I was born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, raised by Spanglish, wild hand gestures, and fast-paced games of dominos. I dropped out of high school to become a blues guitarist, but John Mayer got there first—and with more sex appeal.
I eventually went to college and got a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, which was as useful as dropping out of high school.
Since then I’ve had every type of job and worked with every type of person—from gang members, to elderly widows, to avant-garde artists, to a guy in a Hawaiian shirt named Buck. I lived in many apartments, across many cities. (Through this Oregon Trail, my copy of The Elements of Style died of dysentery.)
I love treating brands like characters in novels, and understanding the subtleties of how they’ll speak at every level of media. And my current obsession is learning jazz guitar and music theory.
I also love being a style chameleon. Here’s another version of my About Me (let me know which on you like better):
Born in Miami. Raised by Cuban immigrants.
A high-school dropout that eventually got a degree in philosophy.
My main skill is yawning just before my crush looks at me, so then all they see is yawn-face followed by recovering-yawn-face. My main vice is Red Gatorade. My main man is Marc (best friends since 16).
I wear a variation of the same black outfit every day. People notice. People comment. People consider donating clothes.
I like to be called Daniel or Danny, but not Dan. I don’t play enough golf or beer pong to be called Dan.
Bio interlude: Look, Metallica’s Load is really not as bad as people make it out to be. It’s a pretty solid album; give it a chance.
I make ads for a living. I do my laundry for a living. I put on my shoes in the morning for a living.
I’ve lived in Miami, Chicago, Stockholm, Boston, NYC, SF, NYC again, LA, SF again, and back in LA.
And Flannery O'Connor changed the way I write.
