The Rain City Redemption Series wasn’t just a fan project - it was the spark that launched my career in sports media. It taught me everything: how to edit, how to tell stories, and how to push myself past what I thought was possible. It’s what led me to the opportunity to work with Pete Carroll and to the life I now live behind the camera. It will forever hold a special place in my heart. Not because it went viral. Not because of where it led. But because it was made out of pure love for storytelling and the magic that happens when you chase something with your whole heart. Here's how it all began. Summer 2012 – Eugene, Oregon. Summers in Eugene are exactly how you’d imagine them: quiet, slow, and mostly deserted. With the bulk of students gone for break, those of us left behind were left to float the river, sip cheap drinks, and fill the empty days with a whole lot of nothing. It was during one of those aimless afternoons that I stumbled across a fan-made video about the San Francisco 49ers on Facebook. As a Seahawks fan, I had no business watching it — let alone enjoying it. But I did. It was a cinematic retelling of their rise under Jim Harbaugh, cut to dramatic music, filled with both low points and emotional highs, ending in their 2011 playoff win against the Saints. Even as a diehard rival, I loved it. But more than that, I loved the idea of it — that a fan, just a regular person, could make something so compelling and powerful from scratch. My immediate thought: “Someone needs to make one of these for Seattle.” Between the end of the Holmgren era, the arrival of Pete Carroll, the birth of the Legion of Boom, and Marshawn Lynch’s “Beast Quake,” the story was already there — someone just needed to tell it. At the time, I had never edited a video in my life. Not one. So I assumed someone else would do it. Because it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me. Or so I thought. Fast forward a few months, and the 2012 Seahawks were becoming something special. Russell Wilson had won the starting job as a third-round rookie. Bruce Irvin was proving doubters wrong. The defense was scary good, and the momentum was real. Then came the game against the Patriots in Week 6 - a rain-soaked showdown in Seattle that ended with a last-minute, come-from-behind touchdown to Sidney Rice. That was it. I was so overcome with inspiration, I couldn’t wait anymore. Even if I had no clue how, I had to try. The Cinema Studies Lab – University of Oregon Conveniently, I worked nights at the campus cinema lab — my job was literally to make sure people didn’t bring food into the edit bays. The computers were fully loaded with every editing program imaginable, and I had nothing but time. So, I started. The more I worked, the more I fell in love with it. I’d stay locked in the lab until 4 or 5AM, go to class on no sleep, and do it all over again the next night. I was completely obsessed. After finishing the first 10-minute version of Episode One, I knew it wasn’t enough, so I started over. I extended it, shaped it into a true narrative, and by the time I had a 40-minute episode cut, I still had no plans to share it. It felt too raw, too personal, too “unpolished” to put out into the world. But after some encouragement from friends, I uploaded it to YouTube in June 2013 under a new name: Rain Redemption Series. A title meant to capture the spirit of rebirth and resurgence that defined the new era of Seahawks football. I quietly posted it to my favorite Seahawks blog and went to bed, I had no idea what was coming. The next morning, I woke up to thousands of a views and hundreds of emails. Seahawks fans were sharing the video everywhere, and the feedback was overwhelming. People were crying, sending thanks, calling it the story they’d always wanted. It was completely surreal. And within weeks, everything started to change. I soon moved back to Seattle and that’s when things really took off. The series began garnering attention from players, coaches, and media outlets. It was being screened in theaters for private events. I even started making radio appearances to discuss the project. Despite being self-taught, unrefined, and entirely outside the industry, I worked relentlessly on the series for the next eight years following a dream to someday work in professional football. Eight years later, Pete Carroll himself discovered the series. Within two weeks, I was officially working for him, leading video and motion graphic efforts for his personal content. It was a full-circle moment I never could have imagined back in that dimly lit campus lab. Looking back, The Rain City Redemption Series was never just about football — it was about belief, grit, and pouring yourself into something bigger than you. What started as a experimental project built on raw passion and zero experience turned into a body of work that opened doors I never imagined, including the life-changing opportunity to work directly with Pete Carroll. But beyond that, this series taught me more about myself than any classroom ever could. It showed me the power of relentless work ethic, of following your gut, and of chasing a vision even when no one’s watching. In many ways, it didn’t just tell a story, it helped shape mine.