drew belz is an executive leader,
producer and creative director
based out of Asheville, NC.
Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union (2018-24)
Our job was to grow membership. Over six years working hand-in-hand, we helped grow assets from $1.35 to $2.7 billion.
We blanketed the region with campaigns – stop-motion and cel-animated Super Bowl commercials, music videos, social campaigns, radio, print, out-of-home and physical programming in neighborhoods. Thoughtful strategy allowed our big creative to connect.
I directly oversaw every aspect of production from concepts, world-building and character development to storyboards, soundtracking and final edits.
Media Strategist, Producer, Creative Director, Editor
Founder, Chief Creative Officer (2010-2015)
CEO, Executive Producer (2015-2025)
Full-service creative – strategy, creative, design, digital, and production – with film production at our core.
Clients included Disney, Air Jordan, Dick's Sporting Goods, Samsung, Kia, Chattanooga Whiskey, Organic Valley, Lodge Cast Iron, and Rockefeller Philanthropy. Our work consistently drew hundreds of thousands to millions of views on YouTube and spikes in exposure for our clients. Annual revenues averaged between $1-2m.
I managed 20 full-time employees at our peak, dozens of collaborators in our studio, and production crews of 50+.
Concept, Designer (2014-2015)
As our company grew, we became a crossroads for all sorts of creative companies. So we imagined a space where we might all live together. The Hippodrome evolved into a $6M real estate venture with capital behind it for a historic renovation in the heart of Chattanooga. The space would become a creative clubhouse for agencies, nonprofits, and a Theaterpub called The Deep End.
I built out the pro forma, developed programming with partners, raised a building fund, and designed the renovation with our architects. The venture was sadly shelved in 2015 as we turned our focus to feature filmmaking. But when another company finally renovated the building in 2020, they used our blueprints.
Cretors Popcorn (2019)
We wondered what it might be like for Sir-Mix-A-Lot to control a popcorn factory with beats. So we flew popcorn from the Cretors Factory out to the legend in his Seattle studio. What happened next is hard to explain.
10 million views.
CCO, Writer, Producer
With ad accounts for Air Jordan, Disney and SAP expanding at Fancy Rhino in 2015, we leveraged our growth into a $2 million investment fund for feature films – and called it Mama Bear. We started reading scripts and looking for hungry filmmakers to support.
Our lead financing brought to life 2015’s Hunter Gatherer (Andre Royo, “The Wire”) and 2016’s Dayveon. Both played to critical acclaim at SXSW. Dayveon played Sundance and Berlinale. Both sold to Netflix.
Founder, Executive Producer
Disney (2016)
We live for something new.
The company that defines creativity hired us to define creativity. Disney wanted to inspire new investments in art in our schools. We revealed what a creative perspective can teach you, with help from astronaut Leland Melvin, writer Scott Barry Kaufman and Estella Pyfrom's Brilliant Bus.
CCO, Executive Producer
Original Feature Doc (2011)
To document a watershed year at the Howard School, we first had to agree to teach a class.
A year later, we found ourselves with a gold mine of footage that allowed the students to speak for themselves. The screening of our feature doc filled a 1,500 seat theater downtown and kickstarted a movement to revive the school.
We built a recording studio so students could keep telling their stories. Funding arrived to build a new magnet school too, inspired by the film.
Producer, Editor
Original Feature Doc & Nonprofit Studio (2012)
One of the first black schools in the country, the Howard School nearly closed its doors in 2011. To capture this watershed year, we first had to earn the school's trust. So we offered to teach a class on documentary filmmaking.
A year later, our students had found their voices. They were owning their stories and the community was listening. The screening of our feature-length doc filled a 1,500 seat theater downtown, and kickstarted a movement to revive the school.
Then we built a recording studio so students could keep telling stories. Funding arrived to build a new magnet school too, inspired by the film.
Producer, Editor