Five Minutes With Justin Park.

Justin Park – Brand Partnerships Manager, Recurrent Ventures

1. Tell us about your current occupation and how you landed such a fabulous job.⁣

My current capital 'J' job is Brand Partnerships Manager for Recurrent Ventures. This was just a natural fit after being a freelance gear writer for Dotdash, Hearst, and others for the past ~5 years. My writing has always focused on snowsports and the outdoors but this position also has me working with editorial teams in fine cooking (Saveur), home improvement (Bob Vila), auto, military, and more, so it's been a blast learning about new verticals and making connections with the brands and agencies.

2. What's your best advice for PR professionals?

Put your agency's full client list in your email signature. (Or at least link to it if it's substantial.) This is a small thing that not everyone does but, in my work, it has led to lots of happy accidents and features for client brands that wouldn't have happened otherwise. I mostly write in the snowsports, outdoors, and "cast'n'blast" spaces but I've flexed personal interests to write about table saws, compost bins, and cameras. And as mentioned, I have a role working with 20+ brands and hundreds of other writers. The point being you never know what a writer might be working on, so let them know who you're working with.

3. What's a fun fact about you?

I lived on Oahu for two years before moving to Breckenridge where I learned to surf and spearfish and was the 2009 Hawai'i State Watermelon Eating Champion.

4. Tell us about your favorite nonprofit and why.

I'm a volunteer and member with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. They do more for wildlife habitat than any organization I can't think of except maybe Ducks Unlimited. And while their focus is wildlife and elk specifically (they've reintroduced elk to states such as Kentucky and Wisconsin where they were eradicated decades ago), a majority of their efforts are in purchasing or gaining access rights to land to make it accessible to the general public. Since 1984, RMEF has conserved or enhanced more than 8 million acres for wildlife and for all Americans.

5. What's your favorite meal, movie, or vacation spot?

Italian sausage and mushroom pizza. Neapolitan-style. From what restaurant, you ask? My Ooni Koda 16 on the deck.