Date: Thursday, May 16, 8:30-10am CT
Location: Blake campus, Dining Commons
A virtual option is also available

Steve Nilsen '88

This edition of Breakfast at Blake featured Steve Nilsen '88.

Steve Nilsen '88, vice president of cult indoctrination at the beverage company Liquid Death, started his career at Airwalk as a snowboard boot developer then snow division manager. He went on to be one of the first sports marketing managers at Red Bull North America followed by creating the lifestyle marketing program for Pabst Brewing Company, where he pushed the limits on creative branding and grew their portfolio from $250 million to almost a billion annually. Liquid Death is among the fastest-growing water and iced tea brands in retail, recently raising new capital that values the startup at $1.4 billion, and is the most followed beverage brand on TikTok and the third most on Instagram. In his talk, Nilsen discussed how his company is tackling the plastic problem, the strategy for growing the brand on a near-zero budget and his advice for marketing sustainability.

Nilsen received his undergraduate degree in mass communication and media studies from Hamline University, where he played both football and hockey. He lives in the mountains of Evergreen, Colorado, and has identical twin boys—Gordy (named after Steve's Blake classmate Gordy Aamoth '88) and Rowan—who are Division 1 athletes at Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount respectively. When he's not traveling the globe murdering thirsts, in the winter you can find him snowboarding weekly and in the summer waterskiing at his family cabin in Minnesota.