co-founder/creative direction&vision
andre hinds
Andre Hinds, based in Charleston, SC – stands at the intersection of art, storytelling, and community. As lead photographer & director of photography on the acclaimed PEARLS project, Andre brought to life a series of powerful Vermeer‑inspired portraits spotlighting eight local women. His vision transformed each image into living art, capturing everyday heroines with the reverence of fine portraiture.
The PEARLS exhibit, paired with a short documentary, premiered at Julia Deckman Studios in March 2022. Andre described it as “one of the most poignant and important work of my life so far,” emphasizing how it marries documentary storytelling with visual artistry to honor Charleston’s diverse community.
He is now doing the same with Angostura’s upcoming Docu-Series “Lost & Found: From Roots to Rice” with Trinidadian Chef Chaz Brown who is discovering his roots through food, experience, and culture all starting in Charleston and reaching all the way out to Trinidad & Tobago.
Andre and his partners vision and creative leadership, Koda Creative (formerly Koda Digital Studios) has become a creative force in the region—providing photography, film, and digital media services for brands, businesses local and abroad, and individuals.
Known for a thoughtful, narrative-driven approach, Andre crafts work that resonates emotionally and inspires collective connection.
Before stepping fully into creative entrepreneurship, Andre cultivated a background in performance and athletic discipline—elements that continue to inform his work ethic and storytelling sensibility.
“Koda Creative isn’t just building about building business; it’s about amplifying voices, elevating ordinary stories into extraordinary art, and reinforcing how local narratives shape cultural identity.” - Andre Hinds
This is Koda.
co-founder/strategy&Story
joe tarasiewicz
I started in bands at 17. Writing lyrics on floorboards, pitching records to people who saw numbers, not heart. I walked into A&R meetings with borrowed confidence and too much belief in what a song could do. I was too young to be taken seriously and too stubborn to shut up.
I sat in rooms with people who threw around six-figure budgets like they weren’t choking on their own doubt, and I learned how to speak in strategy and still write in soul. From 17 to 21, I failed forward. Loudly. Quietly. Publicly.
So I left. Got into business. Ran companies that moved fast and looked polished, but left me feeling nothing. For years, I played the part. Made the deck. Closed the deal. But deep down, I was still that kid in the vocal booth, aching to build something that meant something.
At 31, I stopped waiting. I built Koda.
Not out of ego. Out of survival.
Out of ten years of pain, learning, burnout, and belief.
Out of the kind of failure that becomes fuel when you refuse to die in it.
I carry bloodlines that were silenced, erased, or told to “make it palatable.” I was taught to stay small in the name of professionalism.
But I don’t build from polish.
I build from truth.
Koda exists for the quiet kids with loud hearts.
For the strategists who care too deeply.
For the ones who show up, not because it’s easy but because it’s ours.
We don’t just create content.
We tell stories that won’t stay buried.
We don’t just brand.
We believe in the people behind it.
This isn’t marketing. This is memory work.
This is what happens when you spend a decade in the fire and decide to build a studio from the ashes.
This is Koda.
marc rodenbaugh
coo/backbone & balance
As Koda Creative’s operational quarterback, Marc Rodenbaugh makes sure every great idea, campaign, and client deliverable actually crosses the goal line. Before joining KODA, Marc spent more than a decade building and running multi-unit food-service operations across the Southeast.
Through his company RL Investments, he introduced and expanded the Tropical Smoothie Café brand in greater Charleston, overseeing site selection, staffing, and day-to-day performance for multiple locations and guiding new franchise growth plans in the region.
That experience—equal parts strategic planning, financial discipline, and hands-on leadership—now powers Koda’s internal engine.
Marc streamlines workflows, aligns budgets with big creative ambitions, and leads our people-first culture so designers, strategists, and storytellers can focus on what they do best.
A lifelong entrepreneur, Marc is known for his calm, solutions-oriented style and for turning complex operational puzzles into simple, repeatable systems.
When he’s not optimizing processes, you’ll find the Mount Pleasant resident mentoring local business owners, cheering on Charleston’s food scene, or racking up personal bests at the gym.
What this means for clients: With Marc at the helm of operations, projects stay on time, on budget, and exactly on-brand—so your next big idea never gets bogged down in the back office