MARK KOCH

I grew up in the mid-west with two amazing parents and 3 younger sisters. I moved from Ohio to Kansas, to Colorado, and then eventually to Florida, where I currently call home.

I’ve always been a pioneer for adventure and tended to gravitate toward the road less traveled. With a natural rebellious nature, action sports seemed to be the community in which I found my place. I grew up pretty much riding anything I could. Snowboarding, skating, dirtbikes, you name it, if it involved some sort of risk I ran toward it. For the first half of my life I sought the pleasures of the world and lived what many would call the dream. I ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Taught snowboarding lessons in Vail, CO. Was even a contestant on the Price is Right. But at the ripe young age of 22 I found myself continuing to long for something deeper. Shortly after graduating college in 2008 and realizing the greatest pursuit in life comes only through an intimate relationship with the Creator of it all, I met my wife Shannon and we tied the knot.

The theologian, Frederick Buechner once said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” This thought became a reality in my life when in 2009 we founded the non-profit organization, Ride Nature. Getting to travel the world, bringing surfboards and skateboards to kids living in poverty while at the same time sharing my faith has been a dream come true and is what I call my “job” still to this day.

In 2016, our first of three daughters, Ellis Marcel (Marcel meaning “little Mark” was born. Our life was forever changed, 100% for the good. Like they said about the Grinch, my heart grew 3 sizes that day! I moved into a bit more of a delegating roll within the organization and began to travel less. Quickly we discovered our daughter’s love for books. When Ellis was around 3-4 months old, she would sit on our lap every chance she could to have us read her book after book. It didn’t take long for me to realize the potential children’s books could have, not only on the child but also on the parent. Since that day, I continue to build more shelves for my wife and we somehow continue to find more room to add something we believe will be a part of our family forever, books. Living in the world of action sports and being immersed in the industry, I began searching for children’s books that were related to surfing or skateboarding. The list was slim to say the least. While traveling overseas, sitting in airports during layovers, or even just laying in bed late at night, the stories of “Session” began to come to life.

The hope for the stories and adventurous of Session are that they are enjoyable reads for both the parents and the kids. Encouraging the imagination while at the same time shining light on real life issues and struggles, we hope the stories of Sessions with Session will instill life lessons for the children listening while also creating applicable lessons for the parents reading.

We appreciate you joining this adventure with us. To learn more about the work we are leading or follow the journey with the family you can click the links below.

ALLAN WRATH

A masterful mixer of strong conceptual, compositional, typographic and illustrative elements, New Zealand-based graphic designer, illustrator and muralist, Allan Wrath has drawn, painted and printed his signature quirky expressions of illustrative positivity on and across every conceivable and legally available surface.

Inspired by clean, simple living and working positively toward one’s life goals — Wrath’s looping linework and quirky graphic goodness can be found in abundance across Australia, New Zealand and neighbouring Pacific Isles on everything from coffee cups, caps, greeting cards, magazine covers and t-shirts, to the decorated walls of businesses small and large who share his ethos of 'Follow the Cloud, Not the Crowd!'.

 Equally at home applying his successful signature style in large-scale mural form on corporate walls as he is working with small businesses or publishing organisations on annual reports, infographics, branding and individual product makeovers, Allan boasts an enviable track record of commercial clients and commissions — all of whom were drawn to his idiosyncratic marriage of coolness and clear communication.

 Wrath’s professional mural work can be seen across four separate storeys at Lion Nathan Sydney’s Olympic Park Office complex, where he spent eight weeks transforming multiple plain walls into a masterful illustrated work of art, and notable past design, illustration and brand clients of Allan’s include Clemenger Australia, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Disney, the Fiji Surfing Association, and cycling apparel label Attaquer.