Front and Center

We're talking about Practice! Today, we are thrilled to welcome Michelle Mattar to the program! She’s the founder of Practice, a creative brand-building house launching brands from zero to existence. Before launching Practice, she worked at Red Antler and Ritual, blending strategy, design, and creative direction. At Practice, she’s built a number of awesome, successful new-to-world brands like Allkinds, Glowbar, and Remedy. She’s also trying to save our burning planet with the launch of a platform called Waste Not, which is a simple way to search an open-source database of sustainable suppliers. We had a great time with Michelle in the studio; we talk about her journey and starting Practice, kicking down doors and gaining experience in different disciplines, juicebox.com, her dad's candy factory, Practice's practice brands, their thorough approach to work, and more! Michelle is the best, enjoy!

Alex and Kevin are back in the studio, together again! The two celebrate their favorite brand holiday: April Fools! Just Kidding! They talk about Wasted’s canned Pasta Water, the Shohei cup debacle, the Tennessee Titans Rebrand, the Sprite Refresh, George Clooney’s Crazy Mountain NA Beer, Apple’s new lil Finder guy, Starbies, The Fit Bagel, and more!

Today, we are excited to have Chris Nott and Frankie Guzi of Studio DRAMA on the program! They crossed the pond to record the pod! ​Studio DRAMA designs type that sharpens identities, scales across systems, solves real business challenges, and makes every word unmistakably yours. They believe typography is one of the most powerful yet under-appreciated tools in branding. They are on a mission to change that through thoughtfully crafted custom typefaces that give brands a distinct look, making them recognizable beyond the logo. Studio DRAMA has worked with Heinz, D&AD, Mozilla, Body Armor, Vogue, New Balance, Glamour, and others. We had a ton of fun chopping it up with these lads! Enjoy!

Alex and Kevin are together again on opposite sides of the Country. Kevin, live from SF, gives an honest review of his first Waymo ride, shares about his recent travels, and his surprising adoption of the Oakley Meta Glasses gifted to him by Alex. The two go on to discuss Zuck’s Miami mansion, looksmaxxing, burger mogging, the new Snapple Rebrand, The Update Update, David’s new protein ice cream, World’s First Music-Streaming Urn, and more!

Today, we are stoked to welcome Chad Hogan to the program! Alex’s mentor, first boss, and only creative director ever, Chad, hired Alex as a Junior Designer at vitaminwater, where they both flourished.Chad tells us about his journey. Inspired as a kid discovering skateboarding and hip-hop at their early stages, inspiring him to make zines. He was a part of the club scene in NYC as a teen and was on the forefront of the Rave culture when he moved to the city in the 90’s. Chad’s design career started at the New York office of the British Design Firm The ATTIK, which brought graphics from Rave Culture to big mainstream brands. He went on to design records for Bad Boy and later Rawkus before a stint at Rocawear. Chad became Creative Director at Vitamin Water, where he linked up with Alex. Today, Chad runs Chandler Farms, where he designs commercial and residential spaces. Chad is an absolute legend. He’s been at the forefront of culture his entire life, and we were so fired up to have him on the show! He may be the coolest dude ever. Enjoy!

Krista Schultz is a Multidisciplinary Leader, Holistic Innovator, and the Creative Director at Tractor Beverage Co. Tractor, a client of ours, is the first and only Certified Organic and non-GMO full-line beverage in the foodservice industry. They are now expanding into retail. Tractor is committed to sustainability, tracking the environmental benefits of its organic sourcing and partnering with restaurants like Chipotle to support farming initiatives. We had a great conversation with Krista; she shared her journey from owning a gym to becoming a Creative Director and told us about the cool initiatives Tractor is taking to support farmers.

Today, we welcome Jackie DeJesu Center to the show for our 5th annual Valentine’s Day Super Bowl Spectacular! She needs no introduction, but regardless, here it is: Jackie is the Founder and CEO of DEEJAYZOO, the Inventor of SHHHOWERCAP, a former award-winning advertising Art Director at some of the top Agencies in the world, and Alex’s beloved wife! as an expert in both advertising and love, she joins us today to break down some Super Bowl ads before we run through what brands are doing for Valentine’s Day. 

We got some Cali boys in the house! Nikolos Killian and Tanner Woodbury are Founders and Creative Directors at Forth+Back, the Los Angeles-based cross-disciplinary creative studio. Their work spans from creative direction and identity design, art direction and photography, to all levels of print and digital design. They’ve worked with Apple, The Athletic, Chipotle, Netflix, NFL, Nike, Sotheby's, and many others. They’ve launched some of our favorite personal projects, like the book Dreams of New York and the Football zine Spiral. Nik and Tanner are leading awesome, thoughtful, and beautiful work in a variety of different industries. We had a great conversation about their humble beginnings, doing personal projects to attract the clients they wanted to work for, they shared some of their new and upcoming work, and more! These dudes rock, enjoy the show!

Alex and Kevin are here with a BANGER. Coming off the long weekend, refreshed and reenergized, the fellas discuss everything going on, which is dominated by fitness and nutrition stories in a sort of new year, new me energy. They talk about the new food pyramid by the National Design Studio, The Sweetgreen Function Menu, Equinox’s question everything but yourself campaign, David’s Bronze campaign, the Prime Protein Shake, The Beyond Protein Drink, Graza's mayo launch, Honda’s updated logo, and more! 

Today, we are thrilled to welcome Leland Maschmeyer to the show! Leland is the Co-Founder and CEO of COLLINS, the globally renowned design firm. He was formerly the Chief Creative and Brand Officer at Chobani, where he led its brand relaunch, portfolio expansion, and marketing transformation. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum alongside many other impressive people. Leland is also a podcaster, co-hosting Hitmakers with Ana Andjelic.We had an enlightening conversation with Leland. We talk about the future of creativity and commerce, the Collins origin story, designing Spotify's brand, leaving for Chobani and the great work he led there, coming back to take Collins into the future, and more! Enjoy!