
My time as a New York City resident began with a summer sublet on the low end of the Upper East Side. There was no air conditioning, one working window and an Australian roommate that randomly appeared in our shared kitchen. I had $200 left to eat, live and play until my first payday, whenever that was. On my second day of work I had to front $60 for airport cab fare. Let’s just say that in the summer of 2003, I quickly discovered how just far tuna fish and generic ritz crackers could take a man.
Then there was the promise to myself: give it a year and a half at this PR job. Get some consistent voice over gigs, and then maybe move to Cape Cod to refurbish old houses and cash in on my lucrative VO clients I will have established in that year and a half. Clearly it was sheer brilliance. Sure, I had never built anything with my hands that was worthy of a payday, but it looked pretty good on TV. Also, how hard could it be for a slightly disheveled, balding kid with a terrible VO demo to get access to the decision makers and power brokers at major media outlets?
While the promise didn’t exactly work out as planned, this New York story does conclude eight years later with a much more satisfying ending.
A new career. New friends. A wonderful wife. A beautiful baby girl. A new life.
So thank you NYC for everything. I know things started a bit rough, but I think we really had something by the end. While there are too many people to mention, here are just a few who helped make it so special.
Thanks to Delia Stein who, once upon a time in 2003, reassured me that everything would be just fine for a Boston transplant in the city. This, of course, before she fled herself to greener pastures a few months later.
Thanks to Craig Alperowitz and Dana Mellecker who took a chance on a sweaty, awkward numbskull trying to get back east after a failed 6-month experiment in LA.
Thanks to Amirah Noaman for taking me in at 1 a.m. on a Sunday when I got to my door only to discover my keys were still in Boston. She was always a great neighbor, and remains a loyal friend even if she is a terrible Netflix co-member.
Thanks to Rurik Bradbury for a friendship that began by mocking the absurdities in the PR world and grew into one of mocking the absurdities in the real world. Also, it was Rurik who helped me first concept projects that would never see the light of day, thus preparing me for a bright future in advertising.
Thanks to Joe Sullivan, for always being an earpiece, voice of reason and calming presence in my life. It was especially nice to hear the phrase “I’m thinking of making the move to NYC,” about 2 months after I got here. That fall we hauled all of our stuff from Boston into a rat-infested, 3 BR in the shadow of the Port Authority with Ben Montgomery. Pure bliss, covered in rodent feces.
Thanks to Tari Ray and Julie Roth Novack for putting up a fight with my eponymous employer to get me over to Agency.com.
Thanks to Tom Ajello for seeing something in me, and helping me make the move to the creative side of the business. The short time we actually got to work together felt like a lifetime of learning that I still put to good use every day.
Thanks to Mat Zucker for having faith and patience. I’m sure it wasn’t easy or enjoyable for him to read some of that early copy. I’m wincing just thinking about it.
To Kevin Dreyfuss and Matt Carlin for helping a PR flack get his sea legs in the wobbly pirate ship of advertising. And more importantly, for introducing me to important cultural influences like DMZ, Tim & Eric, Breaking Bad, The Wire and all kinds of other crap.
Thanks to Ben Abramowitz for pushing me to be better. It was his regular ass kickings, honest feedback, and displays of trust that gave me the ability and the confidence to do great work. What may have began as a contentious relationship has grown into a true friendship. And I swear Ben, I won’t tell anyone about your situation on the west side highway.
Thanks to Adam Romero who was the art yin to my copy yang. He gave me some much needed swagger and know-how. I gave him salesmanship and an Oxford English Dictionary. To any aspiring junior advertising team, Adam and I highly recommend joining a boxing gym together. It does wonders for both the work and more importantly, the friendship.
Thanks to Nadav Markel for reigniting a good thing and teaching me the most important lesson of all: when your socks are too wet to keep wearing, find an old long sleeve shirt and cut off a sleeve. It will be a cheaper alternative to buying new socks. Advice that I will no doubt pass on to my kin.
Thanks to Paras Shah for his friendship, imbibing, conversations, award-winning karaoke performances and putting up with my anti-Pennsylvania rants designed exclusively to get under his skin. He’s one of those guys who everyone loves to be around, and I feel lucky having been able to spend so much time with him over the last 5 years.
Thanks to the future Heavyweight Champion of the World Josh Landers for kicking my ass outside of the ring and taking mercy on me inside it.
Most of all, thanks to Rachael Simon Cordella. If she didn’t IM me that Thursday afternoon, well, who knows what this note would look like. She made me realize just how great living in NYC could be, even when I had my doubts and frustrations. Everything I grew to love about living in the city stemmed from her enthusiasm and passion for what a unique place it truly is. She took the lead and I was happy to follow.



