Primary Job Title Creative Director Primary Organization Metabolize
Location Chicago, Illinois, United States Regions Greater Chicago Area, Great Lakes, Midwestern US Gender Male
Website JakeTrussell.com Facebook View on Facebook LinkedIn View on LinkedIn X (Twitter) View on X
Jake Trussell is a listener, maker, and communicator. A multifaceted entrepreneur, he's known for his work as a creative director, music producer, and communications strategist.
He's the founder of Metabolize, a strategic communications agency using human-centered design to digest business complexities into concise stories that engage
audiences.
He also founded Mashit, a record label that has produced over 20 vinyl and digital releases and has earned critical acclaim for its “forward-looking” (URB Magazine) approach “at the crossroads of the … international DJ scene … pushing underground dance culture forward” (Time Out Chicago). Legendary BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel chose Mashit as a “Label of the Month” and invited Trussell to mix a session of Mashit tracks for his show.
As a recording artist and DJ, Trussell has released over 50 records, composed film scores, and toured the globe. He's been called an “alchemist of sound” by Boston Magazine and a “pivotal figure” by XLR8R Magazine for his innovative recordings and DJ style. The Chicago Reader called his music “clever” and “futuristic” pointing out that he's a “producer of growing influence.” He continues to produce and curate new music, sometimes writing about it at Mood Bling.
Trussell serves as vice chair of the board of directors for the Arts and Business Council of Chicago, a nonprofit serving Chicago’s cultural workers and enterprises to ensure community vitality and an equitable creative economy.
For most of the 2010s, he served as Creative Director for Chicago’s economic development org. chaired by the Mayor, where he successfully positioned the city as a top global business destination, holding the number one spot for corporate investment from 2013 to 2019.
Trussell earned a BFA in Interrelated Media from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and an innovation certificate from IDEO U.
