Chris is a Creative¹ of Color²
Chris was raised (separately) by a mother who has always been a writer³ and a father who has always been a visual artist.⁴ Chris’ English stepfather was a semi-pro water polo player who became a very pro successful entrepreneur and gave Chris his first, early taste of professional creative freedom⁵.
He grew up creating in two disciplines — words and imagery — simultaneously. By the time he was in high school, he was covering his bedroom in graffiti⁶, designing clothes⁷, writing award-winning poetry⁸, cartooning for the school paper, and serving as editor of the yearbook. When he got to college, he was designing logos and best-selling shirts⁹ for student groups and events and writing opinion pieces that were published in the local paper¹⁰.
A West Coast¹² native who has been living in the greater St. Louis area¹³ for the past two decades, home is where Chris lays his head.
Chris has been clean and sober¹⁴ since September 1, 1997 and is the founder and co-host¹⁵ of the irreverent weekly addiction recovery vod/podcast: Since Right Now¹⁶.
Chris doesn't always write about himself in the third person but when he does, we do too¹⁷.
Chris can be equal parts irreverent (there’s that word again) cut-up¹⁸, socially anxious, passionately intense¹⁹, and introverted. Because of this, he has developed a keen sense of self-awareness.²⁰
FOOTNOTES
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1. graphic designer, writer, art/creative director, brand identity, illustrator • 2. Latino: 2nd gen Mex-Am. • 3. She holds annual writers’ retreats now; one of the attendees is a great-great-granddaughter of Georg and Maria Von Trapp. • 4. He paints regularly and shows occasionally. The best place to see his work is on Euclid in the CWE of STL (He’s a regular street poster on hot-button issues.) • 5. Chris designed the logos for two of his stepfather’s businesses and the monthly newsletter for a third. • 6. He can’t believe his mom and stepdad let him either. And, yes, they did regret it when Chris moved out and it came time to repaint the room. • 7. Chris’ tailoring skills were not up to his aspirations as a couturier, thankfully, his mother gamely served as his seamstress. • 8. Like his fashion designer career, Chris's poetry career began and ended in high school. • 9. His “Screw the Bears” shirt featuring a giant screw driven through the chest of a cute teddy bear was a big seller for the 1985 Stanford v. Berkeley game. • 10. Of note was a scathing, if somewhat naïve, takedown of the glaring inequity between Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. • 11. At the time I picked “Art Director” and I remember having the distinction made very clear to me when I thought I might “punch up” some copy I was designing around and when the copywriter noticed, he demanded that I, “…just put it in the way (he) fucking wrote it!”. • 12. Palo Alto & Berkeley, CA + Olympia & Seattle, WA. • 13. ATM, Kirkwood. • 14. Since September 1, 1997, from alcohol and other drugs. • 15. And producer, and engineer, and booker, etc. • 16. Currently on hiatus after its sixth season and over 200 episodes. • 17. We've also got a thing for footnotes. • 18. Some might say, “goofy-ass m*therfucker”. • 19. Some might say, “intensely passionate”. • 20. Like, I’m pretty sure these footnotes are wildly annoying to some (most?), and to you, I apologize, but I genuinely enjoyed crafting this. Soo … 🤷♂️