Misfit started

as a love story

Misfit was born out of a giant love story because we really give a damn about people. If you really give a damn about people, you pay attention to how they’re treated. And if you look around, disabled people are treated pretty bad.

Our founder worked abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, working with a foundation that provided resources to empower local organizations impacted by disability for five years. She saw some of the worst civil and human rights violations happening to children and people like her. For those five years, Kelsey asked every person she saw leading this work the same, single question:

if I was going to do ONE thing with my life to help this as big as I can, what would it be?

They all said the same thing:
Go back, work in advertising and entertainment, and change the way disability is viewed.

Since then she's done it all. Literally. She had to. You guys wouldn't hire her when she moved back. 

She started as a group fitness teacher to pay the bills, hustling social media on the side. She grew her following so big and started a wellness give-back series where she taught brand sponsored yoga classes and donated all of the money to the school she used to work for. That got the attention of fitness brands where she worked as a strategist. Then, she pitched herself to a production company that has 7 (and counting) Emmys for work in the disability branded storytelling space.

All of that experience helped her recognize a common thread: there was a serious need for every corner of the advertising space to be more inclusive.

She also realized she couldn't be in a million places at once.

So, she took her past life of being a group fitness teacher, her multifaceted creative toolbelt, and built a system of frameworks.

For anything she couldn't do, she found the perfect person who could and together they co-created additional frameworks or ways of working.

She found the best in the biz of existing partners and friends who focus on all of the creative outputs you could ever possibly need to create strategic, inclusive content.

Like any millennial in the creative space, she struggled to explain to her family what she did for work.

One day, her dad called her after watching Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer with his grandson and asked “Kelsey… is the ‘Land of Misfit Toys’ what ableism is like?”

And that is how Misfit was born.

We've got a core internal team, a huge pool of contractors, and a strong network of organizations we are proud to call friends.

We're so excited you're here, we think you're going to like our little island.

Your island roadmap

  • Join the Rebellion

    We’re assembling the teams, the budgets, and the briefs to build 100 ads that actually include disabled people and prove the ROI while we’re at it. The industry’s about to get a wake-up call.

    do it

  • How we make the magic

    Check out how we work with brands, agencies, movements, and people.

    do it

  • Inclusive Creatives Club

    Where we drop our favorite lessons, behind-the-scenes mess, and spicy strategy breakdowns. We take everything we teach to the big shops and turned it into lessons you can consume in your PJs on the couch or in your team conference room.

    do it

  • Tell us a secret

    Got something cooking that’s too good to keep to yourself? We’re listening! Slide into our inbox to pitch us a campaign, wild idea, or a dreamy collab. We love a little mischief.

    do it

Want gossip, guts & Guidance?

Our newsletter serves tea with a strategy chaser.

Get the sharpest takes on inclusion in media, be the first to see our new tools, and watch the industry shift—because of you.