Meet Alisa Allapach and Phillip Montgomery, the daughter and son-in-law of Al Allapach (yep, the guy smiling on our homepage). Al grew up in Bangkok, where he and his buddies would grab onto passing tugboats to cross the Chao Phraya River—reckless, clever, and just the kind of scrappy energy that still inspires Alisa and Phil. So why the name? Al Allapach is why… and because Paul Simon is a genius.

These days, they’re a directing duo that occasionally share a toothbrush: Alisa, once a professional figure skater tells stories with the same grace she used to bring to the ice, while Phil, an NYU film grad, balances things out with a knack for doc, narrative and a sense of humor over this crazy industry. Together, they’ve made everything from a viral Instagram spots to projects for the likes of McDonalds, Google, The Home Depot, Deloitte, Uber, and many more.