Joshua McKenzie German
01 About 02 Work 03 Podcasts 04 AI 05 Culture 06 Photography 08 Interviews 10 Contact
Portfolio — 2026 Edition Creative Strategy × Culture × AI Los Angeles, CA — 34.05°N, 118.24°W

Joshua McKenzie German

Joshua McKenzie German Joshua McKenzie German Joshua McKenzie German Joshua McKenzie German Joshua McKenzie German Joshua McKenzie German Joshua McKenzie German Joshua McKenzie German Joshua McKenzie German
35mm Film Lab Scan
Creative Strategist AI Builder & Creator Photographer Podcaster

A step into my world: ideas, stories, and strategies built to shape what's next.

8+
Years Strategy
50+
Campaigns
22
One Show Results
CH. 01

About Joshua

My Journey
Columbia, SC → Los Angeles, CA
Joshua McKenzie German
Joshua McKenzie German Fig. 01
Based
Los Angeles, CA
From
Columbia, SC
Currently
Senior Connections Strategist
Agency
TBWA\Chiat\Day
Education
Mass Communications, University of South Carolina
Status
● Available for select projects

Curiosity has always been my operating system — storytelling, systems, and what makes people pay attention.

Born and raised in South Carolina, curiosity has always been my operating system. I studied Journalism & Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina, minored in Information Science, and cut my teeth as assistant sports editor at the Daily Gamecock — drawn early to storytelling, systems, and what makes people pay attention.

For the past several years, I've been building seriously with Artificial Intelligence — as a creator and systems thinker, not just a user. I design and ship AI-powered tools with Codex, Claude, Gemini, and the full stack of frontier models: audience intelligence systems, creative strategy applications, original interactive experiences. I treat it like a craft, the most exciting frontier I've worked on.

That foundation carried me into advertising, where I've spent the better part of a decade building strategy at some of the industry's most respected agencies. From Goodby Silverstein & Partners and Wieden+Kennedy to TBWA\Chiat\Day, I've developed connections strategies, campaign architecture, and brand positioning that's landed on the biggest stages in advertising, including the Super Bowl.

Now based in Los Angeles, I'm fully in my element. LA is where culture, entertainment, technology, and ambition converge, and that collision runs through everything I do. It's the city that's sharpening my eye for what's next, deepening my creative instincts, and keeping me close to the conversations that shape how brands show up in culture.

Outside of agency life, I channel that same energy into photography, podcasting, and writing. Whether I'm behind the lens or behind the mic, exploring history, culture, and human behavior, every pursuit feeds the same hunger: to understand the world more deeply and tell better stories about it.

The Signal Trace — Five Cities, One Trajectory Index of Chapters
Origin Born and raised, Columbia, South Carolina University of South Carolina Born and raised in the capital of South Carolina. Studied Journalism & Mass Communications with a minor in Information Science. Served as assistant sports editor for The Daily Gamecock. This is where curiosity for storytelling first took root.
2021–23 Charlotte, NC Home Base My physical home during the remote era. Charlotte served as base while I worked with agencies across the country. Built a home studio, explored the city's growing creative scene, and stayed connected to family in South Carolina.
2021–23 San Francisco, CA Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (Remote) Worked with one of the most legendary agencies in advertising. Traveled to SF for extended periods, contributing to campaigns for BMW, Pepsi, and more. Learned the craft of cultural strategy from the best in the business.
2023–24 Portland, OR Wieden+Kennedy Joined legendary W+K as Media and Communications Supervisor. Worked on the Cannes Grand Prix-winning DoorDash "All The Ads" Super Bowl campaign. Experienced the Pacific Northwest's world-class creative culture.
2024–Now Los Angeles, CA ● Current TBWA\Chiat\Day Currently serving as Senior Connections Strategist at the Disruption Company. Leading work on Levi's × Beyoncé, Sephora, and DIRECTV. Living in the entertainment capital of the world while building the next chapter.
CH. 02

Campaign Impact

Brand Work
TBWA · W+K · GS&P
PLATE 01 Levi's REIIMAGINE Campaign
Senior Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

Levi's x Beyoncé: REIIMAGINE

Redefining an icon. A cultural reset for the denim giant that reimagined American heritage through a modern lens.

🥈 Clio Silver — Fashion & Beauty 2026 🎖️ 2× One Show Merit — 2026
PLATE 02 Gatorade × Stranger Things
Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

Gatorade × Stranger Things

An entertainment partnership that took Gatorade into the Upside Down for the final season of a cultural phenomenon.

PLATE 03 DoorDash All The Ads
Media & Comms Supervisor • Wieden+Kennedy

DoorDash: All The Ads

Cannes Grand Prix winning Super Bowl phenomenon.

🏆 Cannes Titanium Grand Prix — 2024 ✏️ D&AD Yellow Pencil — 2024 🦁 8× Cannes Lions — 2024 ✏️ 7× One Show Gold Pencil — 2024 🎖️ 7× One Show Silver/Bronze/Merit — 2024
PLATE 04 Driving While Black — DWB Concept Car
Communication Strategist • Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Driving While Black

A concept car designed to survive racial profiling. Launched at the Detroit Auto Show.

🏆 Clio Grand — 2024 🏅 Shorty Award Winner 🎖️ One Show Bronze + Merit — 2024 ⭐ D&AD Shortlisted
PLATE 05
All The Reasons
Not To Quit
Gatorade × NFL
Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

Gatorade: All The Reasons Not To Quit

An NFL season platform built on every reason athletes have to quit — and why they don’t.

PLATE 06 Samuel Adams Brighter Boston
Communication Strategist • Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Samuel Adams: Brighter Boston

Kevin Garnett. Super Bowl LVII. Boston pride.

⭐ Clio Shortlist — 2023
PLATE 07 Sephora Don't Overthink It
Senior Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

Sephora: Don't Overthink It

Holiday gifting made effortless — directed by Taika Waititi.

PLATE 08
XfinityThe Greatest Gift
Communications Strategist • Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Xfinity: The Greatest Gift

Steven Carell as Santa. Holiday campaign orchestration with strategic influencer partnerships.

🎖️ The One Club Merit — Casting 2021
PLATE 19 Preach — Instagram Game
Built In-House — Not a Client Brief • Co-Creator, GS&P BLK

Preach

An Instagram game that opened a window into the real Black experience. Something we built, not something we were briefed on — created by GS&P BLK for Black History Month 2021.

PLATE 09 Gatorade Trust What's Inside
Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

Gatorade: Trust What's Inside

Gatorade’s global football platform — fuel and belief, built from the inside out.

PLATE 10 Gatorade Lower Sugar
Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

Gatorade: Lower Sugar

Introducing Gatorade Lower Sugar — all the fuel, less of the sugar.

PLATE 11 Gatorade Body of Science
Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

Gatorade: Body of Science

Gatorade’s sports-science story, told through the athletes who live it.

PLATE 12 Sephora Skin Obsessed
Senior Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

Sephora: Skin Obsessed

Sephora’s skincare platform, built for the skin-obsessed.

PLATE 13 DIRECTV Emmys Hijack
Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

DIRECTV: Emmys Hijack

An OOH hijack of TV’s biggest night — DIRECTV showing up where the Emmys were already looking.

PLATE 14 DIRECTV Like Never Seen
Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

DIRECTV: Like Never Seen

The rebrand platform — DIRECTV like you’ve never seen it.

PLATE 15
Nothing On
Your Roof
DIRECTV
Connections Strategist • TBWA\Chiat\Day

DIRECTV: Nothing On Your Roof

No dish. No clutter. The satellite company, minus the satellite.

PLATE 16 MLB — Baseball Is Something Else
Brand Strategist • Wieden+Kennedy Portland

MLB: Baseball Is Something Else

MLB’s first brand platform in 8 years. Gen Z favorability up 10 points. The campaign that brought a new generation to the ballpark.

PLATE 17 BMW Zeus & Hera
Communication Strategist • Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

BMW: Zeus & Hera

Arnold & Salma. The ultimate electric driving machine.

PLATE 18 Califia Farms Calilujah
Communication Strategist • Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Califia Farms: Calilujah!

A joyful celebration of plant-based living.

CH. 03

On Air

My Voice
Four Shows · 2020 – Present

Podcasts I host, produce, and edit myself. Solo deep dives on history, power, and human behavior. AI, demystified. Conversations on creative strategy and culture. Four shows, one through-line: curiosity without borders.

CH. 04

The AI Lab

Superintelligence
Built end-to-end

Apps, tools, and prototypes exploring the full spectrum of AI — from Google AI Studio experiments to full platforms built end-to-end with Claude Code. Each project is a real-world test of what's possible when creativity leads the build.

Live
Gen α
Cultural Intelligence

Gen Alpha Intelligence Lab

A living research lab on the forces shaping Gen Alpha culture — insights, findings, creators, and the spaces they actually occupy, with an ingest pipeline for reports, interviews, and field notes. Built with Next.js 16 and Supabase.

Claude Code View Live →
Live
Dream Journal · Voice

Dreamcatcher

Speak your dream the second you wake up, before it's gone. An adaptive AI interview deepens the recall, then reads it back through four lenses — Jungian, Freudian, cognitive, and cultural — and correlates it against your sleep data.

Claude Code View Live →
Live
Cultural Search

Meme Library

Describe the meme you half remember and it finds it. Natural-language recall across 1,000+ source-linked clips, reactions, and GIFs — each with provenance and a spread timeline showing how it travelled.

Claude Code View Live →
Live
Chess · Real-Time

Grandmaster

A live, shared chess tournament hub. Think ESPN Tournament Challenge — but for your friend group. Live bracket tracking, Chess.com integration, auto-seeding by rating.

Claude Code View Live →
Quest Active
XP 2,847 / 5,000
Life Gamification

Life Gamified

A fully-gamified RPG quest journal for real life. Track tasks as quests, earn XP, level up your character, unlock achievements, and build a talent tree. Because life should feel like an epic adventure. Built with React 19 and Claude Code.

Claude Code View Live →
Live
AI Music Collaboration

The Man and the Machine

Play bass or connect MIDI — and the AI plays back. A real-time jam session tool with 10 AI musician personalities: from Supportive to Adversary, Listen to Free. Built with React, TypeScript, Web Audio API, and Claude Code.

Claude Code Launch App →
Music Social

Jukeboxd

Letterboxd for music. Track, rate, and review albums. Share your musical journey and discover new sounds.

Google AI Studio Launch App →
Media Intelligence

Veritas

AI-powered bias detection for news and media. Analyze content for perspective, compare sources, and see the full picture.

Google AI Studio Launch App →
Creator Discovery

Creator Search

AI-powered influencer and creator discovery. Find the perfect creators for your brand based on audience, style, and engagement.

Google AI Studio Launch App →
Digital Closet

Archive

AI-powered wardrobe organizer. Catalog, style, and manage your closet with intelligent outfit recommendations.

Google AI Studio Launch App →
Sound Therapy

Ætheria

AI-generated binaural beats for focus, relaxation, and meditation. Custom soundscapes tailored to your mental state.

Google AI Studio Launch App →
Productivity

Momentum

AI-powered productivity and goal tracking. Build momentum with intelligent task management and progress insights.

Google AI Studio Launch App →
☀️
Life Design

Perfect Day Crafter

Design your ideal day with AI. Plan routines, optimize your schedule, and build habits that align with your goals.

Google AI Studio Launch App →
CH. 04B

Sites I Build

For real people
Shipped & running

Full websites built end-to-end for family and small businesses — booking flows, menus, galleries, contact pipelines. Not templates. Swipe through.

CH. 05

Culture & Practice

Agency, Culture &
Independent Work

Not client briefs — a selective independent advisory practice, plus the open-source Digital Task Brief.

Independent Practice

Early-Stage Advisory & Brand Strategy

A small number of selected engagements with early-stage companies — brand, audience, and go-to-market strategy for founders building from zero. Separate from agency work. Access restricted.

Pre-launch Brand Strategy Go-to-Market Fractional CMO
Enter Access Code or request access →
Independent Practice
HIIKE Film Festival Platform
Advisor & Strategist • Independent

HIIKE: Brand & Go-to-Market

Built foundational brand, audience, and GTM strategy from the ground up for a pre-launch startup.

Audience Mapping Content Swim Lanes Posting Framework Brand Strategy Go-to-Market
U&AI AI Visibility Venture
Fractional CMO • Independent

U&AI: Chief Marketing Officer

Serving as Fractional CMO for an AI-visibility venture — leading marketing strategy, brand direction, and go-to-market.

Marketing Strategy Brand Direction Go-to-Market Fractional CMO
CH. 06

The Darkroom

Through the Lens
Photography

Portraits with presence. Landscapes that breathe. Fashion as tension. Every frame is a decision — what stays in, what falls away, and what the light says when you stop moving.

Primary Bodies
Nikon D500 · Sony A7
DSLR + Mirrorless
Glass
Primes & Telephoto Zooms
Full kit list on request
Formats
Digital · 35mm Film
Every frame a decision
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Portrait
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Landscape
Fashion
Fashion
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Event
Travel
Travel
Travel
Travel
Travel
Travel
Travel
Travel
Travel
Fashion
CH. 07

The Collection

Limited Edition
Fine Art Prints

A curated selection of signed, limited-edition fine art prints. Each piece is produced on archival museum-grade paper, numbered, and released in a strictly limited run — a single frame held still, made to live on a wall.

Coming Soon
№ I

Untitled I

Coming Soon

№ II

Untitled II

Coming Soon

№ III

Untitled III

Coming Soon

№ IV

Untitled IV

Coming Soon

№ V

Untitled V

Coming Soon

№ VI

Untitled VI

Coming Soon

The Collection is being curated. Limited-edition fine art prints — archival museum-grade paper, numbered, signed, and released in strictly limited runs. Inquiries welcome now.

CH. 08

On the Record

Interviews
Coming Soon

Over the years I've sat down with creators, athletes, executives, and cultural voices — asking the questions that reveal who people really are. A showcase of listening, storytelling, and the kind of curiosity that drives great strategy.

Coming Soon
Coming Soon

Interviews Loading

Featured interviews will be added here. Check back soon.

CH. 09

Media Diet

Follow Along
What I consume
Available for select projects

Culture. Curiosity.
Strategy. Intelligence.

Creative strategist working at the intersection of culture, entertainment, and AI. Based in Los Angeles.

Jgerms20@gmail.com
Focused On
Brand strategy & creative direction
Podcasting & audio storytelling
AI building & workflows
Marketing & connections planning
Entertainment, film & IP-driven storytelling
Building and scaling platforms & companies
Available For
AI-enhanced creative strategy
Freelance & consulting — strategy, AI, creative direction
Full-time at the intersection of brand, entertainment & tech
Photography — commissions & collaborations
Collaborations with creators, studios & founders
New ventures & long-term partnerships
Spaces
Entertainment & media
Technology & AI
Music, audio & podcasting
Fashion & retail
Consumer brands with cultural presence
Sports & culture-driven brands
Startups & early-stage ventures

“I’m a Creative Strategist, photographer, podcaster, and builder — living in Los Angeles, chasing every idea worth chasing, and making work that sits at the intersection of culture, story, and what’s next.”

Joshua McKenzie German · Los Angeles, CA

Independent Practice

Early-stage advisory work. Access is restricted — enter the code or reach out directly.

Incorrect password. Try again.