What even is an adventure agency?
When talking to new clients a lot of people ask why I set up Multivitamin. This is our origin story.
I’ve always been creative.
I’ve always loved adventure.
I worked in advertising for a second but it wasn’t what I grew up imagining it to be. There’s a lot of good work happening but you have to do your time to get to where you want to be. I wanted to use creativity to create work that endured.
Then I started climbing mountains.
You have to be fit. Learn about the environment. Research and get the right equipment. You have to plan your route, the time of year, the weather windows. You have to be prepared.
Then you have to do it.
As I in waited in the Hörnli Hut on the side of the Matterhorn, putting my kit on I had butterflies in my stomach. It was 3am, pitch black, minus 20 degrees and we were preparing to climb to the Summit. The Swiss get priority so we anxiously waited to step out into the abyss.
As we left it was pitch black and I was accompanied by a small cone of light from my head torch and a rope tied to my climbing partner. We scrambled and climbed up the rock face only being able to see 2 meters ahead.
This continued for a number of relentless hours until finally we started to see a glimpse of the sun. We weren’t cold because of the physical exertion but there was still a sense of warmth as the beautiful sunrise hit us. Suddenly your small cone of light is lifted to reveal the most beautiful Swiss and Italian scenery you’ve ever seen. The shadow from the masterful Matterhorn peak is cast ominously as a perfect, natural triangle for miles into the distance and it suddenly dawns on you that you’re hanging onto the side of the steepest ridge with just a rope holding you to your mate. The concentration, the fatigue, the danger and the beauty - It’s completely overwhelming and was something I’d never experienced before.
The warmth of the sun continues to spur you on through some of the more technical sections and even though your legs are knackered and it’s hard to breath I remained focused on the next hold.
You occasionally think you’re at the summit only for another stretch to be revealed as you climb over a peak.
Already using crampons, eventually the ridge merges into an ice field and the gradient reduces slightly. It was at this moment I felt a rush of elation. I could see the summit approach, I knew I was going to make it. The weight lifted from my shoulders, for a brief moment I forgot about anything else and was filled with elation as I approached the goal that I’d been dreaming of for so long.
By the time I was walking the final few steps along the tight rope ridge between Italy and Switzerland to the Summit I didn’t care that it was 50mph winds. I had the most immense rush, feeling both excitement and achievement.
I’d made it.
I’m probably going to get torn apart by the LI police by being schmaltzy but Mountains are about the most permanent thing we have on our beautiful planet.
In a world where technology and humanity is advancing at an exponential rate there’s increasingly less permanence.
So when I left advertising I realised I didn’t want to create campaigns that had a half-life of a month or two. I wanted to create brands that live, grow and evolve. I wanted to create digital products and experience that endure. I wanted to bake the preparatory approach into what we do, enjoy the journey of what we create and capture the that exquisite feeling of achieving one’s goals. I wanted to build a practice where we can share that feeling with our clients and partners, create beautiful moments of joy for their users. To feel the success together.
This is why Multivitamin isn't just about mountains anymore.
But it is why Multivitamin is built on an adventurous spirit.
This is why we love working with adventurous brands.
Those who don’t take the conventional path.
Those who truly innovate.
Those who want to improve our world.
This is why I set up Multivitamin.
