How I built my career — and what every role actually taught me

I’ve never had a linear career. I’ve worked in sales, editorial, brand, strategy, and product... sometimes all at once. I’ve helped grow media brands, event companies, wellness startups, and health tech platforms. I’ve launched things from scratch, fixed things that were broken, and built creative systems that could scale.

But I’ve never taken the time to lay it all out.

This is that pause.

What follows is a chronological breakdown of every role I’ve ever had, from my first summer job to entry-level roles, startup pivots, middle management, leadership, and eventually co-founding an agency. Each one shaped how I work. Each one taught me something I still use.

It’s part career reflection and part résumé deep dive, the version that actually explains what I did (and still do).

Pre-professional career

Caddy + Bag Room Attendant (2001–2009)

My first job. I started at 16 with zero golf knowledge and slowly earned the trust of a high-end membership. I spent early mornings carrying bags and weekdays working the club’s bag room. I learned how to read people, when to speak, and when to stay quiet around power. I credit this job with preparing me for everything that came after.

Surf Forecasting Internship – SwellInfo (2006)

A short internship with a local surf forecasting startup. I helped with prospecting and cold calling to grow their ad business. It gave me an early look into startup life: no bosses, no structure, no backup plan. I learned how to take initiative, handle rejection, and stay accountable without anyone watching.

Men’s Fitness Internship (2007)

While working weekends as a caddy and weekdays in the bag room, I landed a part-time internship at Men’s Fitness in the ad and marketing department. I built pitch decks, supported events, and cold-called potential advertisers to make life easier for the sales team. I also contributed some copy to editorial which was my first real taste of publishing and media.

Post-grad career

Inside Sales – The New York Times (2008–2010)

My first full-time job out of college. I was responsible for cold-calling real estate developers and brokers to sell digital ad placements which was a high-pressure, metrics-driven role that pushed me to grow fast. I learned how large organizations operate, how to work with powerful execs, and how to position ideas. I wasn’t great at it, but I walked away with a strong foundation in client management and communication. This is also when I launched the original version of humanfitproject to just start writing about fitness and testing my voice.

Sales + Brand Development – RelaxZen (2010–2011)

After two years at the NYT, I joined a wellness beverage startup as one of the earliest team members. I traveled the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic working with distributors to build up product distribution. It was brutal and revealing. I learned that I loved brand-building and content far more than sales, but also that nothing works without a product that moves. This was my second crash course in startup life, and my first lesson in how fragile early momentum can be.

Editor → Executive Digital Director, Content – Men’s Fitness (2011–2016)

I started as a junior editor writing and publishing digital content for a brand that was still mostly focused on print. Within a few years, I was leading the digital team, managing over 10 staff and freelancers, shaping editorial direction, and running branded content campaigns for clients like Fitbit, REI, and more. I helped relaunch the brand’s voice, expanded into video and social, and built growth systems that positioned Men’s Fitness as a major player in the men’s wellness space. I also interviewed dozens of high-profile names from Kevin Hart to Winston Duke and reported directly into senior executives. This was the job that gave me the confidence (and proof) that I could lead brand and content strategy at scale.

Freelance Writer, Strategist, and Consultant (2016–2019)

After the magazine folded, I moved into freelance work that included writing, consulting, and managing creative projects for brands like Men’s Journal, Spartan, and Equinox. It was a challenging but clarifying time. Without a brand behind me, I had to build momentum from scratch. I learned how to package my value, find collaborators who truly aligned, and earn attention without a platform. It also forced me to see myself as more than just a writer. I was a builder and operator.

Founder, TORIAL Media (2021–Present)

I launched TORIAL as a boutique content and brand strategy studio focused on helping health, wellness, and performance companies grow with clarity and creative integrity. It wasn’t an agency in the traditional sense, but more of a vehicle for doing my best work, selectively, with brands I believed in.

Through TORIAL, I’ve taken on embedded leadership roles with companies like NEOU, Spartan, and Prenuvo helping with shaping brand voice, launching content engines, building media systems, and leading cross-functional strategy. I’ve also worked on campaigns and creative projects for brands including Nike, AG1, and Lifeforce.

Embedded Roles Inside TORIAL

NEOU Fitness – Director of Editorial & Social (2019–2021)

I built the company’s blog, newsletter, and social presence from the ground up. Led campaign strategy, influencer management, and content rollouts across multiple verticals. Social and email engagement more than doubled over two years.

Spartan – Director of Fitness & Content Strategy Consultant (2021–2022)

Helped lead the brand’s training division, bringing in on-brand talent and creating integrated campaigns that boosted race registrations, merch sales, and brand loyalty. Produced major programs like Strong and Fast (with Ryan Hall), Chase the Pain, and Your Unbreakable Year, each with editorial, social, video, and product integration. Also, helped build and launch Spartan’s training + community app from scratch.

Prenuvo – Content Strategy Lead (2023–Present)

While technically a full-time role, I’ve approached it as an embedded strategist. I led the re-imagination of Prenuvo’s brand voice, messaging architecture, and long-form narrative during a high growth stage of the company. I also built and managed the editorial calendar, organic social content creation, and newsletter copy while working across teams to ensure message clarity and cohesion. Beyond content, I’ve supported product marketing, ad creative, UI copy, and retention storytelling. I operate as the connective tissue between content, product, growth, and brand.

Labs and side projects

Performance Menu (2022)

A micro-product experiment I co-created with a local NYC coffee shop: a high-protein, clean-ingredient pudding designed for performance-minded customers. We averaged around 100 units per month, and I produced all the print marketing, ran a launch event, and oversaw the rollout. The product resonated but producing fresh food daily at scale was a logistical grind. I kept it small and local by design, and walked away with a deeper appreciation for supply chain, brand positioning, and customer feedback loops.

30-Day Slack Challenges (2022–2023)

I hosted small-group fitness and mindset challenges via Slack to test the demand for structured coaching paired with community and accountability. These were early prototypes for a scalable coaching product. The engagement was strong, but I couldn’t find a model that felt profitable, sustainable, and aligned. It clarified what kind of connection I do want to build.

GPT Development (2024–Present)

In 2024, I began building custom GPTs which are part creative toolset, part career evolution. These tools combined my experience in content systems, brand strategy, and editorial voice into deployable AI agents. Some were internal (like a Ghostwriter GPT, Social Assistant GPT, and Doctor GPT), others public-facing (like The Messaging Architect, backstage, Off Brand, MyPublicist!, and 100 Days Later). These experiments opened up new ways to scale creative output without sacrificing tone, quality, or nuance, and are shaping the next chapter of my work.

Where I am now

Looking back, none of this was linear, but none of it was random either.

Every role taught me how to build. Every setback taught me how to adapt. And every experiment, whether it scaled or stayed small, clarified what I actually care about: creating things that are clear, useful, and built to last.

I’ve moved between media, wellness, and health tech. I’ve worked inside organizations, alongside founders, and on my own. I’ve shaped stories, products, teams, systems. But no matter the project, my throughline has stayed the same: take something messy and make it make sense.

That’s still what I do. With even better instincts.

If you’re working on something interesting and think I might be a fit, you can reach me here.