Hey, I’m André Strand. Writer. Brand builder. Dad. And someone who's taken a few hard detours to figure out what “success” really means.

I didn’t come from a fancy background. No agency job. No marketing degree. I started out selling newspaper subscriptions door-to-door, getting rejected more times than I can count. Eventually, I built a full-time freelance business helping others tell their stories — but somewhere along the way, I lost sight of my own.

Burnout forced me to hit pause. I took a job in healthcare for the stability, and weirdly, that’s when I started creating some of my most honest, meaningful work. The pressure was off. The mask came off. And I found my voice again.

Here on Medium, I write about the raw, unfiltered reality of freelancing, fatherhood, identity shifts, and rebuilding yourself from the ground up — without the hustle-glam filters. This space isn’t about pretending we have it all figured out. It’s about being honest in the messy middle.

If that’s something you’re into — stick around. There’s more to come.