I’m a techno optimist combining culture and technology to help build a better future.
Things I’m passionate about
The future
Science fiction
Using technology to drive progress
The intersection of technology and creativity
Fan fiction and co-creation
Creative gen AI
AR, VR, and gaming
Digital property rights
Distributed + decentralized systems
Solana, and Ethereum
Techno optimism
Empathetic Acceleration
Longtermism
First principle thinking
Experiences that build connection
Meditation, mindfulness, and mental health
Innovation and biz dev
Marketing + brand building
Cultural + social anthropology
Reading as much as I possibly can
Recent speaking engagements and press
Current Work…
Wide Worlds
A SAAS product helping brands unlock the promotional power of their audiences with fun, on-brand, AI-powered UGC campaigns.
Forward Studio
An entertainment-savvy partner for applied product and marketing innovation
Building emerging technology experiences for entertainment brands like Coachella, Universal Pictures, and Sony
Coachella
For Coachella, I lead a team that integrates new technology into the festival experience for fans and brands. We mainly focus on XR, Web3, live streaming, and gaming.
We consistently do things that have never been done before, and work with incredible partners and vendors to build the musical metaverse of tomorrow.
Past Work…
Sounds via Sam
At Sounds via Sam, I curate custom music programs for restaurants, hotels, stores, and consumer brands. My clients include Coachella, The Waterfront, El Capitan Hotel, Youth to the People, Electric Family, and more. My goal is to help brands support more musicians than just the top 40 and become a conduit for new music that their customers will love.
Splash House
At Splash House music festival, I was the Brand Director and I co-produced alongside the founder. I focused on branding, marketing, artist relations, merchandising, and business development.
We designed Splash House to be the ultimate escape from the stresses of every day life. It’s an event built on community and focused on forging friendships that will last forever.
Magik Media
At Magik, I worked with an extensive network of artists to produce AR experiences for brands, musicians, and talent. Our clients included Sony Pictures, Hulu, Amazon, Red Bull, Christian Dior, Universal Music, Lacoste, Monstercat, Ultra Records, and many more.
About Me
I’ve always been fascinated with the future. It all started after discovering the science fiction section in the local library when I was 10 or so. That lead into an obsession with futurism, techno optimism, and the idea that the future might be far greater and grander than anyone could even imagine.
By the time I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, it became clear that working with the technology was where I could have the most positive impact on the future. Music was also a huge passion for me, so I decided to start with music tech. I didn’t know how to code and I didn’t have any money so I had to take the long way there. It took many hours spent on music blogs, playlists, throwing events, Splash House, and long days trucking gear around at music festivals to get there, but eventually I worked my way up at Goldenvoice to lead Coachella’s innovation.
After a rollercoaster of a ride through the pandemic, I came out the other side with a plan to leave Goldenvoice and grow Coachella’s Innovation practice with a bigger team and more resources. For a year I searched far and wide for the greatest people I could find to come along on that adventure, and Forward was born.
A few years later, I met a team of technologists, designers, and engineers who believed that the future of fandom should be more participatory and creative and that gen AI was the tool to enable that. We built and bootstrapped a company to make that happen called Wide Worlds.
We’re still at the very beginning of these adventures, but I couldn’t be more excited about the work we’re going to do. My goal has always been to scale positive impact through technology and to inspire others to create a better future. Forward and Wide Worlds are a few ways we will do just that.