About Me

Going Up Agency reflects the path I have taken across creative work, leadership, and personal growth.

The journey started in 2003 with Dinity Krisis, a clothing brand built with my friend Cory Weltz. It grew into a presence in local communities and taught design, branding, early social media, and community building. When the market changed the promotional side expanded into one of the most active nightclub promotion groups in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2016 I launched a lifestyle clothing brand funded through Kickstarter. That project showed the pressure that comes with building something from scratch. It taught discipline, steady learning, and how to adjust when life changes fast. The brand reached customers across nearly every continent, grew an ambassador program with more than five hundred members, and brought in more than one million unique visitors over five years. The pandemic ended that chapter. Losing Rival hit hard. I gained substantial weight, the stress, and depression followed. How did so much success just come to an end so quickly? 

In 2020 I co-founded WhiskeyThieves TV with two friends. Building a podcast, an online store, and a community of thousands opened another layer of learning. It showed the impact of consistency, communication, and creative direction when life is full and time is limited.

By 2023 something needed to change. Divorce struck, my career went south, and I got lost. Soon after I met some great people and got the help I needed to put my life back together. I started a weight-loss journey and a deeper self-awareness process. This help me focus on healthier routines, clearer boundaries, and a better relationship with my own expectations. This process rebuilt my confidence, my health, and my direction. That work brought me to this space in my life where I can help others do the same. Balancing work, dissolving a marriage, fatherhood, and my own expectations forced a higher level of honesty with myself. It pushed me to look at the habits that helped me and the ones that held me back.

These experiences shaped the foundation of Going Up Agency. I understand what it feels like to rebuild. I understand what it takes to find clarity while managing real responsibilities. My work combines communication, structure, creativity, and personal growth. Some clients are building businesses. Others are building themselves. The goal is the same. Create clarity, build confidence, and support progress with purpose.

I work in a collaborative way that opens space for honest reflection and practical execution. The aim is simple. Strong communication, clear guidance, and a process that supports meaningful growth.

 - Joey Ardire