INTRO
Coles Notes of who I am
Welcome to my online resume. It’s more tongue in cheek than my CV or LinkedIn profile, as it’s more about why I love to do what I do, than just what I do. It’s also a replica of a site I built in my HackerYou (now Juno) Web Development class. I proudly coded that one from scratch, so I remade it in the Squarespace platform for nostalgia sake.
As you’ll read below, I’ve spent much of my professional career in the Digital Media space. From websites and all types of content, to social media and its many communities—if it’s connected to the Internet, I can manage it. I’m a prototypical jack-of-all-digital-trades, with extensive expert support to be able to get any online job done well and executed efficiently.
At the moment, I’m a part-time freelancer and seemingly full-time soccer dad. My main freelance client is a "producer and distributer of award-winning cannabis products,” and my freelance 'Digital Handyman' business services small businesses and hobbyists in need of a cost-effective digital resource. I manage and co-coach one of my son’s three soccer teams and spend the bulk of my time chauffeuring him to his high performance soccer school and plethora of training sessions and matches across the GTA and beyond.
In the past, I’ve been a boxing instructor, model and talent scout / agent, educational assistant, small business owner and music & event promoter. I’ve always done many things to make ends meet, but most importantly, I’m focused on maintaining the happiness I enjoy as a result of the very fortunate life I live with my wife and son in Toronto’s Liberty Village.
If you have something we can work on together, please hit me up. I always have a lot going on, but when it comes to interesting stuff, I can never do enough. Thanks for visiting, gD.
EXPERTISE
What I can do
CONTENT MANAGEMENT
This is my bread and butter. For tight and tidy online content, I’m your guy. I’ve worked with several different content and video management systems that were built and serviced in-house, as well as by third-party vendors. I have a thing for management systems.
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
In Juno’s UX Design course I explored 'The Five Planes of UX' methodology, as well as the 'The Systematic Approach to Design' and 'UX Accessibility.' I’ve also independently completed several Photoshop and Sketch courses, though experience is my best asset here.
NATIVE ADVERTISING
My process management philosophy came into play when I was entrusted to manage the native advertising executions for Rogers Publishing. I led the team that set up the tools and laid out the steps. Together, we created a boatload of revenue.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
I establish communities, host events, market products and inspire social justice commentary from all sides through a vast, organically-built social network (as well as some digital ads and e-blasts). Promotion is in my blood. Social media was hand-coded for people like me.
WEB DEVELOPMENT
I launched my first HTML website in 2002, and by ‘06, I graduated to WordPress installations. With the help of Juno’s Web Development program, I once coded a site that looked like this from scratch, but now I let content management systems do the work, aka Squarespace.
PROCESS MANAGEMENT
Consistency, clarity and efficiency lead to successful executions. Communicate and follow the standards and the results will almost always be positive. From my experience creating video encoding and native advertising processes, that’s been my story and I’m sticking to it.
FUNCTIONAL COPYWRITING
I inherited the gift of gab and have spent a lifetime filtering words from pen to paper—and now keyboard to monitor—for essays, case studies, blog posts, ad media, contest sites, etc., etc. Personally or professionally, I have a knack for getting one’s point across.
ANALYTICS
I’ve studies analytics, including Google Analytics, in many digital courses throughout the years. However, my most valuable experience comes from working with several cross-functional teams that use data to guide business decisions toward optimal results.
EXPERIENCE
Where I’ve put my expertise to work
2019 - Present
ENTOURAGE HEALTH CORP
Digital Content Specialist
Toronto, ON
Officially, Entourage is my main freelance client. However, I’ve worked with them since the first year of legalization, so the relationship deserves an entry of its own. Originally WeedMD, Entourage Health Corp. is a producer and distributer of award-winning cannabis products. The company has a rich history in the medical side of the business, through the Starseed Medicinal and Mary’s Medicinals brands. In recent years, Entourage has successfully broke into the recreational market with Color Cannabis and Saturday Cannabis. I am tremendously fortunate to have been brought on board to help manage their online corporate communications, website and internal all-staff email communications; aka, employee newsletters. Despite the industry’s slower-than-expected growth, I still see a considerable amount of potential in this space.
2018 - Present
BARNEY'S UPDATES
Freelance ‘Digital Handyman’
Toronto, ON
I absolutely love building online brands for small businesses and hobbyists. I’m inspired by the courage and dedication it takes to pave your own path. I find it unbelievably rewarding to work with these types of people. Plus, so many small business owners don’t have the time, resources or expertise to oversee a quality online brand. I believe I can provide the skill and knowhow to make their digital dreams a reality. And most importantly for some, I do the work for a reasonable cost. Check out the Digital Handyman section to learn more about my remarkable clients.
2002 - Forever
BRINGTHEBEATS
Founder / Music Promoter
Toronto, ON
bringthebeats should probably be pinned to the top my experience list permanently. It’s a passion project I will pursue for as long as I can hear the beats. Which will hopefully be as long as I have a heartbeat. For all the time and energy I’ve put into our house music movement, I’ve received equal parts knowledge and inspiration in return. bringthebeats is an ideal training ground for my writing, content management and social media marketing. Technically, I’ve learned so much, but emotionally I’ve profited even more.
The BTB community is somewhat paused at the moment. Parenthood doesn’t offer me the time to invest in the late-night aspect of the underground like I used to, so it’s time the brand evolves. bringthebeats will certainly play an important role in barneysUNMIXEDtapes and you never know what the future holds for a guy with house music pulsating through his veins.
2010 - 2017
ROGERS MEDIA
Digital Content Manager
Toronto, ON
I couldn’t have been in a better situation after I accepted an offer to join the Rogers Client Solutions team. We had it all; the all-time greatest Director, strong Project Managers, knowledgeable Engagement Managers, super creative Designers, skillful Developers and a wordsmith for a Copywriter. For a time, we also had an in-house QA Analyst and Information Architect. It was a tight-knit group who delivered high-quality executions worth millions of dollars. Restructuring got the best of the entire team, but not after I was able to gain invaluable experience alongside some of the smartest and most talented people in the Digital Media business.
2006 - 2010
CANWEST / ALLIANCE ATLANTIS
Senior Web Producer / Webmaster
Toronto, ON
I applied for a coordinator position at Alliance Atlantis, but didn’t land the gig. Two months later, I received a request to meet with the Digital Director and within a couple hours of that meeting, I accepted a more senior position than the one I applied for. The following year with the AA Digital team was extraordinary in so many ways. My highlight was the opportunity to lead the group that developed the department’s video-encoding process, which produced Canada’s first-ever online stream of a television episode! It was such a confidence-boosting experience. Despite the struggles that came with the sale of Alliance assets to Canwest—and partly because of them—I grew to become a true professional at 121 Bloor Street East.
2004 - 2006
CANOE / TORONTO 1
Digital Content (New Media) Coordinator
Toronto, ON
It was like I rubbed a bottle and out came a genie with my first Digital Media job. In reality, it was the Director of Marketing. He became the perfect mentor throughout my first career position. I was a sponge learning the technical aspects of Digital from the Craig Media IT group in Calgary, and Broadcast Television from TORONTO 1’s superstars in front of and behind the camera. After the station’s transition to Quebecor Media, I worked on SUN TV’s website with another well-oiled machine at Canoe. The entire experience was the epitome of starting off on the right foot.
2001 - 2004
BROADBELT & FONTE MODELS / MODEL & TALENT SEARCH CANADA
Booking Agent / Model & Talent Scout
Toronto, ON
This is the position that kick-started my journey to Toronto. I was scouted by a couple of models / actors (from Brantford of all places) to enter a model and talent competition called Model & Talent Search Canada (MTSC). Being a dime-a-dozen guy, I really had no interest in that side of the business; however, I was very intrigued by what they were doing. One thing led to another, and I was soon managing MTSC’s children’s competitions at conventions across the country and in the United States. A couple of years after joining the team, I took over bookings for sister company, Broadbelt & Fonte Models. In that position, I managed test shoots and brokered deals for models with agencies across the globe, including in fashion meccas such as New York City, Paris, France and Seoul, South Korea. As you can imagine, this was one of the coolest periods of my career, mostly because of the incredibly motivated and creative people I met throughout my time in “The Biz.”
1997 - 2001
EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANT
Brant Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic District School Board
Brantford, ON
While living in my hometown, I often worked several different part-time / full-time-seasonal positions simultaneously. I worked retail at Al’s Shoe Factory for over a decade. I was a camp councilor and program coordinator for Brantford’s Parks & Recreation for about as long. For a short time, I was a membership advisor at The Athletic Club and a bartender at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre.
However, the most rewarding and substantial position I held while living in Brantford was Educational Assistant for the Brant Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic District School Board. I landed the position after a successful season coaching the ninth grade basketball team at my alma mater, St. John’s College. The SJC principal saw how well I worked with the boys and offered me an opportunity to work with students dealing with behaviour issues. I completed several contracts where I worked one-on-one with elementary and high school students; however, my longest contract was in an off-site alternative learning centre for students in grade nine through OAC. Within this classroom I managed the attendance, all behavioural issues and I taught a physical education credit, as well as being a mentor to the students.
A victim of the program’s success, once the classroom was moved back into the school, I was bumped by another union member who wanted a full-time position and felt safer in the job now that it was back on site. It was a devastating blow to me personally and, in the end, the catalyst for my desire to leave Brantford for The 6ix.
NETWORK
Where you’ll find me
A more formal look at my career experience and education, as well as the home to one hell of a lot of spam.
Politics, social justice, pop culture, music, sports, friends and family. This personal diary is where I have my say, my way.
My profile is a more light-hearted look at my life, but I also manage an account for MaxFlashPower, our up-and-coming footy star.
The streaming home of barneysUNMIXEDtapes, which features over 1000 tracks carefully curated into 20 series and dozens of playlists.
With over 600 DJ sets available to stream and download, this collection is the beating heart of the bringthebeats community.
A celebrity, I am not. So, expect mostly reposts, but when breaking news hits, you should definitely check out my lists.
SPORTS
A dude who loves games
So much of my life in Brantford revolved around basketball, as a player, coach, referee and convenor. I played on some amazing high school teams and led another to a city championship as a coach. I also coached a U15 city select squad and founded a men’s summer league which ran for four seasons. Now, I’ve taken this experience and transitioned to the world of soccer where I manage and coach multiple tournament teams for my son. Being court or pitch-side is my happy place.
A huge fan of combat sports since I was a child, I was in search of a healthier workout regime in my early thirties. That’s when I found the multiple-time World Muay Thai Champion, Kru Clifton Brown at Totum Life Science. I trained under Clifton for five years and then was given the opportunity to instruct boxing classes, which I did at Totum for almost a decade.
I love everything about hoops, and because of our neighbourhood football club, I’ve also developed a mad passion for the beautiful game. Out of respect for both, and a desire to stay in touch with my hometown crew, I moderate Bell City Raps and Bell City Reds. These Brantford-based supporter groups are dedicated to Canadian basketball and soccer at all levels.
HOUSE MUSIC
I write DJ bios and stuff
GUY J
BIOGRAPHY WRITTEN FOR TEL AVIV'S SUPERSTAR DJ / PRODUCER
SULTAN ‘NUBREED’
SLEEVE NOTES FOR THE COMPILATION RELEASE ON GLOBAL UNDERGROUND
LUKE FAIR
BIOGRAPHY WRITTEN FOR TORONTO'S RENOWN DJ / PRODUCER
CESAR CABALLERO
BIOGRAPHY WRITTEN FOR COLOMBIA'S MULTI-TALENTED DJ / PRODUCER
