Tom Coates is executive creative director at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners in Sausalito, California where clients include MINI Cooper, Greyhound, PowerBar, and Nature Made Vitamins. He began at BSSP as ACD on Converse working on their iconic “Chuck Taylor” and re-launching the brand in basketball with NBA star Dwyane Wade. He’s created global campaigns for Columbia Sportswear and re-introduced the legendarily rugged Sorel boots as a women’s fashion brand. He began his career as a copywriter in San Francisco during the first dot-com boom making ads for adidas, Sega, CNET, and more internet start-ups than he can remember. He worked at various agencies as writer and creative director including a year launching major titles for Electronic Arts such as Madden and NBA Live. Tom lives in Marin County, the birthplace of mountain biking and excessive trophy giving, with his wife, two boys, their trusty dog, Thunder Biscuit Coates I, and a fish named Draymond Gold.