Daniel was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was raised in Eden Prairie, Minnesota,
a sprawling suburb of Minneapolis.
When Daniel was in elementary school, his family lived on a hobby farm with an
assortment of farm animals (one chicken, one cow, three pigs and
lots of horses). It was here Daniel realized his special
affinity and concern for animals.
His favorite things were horseback riding, drawing and taking
photographs. Daniel always had his camera handy.
Art, music, math, English and the sciences came quite naturally to young Daniel.
He won his fifth grade spelling championship.
Daniel began taking guitar lessons at the age of 10. He also
designed and built his first Soap Box Derby car for competition in
Minneapolis.
At 13, he won the Minneapolis Soap Box Derby and was
flown to Akron, Ohio, to compete with other champions from
around the world.
At 13, he also started his first rock and roll
band.
At 15 years old (and armed with a brand new drivers license), Daniel led
a band and taught guitar lessons (house-to-house) around
Minneapolis and the lakes areas. His band competed in statewide contests.
Daniel also did some live modeling for Munsingwear and
photographic modeling for Crestliner Boats.
One of Dan's biggest influences during this time was his
neighbor, Al Shendel; owner of a very successful ad agency in
Minneapolis.
Daniel's favorite high school classes were art, music, trigonometry, plane geometry,
chemistry and physics. He participated in track, wrestling and
football.
Daniel was awarded top honors for his cartooning in the Eden
Prairie High School newspaper by the Minnesota High School Press
Association.
Just after graduating from high school, Daniel's band was awarded a recording
contract with the Date label (Columbia Records of New York).
While Daniel was attending art college in the Twin Cities, he was
offered a job as an advertising artist at the Minneapolis Star and
Tribune newspapers.
During this time, he also played in a band that performed
concerts throughout the Midwest. The band also recorded radio
commercials for local businesses. The band caught the eye of the
Smothers Brothers. Tom Smothers personally paid for a number of
recording sessions.
Daniel learned he was to be drafted, so he enlisted in
the Navy. He attended Navy communications and electronics schools around the country and
was then assigned to the communications division aboard the guided
missile cruiser, USS Columbus; a U.S. Navy flagship assigned to
the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. He was granted a top secret clearance.
While
overseas, Daniel's USS Columbus band performed at USO's, officer's clubs
and other venues in Malta, Italy, Sicily, France, Spain,
Mallorca, Greece and Turkey.
Also while overseas, he also won third place honors in an international photography
competition sponsored by 3M.
After the Navy, Daniel returned to Minneapolis and the newspapers.
Within a couple of years, he married and moved into a new home on
Clearwater Lake near Annandale, Minnesota.
In 1970, he founded Daniel Signs in Minneapolis. This company
produced custom signage and tradeshow displays. His client list became quite
impressive. Festivals and events around the nation also began
requesting his services. He soon found himself traveling to
Denver and Detroit many times throughout the year.
His company was one of the first in the Midwest to
utilize specialized computers (CAD/CAM) for signs and graphics.
Daniel won international
awards for his sign designs.
Daniel sold the sign company in 1991 to pursue video
production and
Internet related interests. He produced promotional videos for
custom home builders around the Twin Cities. Within a short
time, he also found himself
designing web sites for clients around the country.
In 2000, Daniel was appointed media manager for a strong
political challenger in a bid for a seat in the Minnesota State
House of Representatives - Minneapolis District 62A. During this
time, Daniel met with Governor Jesse Ventura several times.
In 2003, Daniel won an award for his design of the American Wings
Air Museum web site.
Daniel was a founding member of Single Volunteers of the Twin
Cities in 1999. He created and maintained their lifeline - their web site
- for three years.
Relying solely on the web site Daniel created for communications and new
membership, the organization grew from a handful of
volunteers to today's membership of over 5,000.
Daniel still volunteers whenever he can around greater Phoenix
and sometimes in Los Angeles and Minneapolis.
His favorite interests remain... art, design, music,
photography, video and visual marketing.
Read what
clients have to say about Daniel -
click here.
|
|
|
|
Portfolio...
Zacher
Homes
Builder of luxury homes and communities in the Phoenix area.
Warrior
Boats
Manufacturer of fine Warrior boats and
trailers.
Out of
the Woods
Luxurious custom cabinetry from Utah.
Get
In Gear 10k, 5k and 2k
"One of the top 100 road races in the US," says
Runner's World Magazine.
Merlin Development
Food research
and development.
Starland
Metals
Steel fabricator and stainless steel bbq manufacturer serving
the U.S. and Canada.
The
Landmark Forum
Landmark Education Corporation, with headquarters in San
Francisco, CA, and 43 main offices around the world.
Russian version
Foam
Fabricators
Protective product packaging specialists.
American
Wings Air Museum
Military aircraft museum featuring the Grumman Mohawk, pilot gear,
photographs and memorabilia.
Southbrook
Golf Club
Minnesota's new premiere 18-hole golf course and clubhouse.
EazyMove
Snowmobile Carts
Manufacturer of personal watercraft, snowmobile
and utility carts.
Odenthal Gunsmithing
Twin Cities company offering gunsmithing services nationally. |