Director of Community Marketing, Mossy Oak

B.S. in Aquaculture, Fisheries and Wildlife Biology

with a Minor in Marketing, December 1999

What role do you play in the entrepreneurial ecosystem?

Working for several young companies over the years, which became much larger brands in the outdoor recreation market such as Avery Outdoors and Under Armour, I later co-founded Marolina, Outdoor Inc. In Marolina, we created the Huk Performance Fishing and NOMAD Performance Hunting (apparel) brands. I helped found Huk and NOMAD with two great friends I met while attending Clemson University. Although I am still a shareholder of the brands I co-founded, I am currently employed for a family-owned company which is one of the largest brands and marketers in the outdoor recreational space. While at Clemson University in a marketing class called “Professional Selling," we had to do research on a company we most admired. 25 years later, I am working for Mossy Oak Brand Camo, the company I dreamed to work for as an undergrad in Clemson. It’s funny how life works.

What are some of your best memories of your time at Clemson?

Some of my best experiences took place at 113 Calhoun Street as a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, as well as time well spent at my college place of employment, The Esso Club!  Both of those institutions created an amazing network of friendship, brotherhood and business connection in which I am in daily contact, 25 years after graduating from the finest University in the land!

What were the key inflection points in your career after you left Clemson?

In every step in my career over the last 25 years, the relationships I have formed along the way have been the foundation of everything I have done in the hunting and fishing industries. I have done my best to treat people kind and treat others like I would like to be treated. After spending 7 ½ years helping build Under Armour’s Hunt/Fish division from nothing to the market share leader, my customers trusted me in knowing I could make them money with our new to the market brands (Huk and NOMAD). Our team did not disappoint. Some of the first relationships I made in the industry 25 years ago are still helping me in my current role (a dream job) working for the amazing marketing department at Mossy Oak Brand Camo based out of West Point, MS which has an international presence.

What are your personal and professional dreams?

Personally, I want to be happy in life as I am now. I’m very blessed to have a great family and great friends and ultimately, I am fortunate to have a very full cup in this this amazing thing called life.

Professionally, over my career I have advanced to the executive level of multi-million-dollar companies, I have held fantastic and important executive titles and have rubbed elbows with some of the most powerful, wealthiest people in the country. However, your title, your net worth and your socioeconomic status doesn’t matter if you aren’t happy. Good people are good people regardless of whether they are billionaires or broke. We are only on this planet for a brief time, so make the most of your time, happiness and your relationships!

What would you recommend students do to maximize their remaining time at Clemson?

Network, Network, Network. Be kind to all your classmates and in your extracurricular activities. Years later, these relationships may yield dividends. It worked for me. I never would have thought I would meet future business partners as undergrads at Clemson, and 15 years later we would co-found a company that would become a market share leader in the fishing space that provides a living to hundreds of families. Make the most of Clemson and realize that you can get more out of the Clemson experience than just what you learn in the classroom. Don’t go home every weekend. Enjoy as much as Clemson has to offer because, in the blink of an eye, your time as a student will be over. My five years living in Clemson were some of the best of my life and worth every penny. My entire career would not be possible without my time I spent in Clemson. There’s something in these hills…

What else should we know about you?

In addition to my business career, a big part of my life that I am proud of has been serving as a volunteer and eventually as a board member of some influential conservation organizations that give back to future generations. Currently, these include the National Wild Turkey Federation Foundation Board, The Wild Turkey Safety Committee, The Lowcountry Game Bird Foundation and the Austin Hunter Chamberlain Memorial Foundation. I love giving back to the wildlife conservation community, and I am fortunate to work at a fantastic company (Mossy Oak) that encourages me to do so. Additionally, I am also absolutely infatuated with the hunting and the conservation of the wild turkey (America’s Greatest Game Bird), as well as watching the Clemson Tiger football team win in the fall and winter! 

In closing: GO TIGERS!