Back in high school, I landed a job at a local car wash—and loved it. I literally thought college was for suckers and that washing cars was my ticket to glory. In retrospect, I was kind of a moron. Thankfully, I pulled my head out of my ass and went to college.

After graduating from Eastern Michigan University, I moved to the Chicago area to experience life outside of Detroit. But with little on my résumé other than a deep understanding of automotive cleanliness, the only job I could land was building display stands for mini boxes of cereal. Shocking, I know. But as luck would have it, that gig became the start of my advertising journey—because nothing motivates you to land a ‘real’ job quite like the drudgery of line work.

After conquering the cereal display box industry, I moved back to the Detroit area and, with a little help from a friend, landed a job at FCB Worldwide as a traffic coordinator. And after many long months, I somehow convinced one of the creative directors to let me take a stab at an ad or two. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, after years in the business—working on countless brands and winning some major awards along the way—I still can’t believe how good I am at washing cars. There may still be a career in it.

Awards: Communication Arts. One Show Merit. Radio Mercury. Kelly. Effie. Mobius. D Show. A clock from the Detroit Free Press. World’s greatest dad.