Relly relies on countless experts to pass on marketing knowledge, coach up our members, and provide real, practical value every day. But it all started as an “a-ha” with our founder, Maria, who put the team together to make it happen.
Maria Grimm
Maria’s bio needs more space. Not only was Relly her brainchild, she once got Snoop Dogg to do an intimate show at a Restaurant/Bar for a few hundred folks (pulling it off in just three weeks, including logistics, sponsorships, ticket sales, community outreach, and media relations). Monster trucks are her guilty pleasure. And she once went undercover as a homeless person, living on the streets and in a shelter to better understand that community, their needs, their life, and hardships so she could better serve them. So, yeah.
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Chris Barricks
Sure, he climbed from unpaid mailroom intern to the youngest VP/Creative Director at a $250+ million agency. Yes, he helped create and lead an agency within ESPN’s largest independent program producer. But ask him to brag about his achievements and you’ll hear about something a little less corporate (yet just as demanding): adopting two beautiful daughters.
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Jeff Barnes
Jeff’s a music connoisseur (he has 700+ albums, all vinyl). He’s nuts about drumming and has been playing since the late 70’s. And Star Wars actor Mark Hamill thought Jeff’s hand-built R2 unit was so cool, he signed it. But Jeff’s not all play and no work. He transitioned from print to web design in the late 90’s, and has never looked back.
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Justin Johnson
Justin still holds all the passing completion, yardage and TD records at his high school (going on 25 years now). But he’s not all about the past (even though it does include a grand-champion pig named Leroy and an Under Armor campaign with Steph Curry). Here and now, Justin is passionate about volunteering in his community, coaching youth sports, and helping startups and entrepreneurs craft their brand stories.
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Sean Lorton
The year Sean’s best friend got a video camera for Christmas changed his life. The two young boys started making short films, eventually stringing them together with fake commercials they created in-between like “Cheap & Strong Beer, made with local lake water.” But don’t worry. It got better. Sean’s now an Emmy Award winning, nationally recognized director and cinematographer of both commercials and films.
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As a child, Maria laid out a strategy for all the things she wanted to be when she grew up and presented this to her parents. To date, she’s checked off most of her list … with the exception of becoming President of the United States. Maybe after Relly … Maria’s sat at the table with some of the most well-known brands and shaped strategies that have generated millions of dollars. From
Budweiser to PGA of America, local community banks to start-ups, she’s had her fair share of experience with crafting content that connects with human emotions and moves the needle forward. With an American Marketing Association PCM certification and additional certifications in Google analytics, search ads, and Facebook ad planning, she’s a digital all-star who understands how each piece of the puzzle fits into the entire ecosystem of brand and marketing planning.
Maria is passionate about treating people as equals and allowing everyone to have the opportunity to succeed. Her daily goal is for everything she does to come from a place of love. She even has that tattooed on her wrist as a constant reminder.
Chris is a 30-year veteran in the ad business. His award-winning work has appeared nationally and internationally, both on TV and in publications such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. As a strategist and copywriter, he starts with a blank page (or screen). As creative director, he shapes the final product. And as a marketing major, he brings a business point of view to creative solutions.
Through the years, Chris’ portfolio has included work for brands like BASF, CompUSA, The Dallas Cowboys, ESPN, John Deere, The NFL Network, Six Flags, Time Warner, TV Guide and more. And, of course, Relly.
Jeff thinks of himself as a translator. He takes complex, multifaceted marketing plans and translates them into welcoming and easily workable web designs. Not an easy task. These days, websites are being called upon to handle everything from inventory to customer complaints, with mission statements, product choices and management profiles in between. Jeff excels at making the tour interesting and engaging.
Jeff has been doing this for 34 years. After graduating from the prestigious Colorado Institute of Art, he spent 12 years branding thousands of service stations as an art director for CITGO. Today, he has mastered the art of using the web to shape, define and extend brand identities for numerous industry leaders like AT&T, Xylem, Koch Industries companies and more. Like Relly.
The Relly stuff looks nice, doesn’t it? That’s thanks to our design guru Justin. You may have seen his work acknowledged in Print Magazine, HOW Magazine, American Corporate Identity, Creative 32, AIGA, Logo Lounge and others—if you’re into that kind of thing.
Justin began his professional journey with the world’s leading branding firm, Landor Associates, San Francisco, where he was one of just four U.S. college students awarded an internship. Things must’ve gone well, because in the last 20 years he’s developed brands, packaging and corporate communications for the likes of Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Hewlett-Packard, Cinergy Corp. (Now Duke Energy), E.W. Scripps (parent company of HGTV, DIY, and The Food Network), Arby’s, and more.
Sean grew up with a love for storytelling (creating make-believe worlds with his friends), woodworking (building intricate toys and furniture), and sports (football quarterback, baseball pitcher, wrestling, and soccer). Today, he’s just as accomplished, having created work for brands