What is Fine + Feral Co.?

Fine + Feral Co. started as a line in my notebook. I can’t even remember where I was or what I was doing, but I randomly thought of the phrase “fine and dandy,” and somehow blurted out the alliterative, “fine and feral.”

“How are you doing, Jake?”

“Just fine and feral, thanks!”

But it became more than just a turn of phrase. I began writing it everywhere, thinking of hundreds of different variations. Fine is as Feral does. Fine shall not harm Feral. Come on in, the water’s Fine and Feral. You get the point. I started sketching, drawing inspiration from traditional American tattoo designs, old school cartoons, tiki, and the DIY ska/punk scene of the 90’s (that’s the late 1900’s to you young ‘uns), and creating a brand that didn’t exist. 

The idea became focused on the dichotomy of my own experience: a small town rural kid who moved to progressively bigger cities until he settled in NYC. I held fast to some of my more hick-ish tendencies while soaking in the luxuries-to-me that The Big Apple had to offer, and the city was more than obliged to indulge both. Bowling and bubbly. PB&J and J.G. Melon’s. Tattoos and table service. The more I got engrossed in the urban lifestyle with its trends and one-upmanship the more burned out I got. $20 martinis, restaurant openings and designer clothes started to become less fun and more funds. When my then-fiance, Lauren, and I ended up spending as much on Zipcar to escape upstate as we did on rent, we decided it was time to trade our walkup to The Walkway. In 2015 we moved to Poughkeepsie, brunt of jokes but the right blend of rural and urban that kept us just a train ride from the city and a magical 30-minute drive to most hot spots in the Hudson Valley. 

The Hudson Valley and Catskills offered the balance we’d been looking for. City sensibilities but with access to clean air, local produce and meats, makers of every kind, breweries, restaurants across the gastronomic spectrum (including the Culinary Institute of America), trails and parks, and a driveway to park in when the adventures were done. As our family and careers grew, I found myself spending more time and energy focused on everyday adventures rather than work. In a post-pandemic world, Fine & Feral Co. came to embody the ideal ethos and lifestyle of me and the friends I’ve made upstate; a balance of the refined and the rugged. We can change our own oil and quote Camus. As good at braiding our daughter’s hair as tying a tautline hitch. Can gut a fish and know which wine to serve with it. Highbrow and lowbrow, city, field or stream. 

Weeknights started becoming planning sessions for weekend excursions with increasingly complex and feral conditions. A mile hike and overnight at Onteora Lake in Ulster County became cave camping near Kaaterskill High Peak. Hot tent camping on the coldest night on local record begat primitive camping on the Fisherman’s Path where we built our own shelters. Meals varied between dehydrated feasts and fresh meats and stews to celebrate. Equipment went from bare bones to shared loads with felling axes (just in case).

In 2025 after 20 years in the frenetic world of advertising and marketing I hit burnout. It went beyond “my job sucks” to “I physically and mentally can’t do this anymore.” I took a three month leave of absence to try to rest my mind and body, ended up getting sober, and though I still wasn’t 100% I readied myself to return to the corporate world. On my first day back in 2026, I was told that my role had been eliminated while I was out and that I was being laid off. All of the confidence and energy I’d struggled to rebuild came crashing down immediately and I went back into a black hole of anxiety and depression. I doubted myself and my self worth, my skills, even my ability to function as a human in the world. I pounded the virtual pavement for jobs and ended up hanging my own shingle, shoehorning Fine & Feral Co. into a neat little box as the name for my one-man digital agency.

I started building websites for friends and their referrals and felt like I was back in the game, but something felt off. I realized I was trying to rebuild my old life with my old skills, trying to replicate what burned me out and tore me down in the first place. I thought of one of my favorite companies, Huckberry, and how it pioneered the everyday adventure category with its own founders sitting on a ski lift, deciding to quit their day jobs, and going all in on their dream. I realized that my passion wasn’t in pixels and widgets, but in mountains and forests. My feral side beat out my fine side and in July 2026 I decided to rebrand my rebrand and commit to my own dreams of running an outdoor company.

This site, the guides and articles I write, the merch you see, are part of a mid-life pivot to live more fully and more authentically. I’m going with what I know; as much as I love exotic locales and far off adventures, my love for my own ‘backyard’ will keep the focus on the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and Adirondacks (for now). Like any new adventure I’m anticipating for the best and preparing for the worst, and I’m excited you’re here with me. 

-Jake-