Since I have been an entrepreneur pretty much all of my teenage life, I came into Washington State University like a sponge, ready to soak up any knowledge that was presented to me through my classes and all of the other things that the university had to offer. I have always been someone that recognizes we have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth so by listening and watching twice as much as I spoke, I was able to learn more than I could have ever expected from my education and experiences at WSU. The positive and knowledgeable experiences I had at this school will make me a proud supporter of this university and the programs that I was involved with for the rest of my life. I have always been both creative and business minded and this school gave me the resources I need to move forward in my professional career. Go Cougs.

As a student at Seattle Preparatory High School, I focused on perpetuating the ideals and wants that they set out for their students. After graduating from this school I felt as though I really exhibited their mission statement, which is to form discerning, transformational leaders who are intellectually competent, spiritually alive, open to growth, loving and committed to justice.

Bike

Golf

Creative Agencies

Fashion

Fishing

Lifestyle

Outdoor

Skate

Snow

Streetwear

Surf

Tech

Health & Fitness

Marketing

Promotions

And graphic design

Apparel production

Special events planning

Management - Brand

Creative Director & Entrepreneur | Fashion, Music & Visual Culture | Currently Creative Director for MGK

Executive

I’m Jake Zottoli — a Creative Director & Entrepreneur working across fashion, music, and visual culture. My work blends strategic vision with aesthetic clarity, shaping compelling creative systems and collaborations across industries.

Currently serving as Creative Director for MGK, I lead visual and cultural direction for projects that span campaigns, branded content, and artistic collaborations.

I create work that sits at the intersection of fashion, identity, and cultural storytelling. Connect with me or explore my portfolio at https://www.madebyzottoli.com.

As Creative Director for Machine Gun Kelly and Floor 13, I oversee the strategic development and execution of creative projects that elevate MGK's brand across music, fashion, and business ventures. My role involves blending innovation with business acumen to deliver cohesive and impactful creative strategies that drive engagement, expand brand presence, and generate revenue. Key Responsibilities and Accomplishments: Merchandising Strategies: Design and execute end-to-end merchandising plans for D2C platforms and retail distribution, including the EST 19XX clothing brand in partnership with Zumiez, delivering significant revenue growth and brand visibility. Business Development: Identify and cultivate brand collaborations across diverse industries, creating impactful partnerships with global brands to amplify MGK’s presence. Creative Campaigns: Direct creative strategies for mgk's albums, tours, and brand collaborations, ensuring cohesive storytelling and visually compelling marketing campaigns. Event Management: Develop creative direction and merchandising for the annual MGK Day event, blending fan engagement with innovative product activations. Product Launches: Lead the creative vision for business ventures like 27 Club Coffee and UNDN LAQR, crafting brand identities and product marketing strategies to establish strong consumer connections. Fan Engagement: Spearhead the creative development of the Floor 13 fan club, delivering exclusive content, merchandise, and experiences to strengthen fan loyalty. By merging artistry with strategic planning, I’ve been able to craft a unified vision for MGK and Floor 13, creating impactful moments that resonate across music, fashion, and entertainment.

Creative Director

-Spearheaded business development for Grade A Productions artists, including Grammy-winning Lil Durk, Juice WRLD, and Trippie Redd, driving revenue growth and enhancing brand visibility. -Directed creative strategies, crafting compelling visual identities and merchandise designs that resonated with global audiences. -Partnered with internal teams and external collaborators to launch merchandise lines and execute high-impact promotional campaigns, contributing to significant fan engagement and commercial success.

Management Staff

-Strategic Collaborations Driving $10M in Revenue: Leveraged 15 years of streetwear and music industry expertise to oversee collaborations that collectively generated $10M in annual revenue. Cultivated relationships with brands like Billionaire Boys Club, renowned designer Verdy, and streetwear icon Nigo, resulting in highly sought-after exclusive collections. -Record-Breaking High-Value Merchandise: Engineered partnerships that resulted in record-breaking merchandise sales, including a limited-edition leather jacket collaboration with designer Jeff Hamilton, selling at $1,500 per unit. This marked the highest-grossing apparel item in Amazon Music's history. -Trailblazing Festival Merchandising Strategy: Conceptualized and executed merchandise strategies for prominent music festivals such as Pharrell's "Something in the Water" and J. Cole's "Dreamville." Amplified engagement and sales through exclusive collaborations, elevating Amazon Music's presence within festival circuits. -Cultivated Industry Relationships for Exclusive Collabs: Forged and nurtured relationships with pivotal figures in the streetwear scene, including artist Lil Uzi Vert and designer Nigo. Transformed these alliances into exclusive merchandise collaborations that resonated with both music and fashion enthusiasts. -Elevated Amazon Music's Cultural Impact: Championed Amazon Music's cultural relevance through partnerships with prominent brands, such as Nike, and leading artists in the industry, like Lil Uzi Vert. Orchestrated successful activations at ComplexCon 2022, positioning Amazon Music as a driving force at the intersection of music and streetwear culture.

Vendor Manager, Artist Merch - Amazon Music

•Part of the Buying team responsible for the entire Men's division and national brands which include: Levi's, Wrangler, True Religion, USPA, Superdry, Realtree, and more. •Establish and maintain vendor relationships with new, active and reactivated vendors •Negotiate buying terms with vendors (price, quantity, delivery/payment terms)

Assistant Buyer

Award-winning design agency creating visual communications for Pearl Jam, Nike, Boeing, Seattle Seahawks, Foo Fighters, Metallica, MoPop/EMP, Nordstrom, and many others. Ames Bros is also an international brand that sells apparel, limited edition screen-printed posters and collectables. •Spearheaded product development to reach a larger audience, creating new products and product categories, as well as branded packaging for all orders. •Led or contributed to all functional teams: planning & production, sales & marketing, creative, operations, customer service, distribution, and analytical analysis. •Developed and exclusive t-shirt collection with Boeing, eventually developing the relationship into sourcing other product categories and all of their Boeing logo tees. Processed over $150,000 in PO’s over a 2-month period. •Provided knowledge of the ad specialties industry to have access to thousands of different suppliers for client projects and products for the clothing brand. •Designed and planned MailChimp advertisements for over 10 different poster sales that sold out in minutes. •Raised Instagram following from 8K to 12K by introducing new methods of using the platform to showcase work and takeovers with major brands like Fender Guitars. •Planned and organized multiple pop-up shops at major events. During the Pearl Jam Home Shows, our pop-up shop rang in over $100,000 in profit over a 3-day period. Bumbershoot allowed us to team up with Sub-Pop Records and get the brand name out to a younger crowd. •Interviewed, hired, and managed 3 interns for the entire summer, teaching them different aspects of graphic design, marketing, social media, and running a brand.

Marketing and Brand Development Manager

• Reviewed warehouse management system receiving detail and carrier inbound tracking. • Created detailed status updates regarding vendor shipments and warehouse receipts. • Followed up with vendors to ensure on-time shipments via email and working with vendor operations team on resolving open orders during the busy holiday season.

Vendor Management Specialist Contractor

• Managed tasks associated with operating a new business, including client outreach, hiring, invoicing and marketing. • Worked on projects with a variety of high-profile clients including Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. • Designed logos, fixed client artwork, edited the website and created print files for the plotter, laser-etching machines dye-sublimation, embroidery and other types of promotional products. • Analyzed each project in depth to assist clients with all of their custom apparel and promotional product needs. • Researched, attended and spoke at local networking events for lucrative markets such as tech. • Established and managed Originals NW clothing line as an outlet for creating products with all of our capabilities. • Closely followed trends to create designs, select garments and choose the best embellishments based on fabric content, etc. • Constructed social media and marketing campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, MailChimp, Pinterest, etc.

Branded Merchandise Specialist

•Founded the company as just a t-shirt brand and have continued to evolve its image and goals as a business, on pause for now. •Create professional business connections for future projects and goals. •Develop and acquire all new sales products by using different unique merchandising techniques. •Regulate all physical and online marketing/promotional techniques to gain new loyal customers and followers.

Owner/Operator

•Orchestrated a project to streamline and organize company’s POS system, reducing time to identify products and manage physical and online inventories by 200%. •Quadrupled retail store foot traffic and sales by restructuring visual and physical merchandising tactics through out-of-the-box thinking, trend research and trend forecasting. •Reduced bounce rate on company website 300% by designing a more refined and organized way for customers to view, search, and purchase products.

Intern

•Structured strong B2B connections with wholesalers and manufacturers, reducing costs of production by over 700%. •Enhanced brand identity by restructuring marketing campaigns, developing a strong social media presence of over 5,000 followers, and exponentially increasing traffic to store and website. •Grossed sales of up to $20,000 per day planning and managing merchandise booths at various high-profile music festivals throughout Pacific Northwest.

Marketing Manager and Product Merchandiser

•Recruited and coached a marketing and sales team of 15-20 people to control concert promotions, security, and other aspects of events, cutting costs by over $3,000 for each event. •Raised attendance to events by 600% by designing eye-catching and engaging marketing campaigns, concert posters, advertisements, giveaways, and social media promotions. •Introduced a new event fundraising technique selling advertising space on promotional flyers and finding sponsors of up to $5,000, growing budgets to $75,000+.

Event Coordinator

•Organized and executed a vast array of high-profile events throughout Puget Sound Region, exceeding more than 10 each month, broadening company’s range of business and customer base. •Fostered strong business to business and business to consumer relationships with 100+ clients and businesses, tackling any want or need and managing budgets exceeding $100,000. (Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks, and Seattle Mariners) •Assisted in creation of over 10 social media outlets for Kwanchai and its customers, unifying brand images through pictures, video, content, and layout generating up to a thousand times more interaction.

•Generated and maximized profits on large custom promotional product orders of up to 1,000 pieces through negotiating pricing and fees while guaranteeing quality and exceeding customer expectations. •Boosted set target sales by over 100% each month through targeted special events and opportunities where custom promotional products could be of use. •Integrated efforts with Progressive Entertainment to market custom shirts and tickets, leveraging huge orders of $20,000+ from student groups and organizations.

Campus Representative

Find out detailed information about Jake Zottoli, Creative Director & Entrepreneur | Fashion, Music & Visual Culture | Currently Creative Director for MGK in Los Angeles, California

Jake Zottoli: Creative Director & Entrepreneur | Fashion, Music & Visual Culture | Currently Creative Director for MGK in Los Angeles, California

Jake Zottoli

Washington State University

Seattle Preparatory High School