City Rising // OKC

As I drive out of Oklahoma City this morning on my way to the next chapter awaiting me in Pennsylvania, there really seems no more fitting post than a tribute to the city I’ve come to love beyond measure. Seamus Payne of The Coolist visited recently and put together this documentary – City Rising // Oklahoma City – that captures the city I know and have watched grow for the past decade. Our city is everything here and much, much more. So goodbye for now Oklahoma, you’ll always have a piece of my heart.

There was a time, not long ago, when cities like Austin and Portland didn’t exist as we see them today. Before these towns became great American cities, they were communities on the rise just waiting for their stories to be told. There are more like them, and one stands out. For every covered wagon or cowboy hat in Oklahoma City, there’s a tech startup and cultural story waiting to be discovered. I traveled to OKC to witness these stories firsthand. I trained with Olympic athletes, spoke to entrepreneurs and craftspeople about the businesses of tomorrow and even stood on the Chesapeake Arena’s center circle where NBA star Kevin Durant goes to work. I left intrigued and encouraged, having witnessed a city on the rise that is just waiting to be discovered. OKC will surprise you. (It surprised me.) It’s a rising beacon of tech, culture and sport in the center of the Great Plains. Join me as I experience Oklahoma City firsthand.