When Stevan Chavez was a public-school 5th grader, he won a contest called “What’s Your Favorite Ad and Why?” His prize: a tour of DDB’s office, a screening of their reel, and a chance to make a Nike ad. He liked it very much and swore he’d one day work in advertising.
Years later, during the first Obama administration, he got a job at American Eagle Outfitters to put himself through community college in Dallas. It was there he met a real, live art director. He and the art director talked for too long about ad schools and portfolios. She gave him a list of schools to look into. He decided to move to Atlanta and learn how to make ads at a school called Creative Circus.
His first real ad gig was in Seattle at boutique agency, Wexley School for Girls. It was all fun and games until the day his copywriter was abruptly let go. The very next morning, he got a call from an old friend, Michael Gallucci, who invited Stevan to partner with him at a small agency in San Francisco called Muh-tay-zik | Hof-fer. They linked up, made a lot of great work, won a few pitches and awards, and met many more cool people.
They still make ads, win awards, and meet cool people to this day at a place called Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. There, Stevan is living out his 5th-grade fantasy of AD/CW/ACD—and some light CDing.