We got stuff you don't even know about. We're an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, deep-fried in a vat of mind-boggler. We're so lean you can see those weird muscles you never knew existed. Our favorite clouds are greenish black Cumulonimbus. If we could get a hold of some cobra blood we would drink it. We wish we were born to Viking parents in the days of yore. We fall somewhere between war lords and Lords of Dance. We eat beef jerky sandwiches. Our drug of choice is caffeine. We all have done things for money we're ashamed of. We're fearless. We talk about burritos in reverent, hushed tones. We believe Gandhi should've picked up a stick and kicked some British ass. We like caterpillars that keep it real and don't turn into butterflies. Our favorite holiday is Columbus Day. Our standards are so high we're not impressed by the Grand Canyon or NASA. We believe global warming is better than cold war. We loathe copious amounts of stitching on pant pockets. We always root for the Washington Generals. We don't believe in half ass, mediocrity or failure. We know sarcasm is the lowest form of humor but we still think it's funny. We would win both showcases on the Showcase Showdown. We don't believe ice dancing should be considered a sport, let alone an Olympic one. We would pay good money to see a bear fight a shark. We don't believe in straws, umbrellas or scarves. We won't watch a movie that doesn't have at least one explosion. We're still trying to figure out skinny jeans. 75% of us drive German automobiles, 25% of us don't. We have a gumball machine full of Ritalin and Excedrin Migraine. We're still bitter about having to learn the Dewey Decimal system. We think the worst and coolest form of advertising is a giant purple gorilla. We are Super Top Secret.
Favorites:
Ocean air, Flops, German engineering, Seeds, Hoodies, My chamacos.
Ryan Martindale
Partner/Creative Director
Martindale is a CD/Writer who despite the rumors, doesn't believe advertising is dead. He's made the rounds in the ad world and worked at places like Publicis, GSD&M and most recently helped open the Leo Burnett LA office. He's worked on brands like BMW, Southwest, PowerBar, Heineken, Nintendo and Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Ryan's toiled like a sharecropper for the last decade building brands on a national and international level, but at the end of the day he always wanted his own shop. The chips finally fell into place and Super Top Secret was born. Ryan's into snowboarding, surfing and the kind of mountain biking that involves shoulder pads, Kevlar and good health insurance.
Ryan Potter
Partner/Interactive Director
Potter can do things with the Internet you never dreamed possible. He's an Interactive Designer/Programmer/Producer extraordinaire. His diverse background gives him the unique perspective of fundamentally understanding each piece of the puzzle that makes up an interactive work of art. As the head of interactive at Struck he used his computer voodoo to create ridiculous sites for Nintendo, Adidas, Mini, De Beers, North Face, Adobe, Alltel, and General Motors to name a few. For fun he works on custom bobber motorcycles and growing the perfect Leonidus beard.
Favorites:
Fantasy baseball, Skateboarding, Butt-rock and Trans Ams.
Jared Strain
Partner/Design Director
Jared is a designer savant. When he worked for the man he did tours at General Public and Wexley School for Girls where he worked on Coke, Microsoft, Nike and MTV to name a few smallish brands. Then he decided to do what he loved most and started his own place, designing heavily for action sports giants Rossignol, Roxy, K2 and Diamond Back. His shop, called Death and Taxes, kept growing and growing until one day it spun a cocoon. A few years and a few new partners later it evolved and emerged as Super Top Secret. Jared is a grown ass man who still skates and is heavily addicted to fantasy sports, chili-cheese dogs and glam rock.
Rheda Fouad
Partner/Consigliere
Rheda is the resident left brains of our operation. After devoting a large chunk of his life to studying economics, Rheda emerged as a business mastermind and a card carrying member of the Illuminati. Armed with a head full of complex equations and financial formulas, he is able to figure out how to win even when everyone else is losing. Behind his back we call him Rain Man and are constantly trying to talk him into a Vegas trip. After running a successful family enterprise and growing his real-estate empire, Rheda decided to take on a new challenge and boldly stepped into the wild west of technology and advertising. He has become our trusted Consigliere and is constantly watching out for the STS family. On the rare occasion when he has some down time you can find him with a stiff drink in hand cruising the net looking for high rises for sale. He wants a skyscraper with his name on it. Seriously. He’s not messing around.
Favorites:
A big black dog named Carl, Call of Duty, Getting TUFF, Explosions!
Aaron Sather
Partner/Director of Design
Aaron is the boy wonder of design. Don't let his Tiger Beat good looks fool you, he's been around the corporate block and worked at General Public, Publicis and freelanced too many places to list. He cut his teeth on brands like Rolling Stone, T-Mobile, Coke, Nordstrom, Hasbro and Fox Racing. Eventually he joined forces with Jared to start Death and Taxes where they became the go to guys for K2, Atomic, Diamond Back, Rossignol, Roxy and Ride Snowboards. When he's not designing, you can find him drinking enough protein shakes to kill a baby Clydesdale and lifting enormous amounts of weights.
