Steven John Denekas
Born in Blue Earth, Minnesota
January — 1977

Raised in Le Mars, Iowa; the Ice Cream Capital of the World, Steve Denekas was the kid on the outside. A misfit in army boots, too loud for the cornfields, too restless for small-town silence. He found his voice yelling into a mic as the frontman of a punk band and arguing truths on the high school debate team.

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After a short, soul-crushing detour in music production in Orlando (never again), he packed up his gear and headed to Chicago with his friends to start a band and chase a record deal. To fund gas for his beat-up white Econoline van, he got a job at Kinko’s; quickly becoming the punk rock guy behind the counter, designing and printing posters with whatever tools he could scrounge. Instinct led the way. Rules were meant to be bent or ignored entirely.

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An opening in a mount room gave him his first glimpse into advertising. From a converted supply closet at BBDO Chicago, he started backing creative teams; hustling, learning, making. He eventually earned a Cannes Lion for his work on Canadian Club, and soon he would pick up and take a role at  Wieden+Kennedy. Portland-bound, he eventually became Design Director there, helping craft iconic campaigns for Levi’s® and other cultural heavyweights, usually armed with nothing more than a busted photocopier and a healthy disregard for the expected.

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In the 2010s, Denekas dragged his punk-rock mindset into the digital world, helping build and scale creative teams at Instrument in Portland and BASIC/DEPT® in San Diego. No glossy bullshit; just smart, raw, instinctual work all the while helping agency founders turn their dream into millions.

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Today, he’s the Chief Creative Officer at Crispin. Still loud. Still restless. Still allergic to anything that feels safe.

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Luv,