I build the creative team, the systems and the story inside a company, so the brand can take root and reach everyone it's meant for.
At Charlotte's Web, I was there before there was a brand to market. We planted the first crop by hand and capped the waiting list at 15,000 families, because we couldn't promise more. Some moved across the country for access. We helped carry their furniture in.
That story became the brand, and I built and led the team that took it public. Since then I've joined the founding team at AJNA BioSciences, stepped in as interim VP Creative at Igniton, and kept my own studio, 35 FILM. 13 Clio awards later, I still start every project the same way: with the story.
I was the entire marketing department until 2016, then built and led the in-house creative and marketing team as the company grew and went public.
I direct paid media, social, email and web agencies under one creative direction, and designed the brand identity and website they work from.
Founding team. I lead creative, marketing and communications for a botanical drug company raising capital from institutions and everyday investors.
I produced patient video testimonials and led fundraising, so families could tell their own stories to lawmakers and researchers.
National campaigns and live events where there is no second take, including the IBEW Annual Conference in Washington, DC.
Documentaries, client films and photography, and now AI-assisted ad production.
Grand Clio 2020 · 750M+ impressions
2019
Founding brand story
From a department of one to a public company
67% of revenue from DTC in 2020
Market share leader, per Nielsen
Grand Clio 2020
Brand campaign
Campaign system
Launch assets
Campaign placements
Education series
Introducing the series
What is CBD?
How to Use CBD
What’s the Difference Between Hemp and Marijuana?
History of Hemp
A new visual system
Designed and launched
Zero to 40+ creators
A framework for the whole team
$3.1M+ raised at under 1% spend
Supported $30M in growth funding
Founding team
$3.1M+ raised
Campaign film
Paid and social
Video stories told with care
Helped advance CBD legalization in 22 states
$1M+ raised for research
Charlotte Figi memorial and benefit concert
Produced the family segment
Filmed for the overall concert
Campaign materials and outreach
Awarded to the concert documentary, 2022
Washington, DC, 2024
IBEW Annual Conference
50+ campaigns · 15% lower production costs
God's Plant and more
Brand film and ModBox product film
Brand film
Photography exhibition · RedLine Contemporary Art Center, Denver, 2026
Originated the concept, assembled the Sumud Artist Collective, and led creative direction, branding and photography.
The exhibition
Vertical promo
Identity, posters and social
Before there was a brand to market, there was a plant, a family, and more people asking for help than we could serve.
A small team, one plant, and a waiting list we had to cap at 15,000 families.
The entire marketing department until 2016, then I built and led the in-house creative and marketing team.
$15M to $96M in annual revenue, a C$115M IPO in 2018, and #1 in food, drug and mass retail.
We planted it by hand. We capped the waiting list at 15,000 families because we couldn't promise more.
Some moved across the country for access. We helped carry their furniture in.
I traveled with Paige Figi, Charlotte's mom, to change the law one legislature at a time.
The story we lived became the brand. Everything that followed grew from it.
Brand, website, creators and AI systems, brought together under one creative direction.
A growing brand with four agencies (paid media, social, email and web) that needed to move as one.
Interim VP Creative. I direct all four agencies under one creative direction.
+326% order fulfillments and +29% customer retention year over year.
I designed the brand identity and launched the new website, so every channel speaks with one voice.
Paid media, social, email and web moving under one creative direction instead of in parallel.
A creator program built from zero to 40+, giving the brand a steady stream of authentic content.
An AI prompt library and framework, so the whole team produces on-brand work faster.
Investor storytelling for a botanical drug company, from the founding team onward.
A botanical drug company raising capital from institutions and everyday investors.
Founding team. I lead creative, marketing and communications.
$3.1M+ raised from retail investors at under 1% marketing spend, and investor presentations supporting $30M in growth funding.
Retail investor campaigns on WeFunder and StartEngine that raised $3.1M+, with under 1% of it spent on marketing.
Investor presentations that supported $30M in growth funding.
Patient stories and advocacy that helped change laws and fund research.
Patients and families whose stories could move lawmakers and researchers.
Art Director. I produced patient video testimonials and led fundraising.
Advocacy that helped advance CBD legalization in 22 states, and $1M+ raised for a Johns Hopkins research partnership.
Patient video testimonials that let families tell their own stories.
Advocacy that helped advance CBD legalization in 22 states.
Fundraising that secured $1M+ for a Johns Hopkins research partnership.
National campaigns and live events, including the IBEW's annual conference in Washington, DC.
National campaigns and live events where there is no second take.
Senior Producer.
Co-produced the 2024 IBEW Annual Conference, delivered 50+ national campaigns, and built workflows that cut production costs 15%.
Co-produced the IBEW Annual Conference in Washington, DC in 2024, with President Biden attending.
50+ national campaigns, with production workflows that cut costs 15%.
Documentaries, client films and photography, and now AI-assisted ad production.
An independent studio I founded in 2014.
A documentary trilogy co-directed with Jeremy Seifert, including God's Plant (Mountainfilm, 2021).
Client films, photography, and AI-assisted ads made with Higgsfield.
God's Plant, Our Place on Earth and Growing to Heal: stories about plants, healing and the families who fought for access.
Films and photography for brands and organizations.
Earned media impressions for Trust the Earth, Charlotte's Web
Order fulfillments year over year at Igniton
Raised per ad dollar for AJNA BioSciences, part of $3.1M+ raised at under 1% marketing spend
Clio awards, including a Grand Clio
Annual revenue, up from $15M, while I built and led its creative and marketing team
States where I helped change the law, one legislature at a time, before hemp was legal federally
Campaigns and documentaries that make people feel something first. Trust the Earth won a Grand Clio, and my documentary trilogy screened at Mountainfilm.
Creator programs, UGC and ad variants built to be tested, so the budget goes to learning what works.
Prompt libraries, agency workflows and an AI production stack that let a small team ship like a big one.
Teams of 12 to 45, four agencies directed as one, and investor storytelling from the founding team up.
Every brand begins as something small and invisible: a belief about why it should exist. Before a single ad, I look for that seed, the human truth everything else will grow from. Plant the wrong seed and no amount of spend will grow the right tree.
Roots are the part no one sees, and the reason a tree survives the storm. Creator programs, agency workflows and production systems let a story keep drawing nourishment long after launch day.
Strategy carries the story upward. It decides which branches to grow, which people to reach and which channels bear the weight. A strong trunk is why a tree grows tall instead of wide and weak.
Fruit is the part everyone sees, and the last thing to arrive. Awareness, growth, loyalty and capital raised only ripen when the seed, the roots and the trunk beneath them are healthy. That's why I never start with the fruit.
A documentary trilogy co-directed with Jeremy Seifert, about plants, healing and the families who fought for access.
“Malek is truly one of the best storytellers I know. He has an incredible ability to understand what matters and translate it into a story that connects with people. He asks the right questions, listens carefully, and helps you dial in exactly what you need. He doesn’t just create beautiful work. He understands people, finds the heart of the story, and knows how to bring it to life.”
I'm looking for my next role leading creative, as VP Creative, Head of Creative or Creative Director. I'd love to hear what you're building.
