Meet Stu Swineford | Marketing Specialist and Mountain Fella

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stu Swineford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stu, how does your business help the community?
At Relish, we like to say we help good people do great things through digital marketing.

We strive to help purpose-focused, growth-driven leaders make the world a better place.

When looking at partnerships and assessing new client opportunities, we look at each through this lens. Certainly, not every client we have helped since our inception has met this standard, but we have found that when the leadership and mission align with these ideals, we do our best work.

Over the years, our “giving back” approach has had an environmental focus and we have been part of the Colorado Outdoor Business Alliance (serving on its Steering Committee), 1% for the Planet, Good Business Colorado, Consultants for Good, and other organizations seeking to advance and mainstream corporate altruism and a focus on the BCorp ideals of focus on the triple bottom line (profit, people, and the planet).

Though we are not currently a BCorp, we have applied to their program in the past, and were recognized as a “Best for Colorado” company in 2018.

By aligning our primary client test with altruism, we are able to apply our expertise to helping those who help others, promote that type of thinking, and encourage others to do the same.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Art played a role in my life from an early age. My grandfather, Derald Swineford was an art professor at a small college in Chickasha, Oklahoma. He saw his art as a mechanism to teach others and was consistently experimenting with techniques and styles to share with his students.

I spent many years ignoring my artistic self in pursuit of a career in science. Fortunately, I was able to rekindle my love for art and words when I became a copywriter then digital/graphic artist in the early 90s. Discovering the overlap of art and business in my 20s helped fuel a career that leverages the importance of storytelling and visual media to help create relationships.

We see marketing as relationship-building at scale. Art has always brought people together and I’m happy to be leverage the power of art to create connections that contribute to the advancement of great causes.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am drawn to outdoor places and activities, so would seek out opportunities to explore the outdoors with the city and state. The activities I would recommend would need to be aligned with the fitness and expertise of my guest but a few activities that could be on the list would include:

Exploration of the art scene. There’s so much to check out in the Denver area: I’ve had the pleasure of seeing immersive/interactive installations, opera, museums, music and shows, and once rode bikes from Nederland to RiNo to do a riding tour of the local graffiti scene.

We’d certainly get out in nature. Hiking, camping, or climbing any of the numerous locations in the area. I once had the pleasure of running the Four Pass Loop near Aspen and can’t recommend it highly enough.

I’d also be sure to explore Denver’s food scene. Though I don’t spend a lot of time in Denver these days, Williams & Graham, Linger, Root Down, and Crema are go-tos when showing people around the area.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Laura Love at GroundFloor Media/Center Table has been instrumental in our success. She’s consistently been supportive, generous with her time, and has served as an example of how business can be done better.

Jeff Kinsey at The Backcountry Business Coach has been a consistent friend and mentor. His approach to business combines practical business acumen with a foot firmly rooted in nature.

I’ve always admired Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia. His book “Let My People Go Surfing” reinforced the importance of staying aware of why we work and our attachment to the natural world.

Website: https://relishstudio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/relishcolorado/

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/sswineford

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RelishStudio

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Relishstudio