Founder of Newport Academy, Painter, Texan
@ The Smile, Nolita, NY
Me: peppermint tea / JM: green tea

I met Jamison Monroe on the dance floor.

It was at a Pencils of Promise fundraiser in Midtown NY the fall of 2012. The room was full of smart, driven, vivacious people -- and this particular guy had moves. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt with a ‘Newport Academy’ crest on the chest pocket. I grew up in Huntington Beach, CA (which neighbors Newport Beach), so I assumed he was my people. Being 3,000 miles away from home, I cling to fellow Californians!

Turns out, Jamison is a Texan -- but I decided we could be friends anyways.

He and I maintained an enthusiastic dance circle for the whole after party. High on life from busting moves, a group of us grabbed a drink after the official party ended. At a West-side wine bar I ordered pinot noir. Jamison ordered a ginger ale. He was sober. As it turned out, Newport Academy is a comprehensive treatment program (including recovery residential facilities and sober high schools) for adolescents suffering from mental health, behavioral health and substance abuse issues. Jamison is the founder.

After the PoP party night, I kept running into Jamison, unexpectedly. Who was this guy? How does one become the founder of a high school for adolescents recovering from destructive behaviors? I wanted to know more. So, we met for coffee (which turned out to be tea).

When Jamison was 18 he was living in Houston, had been arrested twice, and was a full-blown drug addict. He realized he was either going to 1. Kill himself 2. Kill someone else or 3. Go to rehab. He chose #3. Raised in what might have appeared like a perfect childhood environment, Jamison began his descent into alcohol and drug abuse as a teen. Over the next few years, he was admitted to a number of well-known treatment programs where he would remain sober for a handful of months before relapsing. Despite a supportive family, Jamison remained in this life-threatening cycle until he realized that for rehab to stick, he had to get outta town.

“Humans are change averse, because when you’re changing you actually have to look at yourself.”

He moved to Southern California, leaving behind everything he knew, and entered a treatment center. This center focused on personalized, comprehensive and holistic treatment that allowed him to safely address his individual underlying issues (while balancing an effective amount of family involvement). It was there that he finally got sober. In the process, he became aware of there were hardly any resources for families with children dealing with self-harm, substance abuse, eating disorders, conduct disorders and other forms of self-destructive behaviors. Newport Academy was born.

Newport Academy now has locations in Newport Beach, CA, Darien, CT and a third opening in New York City this Spring. Their focus is sustainable healing, which seems to be working. 80% of kids that go back to a traditional educational environment post recovery treatment relapse within 30 days. But 80% of Newport Academy attendees make it to one-year sober. #winning

Discoveries
1. Systems are More Powerful Than the Individual
Jamison believes that people are products of their environments: 1. Primary environment (family system) and 2. Secondary environment (peer group). So, if we are looking at the reasons why teens are acting out, environment is the first issue to be addressed.

Conversely, why do some people seem unstoppable? Positive primary and secondary environments perhaps? My time spent with Jamison encouraged my to think about the human systems that surround me.

For my dad's 60th birthday a couple years ago, I converted some home videos from VHS to digital files. One of those videos documented my three-year-old self playing in the sandbox at Central Park with the 1980's version of my parents. In the video footage, they were both engaged, patient and loving. My supportive and inspiring family system and positive peer group have played a central role in who I am today. As well as helped pave the way for my personal courage this past year. Go team.

2. Openness Can Free You From Isolation
I am so impressed with Jamison’s openness about his past. Culturally, I think we can all agree that there's shame surrounding addictions. Once Jamison realized he wasn’t alone, he set out to help people. Jamison took his negative experience and turned it into a positive one through sharing his experience. Now, he has been recognized as one of the addiction field's youngest and most prolific agents of change.

3. Some Topics Are Tough to Talk About
But they're real and we must get better at talking about them. Currently nearly 24 million Americans struggle with drug and alcohol addiction -- of course, affecting not only those addicted, but also their families, friends and communities. Right after meeting Jamison, his work hit home. When I flew to California for Thanksgiving that year, there were red ribbons decorating the downtown HB city streets. The ribbons were commemorating the life of an 18 year-old boy who went to my high school -- and recently died of a heroin overdose. Drug abuse is currently a huge problem in Orange County.

Jamison is actively developing projects to de-stigmatize mental health addictions. He is the co-founder of a boutique dinner party series called DrugsOverDinner. The goal of the culinary project is to inspire 1 million people to convene, break bread and discuss this critical topic of drugs and addiction. He also recently produced a documentary about the prescription drug abuse epidemic in Orange County and beyond youth drug use in the OC called Behind the Orange Curtain.

Photographer, Vagabond, Designer, Creator
@ Birch Coffee, 27th Street, NY
Me: iced tea / DJ: drip, black

I have a hunch that we’ll look back on this moment in history, and Dan Johnson will have quietly captured the essence of a time. His work will hang on the walls of galleries like the Morrison Hotel, visually documenting the characters and spirit of a generation.

Master photographer, Richard Avedon (1923 - 2004) documented the Civil Rights Movement and photographed cultural icons like Audrey Hepburn and Andy Warhol, focusing on the inner worlds of his subjects. The famed shutterbug’s minimalist portraits “helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century" (The New York Times). At the same time in history, Allen Ginsberg (1926 - 1997) was influencing a counterculture movement; taking casual snapshots of like-minded friends who “bonded because they saw in one another an excitement about the potential of American youth” (the internet). Even though Ginsberg didn't consider himself a photographer by trade, his photos now help shape our current understanding of the American Beat Movement of the 1950’s and 60’s.

To me, Dan’s body of work is a Jaydiohead-esque mash-up of the two artists. Dan feels deeply, and like Avedon, instills his images with a sensitivity to the world around him and a relentless experimental drive. And he draws mutual inspiration from creative friends a la Ginsberg, capturing the everyday lives of his own circle of Merry Pranksters. An outstanding listener and intense observer of his surroundings, Dan is a person whose senses are always on high alert -- like a traveler exploring a new country. He has an ability to view and capture moments that embody both realism and fantastical elements, with unique perspective. Dan’s camera lens is a magic wand, used to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

“Geographic change is often beneficial to enable paradigm shift.”

Travel and lifestyle photographer Nick Onken says that outside of technical considerations, to be a good photographer, “Be an interesting person, hang out with interesting people, and go interesting places.” According to this definition, Dan is the best photographer I know. He has a nomadic spirit, constantly seeking out new visual and emotional inspirations. He lives bi-coastally between LA and NY, but only recently started renting an apartment in one of those cities -- on any given day, he could be flying to Mexico to photograph a friend in Sayulita, driving to Utah for an impromptu month of snowboarding to make the most of freshly fallen powder, or scuba diving in Nicaragua. Dan loves the opera, he lived in Senegal for five months just to learn French, and he’s dedicated to his morning meditation practice. Open-minded, he's always up for an adventure and open to thinking through any idea, regardless of how small or ridiculous that idea may seem to other people.

Wherever in the world I am, whatever I'm doing, it's never out of the realm of possibility that Dan might show up!

Dan unexpectedly appeared in Montauk to celebrate my 30th birthday with a group of my nearest and dearest. That April Friday, he was released from a hold on a NY photo-assistant job, so he hopped on the Hampton Jitney bus (after missing Long Island Railroad train :) with a tiny backpack. I picked him up on a street next to the beach. His shoes were off, camera around his neck, skinny jeans cuffed, per usual. He dove right in to the dance party happening in my friend Morgen’s (fifty coffee #4) beat-up Subaru, and suddenly it was hard to imagine Dan not having been there all along. A few weeks later, I received the most special birthday gift: a Dropbox folder of astounding photos that captured a rare and magical gathering of my family and closest friends, perfectly preserving the best weekend of my life.

I’d love to crawl into to Dan’s mind, and see the world through his eyes. He grew up in a small, conservative town in Missouri and tells me that he was a very shy child (two things you wouldn’t guess if you met Dan today on the streets of New York City). Over the past few years, I’ve watched him break out of that shy social and creative shell, boldly coming into his own in both realms.

Since meeting Dan, I knew he was a thoughtful old soul with vision. But the moment I discovered the depth of his talent wasn’t until after our friend's weekend birthday celebration in the mountains. Per usual, he had his Canon camera flung around his neck and was snapping away throughout the festivities. The result was a breathtaking digital album of memories that truly captured the spirit of a very special, joy-filled gathering of forty friends who traveled from near and far to be together. Dan’s moment-driven images of the dinners and dance parties and glitter bombs from that weekend were brimming with incredible energy, movement, and magic.

Dan lives the life of a true artist; not only a fab photographer, but also an eloquent writer, thinker, designer, creator. When he’s telling a story, he’ll often uses his hands and arms to help express the grandness of a thought. He’s handsome, and never overly concerned with his wardrobe -- which makes him appear artist-like at all times. He is kind-hearted, generous with his time and talent, and cares deeply about his friends and family (especially his three-year-old niece, Ava). He thinks deeply. Feels deeply.

Dan has identified a triangle of personal driving forces in his life, and is constantly searching for opportunities that allow his triangle of driving forces to work in unison. For the majority of his career, Dan has been a freelance web, print, and motion graphics designer. Sometimes finding the triangle sweet spot, like when he created a motion graphics video piece for non-profit Falling Whisltes. But last year, he decided to shift his artistic career path, focusing solely on photography, starting with this symbolic photo series, Rebirth.

“Focus on your life path, more so than your career path.”

Dan is the person most responsible for me believing in myself as a creative person. This support of creative thinking is explored in an insightful book called Creative Confidence, defined as “the ability to come up with new ideas and the courage to the try them out.”

Dan is my favorite creative date partner. He's taken me to Drink and Draw (a nude human form drawing class in Brooklyn, complete with DJ and PBR beers), introduced me to the book The Artist's Way, and photo-safari-ed me through the MoMA PS1 contemporary art museum for the first time.

Dan just launched issue #000 of his monthly periodical highlighting a collection of images, thoughts, and inspirations from his current work; as he describes it, “A periodic catalogue of my creative life. It’s a little viewfinder into my artistic process. A visual journal of the people in my life and a digest of the places I gather inspiration from.” Dan had shown me a preliminary version of the first issue while staying at my Brooklyn apartment. He started putting the issue together last fall, but later abandoned the idea. I gushed over the concept and content, encouraging Dan to complete and launch the project. A week later, he launched the first issue! It is a visual feast. (CLICK ON THIS LINK NOW AND JOIN THE MAILING LIST. THANK ME LATER).

Shockingly, Dan is never as wowed by his own work as I am. Even great talents are hindered by their creative insecurity. As part of issue #000, he says, “I’ve spent a large part of my life paralyzed by the prospect of failure, especially when it comes to matters of creation; afraid to undertake an endeavor without guarantee of success, reinforced by a lazy perfectionism, and the perceived need to figure everything prior to doing anything.” SAY WHAT! In regards to the periodic catalogue project, Dan says,

“My hope is that my art will be an inspirational kick in the ass to other paralyzed creators as well.”

Dan Johnson is like the hot guy in high school who has no idea he's hot, yet. The day he and I sat down for our official coffee date, he casually snapped a few photos as we walked around the city, which I was barely aware of. One of those shots is the picture on this blog's PROJECT page link. Of all the photos taken of me as an adult, Dan’s feel the most like me. And I'm not the only one who feels this way! Dan’s impromptu portraits can be seen on OkCupid, Tindr, and the Facebook profiles of least 30 people I know. Just last week, I saw a guy named Zach Bell post a Twitter photo with the caption, “Thnx @danielnjohnson for the best photo ever taken of me.” Dan’s portraiture captures the personality, soul, and essence of his subjects.

“Art to me is about asking questions.”

Ansel Adams said, “You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” Dan’s anything is possible attitude, and the people, places, sights, and sounds that he’s encountered with open arms, all contribute to his unique perspective.

Dan throws off his jeans and dives into the chilly January Pacific ocean waters, wearing just boxer briefs. He replies “Sure” to random emails from virtual strangers inviting him to fly to Congo to take pictures next week. He says yes to life, and always keeps a little room in his heart for the unexpected.

Discoveries
1. Unlock your own creativity and see what unfolds
Creative potential is an innate natural human ability within all of us. For the majority of my adult life, I didn’t view myself as creative. I didn’t pay the bills making things that we can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste. Now I realize you can be creative without specifically being a creator. We can all think creatively, problem solve creatively, live creatively -- regardless of our occupations.

“You don’t have to be a painter, sculptor, or writer to be creative.”

Dan recalled the story that when sculpting the statue of David, Michelangelo believed that it was his job to free the human form from a piece of marble he was working with. Michelangelo did not carve David from chunk of marble, but rather allowed David to become what the marble already was. Benjamin Hoff captures a similar concept in his book The Te of Piglet when he says, "I’m not writing this book, that would be Struggle and Difficulty. Instead I’m letting the book write itself, through me. That’s Fun and Excitement. It flows along and I follow as best I can.” I’m tapping into my creative confidence and building fifty coffees from a heart place, uncovering what this project already is.

2. Build a Creative Community
Find people who encourage you to experiment with your wild ideas, and surround yourself with positive creative peer pressure. Creativity can flow more easily when you have collaborators to bounce ideas off of. Mutual inspiration could push your project or thinking in a new and exciting direction - or at least give you the confidence to start, launch, show, post, etc. Plus, it’s more fun to create with friends.

In his book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell makes the argument that our life circumstances and who we surround ourselves with influences our human potential. He says, "What we do as a community, as a society, for each other, matters as much as what we do for ourselves.” It’s probably not a coincidence that James Baldwin (one of the best authors of our time) and Richard Avedon (one of the most prolific visual artists of our time) were high school friends. Right?

3. Photos tell the story of 1,000 words
Dan sent me an email a couple days ago about the PROJECT page photo. He wrote, “The more I look at this photo the more significance I think it takes on for you and whatever this next phase of your life entails:

"Essen" - German for eating or food
"Worldwide Services” - Your influence is going to be more global than it ever has before, and whatever you do is going to continue to be of service to others, even a career for yourself.
“Synchronizing…” - Umm yes synchronicity/serendipity.
Taxi / Mailbox Delivery truck - Transportation, communication and connection.
Camera - You may not be a photographer with a capital “P” but the lens through which you view people in your life is unique and wonderful.
Bike helmet - Your safety net is yourself. It's with you all the time. Keep taking risks. Also could represent the people you hold close; we’ve got your back, so continue to take risks, and continue to hold the ones you love close to you.
And you confidently crossing the street, looking fabulous and beautiful, cos you are.” (*blushing*)

Hire Dan to take pictures for you.
dan@danieljohnson.is / Insta @danielnjohnson / Twitter @danieljohnson / Vimeo

13. Jamison Monroe Jr.

11. Dan Johnson