With McFaul–Day — Specialized’s long-time creative partner

— I helped lead one of the brand’s most distinctive collaborations:

a global partnership with Swedish outdoor icon Fjällräven.

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The Great Nearby was more than simply a campaign.

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It was a finely judged balancing act, a true cultural exchange,

and one of the hardest — and therefore most rewarding —

projects of my career.

Two radically different worlds met:

the bold precision of a Californian performance brand

and the quiet simplicity of Swedish outdoor craft.

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Specialized brought speed and swagger.

Fjällräven brought soul, restraint, and warmth.

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Our job was simply to fuse them without flattening either.

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REAL RESONANCE DOESN’T COME FROM PLAYING IT SAFE. IT COMES FROM TENSION, TASTE, AND TRUST.

...and that (of course) wasn’t easy.

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This was a true tonal tightrope — a clash of cultures that demanded diplomacy, deep listening,

‍and a willingness to sit in the discomfort of difference.

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The tension was the breakthrough. The difficulty sharpened the work, pushed the thinking, and turned a collaboration into a chemistry. The hard part was, ultimately, the genius.

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Finding the language, feel, and rhythm that honoured both sides was the work.

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Shot in ‘Caliswede’, the campaign blended humour, humanity, and everyday adventure.

‍Like eating a dirty burger off the hood of a Saab

— the perfect mix of unlikely ingredients that somehow made absolute sense.

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And the real magic (as always) came from the team — not one, but three.

Specialized. Fjällräven. McFaul–Day.

Different instincts, different cultures, different ways of seeing the world, all pulling in the same direction. The friction made us sharper. The trust made it possible. Without that three-way partnership, this would never have become what it became.

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A MOOD. A MINDSET. ABOVE ALL, A VOICE.

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A collaboration that became a shared language

— witty, warm, and culturally intelligent.

Across seasons, we built a global narrative, guidelines, film, photography, digital, retail, experiential, and social

— all centred on an idea bigger than product: freedom is closer than you think.

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TAKEAWAYS

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01

Defined a shared creative strategy and tone for two brands with fundamentally different heritages

— aligning American performance with Swedish outdoor craft without diluting either.

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02

Built a flexible, multi-season global platform spanning film, photography, digital, retail, and experiential

— giving both brands a unified storytelling system for The Great Nearby.

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03

Demonstrated the power of cross-disciplinary collaboration

— uniting teams across studios, disciplines, and cultures

to turn a complex partnership into coherent, human, culturally resonant work.