Ellis is inspired by stories that inspire and connect people both to the story and each other. As a first-generation American, with parents who hail from Kenya and raised him in Columbus, Ohio, he is a product of his diverse environment.

Columbus is home of Ohio State University. The city is officially about the Ohio State Buckeyes and it’s athletics, home of scarlet and grey tailgates that stretch for miles on gamedays. Ellis, himself, was a Buckeye for about two years until his feet got itchy and he took a bite of the Big Apple to the east. He did well in the big city, modeling commercially in one of the world's fashion capitals. But, like a late season snow storm, he didn't stick there.

Back in Columbus, Ellis found comfort in knowing everyone has the same foundation. At the same time, he'd had a taste of big city adventure and wanted more; a place filled with forward, conscious, environmental thinkers that is, at the same time, rooted in Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin; a place where Renaissance types flock, the weather is moderate and the streets appear to have been laid out by an insane genius. Mere months into his pilgrimage west, he's more than left his heart in San Francisco, he’s asked to have it donated to City Hall. Inspiration and bold cultural connection are everywhere in The City, and he is happily, deeply entrenched in it.

“When i got here it was like an atomic bomb -- especially coming from the almost cultlike Buckeye way,” Ellis says. "It was a bit of a culture shock."

He brings with him a career which has seen him perform ballet as a child, entertain in the music world for nearly a decade and produce and perform in a few fashion shows of his own. His current drive to is be a screenwriter. And that makes sense as he lives a life that does exactly what he enjoys watching.