Hi! I’m DJ.

THE SHORT STORY

I’m a Cannes Lions 30 Under 30, award-winning copywriter, tech startup VP and founder, social media insider with 325K+ followers, Gen-Z marketing speaker for Ad Week NYC, App Summit, and Cannes Lions, and Mr USA 2021 as an LGBT+ mental health advocate.

As someone who has directly experience being a "famous" character within social media while running a data-driven, Gen-Z tech startup and working in advertising — I'm not only an experienced copywriter, but a social media expert and proven content strategist.

THE LONG STORY

As my portfolio link hints at I unfortunately have no musical talent whatsoever. DJ stands for Dustin James but I could probably drudge up my recorder from 3rd grade and play some wicked hot cross buns if it came down to it.

Growing up as a gay kid in the suburbs of the midwest I spent most of my time outcast from the “cool” circles, observing those around me. I’d watch their actions, see why they did the things they did, and intuit what drove them to do so. That’s what makes a great copywriter in my humble opinion — not just a great storyteller but someone with true intuition.

Since then I’ve worked in big agencies like McCann, GREY, and AKQA on big clients like Nike, Beats by Dre, and Maserati and won some awards along the way. It was here I really built my creative foundation and mastered the “process”.

After a few years living out my Mad Men fantasies I joined a Gen-Z marketing tech startup as employee four. I built out the branding and brand strategy while leading the marketing, creative, and PR teams. I also spoke on Gen-Z marketing at places like Ad Week NYC, Cannes Lions, and App Summit. So, it was here I really learned what being scrappy meant, what being a leader meant, and what being pushed out of my comfort zone really, really, really meant.

Having helped that startup go from $0 to a valuation of $20 million I decided it was time to use what I learned at the agencies, having 325,000 followers as a content creator, and at the startup to build an app of my own. I launched it exclusively to my personal training clients because let’s face it, who doesn’t have a #sidehustle these days?

I’ve since boomeranged back to AKQA as a senior copywriter to lead their premium and luxury brands.

Same Fun Fact: I’m currently Mr USA (yea, I didn’t know it existed either) and an LGBT+ mental health advocate + volunteer crisis counselor with Trevor Project.