A 6-month creative director residency program with a production powerhouse.
Apply nowDo you have a big idea you’ve been waiting for someone to approve?
What if you didn’t have to?
What if you had a production company, crew, gear, studios, and resources behind you to help make it real?
What would you make?
You didn’t become a Creative Director to make safe work.
You did it to make the thing people remember.
But the best ideas have a way of getting shelved.
Diluted.
“Optimized.”
Killed by budgets, timelines, committees, or post-acquisition spreadsheets.
So we’re trying something different.
GEARSEVEN is opening a six-month creative residency for a freelance Creative Director with a strong point of view and ideas worth making.
You bring the concept, taste, and creative direction.
We bring the team and production firepower to help make it happen.
Together, we’ll create ambitious original work aimed at the kinds of brands we want more of—especially in outdoor, adventure, marine, leisure, automotive, and the worlds around them.
No client brief required.
The initial residency will run for six months. Some projects may continue into production beyond that window.
There’s no fixed deadline right now. Applications will remain open while we look for the right creative partner—but we don’t recommend waiting around to submit.
Fall 2026. We’ll determine the exact start date with the selected applicant.
GEARSEVEN has the team, resources, and experience to pull off ambitious ideas. What we’re looking for is a conceptual creative partner who can help generate those ideas—particularly for outdoor, adventure, leisure, marine, and automotive-adjacent brands.
Not on the front end.
This is a true creative partnership in which both sides bring something valuable to the table. GEARSEVEN will invest its team, production resources, and capabilities. The selected creative will bring the vision, direction, and leadership required to create standout work.
The result is work both parties can use to build their portfolios, open doors, and pursue future opportunities together.
No, but you must be legally able to work in the U.S. and available to travel to Nashville for production days when the work requires it.
There isn’t a predetermined weekly time commitment.
We’ll define the schedule together based on who is selected, the ideas we pursue, and what each project requires. This is designed to work like a partnership—not a traditional full-time role.
The most bad ass spec work you’ve ever made.
Together, we’ll develop original concepts, campaigns, films, and other pieces designed to demonstrate what we can do for the kinds of brands we want to work with.
This is not a residency for developing unrelated personal passion projects. The work should have a clear advertising or commercial purpose—even if it isn’t initially tied to a specific brand.
GEARSEVEN and the selected creative director will share ownership of the work equally.
Both parties will be able to pitch the work, share it publicly, and include it in their portfolios and reels. The specific terms for each project will be agreed upon before production begins.
Some projects may also take the form of original outdoor, adventure, or lifestyle content that is not created for one specific brand.
We’re looking for a conceptual creative who knows how to turn an idea into something people actually want to watch.
Experience creating work in any of the following categories is especially relevant:
or any brands adjacent to these
More than anything, we’re looking for someone with a strong point of view, a clear understanding of brand and advertising, and the ambition to make work that moves people.