The Short and Sweet Bio

Kelly Hobkirk is the co-founder, creative director, and copywriter at Train of Thought, a branding and marketing firm, and a writer for several business and entertainment blogs. He teaches workshops on branding, marketing, and business blogging. Previously, he has held the positions of Marketing Director, Art Director, and Graphic Designer. Kelly has developed an award-winning formula for raising the bar in branding and marketing for small to medium size businesses.

The Dirty Secrets of My Life

I was born in Portland, Oregon in 1968. We lived in a rough part of Portland called St. Johns then moved to a suburb called Gresham, near Mt. Hood. We weren’t rich, but I never felt poor because my parents worked hard and made sacrifices for my brothers and me. My father was a house painter and a mostly invisible member of organized crime who encouraged my talents and discouraged me from following in his footsteps, and my mother was a nurse, aerobics instructor, housewife and best friend.

My family had a long history in the arts. My grandmother, Mary Hobkirk, and great aunt, Celia (Cece) Burley, featured in Vaudeville shows together before opening their own tap dance studio. Cece taught tap and played piano for 40 years, and was awarded the key to the city of Portland for her service to the community. My father was an accomplished musician who played guitar and rock & roll piano. My grandmother recognized my drawing talents at the ripe age of 8, and bought me my first sketch pad, drawing books and pencils. I began writing at age 9, immediately winning poetry contests. I wrote my first book of poetry at age 10.

I attended Sam Barlow where I graduated in 1986. I was blessed to encounter an exceptional group of teachers who provided a formative education while nurturing my gifts. My art, drawing, calligraphy, graphic design teacher and life mentor, Polly Hobbs, awarded me with an art scholarship upon graduation. We remain in contact today, mostly by email. Next, I attended an art college and worked as a magazine art director. I completed my course work early and began writing stories in the ensuing weeks leading up to graduation in 1988.

The following year I was hired as a 19-year old art director at a Seattle ad agency called Jackson & Johnson, where I stayed for one year. My ambitions in advertising led me to a talented mentor named Tom Shearer, then Creative Group Head at Sharp Hartwig, who took me under his wing and offered valuable insights, critiques and advice.

I freelanced as a designer and art director for one year, working for such companies as Christiansen & Fritch and Raleigh Bicycles, while taking time off to race bicycles, an enduring passion for more than twenty years.

In 1991, while working as a marketing director for one of the world’s largest woodworking machinery manufacturers, a friend suggested I start my own advertising agency. Knowing that I lacked the necessary business background, I hired Gil Sandy to teach me the ropes for the agency’s first two years. He introduced me to Guy Kawasaki’s excellent book, Selling the Dream, which has been a great source of inspiration ever since.

I co-founded The Rufus Company with Ian Connors in 1992. The Rufus Company became Train of Thought in 1993. By 2002, Train of Thought had helped create and launch more than 150 companies and products. Our standard ad response rates were unprecedented in the advertising industry, often garnering more than 10% when industry standards were just 2%. Brand recognition and website conversion increases were also phenomenally high, topping 99% and 14% respectively.

In 2003, I scaled Train of Thought back so I could recharge and travel, while taking projects I truly wanted as opposed to taking everything that came our way. A couple of years later, I dove back into the business full steam and began writing more.

Currently, I am launching a new division of Train of Thought called Bento™ Branding & Marketing. Bento represents a profound innovation, completely tossing the old rules of design, branding and marketing out on their ear, while increasing accessibility and effectiveness in ways never before imagined.

I am also designing, writing, and editing for several new blogs, and achieving a new level of transparency through my writings here on KellyHobkirk.com.

I mostly commute by bicycle, and I write about my bike racing and injury recovery experiences on CrossGeek.com.