AVL x Blue Ridge Roller Derby
AVL West Coast IPA had just been rebranded, and the new packaging needed photography to match. The brief from leadership was effectively two words: "roller skate photoshoot." Rather than make a generic active-lifestyle ad, I turned it into an argument about place: AVL is bought and sold in Asheville, so anchor it in what Asheville is actually known for: inclusiveness, community, and creativity.
The creative problem: how do you make a beer lifestyle shoot feel local and unmistakably Asheville, instead of an interchangeable branded-lifestyle ad? The answer was to cast real people, not models—a real range of bodies, ethnicities, gender presentations, and ages—and shoot in the most iconic and resilient part of the city, so the audience sees themselves, not a polished ideal.
Project Date: April 2026
My Role: Creative Direction / Casting & Model Direction / Styling Direction / Photography / Post
Production: 5 cast models · wardrobe & styling · on-location in the River Arts District, Asheville, NC
Creative Brief: Click Here
The Visual Territory
Bright-sun documentary skate photography, graded for grit. Natural daylight, no flash — the opposite of a lit, styled set. Where the Gaelic pub series was engineered around harsh flash, this one is built on real sunlight and then pulled toward grit in the grade: a teal-and-blue shadow tone that reads vintage and a little raw, but never nostalgic. Real, not retro.
Not a beer ad with skaters in it — a real Asheville skate crew, in the realest part of the city, who happen to be drinking AVL.
Moodboard: Shot Ideas & Posing
Style / Wardrobe Inspiration
Color Guidelines
Final Creatives / Part 1
Key Aesthetic Decisions
Casting as the message: The whole concept lived in who was in front of the camera. I cast five skaters from Blue Ridge Roller Derby — a community known for inclusivity and diversity — so the range of bodies, ages, and gender presentations was real, not styled in. Partnering with the league also funded a $500 season sponsorship: authentic casting, a smaller model budget, and a new community relationship from one decision.
Place as meaning: We shot in Carrier Park and the Foundy Street stretch of the River Arts District — Asheville's main arts hub, partially destroyed by Hurricane Helene and now a symbol of the city's resilience. The location does quiet storytelling the copy never has to.
Sunlight, then grit: Shot entirely in bright, direct sun with no flash. In post, I flatten the highlights and shadows, reintroduce depth with an S-curve, and fade the blacks — then push teal and blue into the shadow- and mid-tones. It reads gritty and vintage while staying real, and quietly echoes AVL's blue can.
Styling for individuals, not a cast: Every skater sent outfits ahead of time, directed against a detailed guide — three aesthetic lanes (Athletic Streetwear, Casual Skater, Y2K Grunge) deliberately mixed so no one matched, AVL's palette lifted with contrast pops, and no outside brand logos.
Final Creatives / Part 2
My final deliverables were utilized across paid media campaigns, digital marketing channels, and social media platform. These campaigns contributed to increased sales of AVL IPA: sales increased by 19% off-premise (retailers, stores, etc) and 9% on-premise (bars, restaurants, etc), outpacing industry downtrends and historical company sales.
Results