I grew up in Ossining, New York, home to the fictional Don Draper and a very, very real prison. In fact, my high school sat directly across the street from the Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Looking out the window, we couldn't help but wonder if the homicidal maniacs in cell block B enjoyed the same Sloppy Joes that we did.

I attended the University of Alabama on a scholarship that I lost shortly after setting foot on campus. Roll Tide! Following graduation, I became an in-home personal trainer where I entertained bored, rich Atlanta housewives. Bored myself, I got into advertising after looking down at my orange, brown and blue Nike cross trainers and realizing that the only reason I spent $200 on this atrocity was because Bo Knows.

From then on, I knew too — that persuading people to take action through the power of an idea, a word, an image, was the path for me.

Today, I’m the Creative Director for the in-house advertising agency at Lenovo, makers of ThinkPad, Moto (hello Moto) and more, lots more.