Meet the new stars shaking up the promo market with their ambition, empathy and passion to be the very best.

>>Back To 2018 Hot List

Ryan Conant

TravelChair Company (asi/91916)

There may be a lot of fish in the sea, but none nearly as accomplished as professional deep-sea diver and marketing guru Ryan Conant. As the executive account manager for the promo products and e-commerce divisions at TravelChair Company, Conant is currently celebrating one of the company’s most successful marketing campaigns yet. It’s called “What’s Your Outdoor?”

Conant’s campaign struck a chord of nostalgia. “Our campaign is simple, yet effective: as society continues to embrace the outside world, the concept of getting outdoors has evolved,” Conant says. “No longer is it limited to gear-heads trekking to obscure destinations. Getting outdoors is now a day at the lake or a barbeque in your backyard and is attainable for everyone.”

Being outdoors definitely isn’t foreign to Conant, who spent years professionally diving in the Gulf of Mexico — which is one reason why he prefers wearing buffalo red plaid over a suit and tie to the office. “The primary takeaway is not to just push products, but to sell memories,” Conant says. “The sum of all our memories equals our stories and that’s the true experience of being outdoors.”

But life wasn’t always about exotic adventure and successful marketing for Conant. In fact, he first worked in the warehouse at TravelChair as a screen printer until he met his wife, a company secretary, in a very Jim-and-Pam-from-The-Office scenario. Since then, Conant considers his greatest achievement to be marrying the love of his life and their four beautiful children. When he’s not working hard at the office, he’s spending his time off playing with his kids and their Legos.

Listen Up!

We asked Hot Listers what song they listen to as motivation for the day, a big meeting, or presentation. Here's what gets Ryan fired up!