HeY, I’m ERIC.
I dream up big IDEAS & see how far i can take them.
This has led me to some particularly memorable experiences, including playing in a rock band, hitchhiking across Europe, visiting all 50 U.S. states, and starting my own marketing agency.
Now I’m dreaming up my next big idea… maybe you‘ll join me?
Marketing AgencyJOYRYDE
I’ve spent most of my life living out of a suitcase, freelancing remote jobs across marketing, photography, video production, and everything in between. Eventually, I decided to build something of my own.
What started as a one-man show is now a small-but-mighty team focused on lifecycle marketing and web development — helping ecommerce brands grow in ways that feel as good as they look.
Over the past decade, we’ve worked with 50+ brands across nearly every industry, generated $350K+ in annual revenue, and driven $50M+ in attributed revenue for clients.
INDIE ROCK BANDWalden
What started with an open mic at a half-empty Pizza Hut, quickly turned into four smelly bandmates, a van, and a dream. My band, Walden, now has over 10M+ career streams, 100K+ YouTube views, and major festival appearances including Bonnaroo, Summerfest, and Kaaboo.
As the band’s creative lead, I wear just about every hat imaginable – producing albums, directing music videos, launching crowdfunding campaigns, running socials, designing merch, building websites – all on way too little sleep. Walden became my crash course in branding, storytelling, and figuring out how to make something out of nothing.
DIY 50-STATE TOURWHERE’S WALDEN TOUR
The Where’s Walden Tour was our band’s response to a pandemic that erased touring, dissolved our booking agency, and eliminated our revenue streams. I wanted us to return bigger and bolder than ever, with an idea that would rally the band and ignite our fan base again.
As travel restrictions started to lift, the idea for the Where’s Walden Tour was born; a self-booked DIY tour of all 50 states that relied on crowdfunding to get the band from state to state. We gamified the campaign by allowing fans to sponsor tanks of gas, hotel rooms, and experiences such as skydiving. Donors received personal shout-outs on the band’s social media.
The tour ended up grossing over $80k, about 30% of which was raised through our interactive website, which i designed using Wordpress & WooCommerce.
Red Bull™ COMPETITIONCan You Make It? Challenge
No money. No phones. Just a backpack full of Red Bull™ and 7 days to cross a continent.
The Can You Make It? Challenge was a competition where student teams race across Europe, relying solely on cans of Red Bull™ to barter for food, shelter, and transportation – all while being filmed for Red Bull™ TV.
I co-produced my team’s viral entry video, which earned 4,000+ votes (with a little help from our university’s football team, alumni, and local press), landing us a spot as one of 165 global teams. The video was later recognized at Red Bull™ HQ in Austria. Along the way, we skied the Swiss Alps, showered under waterfalls, and slept beneath the Eiffel Tower. A pretty solid week if you ask me!
iOS MOBILE APPPingaeA
Pingaea was a mobile iOS app created in 2017 during the UGA Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program to help adventurers and unconventional fun-seekers discover hidden local experiences.
I led UX design for the app, working alongside a teammate who handled development. The app let users “drop pins” for their favorite offbeat activities – from secret swimming holes to hidden caves – allowing others nearby can explore them, upvote, comment, and share photos. The result: a living, community-powered map of the most memorable things to do in any area.
