multifaceted talent who can lead and serve this team's unique storytelling needs. As someone who studies the Timberwolves, consumes its content and follows its many media personalities, podcasters and journalists, I understand the Minnesota Timberwolves—not just as a basketball team but as a business. I've observed the maturation of the Timberwolves as a leader in dynamic social media content, video editing, and the development of a distinct tone. These are great strengths that most NBA teams don't yet have. But I've also identified missed storytelling opportunities, a lack of consistency in quality control (such as interview audio), and an emerging desire to continue evolving the brand as one of the NBA's most audacious and memorable franchises. A deeper investment in storytelling helps us get there. And I'm the right person for the job.
For over 15 years, I've been a copywriter, creative strategist, and multimedia storyteller, helping businesses worldwide elevate their brands and community impact through storytelling. I want to bridge my sharpened expertise with my love for the Timberwolves. With the final news of new ownership under Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and the expected refinement of the Timberwolves organization, I am proposing a new role be introduced in the Timberwolves organization: the Storytelling Director. And I am suggesting that I take on the role.
I live and work in LA (via Chicago, Minneapolis, and Stockholm). My educational background includes a Master of Arts in Writing and Publishing, a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Architectural History (DePaul), and countless creative and business-oriented incubators, accelerators, and cohort programs. I have been an entrepreneur since I was 18, starting a nonprofit for international relief aid in Sub-Saharan Africa for eight years, followed by a boutique branding agency called Gumbo Media, where I built a team of over 40 creatives to help dozens of brands better tell their stories, package their products, and elevate their services and impact globally. When I'm not writing for brands, I'm writing and publishing personal essays to an audience of thousands. After almost two decades of building businesses and executing high-level creative ideas, I'm ready to take the next step in my career.
I'm uniquely positioned to help the Minnesota Timberwolves elevate its storytelling as a Storytelling Director. I possess a rich blend of creative, business, managerial, and people skills that align me well for an inaugural role such as this. As a graphic designer, creative director, and brand strategist, I possess the visual expertise to navigate robust storytelling ideas from concept and development to visual execution. I am adept at stewarding creative collaborations with creative and operational teams to advance business goals and storytelling impact.
I would love to be part of the Timberwolves family.
I’ve watched almost every game this team has played since I moved to Minneapolis in 1999, and I’m elated to be witnessing a new era of sustainable success. The city deserves it. The organization deserves it. And the NBA is better for it.
I’m also a storyteller by trade. And a damn good one. The ideas and instincts I’ve named above are realities I’ve helped make possible to for over 150 brands over the past decade, including Nike, Jordan Brand, the American Red Cross, Ford Motor Company, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), SPEAK MPLS (Minneapolis Public Access Television), Ace Hotel, Echoing Green, Simon & Schuster, BRIC, Living Cities, and many more. Now, I’d like to bring my fierce passion, creative instinct, and collaborative spirit as a storyteller to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I am a multifaceted talent who can lead and serve this team’s unique storytelling needs. As someone who studies this team, consumes its content and follows all its media personalities, podcasters and journalists, I understand the Minnesota Timberwolves—not just as a basketball team but as a business. Outside of the court, I’ve also observed the incredible maturation of the Timberwolves as a leader in dynamic social media content, video editing, and the development of a distinct tone. These are great strengths that most NBA teams don’t yet have. But I’ve also identified missed storytelling opportunities, a lack of consistency in quality control (such as interview audio), and a desire to continue evolving the brand as one of the NBA’s most audacious and memorable. I firmly believe that a deeper investment in storytelling helps us get there. And I know I’m the right person to make that happen.
For over 15 years, I’ve been a copywriter, creative strategist, and multimedia storyteller, helping businesses worldwide elevate their brands and community impact through storytelling. I’d like to bridge my sharpened expertise with my love for the Timberwolves and Minneapolis roots. With the final news of new ownership under Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and the expected refinement of the Timberwolves organization, I am proposing a new role be introduced in the Timberwolves organization: the Storytelling Director. And I am suggesting that I take on the role.
I live and work in LA (via Chicago, Minneapolis, and Stockholm). My educational background includes a Master of Arts in Writing and Publishing, a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Architectural History (DePaul), and countless creative and business-oriented incubators, accelerators, and cohort programs. I have been an entrepreneur since I was 18, starting a nonprofit for international relief aid in Sub-Saharan Africa for eight years, followed by a boutique branding agency called Gumbo Media, where I built a team of over 40 creatives to help dozens of brands better tell their stories, package their products, and elevate their services and impact on global communities. When I’m not writing for brands, I’m writing and publishing personal essays to an audience of thousands. After almost two decades of building businesses and executing high-level creative ideas, I’m ready to take the next step in my career.
With eclectic experience as a storyteller, creative director, and business owner, I’m uniquely positioned to help the Minnesota Timberwolves elevate its storytelling as the brand’s Storytelling Director. I possess a rich blend of creative, business, managerial, and people skills that align me well for an inaugural role such as this. As a graphic designer, creative director, and brand strategist, I possess the visual expertise and creative savvy to navigate robust storytelling ideas from concept and development to visual execution. I am adept at navigating creative collaborations with diverse creative and operational skill sets to advance business goals and storytelling impact.
If you’ll entertain it, this role would be a dream come true. I’ve prepared my whole life for this moment. I feel the stars aligning. All I am asking is for an open door—an opportunity to speak further with you about my ideas for storytelling growth at the Minnesota Timberwolves. I trust the rest will take care of itself.
THE BOY AND THE WOLF:
A BRIEF COMING-OF-AGE STORY
THE BOY AND THE WOLF:
A BRIEF COMING-OF-AGE STORY
1990
0 years old
One autumn day in Stockholm, amongst the sways of birch trees and flows of the archipelago, a boy is born, the first of his parents. His pops is a rolling stone, a Black soul singer from the American South. He once dated Chaka Khan, partied with Isaac Hayes, and opened up for James Brown at the Apollo. His Mama is a white woman from Chicago, a daughter of the church. But she chose a different path, globetrotting the world as a flight attendant, inheriting half a dozen languages and cultures.
Even as a toddler, the boy falls into the melting pot. Tracksuits from the era of B-boys and B-girls. American jazz and Swedish Hip-Hop. A basketball in hand in the land of hockey and football. The world is a part of the boy. And the boy is a part of the world. He just doesn't know it yet.
1990
0 years old
One autumn day in Stockholm, amongst the sways of birch trees and flows of the archipelago, a boy is born, the first of his parents. His pops is a rolling stone, a Black soul singer from the American South. He once dated Chaka Khan, partied with Isaac Hayes, and opened up for James Brown at the Apollo. His Mama is a white woman from Chicago, a daughter of the church. But she chose a different path, globetrotting the world as a flight attendant, inheriting half a dozen languages and cultures.
Even as a toddler, the boy falls into the melting pot. Tracksuits from the era of B-boys and B-girls. American jazz and Swedish Hip-Hop. A basketball in hand in the land of hockey and football. The world is a part of the boy. And the boy is a part of the world. He just doesn't know it yet.
1990
0 years old
One autumn day in Stockholm, amongst the sways of birch trees and flows of the archipelago, a boy is born, the first of his parents. His pops is a rolling stone, a Black soul singer from the American South. He once dated Chaka Khan, partied with Isaac Hayes, and opened up for James Brown at the Apollo. His Mama is a white woman from Chicago, a daughter of the church. But she chose a different path, globetrotting the world as a flight attendant, inheriting half a dozen languages and cultures.
Even as a toddler, the boy falls into the melting pot. Tracksuits from the era of B-boys and B-girls. American jazz and Swedish Hip-Hop. A basketball in hand in the land of hockey and football. The world is a part of the boy. And the boy is a part of the world. He just doesn't know it yet.
1990
0 years old
One autumn day in Stockholm, amongst the sways of birch trees and flows of the archipelago, a boy is born, the first of his parents. His pops is a rolling stone, a Black soul singer from the American South. He once dated Chaka Khan, partied with Isaac Hayes, and opened up for James Brown at the Apollo. His Mama is a white woman from Chicago, a daughter of the church. But she chose a different path, globetrotting the world as a flight attendant, inheriting half a dozen languages and cultures.
Even as a toddler, the boy falls into the melting pot. Tracksuits from the era of B-boys and B-girls. American jazz and Swedish Hip-Hop. A basketball in hand in the land of hockey and football. The world is a part of the boy. And the boy is a part of the world. He just doesn't know it yet.
1999
8 years old
The boy is awakened at 3 am, tears washing away the crust in his eyes. His family is moving to a place called America. Their 20+ bags barely fit in the taxi. The boy and his two younger sisters are hurt, stripped of friends and language, now an ocean away. He feels like a boy with no flag. He speaks no English and sees no familiar faces. He feels alone, hides in himself.
The Minneapolis streets offer little comfort. He finds ways to entertain himself. He tries catching the feathery droppings of the cottonwood tree in the backyard when he hears it—the sport his father always praised, blasting from the television inside. On Channel 45, somewhere between the salt and pepper static of empty channels, he's hypnotized by the rhythms of basketballs and sneakers against wooden floorboards. Poetry. A tall man takes flight, soars high above the rim and dunks it. "Behind the back to Kevin Garnett!! Tell me that wasn't a thing of beauty!" Beautiful it was.
1999
8 years old
The boy is awakened at 3 am, tears washing away the crust in his eyes. His family is moving to a place called America. Their 20+ bags barely fit in the taxi. The boy and his two younger sisters are hurt, stripped of friends and language, now an ocean away. He feels like a boy with no flag. He speaks no English and sees no familiar faces. He feels alone, hides in himself.
The Minneapolis streets offer little comfort. He finds ways to entertain himself. He tries catching the feathery droppings of the cottonwood tree in the backyard when he hears it—the sport his father always praised, blasting from the television inside. On Channel 45, somewhere between the salt and pepper static of empty channels, he's hypnotized by the rhythms of basketballs and sneakers against wooden floorboards. Poetry. A tall man takes flight, soars high above the rim and dunks it. "Behind the back to Kevin Garnett!! Tell me that wasn't a thing of beauty!" Beautiful it was.
1999
8 years old
The boy is awakened at 3 am, tears washing away the crust in his eyes. His family is moving to a place called America. Their 20+ bags barely fit in the taxi. The boy and his two younger sisters are hurt, stripped of friends and language, now an ocean away. He feels like a boy with no flag. He speaks no English and sees no familiar faces. He feels alone, hides in himself.
The Minneapolis streets offer little comfort. He finds ways to entertain himself. He tries catching the feathery droppings of the cottonwood tree in the backyard when he hears it—the sport his father always praised, blasting from the television inside. On Channel 45, somewhere between the salt and pepper static of empty channels, he's hypnotized by the rhythms of basketballs and sneakers against wooden floorboards. Poetry. A tall man takes flight, soars high above the rim and dunks it. "Behind the back to Kevin Garnett!! Tell me that wasn't a thing of beauty!" Beautiful it was.
1999
8 years old
The boy is awakened at 3 am, tears washing away the crust in his eyes. His family is moving to a place called America. Their 20+ bags barely fit in the taxi. The boy and his two younger sisters are hurt, stripped of friends and language, now an ocean away. He feels like a boy with no flag. He speaks no English and sees no familiar faces. He feels alone, hides in himself.
The Minneapolis streets offer little comfort. He finds ways to entertain himself. He tries catching the feathery droppings of the cottonwood tree in the backyard when he hears it—the sport his father always praised, blasting from the television inside. On Channel 45, somewhere between the salt and pepper static of empty channels, he's hypnotized by the rhythms of basketballs and sneakers against wooden floorboards. Poetry. A tall man takes flight, soars high above the rim and dunks it. "Behind the back to Kevin Garnett!! Tell me that wasn't a thing of beauty!" Beautiful it was.
2000
9 years old
The boy, like basketball, is finding a rhythm. When a classmate compliments his Star Wars basketball shoes, he finally earns a new friend. He builds a small tribe, four boys connected by a love of sport and laughter. By 4th grade, the boy is fluent in English. His world grows, the days get easier. He asks his mom if he can join the local basketball teams. Someday, he wants to play in the NBA.
One morning, after a basketball sleepover, the boy wakes up to see Malik Sealy on the front page of the local papers. #2 on the Timberwolves. He died in a car crash. The boy cries when he sees Kevin Garnett cry; he doesn't understand how someone can be here one moment and gone the next. It is the boy's first experience with grief and loss.
2000
9 years old
The boy, like basketball, is finding a rhythm. When a classmate compliments his Star Wars basketball shoes, he finally earns a new friend. He builds a small tribe, four boys connected by a love of sport and laughter. By 4th grade, the boy is fluent in English. His world grows, the days get easier. He asks his mom if he can join the local basketball teams. Someday, he wants to play in the NBA.
One morning, after a basketball sleepover, the boy wakes up to see Malik Sealy on the front page of the local papers. #2 on the Timberwolves. He died in a car crash. The boy cries when he sees Kevin Garnett cry; he doesn't understand how someone can be here one moment and gone the next. It is the boy's first experience with grief and loss.
2000
9 years old
The boy, like basketball, is finding a rhythm. When a classmate compliments his Star Wars basketball shoes, he finally earns a new friend. He builds a small tribe, four boys connected by a love of sport and laughter. By 4th grade, the boy is fluent in English. His world grows, the days get easier. He asks his mom if he can join the local basketball teams. Someday, he wants to play in the NBA.
One morning, after a basketball sleepover, the boy wakes up to see Malik Sealy on the front page of the local papers. #2 on the Timberwolves. He died in a car crash. The boy cries when he sees Kevin Garnett cry; he doesn't understand how someone can be here one moment and gone the next. It is the boy's first experience with grief and loss.
2000
9 years old
The boy, like basketball, is finding a rhythm. When a classmate compliments his Star Wars basketball shoes, he finally earns a new friend. He builds a small tribe, four boys connected by a love of sport and laughter. By 4th grade, the boy is fluent in English. His world grows, the days get easier. He asks his mom if he can join the local basketball teams. Someday, he wants to play in the NBA.
One morning, after a basketball sleepover, the boy wakes up to see Malik Sealy on the front page of the local papers. #2 on the Timberwolves. He died in a car crash. The boy cries when he sees Kevin Garnett cry; he doesn't understand how someone can be here one moment and gone the next. It is the boy's first experience with grief and loss.
2003-04
13 years old
The boy is becoming a teenager now. He's awkward and lanky, like his father. He's told the braces in his mouth will finally fix his Bugs Bunny teeth. He only wears And-1 gear and Timberwolves merch. Ball has become his life. He plays in all the leagues his Mama can afford, early bird tournaments in faraway suburbs. He wins the "Sweet Shot" award for the way he's perfected the short corner.
That year, the "three-headed monster" was born. After years of watching the Timberwolves struggle, the boy's favorite player, Latrell Sprewell (his Pops is a Knicks fan), joins forces with Sam Cassell and Kevin Garnett in Minnesota and goes on to compete in the Western Conference Finals for the first time. The boy jumps up and down in his cramped living room, screaming, just inches from the TV, as the Wolves vanquish the Sacramento Kings and go on to face the Lakers—a basketball baptism.
2003-04
13 years old
The boy is becoming a teenager now. He's awkward and lanky, like his father. He's told the braces in his mouth will finally fix his Bugs Bunny teeth. He only wears And-1 gear and Timberwolves merch. Ball has become his life. He plays in all the leagues his Mama can afford, early bird tournaments in faraway suburbs. He wins the "Sweet Shot" award for the way he's perfected the short corner.
That year, the "three-headed monster" was born. After years of watching the Timberwolves struggle, the boy's favorite player, Latrell Sprewell (his Pops is a Knicks fan), joins forces with Sam Cassell and Kevin Garnett in Minnesota and goes on to compete in the Western Conference Finals for the first time. The boy jumps up and down in his cramped living room, screaming, just inches from the TV, as the Wolves vanquish the Sacramento Kings and go on to face the Lakers—a basketball baptism.
2003-04
13 years old
The boy is becoming a teenager now. He's awkward and lanky, like his father. He's told the braces in his mouth will finally fix his Bugs Bunny teeth. He only wears And-1 gear and Timberwolves merch. Ball has become his life. He plays in all the leagues his Mama can afford, early bird tournaments in faraway suburbs. He wins the "Sweet Shot" award for the way he's perfected the short corner.
That year, the "three-headed monster" was born. After years of watching the Timberwolves struggle, the boy's favorite player, Latrell Sprewell (his Pops is a Knicks fan), joins forces with Sam Cassell and Kevin Garnett in Minnesota and goes on to compete in the Western Conference Finals for the first time. The boy jumps up and down in his cramped living room, screaming, just inches from the TV, as the Wolves vanquish the Sacramento Kings and go on to face the Lakers—a basketball baptism.
2003-04
13 years old
The boy is becoming a teenager now. He's awkward and lanky, like his father. He's told the braces in his mouth will finally fix his Bugs Bunny teeth. He only wears And-1 gear and Timberwolves merch. Ball has become his life. He plays in all the leagues his Mama can afford, early bird tournaments in faraway suburbs. He wins the "Sweet Shot" award for the way he's perfected the short corner.
That year, the "three-headed monster" was born. After years of watching the Timberwolves struggle, the boy's favorite player, Latrell Sprewell (his Pops is a Knicks fan), joins forces with Sam Cassell and Kevin Garnett in Minnesota and goes on to compete in the Western Conference Finals for the first time. The boy jumps up and down in his cramped living room, screaming, just inches from the TV, as the Wolves vanquish the Sacramento Kings and go on to face the Lakers—a basketball baptism.
2006
16 years old
The boy is a bit older now. His parents flounder, his family struggles. Life is more complicated than it used to be. Every conversation is about money. Nobody seems happy. For days at a time, the lights go out. And then the heat. The boy bathes by bucket while Mama washes his clothes on the stove. He grows anxious, feels the need to protect his sisters from the stresses of home. He starts working to support his family, making sandwiches and mopping floors. His grades begin to sputter.
The boy grows distant from his pops until he learns his father may die of bladder cancer. The boy is so scared he is paralyzed, but he tells no one. He holds it all in and keeps working to support his mother; he's told that's what men do. But the boy's world is shrinking. He no longer feels like himself. Basketball is his only remaining outlet. An asylum from the fears and traumas of home. He retreats to the park often, ball in hand, and pretends he is somewhere else.
2006
16 years old
The boy is a bit older now. His parents flounder, his family struggles. Life is more complicated than it used to be. Every conversation is about money. Nobody seems happy. For days at a time, the lights go out. And then the heat. The boy bathes by bucket while Mama washes his clothes on the stove. He grows anxious, feels the need to protect his sisters from the stresses of home. He starts working to support his family, making sandwiches and mopping floors. His grades begin to sputter.
The boy grows distant from his pops until he learns his father may die of bladder cancer. The boy is so scared he is paralyzed, but he tells no one. He holds it all in and keeps working to support his mother; he's told that's what men do. But the boy's world is shrinking. He no longer feels like himself. Basketball is his only remaining outlet. An asylum from the fears and traumas of home. He retreats to the park often, ball in hand, and pretends he is somewhere else.
2006
16 years old
The boy is a bit older now. His parents flounder, his family struggles. Life is more complicated than it used to be. Every conversation is about money. Nobody seems happy. For days at a time, the lights go out. And then the heat. The boy bathes by bucket while Mama washes his clothes on the stove. He grows anxious, feels the need to protect his sisters from the stresses of home. He starts working to support his family, making sandwiches and mopping floors. His grades begin to sputter.
The boy grows distant from his pops until he learns his father may die of bladder cancer. The boy is so scared he is paralyzed, but he tells no one. He holds it all in and keeps working to support his mother; he's told that's what men do. But the boy's world is shrinking. He no longer feels like himself. Basketball is his only remaining outlet. An asylum from the fears and traumas of home. He retreats to the park often, ball in hand, and pretends he is somewhere else.
2006
16 years old
The boy is a bit older now. His parents flounder, his family struggles. Life is more complicated than it used to be. Every conversation is about money. Nobody seems happy. For days at a time, the lights go out. And then the heat. The boy bathes by bucket while Mama washes his clothes on the stove. He grows anxious, feels the need to protect his sisters from the stresses of home. He starts working to support his family, making sandwiches and mopping floors. His grades begin to sputter.
The boy grows distant from his pops until he learns his father may die of bladder cancer. The boy is so scared he is paralyzed, but he tells no one. He holds it all in and keeps working to support his mother; he's told that's what men do. But the boy's world is shrinking. He no longer feels like himself. Basketball is his only remaining outlet. An asylum from the fears and traumas of home. He retreats to the park often, ball in hand, and pretends he is somewhere else.
2009
18 years old
The boy is growing up. He's faced some tests. He's been humbled. Not as happy or sunshiny as he once was. He's reckoning with mental health and generational curses. And learning the value of hard work. He's tired but unrelenting. He doesn't have the privilege of slowing down. But he refuses to let the world diminish his spirit.
His basketball ambitions gone, the boy begins a new adventure at college in Chicago, where he begins his quest for architecture. Along the way, he begins to write and tell stories. When frustrations mount, he lets his anger and hurt flow onto the page, where it is transformed into patience and self-understanding. The boy's Swedish accent is a distant memory now; English is his dominant language. It sparks in him a deep curiosity and reverence. He becomes obsessed with contorting language to tell stories and muses as humble collections of words take new forms and shape new worlds. Words have the boy, like basketball before it. Poetry.
2009
18 years old
The boy is growing up. He's faced some tests. He's been humbled. Not as happy or sunshiny as he once was. He's reckoning with mental health and generational curses. And learning the value of hard work. He's tired but unrelenting. He doesn't have the privilege of slowing down. But he refuses to let the world diminish his spirit.
His basketball ambitions gone, the boy begins a new adventure at college in Chicago, where he begins his quest for architecture. Along the way, he begins to write and tell stories. When frustrations mount, he lets his anger and hurt flow onto the page, where it is transformed into patience and self-understanding. The boy's Swedish accent is a distant memory now; English is his dominant language. It sparks in him a deep curiosity and reverence. He becomes obsessed with contorting language to tell stories and muses as humble collections of words take new forms and shape new worlds. Words have the boy, like basketball before it. Poetry.
2009
18 years old
The boy is growing up. He's faced some tests. He's been humbled. Not as happy or sunshiny as he once was. He's reckoning with mental health and generational curses. And learning the value of hard work. He's tired but unrelenting. He doesn't have the privilege of slowing down. But he refuses to let the world diminish his spirit.
His basketball ambitions gone, the boy begins a new adventure at college in Chicago, where he begins his quest for architecture. Along the way, he begins to write and tell stories. When frustrations mount, he lets his anger and hurt flow onto the page, where it is transformed into patience and self-understanding. The boy's Swedish accent is a distant memory now; English is his dominant language. It sparks in him a deep curiosity and reverence. He becomes obsessed with contorting language to tell stories and muses as humble collections of words take new forms and shape new worlds. Words have the boy, like basketball before it. Poetry.
2009
18 years old
The boy is growing up. He's faced some tests. He's been humbled. Not as happy or sunshiny as he once was. He's reckoning with mental health and generational curses. And learning the value of hard work. He's tired but unrelenting. He doesn't have the privilege of slowing down. But he refuses to let the world diminish his spirit.
His basketball ambitions gone, the boy begins a new adventure at college in Chicago, where he begins his quest for architecture. Along the way, he begins to write and tell stories. When frustrations mount, he lets his anger and hurt flow onto the page, where it is transformed into patience and self-understanding. The boy's Swedish accent is a distant memory now; English is his dominant language. It sparks in him a deep curiosity and reverence. He becomes obsessed with contorting language to tell stories and muses as humble collections of words take new forms and shape new worlds. Words have the boy, like basketball before it. Poetry.
2013
22 years old
The boy graduates college. He returns home to Minneapolis, where he pursues architecture. But as he adjusts window sizes on architectural blueprints, he realizes he's been too literal. His passion is not buildings; it's the power of creation and innovation. It's bringing communities and bold ideas to life. The boy becomes a consultant and begins telling stories for a living. He uses language and design to strengthen brands. The result is increased empathy and deepened humanity. He takes on interesting jobs, learns from fearless leaders and gets the opportunity to travel and work with some of the largest nonprofits in the world.
Meanwhile, his orbit realigns with his high-school crush. Five years after high school, they embark on a new adventure together. They help each other grow, learn, travel, quell their fears, and become the best versions of themselves. The boy's life has more purpose now and more consequences. He doesn't have much time for hooping. But the itch never leaves. He sneaks in a pickup game at the local gym when he can. He knows the game will be there for him when he needs it, his oldest childhood friend.
2013
22 years old
The boy graduates college. He returns home to Minneapolis, where he pursues architecture. But as he adjusts window sizes on architectural blueprints, he realizes he's been too literal. His passion is not buildings; it's the power of creation and innovation. It's bringing communities and bold ideas to life. The boy becomes a consultant and begins telling stories for a living. He uses language and design to strengthen brands. The result is increased empathy and deepened humanity. He takes on interesting jobs, learns from fearless leaders and gets the opportunity to travel and work with some of the largest nonprofits in the world.
Meanwhile, his orbit realigns with his high-school crush. Five years after high school, they embark on a new adventure together. They help each other grow, learn, travel, quell their fears, and become the best versions of themselves. The boy's life has more purpose now and more consequences. He doesn't have much time for hooping. But the itch never leaves. He sneaks in a pickup game at the local gym when he can. He knows the game will be there for him when he needs it, his oldest childhood friend.
2013
22 years old
The boy graduates college. He returns home to Minneapolis, where he pursues architecture. But as he adjusts window sizes on architectural blueprints, he realizes he's been too literal. His passion is not buildings; it's the power of creation and innovation. It's bringing communities and bold ideas to life. The boy becomes a consultant and begins telling stories for a living. He uses language and design to strengthen brands. The result is increased empathy and deepened humanity. He takes on interesting jobs, learns from fearless leaders and gets the opportunity to travel and work with some of the largest nonprofits in the world.
Meanwhile, his orbit realigns with his high-school crush. Five years after high school, they embark on a new adventure together. They help each other grow, learn, travel, quell their fears, and become the best versions of themselves. The boy's life has more purpose now and more consequences. He doesn't have much time for hooping. But the itch never leaves. He sneaks in a pickup game at the local gym when he can. He knows the game will be there for him when he needs it, his oldest childhood friend.
2013
22 years old
The boy graduates college. He returns home to Minneapolis, where he pursues architecture. But as he adjusts window sizes on architectural blueprints, he realizes he's been too literal. His passion is not buildings; it's the power of creation and innovation. It's bringing communities and bold ideas to life. The boy becomes a consultant and begins telling stories for a living. He uses language and design to strengthen brands. The result is increased empathy and deepened humanity. He takes on interesting jobs, learns from fearless leaders and gets the opportunity to travel and work with some of the largest nonprofits in the world.
Meanwhile, his orbit realigns with his high-school crush. Five years after high school, they embark on a new adventure together. They help each other grow, learn, travel, quell their fears, and become the best versions of themselves. The boy's life has more purpose now and more consequences. He doesn't have much time for hooping. But the itch never leaves. He sneaks in a pickup game at the local gym when he can. He knows the game will be there for him when he needs it, his oldest childhood friend.
2018
28 years old
The boy's identity has become "writer" and "storyteller." He wants to be the best at what he does. He seeks knowledge everywhere and wants to learn from everyone. He returns to school and graduates with a master's degree in writing and publishing. He launches his brand agency, Gumbo Media. He begins curating talent, bringing together dynamic creative teams nationwide to tell stories that serve community and shape more audacious futures. Words have become his choice of weapon. Every day, he sharpens his tools.
The boy has lost a lot. Several of his friends and family are now gone. But he's gained the world, too. His girlfriend is now his fiancé. They move to Chicago and build a small universe centering community and stories. They are entrepreneurs and community builders, filling gaps for their people everywhere: run clubs, creative workshops, happy hours, social clubs, professional panels, and print publications. They build it all. And when the weight becomes too heavy to hold, when the stress of leadership reaches its boiling point, he takes an evening off, reclines on his sofa, and watches his beloved Timberwolves.
2018
28 years old
The boy's identity has become "writer" and "storyteller." He wants to be the best at what he does. He seeks knowledge everywhere and wants to learn from everyone. He returns to school and graduates with a master's degree in writing and publishing. He launches his brand agency, Gumbo Media. He begins curating talent, bringing together dynamic creative teams nationwide to tell stories that serve community and shape more audacious futures. Words have become his choice of weapon. Every day, he sharpens his tools.
The boy has lost a lot. Several of his friends and family are now gone. But he's gained the world, too. His girlfriend is now his fiancé. They move to Chicago and build a small universe centering community and stories. They are entrepreneurs and community builders, filling gaps for their people everywhere: run clubs, creative workshops, happy hours, social clubs, professional panels, and print publications. They build it all. And when the weight becomes too heavy to hold, when the stress of leadership reaches its boiling point, he takes an evening off, reclines on his sofa, and watches his beloved Timberwolves.
2018
28 years old
The boy's identity has become "writer" and "storyteller." He wants to be the best at what he does. He seeks knowledge everywhere and wants to learn from everyone. He returns to school and graduates with a master's degree in writing and publishing. He launches his brand agency, Gumbo Media. He begins curating talent, bringing together dynamic creative teams nationwide to tell stories that serve community and shape more audacious futures. Words have become his choice of weapon. Every day, he sharpens his tools.
The boy has lost a lot. Several of his friends and family are now gone. But he's gained the world, too. His girlfriend is now his fiancé. They move to Chicago and build a small universe centering community and stories. They are entrepreneurs and community builders, filling gaps for their people everywhere: run clubs, creative workshops, happy hours, social clubs, professional panels, and print publications. They build it all. And when the weight becomes too heavy to hold, when the stress of leadership reaches its boiling point, he takes an evening off, reclines on his sofa, and watches his beloved Timberwolves.
2018
28 years old
The boy's identity has become "writer" and "storyteller." He wants to be the best at what he does. He seeks knowledge everywhere and wants to learn from everyone. He returns to school and graduates with a master's degree in writing and publishing. He launches his brand agency, Gumbo Media. He begins curating talent, bringing together dynamic creative teams nationwide to tell stories that serve community and shape more audacious futures. Words have become his choice of weapon. Every day, he sharpens his tools.
The boy has lost a lot. Several of his friends and family are now gone. But he's gained the world, too. His girlfriend is now his fiancé. They move to Chicago and build a small universe centering community and stories. They are entrepreneurs and community builders, filling gaps for their people everywhere: run clubs, creative workshops, happy hours, social clubs, professional panels, and print publications. They build it all. And when the weight becomes too heavy to hold, when the stress of leadership reaches its boiling point, he takes an evening off, reclines on his sofa, and watches his beloved Timberwolves.
2020
30 years old
The boy is becoming a storytelling master. He's exploring the outer reaches of storytelling innovation—multimedia projects that contort the boundaries of narrative content. And when a pandemic threatens everything, he doubles down. He trusts that stories will never be obsolete. His agency grows. He runs a team of 40 dynamic creatives from all over the country. He publishes 200 artists and helps build the scaffolding for over 150 brands. His team contributes $1.5M to the creative economy through payments to independent contractors.
2020
30 years old
The boy is becoming a storytelling master. He's exploring the outer reaches of storytelling innovation—multimedia projects that contort the boundaries of narrative content. And when a pandemic threatens everything, he doubles down. He trusts that stories will never be obsolete. His agency grows. He runs a team of 40 dynamic creatives from all over the country. He publishes 200 artists and helps build the scaffolding for over 150 brands. His team contributes $1.5M to the creative economy through payments to independent contractors.
2020
30 years old
The boy is becoming a storytelling master. He's exploring the outer reaches of storytelling innovation—multimedia projects that contort the boundaries of narrative content. And when a pandemic threatens everything, he doubles down. He trusts that stories will never be obsolete. His agency grows. He runs a team of 40 dynamic creatives from all over the country. He publishes 200 artists and helps build the scaffolding for over 150 brands. His team contributes $1.5M to the creative economy through payments to independent contractors.
2020
30 years old
The boy is becoming a storytelling master. He's exploring the outer reaches of storytelling innovation—multimedia projects that contort the boundaries of narrative content. And when a pandemic threatens everything, he doubles down. He trusts that stories will never be obsolete. His agency grows. He runs a team of 40 dynamic creatives from all over the country. He publishes 200 artists and helps build the scaffolding for over 150 brands. His team contributes $1.5M to the creative economy through payments to independent contractors.
Meanwhile, a new era emerges for the Timberwolves. They drafted a young kid from Atlanta named Anthony Edwards. The boy loves his raw energy. And that he dresses as himself for the draft. That he honors his late mother and grandmother with portraits behind him. That he's fearless, has been through something already. "I think the tides are finally turning, boys," he texts his homies in the Wolves group thread.
2024
33 years old
The boy's world has never felt brighter. The Timberwolves continue to be his mirror. They rise as he rises, coming off the first Western Conference Finals appearance in 20 years. The boy and his wife live in Los Angeles now, soaking up the sun and hating on the Lakers. He's writing more than ever; his books and long-form ideas are finally taking shape. And yet, his story is just beginning.
The boy cries with joy when his wife tells him she is pregnant with their first child, a baby girl. When his daughter is born, it is as if all the anger and fear and pain he ever harbored melts away. Life is perfect. It is patient, quiet, and resoundingly joyful. When the boy first takes his daughter home, he holds her, asleep on his chest, as he watches his Timberwolves beat Denver. He needs nothing else.
2024
33 years old
The boy's world has never felt brighter. The Timberwolves continue to be his mirror. They rise as he rises, coming off the first Western Conference Finals appearance in 20 years. The boy and his wife live in Los Angeles now, soaking up the sun and hating on the Lakers. He's writing more than ever; his books and long-form ideas are finally taking shape. And yet, his story is just beginning.
The boy cries with joy when his wife tells him she is pregnant with their first child, a baby girl. When his daughter is born, it is as if all the anger and fear and pain he ever harbored melts away. Life is perfect. It is patient, quiet, and resoundingly joyful. When the boy first takes his daughter home, he holds her, asleep on his chest, as he watches his Timberwolves beat Denver. He needs nothing else.
2024
33 years old
The boy's world has never felt brighter. The Timberwolves continue to be his mirror. They rise as he rises, coming off the first Western Conference Finals appearance in 20 years. The boy and his wife live in Los Angeles now, soaking up the sun and hating on the Lakers. He's writing more than ever; his books and long-form ideas are finally taking shape. And yet, his story is just beginning.
The boy cries with joy when his wife tells him she is pregnant with their first child, a baby girl. When his daughter is born, it is as if all the anger and fear and pain he ever harbored melts away. Life is perfect. It is patient, quiet, and resoundingly joyful. When the boy first takes his daughter home, he holds her, asleep on his chest, as he watches his Timberwolves beat Denver. He needs nothing else.
2024
33 years old
The boy's world has never felt brighter. The Timberwolves continue to be his mirror. They rise as he rises, coming off the first Western Conference Finals appearance in 20 years. The boy and his wife live in Los Angeles now, soaking up the sun and hating on the Lakers. He's writing more than ever; his books and long-form ideas are finally taking shape. And yet, his story is just beginning.
The boy cries with joy when his wife tells him she is pregnant with their first child, a baby girl. When his daughter is born, it is as if all the anger and fear and pain he ever harbored melts away. Life is perfect. It is patient, quiet, and resoundingly joyful. When the boy first takes his daughter home, he holds her, asleep on his chest, as he watches his Timberwolves beat Denver. He needs nothing else.
2025
34 years old
The boy thanks the heavens every day for his beautiful life. And then the unimaginable happens. His perfect daughter gets sick. Nobody can solve her mystery, and after six long weeks in a hospital room made cozy with plants and string lights, she dies. The boy's life is upended. He and his wife spiral, and every wound they ever healed reopens. He is angry that the world keeps going around them. He feels cosmically betrayed, struggles to balance his grief with work and familial obligation. Telling stories, speaking to the world about his daughter, and to his daughter directly in death helps heal him. He begins to write his way through pain, trusting that the patient soul, who does not fear the long passage through grief, will find a new purpose on the other side.
The boy realizes that the Timberwolves have been central to it all. In his daughter's first days of life, they watch the Timberwolves. In her final days in hospice, they watch the Timberwolves. When he and his wife return home from the hospital after losing their daughter, he's greeted by a pair of Timberwolves-branded slippers that read #1 DAD across the front, a gift from his buddy. The Timberwolves helped him gain friends, learn the English language, stabilize the hard times, and heal when he thought no healing was possible.
The boy promises himself, his wife, and his late daughter that he will seek beauty with unmatched fervor and audacity. He is no longer waiting for the life he deserves. He's building it where he stands, with whatever resources he has and whatever community wants to join him. He's creating a new world where stories drive connection and steward purposeful living. His first step? To finally present that pitch he's been sitting on for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The boy is already a part of their world; they just don't know it yet.
2025
34 years old
The boy thanks the heavens every day for his beautiful life. And then the unimaginable happens. His perfect daughter gets sick. Nobody can solve her mystery, and after six long weeks in a hospital room made cozy with plants and string lights, she dies. The boy's life is upended. He and his wife spiral, and every wound they ever healed reopens. He is angry that the world keeps going around them. He feels cosmically betrayed, struggles to balance his grief with work and familial obligation. Telling stories, speaking to the world about his daughter, and to his daughter directly in death helps heal him. He begins to write his way through pain, trusting that the patient soul, who does not fear the long passage through grief, will find a new purpose on the other side.
The boy realizes that the Timberwolves have been central to it all. In his daughter's first days of life, they watch the Timberwolves. In her final days in hospice, they watch the Timberwolves. When he and his wife return home from the hospital after losing their daughter, he's greeted by a pair of Timberwolves-branded slippers that read #1 DAD across the front, a gift from his buddy. The Timberwolves helped him gain friends, learn the English language, stabilize the hard times, and heal when he thought no healing was possible.
The boy promises himself, his wife, and his late daughter that he will seek beauty with unmatched fervor and audacity. He is no longer waiting for the life he deserves. He's building it where he stands, with whatever resources he has and whatever community wants to join him. He's creating a new world where stories drive connection and steward purposeful living. His first step? To finally present that pitch he's been sitting on for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The boy is already a part of their world; they just don't know it yet.
2025
34 years old
The boy thanks the heavens every day for his beautiful life. And then the unimaginable happens. His perfect daughter gets sick. Nobody can solve her mystery, and after six long weeks in a hospital room made cozy with plants and string lights, she dies. The boy's life is upended. He and his wife spiral, and every wound they ever healed reopens. He is angry that the world keeps going around them. He feels cosmically betrayed, struggles to balance his grief with work and familial obligation. Telling stories, speaking to the world about his daughter, and to his daughter directly in death helps heal him. He begins to write his way through pain, trusting that the patient soul, who does not fear the long passage through grief, will find a new purpose on the other side.
The boy realizes that the Timberwolves have been central to it all. In his daughter's first days of life, they watch the Timberwolves. In her final days in hospice, they watch the Timberwolves. When he and his wife return home from the hospital after losing their daughter, he's greeted by a pair of Timberwolves-branded slippers that read #1 DAD across the front, a gift from his buddy. The Timberwolves helped him gain friends, learn the English language, stabilize the hard times, and heal when he thought no healing was possible.
The boy promises himself, his wife, and his late daughter that he will seek beauty with unmatched fervor and audacity. He is no longer waiting for the life he deserves. He's building it where he stands, with whatever resources he has and whatever community wants to join him. He's creating a new world where stories drive connection and steward purposeful living. His first step? To finally present that pitch he's been sitting on for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The boy is already a part of their world; they just don't know it yet.
2025
34 years old
The boy thanks the heavens every day for his beautiful life. And then the unimaginable happens. His perfect daughter gets sick. Nobody can solve her mystery, and after six long weeks in a hospital room made cozy with plants and string lights, she dies. The boy's life is upended. He and his wife spiral, and every wound they ever healed reopens. He is angry that the world keeps going. He feels cosmically betrayed, struggles to balance his grief with work and familial obligation. Telling stories, speaking to the world about his daughter, and to his daughter directly in death helps heal him. He begins to write his way through pain, trusting that the patient soul, who does not fear the long passage through grief, will find a new purpose on the other side.
The boy realizes that the Timberwolves have been central to it all. In his daughter's first days of life, they watch the Timberwolves. In her final days in hospice, they watch the Timberwolves. When he and his wife return home after weeks in the hospital, he's greeted by a pair of Timberwolves-branded slippers that read #1 DAD across the front, a gift from his buddy. The Timberwolves helped him gain friends, learn the English language, stabilize the hard times, and heal when he thought no healing was possible.
WOLVES BACK! A NEW ERA. WOLVES BACK! A NEW ERA.
STORY TREATMENT
STORY TREATMENT
The following video treatment is not a formal pitch. It's a sample meant to indicate my capacity to dream up narrative ideas and bring them to life with ease, efficiency, and intention. Images serve as placeholders and tonal cues for comparable video footage.
THE DETAILS
PROPOSED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
PROPOSED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
PROPOSED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
PROPOSED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Part 1: Identity, Vision, Strategy
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Part 1: Identity, Vision, Strategy
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Part 1: Identity, Vision, Strategy
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Part 1: Identity, Vision, Strategy
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Part 2: Infrastructure, Leadership, Operations
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Part 2: Infrastructure, Leadership, Operations
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Part 2: Infrastructure, Leadership, Operations
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Part 2: Infrastructure, Leadership, Operations
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Details of Employment
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Details of Employment
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Details of Employment
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Details of Employment
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DYNAMIC CONTENT IDEAS
DYNAMIC
CONTENT IDEAS
DYNAMIC CONTENT IDEAS
DYNAMIC CONTENT IDEAS
The following includes a small sampling of content and storytelling ideas across mediums. I hope they demonstrate 1) the Timberwolves organization's capacity for storytelling growth and 2) my unique ability to develop and fulfill these ideas and this role.
The Minnesota Timberwolves' social media department and video editing team already perform at an elite, industry-leading level. The following ideas offer opportunities to expand their genius while filling key community activation and innovation gaps. I want to expand the Timberwolves' storytelling footprint.
They are presented in no particular order.
Disposable Cameras (digital)
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Disposable Cameras (digital)
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Disposable Cameras (digital)
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Disposable Cameras (digital)
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Basketball 101 (video, digital)
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Basketball 101 (video, digital)
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Basketball 101 (video, digital)
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Basketball 101 (video, digital)
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Interactive Community and Viral Social Media Photo Moment (physical, digital)
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Interactive Community and Viral Social Media Photo Moment (physical, digital)
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Interactive Community and Viral Social Media Photo Moment (physical, digital)
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Interactive Community and Viral Social Media Photo Moment (physical, digital)
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Free Basketball Portraits Day (physical, video, digital)
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Free Basketball Portraits Day (physical, video, digital)
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Free Basketball Portraits Day (physical, video, digital)
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Free Basketball Portraits Day (physical, video, digital)
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Timberwolves Version of Hoop Bus (physical, video)
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Timberwolves Version of Hoop Bus (physical, video)
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Timberwolves Version of Hoop Bus (physical, video)
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Timberwolves Version of Hoop Bus (physical, video)
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Pickup Pop-ups (physical, video, digital, social)
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Pickup Pop-ups (physical, video, digital, social)
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Pickup Pop-ups (physical, video, digital, social)
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Pickup Pop-ups (physical, video, digital, social)
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Spotlight Series (digital, video, social)
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Spotlight Series (digital, video, social)
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Spotlight Series (digital, video, social)
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Spotlight Series (digital, video, social)
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Kids say the darndest things (video, social)
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Kids say the darndest things (video, social)
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Kids say the darndest things (video, social)
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Kids say the darndest things (video, social)
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What's in your locker? What's in your gym bag? (video, social)
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What's in your locker? What's in your gym bag? (video, social)
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What's in your locker? What's in your gym bag? (video, social)
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What's in your locker? What's in your gym bag? (video, social)
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Expanded blog presence (digital)
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Expanded blog presence (digital)
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Expanded blog presence (digital)
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Expanded blog presence (digital)
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TURNING A DREAM INTO A REALITY
I would love to speak with you all about this dream in greater detail. I’m reachable by email and phone.
