We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful JP Gendron. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with JP below.

Alright, JP thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Stepping away from a predictable career path to build my own agency wasn’t a move made for the sake of being edgy, it was a calculated bet based on an assessment of today’s general workplace. There’s a persistent myth that a traditional career or steady job is the safe bet. In reality, that stability for my generation is often a borrowed illusion from the past. Especially for creatives who provide much of the esteem for a brand’s value, yet are frequently treated as the most disposable line items on a spreadsheet. I realized the real risk wasn’t going out on my own; it was staying in an environment where my security was tied to someone else’s volatility.

Choosing to start my own business was a move to reclaim my leverage. It’s the difference between being a passenger and being the driver; I’d rather take the hits on my own terms than be blindsided by a corporate pivot I had no hand in. Betting on myself wasn’t about seeking a “freelance lifestyle,” it was about trading an antiquated safety net for the grounded clarity of having total skin in the game.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’m a photographer, marketing director, and mountain athlete based in a backcountry cabin in the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. My career wasn’t built in a boardroom or even through my education; it was forged on the mountains and early opportunities to work in the Outdoor Sports industry. Operating from the inside out means I’m an active participant in the environments my clients target, allowing me to skip the staged fluff of traditional agencies. Whether I’m rowing a weeks-long river trip or skiing a technical backcountry line, I love to document the raw reality and beauty of time spent in the mountains.

This dual perspective fuels both my photography work, my strategic consulting, and design work at Mars Ramp House. I bridge the gap between high-level brand strategy and field-tested authenticity, helping outdoor brands build high-performing marketing engines without losing their soul. With my combination of corporate and in-the-field experience, I’m able to provide a rare hybrid of technical grit and data-driven insight. We build visual narratives and marketing roadmaps for brands that demand the same edge as the terrain their products inhabit.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There’s a special kind of lesson learned in walking away from a project that feels like family but is ultimately just a job. For years, I helped build a brand within a rapidly growing ecosystem that was undeniably exciting and meaningful. It was high-energy, ground up creation, I was working alongside brilliant friends and colleagues, and the work itself was genuinely fun. But as the startup high wore off, it revealed an immature culture where alliances overshadowed merit. I realized that providing high-level strategic value without a long-term stake isn’t a career, it’s a subsidy for someone else’s reward. Even if you love it.

The real test of resilience wasn’t grinding through the chaos; it was the fortitude to keep my head high and look forward when leaving all that dedication and hard work behind. I realized the perceived or traditional “safe path” of holding a steady job was actually the most volatile. Acknowledging that there’s no substitute for professional respect and mutual investment contrasted sharply with what I had previously believed—that going above and beyond for the company would pay off. Trading a lopsided loyalty structure for the absolute accountability of my own business was terrifying, but ultimately essential for my professional growth and long-term stability.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Meeting my business partner was a lifelong vetting process rather than a networking event. Keela Gendron (keelala.com) is an incredibly talented artist and graphic designer; and she’s my sister. Keela has been a freelance graphic designer for about a decade in the Crested Butte and Gunnison, CO area. With her creative skills and my experience in the marketing world, we found ourselves with a naturally cohesive partnership to evolve our businesses together.

At Mars Ramp House, we operate with a level of synchronicity that most agencies spend years trying to simulate. Keela brilliantly translates the essence of any brand into a visual identity that is as polished as it is rugged, while I guide marketing strategy and execution. Because we both have total skin in the game, there’s no corporate friction or one-way loyalty, just a shared drive to deliver work that’s enduring, providing long-term value to our clients. It’s a partnership built on symbiotic skill sets, mutual interest, and the value of family connection.

Contact Info:

• Website: marsramp.com, jpgendron.com
• Instagram: @jp.gendron, @marsramp
• Linkedin: JP Gendron

Image Credits

JP Gendron