CASE STUDY: Peter Russell, Founder of Kindling

From ESPN Locker Rooms to Life's Biggest Turning Points: Building Kindling with Peter Russell

Some clients come to me with a business idea. Peter Russell came to me with a mission - and honestly, that's the kind of project I live for.

Peter spent 21 years at ESPN, and if you know anything about that world, you know it's not for the faint of heart. But what struck me most about Peter wasn't the ESPN résumé (though, yes, that's impressive). It was what he did with all those years mentoring young interns and early-career employees inside one of the most competitive companies on the planet.

Over and over, he watched brilliant, hardworking young people hit the same wall: nobody had ever taught them how to actually navigate their own careers and lives. School doesn't teach that. Neither does a job title. Peter noticed the gap, and instead of just shaking his head about it, he built something to close it. That something is Kindling - a course built to hand people the timeless skills and mindsets they need to adapt, pivot, and genuinely thrive, no matter what stage of life they're in.

Why This Project Mattered to Me

When Peter and I started working together, my job wasn't just "build a website." It was figuring out how to take two decades of hard-won wisdom - plus his own personal story - and turn it into something people could actually feel when they landed on his site. I wanted anyone who showed up on Kindling's homepage to immediately sense: this guy has walked the walk, and he genuinely wants to help me.

That's the part I love most about working with Peter. He's not selling a course. He's sharing a mission he's spent two decades building, and every conversation we had about the brand and the platform came back to that same question: does this feel true to who he is and why he's doing this? Peter answers that question in a podcast interview with yours truly, check out the full episode below!

What We Actually Built Together

This wasn't a one-and-done website project - it touched nearly every layer of the brand:

• Brand storytelling that connects the dots between Peter's ESPN years and the purpose behind Kindling today
• Course structure strategy, so the program itself reads clearly and logically for someone encountering it for the first time
• Messaging refinement, sharpening Kindling's value around adaptability, mindset, and lifelong growth
• Full website and UX/UI design, built to feel grounded, intentional, and trustworthy. 

We spent real time making sure the language spoke to students, young professionals, and career pivoters alike, without watering down the message for any one group. Every piece - the words, the visuals, the flow of the site - needed to earn trust the same way Peter earns it in a room: quietly, credibly, and with genuine care.

The Kindling Website feels like an extension of the inspiring space that hosted the production of what is now the Kindling Program. 

Where Kindling Stands Now

Kindling now has a digital home that actually reflects the man behind it. The site tells Peter's story with the same authenticity he brings to every conversation, and it positions him exactly as he should be seen: a credible, experienced mentor who's genuinely invested in helping people figure out their next move.

This past year, we also built Peter a Squarespace site under his personal brand, Mentor Pete, that provides another layer of authority and personalization to the Kindling ecosystem. This, in parallel with Peter's new Kindling community space on Skool, is allowing him to step into his role as a thought leader within the realm of young professional development. 

I'm still working alongside Peter today, and getting to watch Kindling grow from an idea into a real, living platform has been one of the most rewarding parts of my work this year. This is exactly why I do what I do - not just building websites, but helping people like Peter put something meaningful into the world in a way that finally looks and feels as strong as the mission behind it.