St. Louis, Missouri · Open to the Right Role

Twenty-three years of making things that work.

Video and film. Live events. Training and instruction. Marketing with measurable results. I've spent my career building all four for other organizations, and now I'm looking to bring the whole toolkit in-house to one.

Years of professional practice23
Telly Awards, PBS documentary series4
Households reached, PBS broadcast255M+
Organizations served150+
Qualified leads, one engagement30,500+
Workshop participants taught200+

What I Do

Four crafts, one person, all still in active practice.

Most careers go deep on one of these. Mine required all four, usually in the same week. Whichever one brought you here, the other three come with me.

Lane One

Video & Film Production

Full-lifecycle producer, director, cinematographer, and editor. I self-produced a two-part documentary series that aired on PBS across the U.S. and Canada for over a decade, programmed alongside Ken Burns' "The National Parks." Today I produce a Fortune 1000 sales training program and run live multi-camera broadcast production every week.

Proof: 4 Telly Awards · PBS broadcast, 10+ years · 255M+ households reached · Fortune 1000 training program · weekly live multi-camera production

Lane Two

Events & Live Production

Fifteen years producing brand, communications, registration systems, and on-site production for five of the largest cycling events in the country, which kept selling out year after year. Now I produce weekly hybrid public programs, services, memorials, panels, and performances, from run-of-show to livestream.

Proof: 5 major national events, 15 years · hundreds of sponsor relationships · weekly hybrid programs, in production now

Lane Three

Training & Instruction

I wrote a 282-page marketing book and taught its workshops to more than 200 business owners. I produced patient education inside a Washington University School of Medicine research study, and I currently train staff and volunteers of every skill level to run live technical production on their own.

Proof: 200+ workshop participants · WashU School of Medicine · Seattle University · 175K-subscriber educational series

Lane Four

Marketing & Communications

As fractional CMO for a $500M national manufacturer, I built the demand generation system that produced more than 30,500 qualified leads with campaign ROI from 207% to 1,200%, and the systems kept running after I left. Across 23 years I've built 100+ brand systems for organizations from startups to institutions.

Proof: 30,500+ qualified leads · 207% to 1,200% ROI · 100+ brand systems · published author

Portfolio

Selected work, 2002 to now.

A cross-section from all four lanes. Links open the work where it lives; internal and client-confidential pieces are available in a private reel on request.

Documentary · PBS

Paving The Way: The National Park-to-Park Highway

Executive Producer · Director · Cinematographer · Editor

Two-part historical documentary series broadcast on PBS across the U.S. and Canada for 10+ years, reaching over 255 million households, programmed alongside Ken Burns' "The National Parks." Four Telly Awards.

Watch Paving The Way
Documentary Series

Happymess

Executive Producer · Director · Cinematographer · Editor

A released documentary series on teen mental health. Sensitive interviews with teens, families, and experts, turned into something engaging and honest.

Watch Happymess
WashU School of Medicine

Given The Choice

Producer · Director · Editor

Documentary and patient education videos produced for Washington University School of Medicine’s Contraceptive CHOICE Project, working directly with investigators and research staff.

Available on request
Educational Series · YouTube

Red Meat Lover & Meat America

Co-Founder · Producer · Director · Editor

Educational cooking series grown to 190K subscribers and 18M+ views, plus a national travel series filmed with top chefs. Built, grown, and sold in 2026.

Watch on YouTube
Training · Fortune 1000

Winnebago National Sales Training Program

Producer · Writer · Director · Editor

Ongoing internal training video program for national sales teams: scriptwriting, storyboarding, location filming, and delivery since 2022.

Internal · excerpts on request
Live · Weekly Broadcast

Ethical Society of St. Louis Webcasts

AV Lead · System Designer · Live Director

Designed and expanded a three-camera PTZ broadcast system for a hybrid auditorium; live switching, audio engineering, and weekly public webcasts.

Watch a recent broadcast
Events · 15 Years

Five National Cycling Events

Creative Director · Brand · Films · Registration

Annual brand films, photography, registration systems, and sponsor materials for five of the largest cycling events in the U.S., sold out year after year.

Archive reel on request
Marketing · $500M Manufacturer

The Grimco Demand Engine

Fractional CMO · Campaign Producer

Full demand generation system: 30,500+ qualified leads, 690 first-time buyers, campaign ROI from 207% to 1,200%. Still running after I left.

Case study on request
Author · Curriculum

Unify Your Marketing

Author · Workshop Developer · Facilitator

A 282-page guide to building a unified marketing system, taught as a workshop curriculum to more than 200 business owners.

About the book

The Record

The full credits roll.

Everything below is verifiable, and I'm happy to walk through any line of it in an interview.

Awards & Honors

Telly Award, Documentary for TelevisionPaving The Way
Telly Award, CinematographyPaving The Way
Telly Award, CopywritingPaving The Way
Telly Award, Original MusicPaving The Way
YouTube Silver Play Button100,000+ subs
Home Builders Association Awards, client work3x winner

Career Milestones

Founded Sizzle Creative Agency2002
PBS broadcast premiere, Paving The Way2009
Authored "Unify Your Marketing"282 pages
Built SignUpGo registration softwareFounder
Built and sold a YouTube media businessExit, 2026
Auditorium broadcast facility modernization2025

By the Numbers

Years of professional practice23
Organizations served150+
Brand systems built100+
Qualified leads, one engagement30,500+
Campaign ROI range207% to 1,200%
First-time buyers acquired, one engagement690
Educational series audience18M+ views
Workshop participants taught200+
National events produced, over 15 years5
Years on PBS broadcast10+
Households reached, PBS broadcast255M+

Organizations Served

Washington University School of MedicineResearch study media
Seattle UniversitySpeaker series podcast
Ethical Society of St. LouisAV lead, web
Winnebago IndustriesSales training video
GrimcoDemand generation
Rocky Mountain EventsEvents, brand & film
LuMinNational branding
Pacific LearningEducational media
Forest ReLeafNonprofit marketing
Total organizations, 2002 to now150+

The Obvious Question

Why does a 23-year founder want to join your team?

Fair question. Here's the honest answer: after two decades of building for more than 150 organizations, I want to build deep for one. Agency life means you hand off the work right when it gets interesting. In-house means you get to stay, measure, improve, and compound.

What you get is unusual: a senior practitioner who still does the work with his own hands, has run budgets and teams and deadlines for 23 years without a boss making him, and has nothing left to prove about whether he can execute. What I'm looking for is a mission worth that toolkit and colleagues to build it with.

The Person

Rooted in St. Louis. Built for the long haul.

Bear Wade

I live in Manchester, Missouri with my wife Jennifer and our two sons. I've built my entire career here, serving Midwest institutions and national brands from the same zip code for more than two decades.

I'm a maker by nature: documentary film, a marketing book, a children's book series in progress with Jennifer, and a lifelong volleyball habit. The thread through all of it is the same: take something complicated, make it clear, and ship it.

References, a portfolio reel, and role-specific resumes are available on request. One conversation will tell you more than any of it.

Capabilities

The toolkit, spelled out.

For the skimmers, the screeners, and the search bars: here is what I actually do, tool by tool and skill by skill.

Production & Post

ProducingDirectingCinematographyAdobe Premiere ProDaVinci ResolveFinal Cut ProColor GradingAudio Mixing & MasteringSound DesignMotion GraphicsFrame.ioLighting DesignInterview DirectionScriptwritingStoryboarding

Live & Events

Multi-Camera ProductionBlackmagic ATEM SwitchingPTZ Camera SystemsLivestreaming & WebcastingLive Audio EngineeringEvent Planning & LogisticsRegistration SystemsRun-of-ShowVendor & Sponsor RelationsHybrid Event Production

Training & Education

Curriculum DevelopmentWorkshop FacilitationInstructional VideoeLearning ContentOne-on-One CoachingStaff & Volunteer TrainingPatient & Technical EducationScaffolded InstructionProgram Evaluation

Marketing, Design & Systems

Demand GenerationBrand SystemsCampaign StrategyCopywritingEmail Campaigns & NewslettersGraphic DesignAdobe Illustrator, InDesign & PhotoshopPhotographyKPI Tracking & ReportingMicrosoft OfficeAsanaClickUpTrelloMonday.com

Web & Product Development

Web Design & MaintenanceWordPressElementor ProHTML & CSSNext.jsReactTypeScriptTailwind CSSSupabasePostgreSQLMongoDBRavenDBStripe IntegrationVercelGitHubFlywheel HostingSaaS Product DevelopmentMobile-First & PWA Design

AI Tools & Workflows

ClaudeChatGPTGeminiGrokPerplexityCursorMake.comn8nAI Automation & Agent WorkflowsPrompt EngineeringAI-Assisted DevelopmentAI Content & Marketing WorkflowsAI-Accelerated Research

Contact

Hiring for a role this fits? Let's talk.

I respond fastest to email, usually same day.