V. Short About Me

-Name: Greg von Portz
-Occupation: Writer/Copywriter/Content maker
-Clients: Virgin Mobile, AARP, Burger King, MedPage Today, Novartis, (You?)
-Upsell: Writes and produces critically-acclaimed work
-Career highlight: The Village Voice called music I wrote “catchy."

Short About Me

Let’s keep this short: Hi. I’m Greg von Portz. I’m a creative writer, copywriter, and content creator/producer in NYC. I work with companies like AARP, Virgin Mobile, Burger King, MedPage Today, Knightsbridge Park, and Novartis to create content from blogs to videos to musical compositions. I’ve also written, produced, and performed in more than five shows for the stage, recognized by some pretty terrific publications like the New York Times. OK—that’s 70 words. 

Not Short About Me

Hello there. Thanks for sticking around. I’m Greg von Portz a writer living in the wilds of New York City. Before we get into all that worky-list-of-accolades-calling-myself-award-winning stuff, let me tell you some things about me you won’t gleen from a resume: I heart walking, especially walking long distances. Walking lets me see locales at a slow pace and really take in the sights and sounds. Who am I kidding? Walking helps burn off the calories from my other obsession/addiction—pizza! I also drink green tea to assure optimal health, even though the caffeine literally gives me anxiety. I should add, I enjoy traveling, even though flying  gives me anxiety too. Maybe I just really love being anxious? Oh, and I like to clean, particularly laundry and vacuuming. You know, to calm the anxiety.  

One thing I’m not anxious about is writing. On to my oeuvre: Let me tell you about my debut novel I Wish I Was a Fish. This work was a 10-page tome, bound in the finest construction paper, and stapled together with the help of my mother. Fish was widely praised by parents and grandparents alike as “clever” (possibly due to the rhyming of “wish” and “fish”). Like Homer’s Margites, I Wish I Was a Fish is lost to history thanks to improper storage.

Years after that nascent artistic endeavor, I went on to study theatre at Marymount Manhattan College. While there, I not only made heaps of lifelong friends, I realized the impact that character and story have on an audience. Guess what? I still use this today in all of my writing. Whether it’s nailing the authoritative tone of Novartis or the cheekiness of Virgin Mobile or ghostwriting a best-selling romance novel—thanks to my background, I can find the "character’s" voice and tell their story using time-tested structures. Take that, student loans!

I also use these insights in personal creative projects like those I write and produce with my long-time collaborator Ashley Rebecca King. Together, we’ve written and produced over five full-length, sold-out-sorry-standing-room-only shows including In a Polynesian Mood, Backlash, and Moon Pools (recommended by and featured in the New York Times, Village Voice, and Time Out New York). We also wrote and published a book based on our work called Moon Pools: Kindness is Edgy. Purchase it at one of our performances around the country.

This “not short” section is getting a little too long. Let’s wrap things up. Shall we?

While I’m far from that kid forcing his mother to staple in a straight line, I still have the same joy and curiosity when it comes to my work. I gave a presentation on creativity at Maker’s Faire Pittsburgh recently and saw the passion people had when they made something they love.

Writing is what I love—let me help you make something you love!

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