Hi, Interwebs. My name’s Andy, and I’m new here.
No, not to the online community. Put it this way: I used to have a Livejournal. Nor am I new to the area. I was born at St. Luke’s and raised in West Duluth. I have eaten at the House of Donuts and I used to be the mascot for the Duluth Superior Dukes before they were the Huskies.
Actually, funny story about that (check out #5).
See, I’m new to Swim Creative. Like brand new. Just a few days ago I walked in the door got thrown in the deep end. And, so far, so good I’m not even drowning. I’m even making swimming puns. Can I have my whatever-the-advertising-equivalent-of-the-Oscar-is yet?
At any rate, if you’re anything like the rest of the Swim crew, you might be asking yourself “just who is this Andy Bennett, and did he eat my clearly labeled sandwich?”
I went to Denfeld. Class of ‘97. I played football and sang in the choir and acted in plays. I was even Homecoming King, which carries zero residual benefits as an adult. Who knew?
I married my high school sweetheart, Katy, and we moved to Chicago together. Our first apartment was right by Wrigley Field and we moved to the neighborhood the night Steve Bartman caught that infamous foul ball. We spent the rest of that first week huddled together under our covers while the streets around our apartment turned into The Purge: NLCS Edition.
Five years later we moved home to Duluth and haven’t left since. Except for vacations. We really like those. Recently, I received my MFA in Creative Writing from NYU. I’m still basking in the post-degree, pre-student loan glow.
Even more recently, my wife gave birth to our first child, a son named Theo. He is so great I’ll even forgive him for the sleep deprivation.
When I’m not writing copy for the coolest clients around, I’m writing novels, reading novels or doing a deep Netflix dive with my wife, son and dog, Pippa. As soon as the snow melts we’ll venture outside, I promise.
By then, I won’t even be the new guy anymore. I’ll just be the guy. Or the old guy. Probably that.
…Get off my lawn.
SWIM DEMANDS ANSWERS!
Q: So you have a Master’s in Creative Writing, huh? What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
A: Picking one is way too difficult, so I’m going to pretend you asked me what the best books are that I’ve read recently. And those would be:
- Angels by Denis Johnson
- History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
- Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
- Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
But, my wife just gave birth to our first child, so I’m expecting this question will look much different six months from now. I can tell you that right now I’m really digging Goodnight, Moon and can’t wait to introduce him to my all-time favorite, Hatchet.
Q: Are you a big audiobook fan?
A: No, actually. I prefer the text. But I am a huge podcast fan. My two current favorites are Comedy Bang Bang and Radiolab’s More Perfect. Polar opposite podcasts, but both brilliant and engrossing ear-candy.
Q: When you do kick back with a book, what else do you kick back with?
A: Most often I’ve got one of three things in the hand not holding the book: a local beer, a glass of scotch or a La Croix. And it’s most often a La Croix. I don’t know how I ever lived without that bubbly water.
Q: What’s it like being a new parent?
A: As wonderful and as sleep-deprived as you’ve heard. There are days where I’m not totally certain what’s real and what’s a hallucination. Like, we all see that clown outside the window, right? RIGHT?!