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Meet the RF/West Crew: Joe Foster
By Josselyn Salter
Avoiding poisonous rattlesnakes while repelling down a 75-foot cliff with the Mayor of Los Angeles is all in a days work for our hero, Joe Foster. Directing a media event at the base of one of the world’s most famous icons – the Hollywood sign – may sound simple, but when it involves scaling the mountainside with 80 international journalists, it was anything but easy.
To know Joe is to know that his event went off without a hitch, despite the four reporters who did not heed the “comfortable shoes” warning and arrived in high heels. However, barefoot up the embankment they went – mission accomplished, with Joe leading the way.
Joe moved to Los Angeles for college and, like so many star-struck kids, to pursue a career in acting. Before long, he scored a role in the action film Speed 2: Cruise Control. For that opportunity, Joe headed down to the Caribbean and pulled off an inspired performance as the stalwart and steadfast, Pool Officer No. 1.
After 11 days of shooting with stars Sandra Bullock and Jason Patrick, our hero had no choice but to relax on the Caribbean beaches, where he worked on his tan for the for the next month and swam with the dolphins alongside Willem Dafoe. That adventure sparked Joe’s thirst for travel and he has since visited a variety of destinations around the globe from St. Tropez to Greece.
Joe also spent a month in Thailand, where he trekked the jungles of Chang Mai and Pai to swim under waterfalls and bond with the wildlife. Unfortunately, the elephants did not take kindly to Joe and proceeded to exert their dominance (see photo).
Joe returned from the Far East to continue pursuing his love of all things dramatic, producing more than 30 plays in Los Angeles, while also dabbling in screenwriting, abstract painting and, in his free time, acting as a PR freelancer extraordinaire for a variety of clients.
Joe eventually found his home at Ruder Finn in 2007 and has been bringing success to his client adventures ever since. Looking back on his career, Joe says, “Whether it’s in PR or producing theater – I love working with highly creative people. In both disciplines, the goals are all about building the best, most creative team possible to deliver high value results.”
We are quite lucky to have this internationally acclaimed “jack of all trades” in our ranks. Just don’t ask this “almost famous” Pool Officer to ride another elephant—he’ll kindly take a pass.
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