My Framer Site

My name is AJ Nichols and I am an entrepreneur, leader, creative strategist, and a multi medium artist. I have 10+ years of experience in business development, brand building, creative direction, go to market strategies as well product development, supply chain management and both B2B and D2C sales spanning the outdoor, action sports, apparel and food and beverage industries.

My entrepreneurial start was in the ski and snowboard industry, owning and operating an independent sales agency representing brands such as K2 Snowboards, Dragon Alliance, Nike and TREW outerwear. After nearly a decade of working in the industry I closed my agency and took some time to reflect and help my family during some very difficult times. During that downtime I recognized my love for coffee and found a new passion in roasting coffee.

In 2013 I Co Founded ASHE Supply Co, a coffee roasting company based in Detroit, MI. What started out as a hobby in my apartment in Southwest Detroit was scaled into a mobile coffee cart and eventually into multiple brick and mortar cafes, with online sales and wholesale accounts across the country. As the pandemic dragged on, I was feeling the need for a major change in my life. In December of 2021 we exited and sold the business to a local brewery under our secondary name of ASHE Coffee, for which it still operates today.

Unsure of what to do next, I leaned into my ability to always take action and embrace the unknown. In March of 2022 I sold all of my possessions and moved to Aspen Colorado to snowboard and immerse myself in a passion and lifestyle I had put to the side entirely while building my roasting company. After one of the best years of my life, I made the tough decision to leave Aspen in April of 2023 as I know I will find my way back there someday but for now I'm meant to call the road home.

I'm on a journey, rewriting my life while living out of my truck, freelancing and pushing personal and professional boundaries. I am lover of life, the arts, all things dangerous and passionate about a life full of experiences, helping others wherever I can and confined to no box.

My entrepreneurial start was in the ski and snowboard industry, owning and operating an independent sales agency representing brands such as K2 Skis & Snowboards, Dragon Alliance, Nike and TREW outerwear. After nearly a decade of working in the ski and snowboard industry I closed my agency and took some time to reflect and help my family during some very difficult times. During that downtime I recognized my love for coffee and found a new passion in roasting coffee.

01
biz dev

Successfully bootstrapped two businesses clearing $Millions in revenue. Responsible for all business development, product development, creative assets, marketing/pr, sales, supply chain management and distribution.

02
mareting/pr

Natural storyteller, relationship builder and multi medium artist who is an experienced public speaker and thrives on curating a brand's voice through storytelling and strategic marketing campaigns.

03
creative

As a creative strategist, writer, graphic designer, photographer and videographer I am most happy when branding and telling stories through multiple mediums.

04
sales

From a single product to a 100+ product line, I have 15 years of experience in building and executing sales programs and strategies in both B2B and D2C sales spanning the outdoor, action sports, apparel and F&B industries.

ASHE Supply co: Co-founder
ceo/creative director
detroit, mi

In 2013 I Co Founded ASHE Supply Co. I was the managing partner, CEO and Creative director. I handled all sourcing, production, branding, packaging, retail operations, sales and distribution. Successfully sold the business in December of 2021. You can read a review of our flagship roastery from Cyties publication, here.

gnar sales: Founder
midwest territory

I was 25 years old, realizing my professional snowboarding career was simply that of pipes and I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but managing that snowboard shop was a dead end. So I tried the corporate route…which lasted about 15 months. So I bought a van, tossed a wicker couch in it and decided to start a sales agency and become an independent snowboard rep. I represented brands such as K2 Snowboards, Dragon, Nike and TREW Outerwear. Through this opportunity I worked on National Marketing campaigns for each brand, scaled territory sales and presented at National and International trade shows.

abel brown co: consultant
marketing strategy
content creation
fort collins, co

On a three month contract I was able to realign the brands voice, direction and marketing strategy. We initiated new social content strategies, event sponsorship and attendance as well as built a future use case ambassador content and storytelling programs. With thoughtful customer experience interacting with the brand and its products, we successfully built a more engaging and user friendly website partnered with fresh new product photos, videos and copy. Created strategy SOPs for internal team to continue to use and build from as needed .

adv overland: marketing consultant petersen automotive museum
Los angeles, ca

I am honored to have played a small role in the ADV Overland exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum in July 2020. I was brought into mix late on the project and my area of expertise was to network the project with the Automotive Industry in Detroit, ideate marketing materials and opportunities acted as a brand ambassador on site at the event. You can find an event overview here.

moto: founding member
one of ten
detroit, mi

MOTO, it's a new kind of motorcycle club and I'm incredibly honored to have been asked to be a founding member and to help foster a new artistic and collaborative moto community. As an avid motorcyclist I know and understand the areas in which communal support is lacking for the moto community and beyond. Utilizing my years of business development, community building, branding and retail operations I will be able to help the MOTO team mitigate the early stage unknowns and barriers of entry all while helping the team define the brands voice and direction.

MOTO, it's a new kind of motorcycle club and I'm incredibly proud to have been chosen to help foster a new artistic and collaborative moto community. As an avid motorcyclist I know and understand the community and areas in which communal support is lacking. Utilizing my years of business development, community building, branding and retail operations I will be able to help mitigate the early stage unknowns and barriers of entry all while helping find and guide the brand voice and direction.

jpmorgan chase: marketing manager
customer experience
detroit, mi

As the Customer Experience Marketing Manager, I developed all marketing materials and distribution for National Chase Homeownership Events. I oversaw the video production of the events and worked with the creative department to create an authentic recap of the event to share with the Attorney Generals office of each state hosting a CHOC event.