So there I was, 20 years old and living in my parents’ basement when I got the phone call that changed my life.  My plan for the day was to stand in line for Lollapalooza tickets. Jane’s was headlining and NIN was on the bill.

A week later, I found myself standing on a tarmac in a war zone.

I missed the show.

I had volunteered as a press liason for English speaking journalists covering the wars in Croatia & Bosnia-Hercegovina. I spent four months in the field and in the city. I’ve met world renowned reporters and I’ve helped hustlers and tourists get stringer jobs that would pay for their adventure.

I watched a 30 year old widow pull a knife on a photographer fresh from the Barcelona games who was snapping photos of her kids.

I wept quietly when a new friend of mine was killed by a sniper in Sarajevo.

One night I was sitting outside a café with a photographer from the Miami Herald when a car bomb went off a block away.  Neither of us even flinched. He had been to many wars, this was my first…and I knew at that point that it was time to go home.

As I was walking back to my quarters, I realized that my job was to tell our side of the story. The Yugoslavian government had Saatchi & Saatchi.  Croatia had a bunch of kids.

That was the moment I realized that I was a marketer (as much as I hated to admit it)…and on my flight home, I wondered “what now”?

I was in my 3rd year at Cleveland State University and going nowhere – I WAS 90s GenX angst.

So I dropped out…a result of the arrogance of youth and a life experience that made me question everything.

I went back to being a rock star wannabe. I played guitar in a number of bands including Lack of Direction and siphon – as well as an audition period with Filter. Yes, that Filter, if you’re old enough to remember and young enough to care – before I finally hung it all up in 1996. It was time to finally grow up and get a real job.

The company that gave me a shot was Volk Optical, a medical lens manufacturer. (There’s a funny story here involving ultra-black hair dye). While at Volk, the company doubled its sales and was among the first medical manufacturers to sell online with the launch of our eCommerce site in 2000. (We had been online since 1996 which is another funny story involving the firing of a renowned digital shop…I have a long memory.)

Since everyone was new to this internet thing and we were the group leader in our online endeavors, it was suggested that I develop some guidelines which ultimately ended up being the internet protocol for Volk’s parent company (Halma plc) which was applied to 70+ subsidiaries worldwide. I also got the unique opportunity to help in the development of 13 new products before leaving in 2001 (…the really smart guy who did the hard part is currently the VP of Development for a major player in the spinal market).

In 2002, I joined Knez Homes as Vice President of Sales & Marketing. While at Knez, our team achieved 300% sales growth (500% unit volume growth) and was named Builder of the Year by the Home Builders Association of Greater Cleveland (2004). Knez was also nationally recognized by BUILDER magazine as one of the fastest growing builders in the United States (#37) in 2005.

I resigned my position in April 2006 to continue with my own quasi-agency full time.

I’m proud to say that afl Marketing gained over 40 new clients and became the market leader in new construction marketing in Northeast Ohio (and developed a little bit of a reputation in the ophthalmic market as well).  I’ve also done work for political candidates and issues as well as a number of non-profits in the area that I care about.

The pace was blistering, the load was immense and the work was diverse. I accepted projects that presented a challenge. I accepted projects that paid next to nothing. I had a hand in some really engaging projects…and I slogged through some soul crushing ones as well.

Frankly, I took on almost anything I could lay my hands on. My peers often wondered why I bothered with some of the clients and projects I got involved with.

I had my reasons: First and foremost, to gain a lot of experience – fast. This was my MBA.

I wanted to face and overcome challenges and learn how to shift attitudes and objections, I wanted to do cool stuff with meager budgets. I wanted to work directly with business owners. I wanted to learn. I wanted to teach. I wanted results…and I wanted to show off a little.

I’ve worked with over 100 brands since I’ve started doing this. Not huge, faceless megabrands with unlimited budgets. Real companies. Real people.

All of which has led to scuttle afl Marketing and launch surface\cle.

surface\cle isn’t about designing web sites or producing TV spots. It’s about creating meaningful, sustained campaigns that break down the traditional media barrier between my clients and their prospects. It’s about enhancing the communication process.

It’s about understanding and responding. It’s about connecting…and keeping it going.

The premise is incongruous and hard to explain. I don’t sell websites. I don’t sell ads…they’re tools.  We’re telling a story here and the rest of it is the way we’re going to spread it.  Get it?

I’ve told you about the business side, the other (bigger) part of my life is I’m a husband to a patient wife and dad to 2 awesome kids (who I hope don’t inherit my OCD tendencies).

I’ve told you a little about myself. Do you have anything you’d like to share with me?

Let’s go do something cool.

- Ante  03/01/2010