https://nicksugai.com Nickolaus Sugai Mon, 13 Sep 2021 20:53:31 +0000 https://nicksugai.com en https://nicksugai.com/Nike-Journal Mon, 13 Sep 2021 20:53:31 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/Nike-Journal NIKE JOURNAL Earth is stubborn, but so are we.Nike has always been about the Athlete within us all. But, we’ve only ever seen the Tigers and Kobes and Serenas. We created the pilot episodes of Moving Mountains, an editorial franchise dedicated to the Athlete, not the elite one whose name we all know, but the heroic everyday athlete, pushing the boundaries of what we think is humanly possible.&nbsp;We shaped the platform from title cards to aspect ratio, opting for a 4:3 to portray our subject, not the landscape they live in. I also wrote the companion essays featured on Nike.com with my personal byline. <img width="2121" height="1414" width_o="2121" height_o="1414" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/669a99f608af7577f891a8c2909235757744ca223531f32a46b19cb2d852e5d0/L1005959-copy.jpg" data-mid="138327238" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/669a99f608af7577f891a8c2909235757744ca223531f32a46b19cb2d852e5d0/L1005959-copy.jpg" /> EPISODE 1: YUKAI SHIMUZI / NAGANO, JAPAN .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } On the Mountain Trails of Japan, a Buddhist Monk Runs Toward Clarity The act of running, since the beginning of time, has remained unchanged. As our bi-pedal hominid ancestors did -- so do we today. What has changed, are the reasons we run. What started out as a physical necessity to escape predators or cover ground quicker, has evolved into more of a mental and personal challenge. We run to stay active. We run to keep our mind right. To compete against one another. To compete against ourselves. Yukaio Shimizu has been running for decades. He takes a gentle, yet aggressive gait through the city street of Nagano. He smiles at people that he passes by. They smile back, and he moves one foot over the other, like they did thousands of years ago through the ancient city. “I started running when I was in my thirties, and I think the general idea has not changed.” For the people who see Yukai in the neighborhood they know him as two things. As the friendly runner who greets them every morning and a monk at the Zenkoji Temple. His father was a monk, as his father was before him. He had other plans as a twenty-two-year old, but it was failure that detoured him into the life he lives today. Yukai’s reason for running are simple. “I’m not trying to overcome difficulties. I’m trying to reset. I use it as a time for me to think rationally.” He treats his duties at the temple like a privilege. The people that he sees when he’s running, those are the people who come to see him at the temple. In order to help them, he needs to be the best version of himself. He runs to enrich his heart so he can enrich others. “Some carry problems that are difficult to resolve, If my heart is fulfilled, I can provide them the opportunity to accept their own grief, or face their own difficulties.” For a monk whose life is mostly selfless, he also runs as a small, but necessary form of leisure. His route, subjectively one of the most picturesque in the world, makes his everyday something of a dream to everyone else. The mountains of Nagano, stunning. Every single time he reaches the summit of his run he lets himself become awed by it’s grandness. “By running, I get to see the most beautiful scenery in the world and eat the most delicious food in the world.” With a smile, Yukai continues to run everyday. He does it so he can be focused on the things that matter to him most. His duty to the people at his temple. The example he sets in the community. He also runs, simply to earn the things that he likes to do the most. Spend time with his family. Drink a beer and watch a game. To be a light in the world. “Even to people who do not run. If I enrich my heart, I can be the light that makes others shine.” <img width="1159" height="1397" width_o="1159" height_o="1397" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f02f626a52011ce6928337dc86ba30784a6eb77dacbe048c0d129f43f1f69a72/YUKAI_2.jpg" data-mid="138327671" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f02f626a52011ce6928337dc86ba30784a6eb77dacbe048c0d129f43f1f69a72/YUKAI_2.jpg" /><img width="1159" height="1397" width_o="1159" height_o="1397" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/be23210a6a86384ab245f4f73d516add568ec09be50345bfbdf4c18170e4b25a/YUKAI_15.jpg" data-mid="138327605" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/be23210a6a86384ab245f4f73d516add568ec09be50345bfbdf4c18170e4b25a/YUKAI_15.jpg" /> <img width="1159" height="1397" width_o="1159" height_o="1397" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d993de28c475beb1a0eb95f02a79c2d83bffe5acaf3c12374fec14c5cc0df5d1/YUKAI_3.jpg" data-mid="138327602" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d993de28c475beb1a0eb95f02a79c2d83bffe5acaf3c12374fec14c5cc0df5d1/YUKAI_3.jpg" /> EPISODE 2: CARLOS BROWN / DALLAS, TEXAS .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } A Life-Changing Injury Helped This Golf Pro Discover Strength in Loss Anyone who has played golf can attest to its volatility. A shifting breeze switches directions at the last moment. A bad bounce, kicks your ball into the woods. A wink, a curse from the gods, a curse out of your mouth, and you watch, from just far enough, your ball trickling slowly toward the lake. Carlos Brown walks the ninth green at Hackberry Creek Country Club. “Left to right, but it straightens out at the end of the putt,” he says, while standing straight up, his two legs equally pulling the Earth and the weight on his shoulders together. A suspension bridge. Carlos doesn’t need to read the greens with his eyes. He can read them with his body. In 2016, Carlos was playing a normal round of golf. He stepped off the cart into, what was shrouded in grass, a deep sprinkler head. The weight of his body collapsed into the hole, and he suffered a sprained ankle. He continued to play on it. His chase for a number, too great. He continued to walk on it, swing on it, and teach on it. Eventually, his body rejected the lifestyle. An infection set in, and a 90% chance of keeping his leg, fell on the improbable side. From the knee down, Carlos became an amputee.As a Black golf professional, he was already in the minority. Now as a Black amputee, he’s an outlier. Everything became existentially difficult. Getting dressed. Walking to the tee box. Stairs. Approach shots. Driving to the store. Standing up. But there was never a time between losing his leg and today, where he thought that he wouldn’t golf. In fact, it was never even entertained. The procedure became cathartic. Instead of loss, it was a gain. Perhaps hindsight, but he refers to a war metaphor, “I came out of war, losing only my leg and not my life.” Back on the green, he surveys an eight foot putt for par. Professionals sink these about 50% of the time. “I automatically feel it because I can feel myself off. Even if it's slight, I know that it is, so that actually helps me.” When he teaches the game, something he’s been doing for twenty years, he preaches that the golf course is an uncontrollable environment. The range, the practice greens, those are semi-controlled. You create the variability, and if you don’t like your lie, you can move it, without consequence. But in life, just like the course, is out of your control.Carlos laughs at his approach shot that got him to this point. He says reacting to bad golf shots is an adult temper tantrum. You have no idea how to articulate the frustration you have with the circumstances you’ve been given. Gently, he uses this metaphor on the golf course and in life. In this case, a sliced tee shot, into the woods. Pre-amputation Carlos would have reacted completely differently. But, his circumstances, and his lie are things he knows, for a fact, that he cannot change. This brings him peace. His third shot, deep in the rough, on a slight slope takes away the angle that he’s comfortable with. His prosthetic, his souvenir for defeating Goliath, was actually designed by a golfer, for golf. It connects him to the Earth, in a different way than most golfers. Because most players take their body for granted, his leg acts as an extension, a conduit to feel things the rest of us can’t. He knows that he’ll likely pull this shot off balance, but it’s something he’s not only physically prepared himself for -- but mentally as well. He opens his stance, and puts the requisite in-to-out swing on plane -- instead shooting straight like you’d imagine, it hooks, almost violently, completely taking the water out of play and back dooring itself onto the green rolling to about eight feet from the hole. Carlos cracks a giant smile. Almost as if he botched his second shot on purpose, so he could show off this magnificent recovery. Carlos never set out to be a beacon of hope for anyone. But when the uncontrollable happened, he had to quickly adapt to his new reality. He attributes it to a couple things. One, his faith. It’s what keeps him grounded and allowed him to quickly put his new circumstance into perspective and the second is his support system, the people who were at his side when he woke up in the hospital. He says that support system is what he wants to be for other people in the same situation. If a kid that is an amputee sees me, then he goes, "Hey, you know what, I can be a golf professional. I can play golf, I can play competitive golf." He stands over his putt. “We can only control our personal world, but we can't control the world that's around - the bigger world that's around us.” He strikes it and follows exactly the line that Carlos felt with his body, an entire lifetime, probably more, of wisdom and experience. He smiles and walks toward the hole. Golf, like life, is a volatile game but sometimes you can bend your circumstances and will them into your favor. <img width="1153" height="1351" width_o="1153" height_o="1351" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/962b69d4ac78daac5567a8b248d103fd2cf19d286dbf47a49cb2192fd4bd9b6b/Polaroid_08.jpg" data-mid="138328800" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/962b69d4ac78daac5567a8b248d103fd2cf19d286dbf47a49cb2192fd4bd9b6b/Polaroid_08.jpg" /><img width="1144" height="1363" width_o="1144" height_o="1363" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ea42bbee873a3f656a070716e2be5ecf5f2f7ac4712505b73d03d53dc000985c/Polaroid_19.jpg" data-mid="138328647" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ea42bbee873a3f656a070716e2be5ecf5f2f7ac4712505b73d03d53dc000985c/Polaroid_19.jpg" /> <img width="1172" height="1380" width_o="1172" height_o="1380" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3c9b79e8d709ab9436cce8b6f3487d97317290a7def455c749861c0972762043/Polaroid_02.jpg" data-mid="138328646" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3c9b79e8d709ab9436cce8b6f3487d97317290a7def455c749861c0972762043/Polaroid_02.jpg" /> // Partner: Dylan Simel Created with Revery <img width="2121" height="1414" width_o="2121" height_o="1414" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0d5da1a43499b2979703dd294aa9f156864f0cab286ddb4402a33a26103ba6d0/L1005734-copy.jpg" data-mid="138327331" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0d5da1a43499b2979703dd294aa9f156864f0cab286ddb4402a33a26103ba6d0/L1005734-copy.jpg" /> https://nicksugai.com/Rematch Wed, 05 Jun 2019 16:17:37 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/Rematch REMATCH A lesson in defeat.Every single human has dealt with the idea of FAILURE. It manifests itself as doubt, imposter syndrome, or fear. It haunts equally, without bias. Klay Thompson, three-time NBA champion, meets his nemesis, Failure, on the beach in an homage to one of the most iconic films of all time, The Seventh Seal. We worked with Nicolas Winding Refn and Michael K Williams, two auteurs in their own right, to create what has been my proudest achievement in my advertising career. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Like any good film distribution company we did a little self-promotion and marketed our movie with a poster worthy of The Criterion Collection. We sent them out to influencers, NBA Twitter, and general Cool Guys. <img width="3600" height="4768" width_o="3600" height_o="4768" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d2f113a6d767e326b74fdb76f2b6c97f4be06b04cc52520afbff2de0600b02f9/REMATCH_POSTER.jpg" data-mid="58781319" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d2f113a6d767e326b74fdb76f2b6c97f4be06b04cc52520afbff2de0600b02f9/REMATCH_POSTER.jpg" /> We also captured a moment of levity on set as MKW and Klay faced off, out-of-character.&nbsp; .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } <img width="946" height="705" width_o="946" height_o="705" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6921e83565ad19e1c9ec5b656032ab382dff55b9ccbf8be80cc6013d44ac04ee/Screen-Shot-2020-01-17-at-3.02.59-PM.png" data-mid="58789150" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/946/i/6921e83565ad19e1c9ec5b656032ab382dff55b9ccbf8be80cc6013d44ac04ee/Screen-Shot-2020-01-17-at-3.02.59-PM.png" /> <img width="1000" height="667" width_o="1000" height_o="667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0348c006152b4393d11a16cb8075a8cf6cc1afce0684d44695a14d1696535e71/_63A3526.jpg" data-mid="58788446" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0348c006152b4393d11a16cb8075a8cf6cc1afce0684d44695a14d1696535e71/_63A3526.jpg" /> <img width="1200" height="630" width_o="1200" height_o="630" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f0267ced03868accd3d408ec40529244278d290b2a651d78c80c4377ff84dea1/seventhseal.jpg" data-mid="58787696" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f0267ced03868accd3d408ec40529244278d290b2a651d78c80c4377ff84dea1/seventhseal.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="891" width_o="1500" height_o="891" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/01f3e8aab3af3fbe07be615036ba05f62b106f71b7768272c74d3ae56e4eb10c/Dat-One.jpg" data-mid="58616075" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/01f3e8aab3af3fbe07be615036ba05f62b106f71b7768272c74d3ae56e4eb10c/Dat-One.jpg" /> &nbsp; <img width="480" height="655" width_o="480" height_o="655" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0aa4714b172b62a9b77b69e0e881d2adafeac60fc0d5b489d937374cd1227501/DYLAN_IS_THE_BEST.jpg" data-mid="58788667" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/480/i/0aa4714b172b62a9b77b69e0e881d2adafeac60fc0d5b489d937374cd1227501/DYLAN_IS_THE_BEST.jpg" /> <img width="480" height="655" width_o="480" height_o="655" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/00e65d76628b8d88824b304971fd949132e2fea0273d03a0da41462cb69c581b/default_exc_bergman_12_0810071032_id_175715.jpg" data-mid="58788707" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/480/i/00e65d76628b8d88824b304971fd949132e2fea0273d03a0da41462cb69c581b/default_exc_bergman_12_0810071032_id_175715.jpg" /> <img width="1000" height="1500" width_o="1000" height_o="1500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/678854ca35b66fa29715a857543ecbca40e71cbed9a971f2250b4784607cbf91/Klay.jpg" data-mid="58616076" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/678854ca35b66fa29715a857543ecbca40e71cbed9a971f2250b4784607cbf91/Klay.jpg" /><img width="523" height="477" width_o="523" height_o="477" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d0abecec2a757b49809767de8818516a5edfd13e9b6877fb4702ee3dc42a1f2b/Screen-Shot-2020-01-17-at-3.01.44-PM.png" data-mid="58788943" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/523/i/d0abecec2a757b49809767de8818516a5edfd13e9b6877fb4702ee3dc42a1f2b/Screen-Shot-2020-01-17-at-3.01.44-PM.png" /> &nbsp; // Partner: Dylan Simel CD: Alex Kaplan + Barry Katz https://nicksugai.com/Rebound Fri, 13 Mar 2020 18:30:43 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/Rebound ABOVE THE WAVES The light always points you in the right direction. In Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Klay went up for a routine lay-up, one that he’s probabaly made thousands of times in his life. Except this time, he didn’t land the way he has thousands of times before. Klay tore his ACL, the Warriors lost, and the dynasty was over. Almost as quickly as it started. The eulogies were said. The memes shared. The speculation about how they were ever going to contend again were being written. But, Klay stayed low. After a period of darkness, he used the injury as an opportunity to re-frame his perspective. The game, just like life, can be taken away, ~just like that~. So, while the public forgets, Klay was putting in the work.May 2020: ABOVE THE WAVES DOCUMENTARYIn the middle of the Pandemic,while the world was starved for sports and clinging onto a basketball documentary about a player who played 25 years ago, we dropped a seven minute documentary chronicling Klay’s long road back to the court and it was streamed live to the NBA’s Instagram to their 48 million followers..embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Over the course of a full calender year, through multiple cities, and people close to Klay we created a complete narrative that fully tied together Klay’s arc. From the things that motivated him as a kid, to the snap of his ACL, to the mental doldrums of rehab. Directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker, Floyd Russ, we sought out to create a moody landscape that reflected Klay’s turbulent mindset. No sports cliches. Just the feeling of what it’s like to face down an 18 month injury. The home court filling with water. A basketball hoop on fire. The spotlight of irrelevancy. The boredom of being at home while your team struggles at the bottom of the league. <img width="2000" height="2752" width_o="2000" height_o="2752" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a469371aab88af2e2f331b7111e617a029878703a204ef1771f232d3667520ca/AboveTheWavesPoster.jpg" data-mid="69926915" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a469371aab88af2e2f331b7111e617a029878703a204ef1771f232d3667520ca/AboveTheWavesPoster.jpg" /> FEBRUARY 2020: REBOUND TVCBut before the documentary was released, we wanted to remind basketball fans what they were missing. After ten months of not hearing from Klay, we dropped this spot during the middle of an LA v Golden State broadcast and put the league on notice. You guys can have this season. But he’ll be back. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } <img width="1622" height="1286" width_o="1622" height_o="1286" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a4d9c8994eaef670563a9c89fbe48fafac4e050b4afa2ec4621cb995ac56277b/Screen-Shot-2020-03-13-at-4.45.13-PM.png" data-mid="63480125" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a4d9c8994eaef670563a9c89fbe48fafac4e050b4afa2ec4621cb995ac56277b/Screen-Shot-2020-03-13-at-4.45.13-PM.png" /> <img width="1606" height="1300" width_o="1606" height_o="1300" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b2e05ce98a67e7de402576998253189c048f79bb1aa480ea6055920e75d32c59/Screen-Shot-2020-03-13-at-4.46.59-PM.png" data-mid="63480126" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b2e05ce98a67e7de402576998253189c048f79bb1aa480ea6055920e75d32c59/Screen-Shot-2020-03-13-at-4.46.59-PM.png" /> WELLNESS BY KLAY As the official mental health sponsor of the NBA, we created a handful calming, meditative, and contemplative :15s that remind us all of some very basic tenets we should live by. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } // Partner: Dylan Simel CD: Alex Kaplan + Barry Katz https://nicksugai.com/Best-Running-Shoes-On-Earth Tue, 23 Mar 2021 20:29:17 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/Best-Running-Shoes-On-Earth BEST RUNNING SHOES ON EARTH (This Earth, we cannot speak for Earth 2 .)&nbsp; .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } JACK HARLOW HATES RUNNINGBut like me, we will do anything for a check. New Balance wanted to tell everyone about the latest iteration of the Fresh Foams (v11), what they refer to as the best running shoe of all time. WE KNOW YOU RUNNING TYPES LOVE RUNNING &nbsp;And no amount of convincing was going to convince you to switch your sneaker, so we just decided to show you, that the best runners in the world (Emma Coburn and Daichi Kamino) already ran in them this morning. In the rain. Uphill. And will run again later today. Because, I don’t know, you running types like being bored!&nbsp;CREATED WITH THE REC LEAGUE I was able to work with a mentor and friend, Jack Jensen, founder of The Rec League. A fellow Oregon alum and writer whom I admire and look up to since I graduated. It was a pleasure for the creative process to be owned completely by the creatives -- from strategy to concepting to producing. <img width="2546" height="1424" width_o="2546" height_o="1424" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ffae7fa3d4285c10537a2327c969f2a1841a8763e87461a194263788fc4c8f66/Screen-Shot-2021-03-23-at-4.25.08-PM.png" data-mid="103037107" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ffae7fa3d4285c10537a2327c969f2a1841a8763e87461a194263788fc4c8f66/Screen-Shot-2021-03-23-at-4.25.08-PM.png" /> <img width="2154" height="1426" width_o="2154" height_o="1426" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/74ed1d2c67d78d16d3c1561e950261b275be514fb11f9c7ebec59ea141feb40f/Screen-Shot-2021-03-23-at-4.25.00-PM.png" data-mid="103037106" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/74ed1d2c67d78d16d3c1561e950261b275be514fb11f9c7ebec59ea141feb40f/Screen-Shot-2021-03-23-at-4.25.00-PM.png" /> <img width="2548" height="1426" width_o="2548" height_o="1426" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/833d391d72cf931dfae14c389c13c36642c1b138615433bb8e89dae464ef0a94/Screen-Shot-2021-03-23-at-4.24.52-PM.png" data-mid="103037104" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/833d391d72cf931dfae14c389c13c36642c1b138615433bb8e89dae464ef0a94/Screen-Shot-2021-03-23-at-4.24.52-PM.png" /> <img width="2564" height="1430" width_o="2564" height_o="1430" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/88b14a6a77a0ac3a3cca604875f9398e78602336132327d13192cdd9714386f4/Screen-Shot-2021-03-23-at-4.23.18-PM.png" data-mid="103037101" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/88b14a6a77a0ac3a3cca604875f9398e78602336132327d13192cdd9714386f4/Screen-Shot-2021-03-23-at-4.23.18-PM.png" /> // Partner: Dylan Simel CD/Director: Jack Jensen and The Rec League https://nicksugai.com/More-Than-A-Vote Mon, 16 Nov 2020 03:47:13 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/More-Than-A-Vote MORE THAN A VOTE Give voice to the voiceless.Next shooting. Next bullet. Next body cam. Next Ferugson. Next Charleston. Next Breonna. Next Ahmaud. Next funeral. Next knee. Next fist. Next breath.The shadow of 2020 and a global pandemic loomed heavy over the NBA bubble. LeBron James and his fellow players were torn about continuing to play amongst the unrest. After a lot of passionate discussion, they decided to keep playing, but rather than just play for themselves, they wanted to play for something greater -- to stop the inevitability of “the next one.” The minute the NBA season ended, we aired a national PSA not just encouraging people, but pleading people to vote. Because the only next our kids should worry about is their next birthday.&nbsp; .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } <img width="2874" height="1450" width_o="2874" height_o="1450" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c8ccf95cc67f372a9d4645823edbac069b319c6e9f16ebe86c78e49467547de0/Screen-Shot-2020-11-15-at-11.22.06-PM.png" data-mid="88930811" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c8ccf95cc67f372a9d4645823edbac069b319c6e9f16ebe86c78e49467547de0/Screen-Shot-2020-11-15-at-11.22.06-PM.png" /> It was an honor and privilege to create meaningful work with people who truly cared about the cause. And all those legal votes... // Partner: Dylan Simel https://nicksugai.com/Take-Care Fri, 17 Jan 2020 20:14:41 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/Take-Care TAKE CARE Because time is indifferent. I’m constantly tripping about time. I’m astonished at how quick it can feel, how something that can feel so present, can be just barely remembered, marked only by your phone reminding you that you took that photo three years ago.It can make moments and life seem so fragile.So we created this spot to remind us of that. How time will always be our greatest rival. How it moves without regard to anyone. How it can drag when you’re up a goal. And slip away ~like that~ when you’re trying to make a comeback. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } With the help of LAFC star, Carlos Vela, Kaiser Permanente wanted to set the stakes for us. On the pitch we’re only given 90 minutes. In life, we’re only given so much time. So that is why, we have to take care. // Partner: Dylan Simel https://nicksugai.com/Mamba-Day Tue, 28 Jan 2020 03:24:38 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/Mamba-Day MAMBA DAY A holiday to remember Kobe forever. <img width="1000" height="500" width_o="1000" height_o="500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/043c7bfc4a127f56baba5220c94cf070534a38bc333bc9a239545a24a39c6ddb/Mamba-Header.jpeg" data-mid="59607575" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/043c7bfc4a127f56baba5220c94cf070534a38bc333bc9a239545a24a39c6ddb/Mamba-Header.jpeg" />For a brief moment, we can be like them. Athletes. The great ones. And I don’t mean the brand marketing rhetoric of defying gravity or jumping higher. I mean defying mortality. Pushing and tearing down space. Stopping time.&nbsp; Kobe is mythical. His legacy will live on forever in our hearts, in the way we kick our leg out when we take a contested mid range jumper, when we set our alarm clocks to some ungodly hour, when we throw away a piece of trash, when we believe anything is possible with an unrelenting commitment to the grind.&nbsp; I will be forever grateful that I worked on this campaign to commemorate his retirement from the league, which now feels like a fitting tribute and goodbye to one of my favorite athletes of all time. We started with the core insight that’s been at the heart of every Kobe Bryant discussion since he was drafted: some people love him (Los Angelenos, Asian dudes everywhere), some hated him (Salty Blazer fans, lol Game 7), but everyone respected him.&nbsp;So we used this polarizing tension to make up a holiday to commemorate how everyone felt about Kobe and convinced the entire internet to go along with it. The duality of Kobe.<img width="500" height="751" width_o="500" height_o="751" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/44f1ab167adccccc95ab2950e6810268b0d86f466a5cfa6a9ab85a32b49eb8de/Kobe-Love.jpg" data-mid="59607572" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/44f1ab167adccccc95ab2950e6810268b0d86f466a5cfa6a9ab85a32b49eb8de/Kobe-Love.jpg" /><img width="500" height="751" width_o="500" height_o="751" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0ac8e70842fc03618bbac9306aaf2752c44900a1c3821bfc0e5def10151e3036/Kobe-Hate.jpg" data-mid="59607570" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/0ac8e70842fc03618bbac9306aaf2752c44900a1c3821bfc0e5def10151e3036/Kobe-Hate.jpg" /> <img width="500" height="751" width_o="500" height_o="751" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f49b3806439983040530e51d0e41504607ebb37c2436375038af68f1e5ef5ecb/Hero.jpg" data-mid="59607569" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/f49b3806439983040530e51d0e41504607ebb37c2436375038af68f1e5ef5ecb/Hero.jpg" /><img width="500" height="751" width_o="500" height_o="751" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0897ee9d0fce7031477a62ec696ed8c1f2373d45dacf233d9a9b20ed03bf2040/Villian.jpg" data-mid="59607581" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/0897ee9d0fce7031477a62ec696ed8c1f2373d45dacf233d9a9b20ed03bf2040/Villian.jpg" /> <img width="250" height="376" width_o="250" height_o="376" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/74ac1c4bbff2f7d0aa4702eafb88b79f661b0bb6c9d1c134617ab95f1e72c124/Confident.jpg" data-mid="59607565" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/250/i/74ac1c4bbff2f7d0aa4702eafb88b79f661b0bb6c9d1c134617ab95f1e72c124/Confident.jpg" /> <img width="250" height="376" width_o="250" height_o="376" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/848ebdf2918fb7024e7a1fb2878b38baa143e596497783fe29acd4a64499374c/Arrogant.jpg" data-mid="59607561" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/250/i/848ebdf2918fb7024e7a1fb2878b38baa143e596497783fe29acd4a64499374c/Arrogant.jpg" /> <img width="250" height="376" width_o="250" height_o="376" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/617472eefd8b89f5e3d4def7ef85c4b73b24fede6ffb27534f0a38eee8d81225/Relentless.jpg" data-mid="59607576" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/250/i/617472eefd8b89f5e3d4def7ef85c4b73b24fede6ffb27534f0a38eee8d81225/Relentless.jpg" /> <img width="250" height="376" width_o="250" height_o="376" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a6cc2219d8c454f5a3fb3296ac8a55c1cbb644c50e18dbb1dba1e4423e30480b/Ruthless.jpg" data-mid="59607577" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/250/i/a6cc2219d8c454f5a3fb3296ac8a55c1cbb644c50e18dbb1dba1e4423e30480b/Ruthless.jpg" /> The world gets their last word in. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } We tricked everyone into becoming walking ads for #MambaDay by convincing them to make their own poster with how you really felt about KOBE! <img width="1000" height="483" width_o="1000" height_o="483" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/43b03f3a16e1525b388be94e212cf1f14cf2fe0a3c8b85d7a0f71ff02143cfb2/Generator.jpg" data-mid="59607567" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/43b03f3a16e1525b388be94e212cf1f14cf2fe0a3c8b85d7a0f71ff02143cfb2/Generator.jpg" /> <img width="1000" height="208" width_o="1000" height_o="208" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/99c972b1e36fa55b52d542905dd4713460bb4b4405cd3536ca736c90c55c331e/Athletes.jpg" data-mid="59607562" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/99c972b1e36fa55b52d542905dd4713460bb4b4405cd3536ca736c90c55c331e/Athletes.jpg" /> Ephemerality was hot back then so we made a Snapchat filter that everyone used. Someone told me it was the most viewed branded Snapchat filter of all time and I'd rather be on my Trump shit and believe that instead of seeking any empirical evidence. You should too. &nbsp; <img width="750" height="727" width_o="750" height_o="727" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/34f0fa836a9cd566c70cee0e413c8e02d9a22105242d9af70134d3b0e5cb7b31/snap.jpeg" data-mid="59767761" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/34f0fa836a9cd566c70cee0e413c8e02d9a22105242d9af70134d3b0e5cb7b31/snap.jpeg" /> <img width="750" height="648" width_o="750" height_o="648" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/51145d98385a4c5d51bd90b694f75c44b6a87c20a58aea0a1f28b456122e1a3e/UGC.jpeg" data-mid="59607580" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/51145d98385a4c5d51bd90b694f75c44b6a87c20a58aea0a1f28b456122e1a3e/UGC.jpeg" /> We also launched the first branded emoji on Twitter. (Again, that’s what the strategists told me, and they’re never wrong. 😉) All uses of #MambaDay automatically switched to the Kobe XI. Fans, celebrities, media outlets, an ex-president, Drake, even competing brands and their athletes ended up stamping their message with a Nike shoe and swoosh. The emoji automatically turned the entire world into Nike brand ambassadors. CHECKS OVER STRIPES, YAKTV. <img width="500" height="500" width_o="500" height_o="500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d6f4eb0ca87767600ce310c644b98d5a7f8174ccca93c45001b26e1240a7bd30/Twitter-Moji.png" data-mid="59607579" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/d6f4eb0ca87767600ce310c644b98d5a7f8174ccca93c45001b26e1240a7bd30/Twitter-Moji.png" /> <img width="1000" height="1831" width_o="1000" height_o="1831" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bf73672e8193dd482b3be2596825b3a123fde7e0bae64df6d5eb3bd7eb64f11c/Broken-Internet.jpg" data-mid="59607564" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bf73672e8193dd482b3be2596825b3a123fde7e0bae64df6d5eb3bd7eb64f11c/Broken-Internet.jpg" /> When the branded content too fire for the Twitter servers. <img width="600" height="491" width_o="600" height_o="491" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/98362cb6ca24f7188d2268b310521e8129f1ba9f3bf561d1930cb166571e27d0/Twitter-Map.jpg" data-mid="59607578" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/600/i/98362cb6ca24f7188d2268b310521e8129f1ba9f3bf561d1930cb166571e27d0/Twitter-Map.jpg" /> The best part of the campaign was the finale when Kobe dropped 60. The greatst script I’ve ever written in advertising. Th <img width="653" height="435" width_o="653" height_o="435" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9fffea518074cbfe849879dde973b0516056b05d88a4aa0e7d841434b571822d/kobegig.jpg" data-mid="59770907" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/653/i/9fffea518074cbfe849879dde973b0516056b05d88a4aa0e7d841434b571822d/kobegig.jpg" /> <img width="653" height="435" width_o="653" height_o="435" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c8c75467c13393e180480fb45f56d7fb260cfdf52cc7d7f0ab50ed51ddd52ee7/kobegigi2.jpg" data-mid="59770909" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/653/i/c8c75467c13393e180480fb45f56d7fb260cfdf52cc7d7f0ab50ed51ddd52ee7/kobegigi2.jpg" /> #Mamba&nbsp; and #Mambacita&nbsp; Forever. // Partner: Justin Fly .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } https://nicksugai.com/Bring-It-All Fri, 17 Jan 2020 20:32:59 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/Bring-It-All BRING IT ALL Everyone has a part. There’s a reason why we refer to our football team with the royal we. It’s inclusive. Quarterbacks, the drumline, the fans watching at home on their couch (that’s you!) we’re all part of THE TEAM. NFL Youth wanted to celebrate this diversity by encouraging kids to bring WHATEVER they got to the team. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } We made the only official NFL anime with Juju, the league’s biggest kid. He battles his long time nemesis, the cross-town rival. Your boi, me, voices “Teammate 1.” .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }We got Jalen Ramsey, aka the dude who got picked AFTER Ezekiel Elliot, to roast his fellow league peers sartorial choices.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Fortnite was big in 2018. We got Twitch Streamer of the Year, Pokimane, pronounced Pokemon, to play Adoree Jackson in Madden. Some social concept we dropped: .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } At the end of the season we threw a big party for the kids at seminal fan favorite Pro Bowl 🙄. Yeah right. While dorky Dads were trying to collect autographs we gave kids a tent of their own. Four days of Fortnite, dancing, photo booths, swag, and music. Orlando’s hottest club is... .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } // Partner: Dylan Simel CDs: Alex Kaplan + Barry Katz https://nicksugai.com/Book-of-Strong Fri, 31 Jan 2020 21:33:20 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/Book-of-Strong BOOK OF STRONG A 100-year-institution needed a gut check. America’s favorite pastime, the NFL, has been at a paradoxical precipice. It alienates fans, prices them out, insults their intelligence, and disregards their values. But it is at the peak of its powers, moving and dictating headlines as it holds Sundays, off-seasons, group chats, and water cooler conversations across the country.As a team of hardcore, but accountable, NFL fans, we wanted to remind the league of the opportunity they have in front of them.&nbsp;The responsibility they have to people of all ages who look to the league for entertainment, for morals, for inspiration, for something to cheer for that’s bigger than them. We wanted to remind the league that it’s not just one commissioner, or a coach, or a player’s union -- it’s all of us. Because football, like life, is a game you cannot win alone. To celebrate the league’s 100 year anniversary, over two weeks, we created a living, breathing 222 page book that we gave to the NFL League Office. Our hope and intention that it would inspire them to listen to the people who truly love the game so that it could thrive for another 100 years. Football Forever. <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/08c7a508ea8bb1deb1a70ad994f888c91928ee46b64a6d70d870c6cc4e6d11e5/BOS_Layout_0.jpg" data-mid="60287900" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/08c7a508ea8bb1deb1a70ad994f888c91928ee46b64a6d70d870c6cc4e6d11e5/BOS_Layout_0.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f509cedf605c77e5bc4ed50764bd06da4fed298715f41694f9d743ce8aca249c/BOS_Layout_1.jpg" data-mid="60287901" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f509cedf605c77e5bc4ed50764bd06da4fed298715f41694f9d743ce8aca249c/BOS_Layout_1.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6062cf636325f89182ba6bc7a78dce4aadb5739d8987c5e8d45a7ff9b1438035/BOS_Layout_3.jpg" data-mid="60287913" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6062cf636325f89182ba6bc7a78dce4aadb5739d8987c5e8d45a7ff9b1438035/BOS_Layout_3.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ed68d6b68ab631077a3fdc9623681210ea3a9b7b3ddba70758ebfe537f614a0b/BOS_Layout_2.jpg" data-mid="60287903" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ed68d6b68ab631077a3fdc9623681210ea3a9b7b3ddba70758ebfe537f614a0b/BOS_Layout_2.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/327a57614b7209c4c0fd19f15b9f8581042f93f4a4d9f6098174376d1005e928/BOS_Layout_4.jpg" data-mid="60287921" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/327a57614b7209c4c0fd19f15b9f8581042f93f4a4d9f6098174376d1005e928/BOS_Layout_4.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7825a41dd05047c2d79ffc0f4d786f49a71f9a06d06a366f3f00c7847f24ba54/BOS_Layout_5.jpg" data-mid="60287923" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7825a41dd05047c2d79ffc0f4d786f49a71f9a06d06a366f3f00c7847f24ba54/BOS_Layout_5.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9acb1354ebdb1243019ad5dbd9d68c15a4a1358f80d215a830620a6245309ab0/BOS_Layout_7.jpg" data-mid="60287925" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9acb1354ebdb1243019ad5dbd9d68c15a4a1358f80d215a830620a6245309ab0/BOS_Layout_7.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2ae51fb373d36fea8a10e0052cd806685086fdd419b334cd4f73ad747fe64d42/BOS_Layout_6.jpg" data-mid="60287924" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2ae51fb373d36fea8a10e0052cd806685086fdd419b334cd4f73ad747fe64d42/BOS_Layout_6.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6eb2a060d608ff4768ad0af898b5b8ea8b6bf3e1971e7bd608b1222cee496346/BOS_Layout_9.jpg" data-mid="60287927" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6eb2a060d608ff4768ad0af898b5b8ea8b6bf3e1971e7bd608b1222cee496346/BOS_Layout_9.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b1ae788916a063cf83f861e440430d002c2bef738cab798aa71460c3995fb27f/BOS_Layout_8.jpg" data-mid="60287926" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/b1ae788916a063cf83f861e440430d002c2bef738cab798aa71460c3995fb27f/BOS_Layout_8.jpg" /> <img width="3500" height="1969" width_o="3500" height_o="1969" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/02746e3f510e68a5f648fe11cc89701e4f7d375cac9ca66413d3ea9356697e92/BOS_Layout_10.jpg" data-mid="60287928" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/02746e3f510e68a5f648fe11cc89701e4f7d375cac9ca66413d3ea9356697e92/BOS_Layout_10.jpg" /> // Team: Dylan Simel,&nbsp;Alex Kaplan, Barry Katz CDs: Matthew McFerrin&nbsp;+ Eric Steele https://nicksugai.com/Performix-House Tue, 21 Jan 2020 16:30:40 +0000 Nickolaus Sugai https://nicksugai.com/Performix-House PERFORMIX HOUSE Where your favorite trainer’s favorite trainer trains.&nbsp; I tried to see how the other side lived so I went in-house to a fitness and performance brand to launch and brand a high-end gym from scratch. We had a very limited production budget to launch so we hinged the creative on two things: the diverse set of personalities that make up Performix House and hard hitting physical installations that motivate, hype members up, and give FOMO to broke normies who can't afford to drop $$$$ on a gym. <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/065ba8f1936b99ce066ab2189b278b6e28a450e73d00bf8c0b96f149e3a5f2db/NYT_TULLO.jpg" data-mid="59102172" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/065ba8f1936b99ce066ab2189b278b6e28a450e73d00bf8c0b96f149e3a5f2db/NYT_TULLO.jpg" /><img width="1024" height="683" width_o="1024" height_o="683" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/53167f1ed7dce9a991bbfbff04c1610683498068edf4aac00cd8e2f254ddb7d0/TULLO_NYT.jpg" data-mid="59102178" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/53167f1ed7dce9a991bbfbff04c1610683498068edf4aac00cd8e2f254ddb7d0/TULLO_NYT.jpg" /><img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/065ba8f1936b99ce066ab2189b278b6e28a450e73d00bf8c0b96f149e3a5f2db/NYT_TULLO.jpg" data-mid="59102172" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/065ba8f1936b99ce066ab2189b278b6e28a450e73d00bf8c0b96f149e3a5f2db/NYT_TULLO.jpg" /> <img width="1024" height="683" width_o="1024" height_o="683" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/53167f1ed7dce9a991bbfbff04c1610683498068edf4aac00cd8e2f254ddb7d0/TULLO_NYT.jpg" data-mid="59102178" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/53167f1ed7dce9a991bbfbff04c1610683498068edf4aac00cd8e2f254ddb7d0/TULLO_NYT.jpg" /> We concepted and created Performix House to be an aspirational high-end content studio as well as a functional fitness experience. <img width="1000" height="600" width_o="1000" height_o="600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c2c4dddf78d08dba5d8f610f6f5ac8ae0665019de0b05f315114ff90109b86dd/House-Logo.png" data-mid="59102166" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c2c4dddf78d08dba5d8f610f6f5ac8ae0665019de0b05f315114ff90109b86dd/House-Logo.png" /> Prospective members go through a rigorous vetting process to ensure they are committed to the “lifestyle.” Upon acceptance to “The House” they are given a packet with standards and expectations. <img width="1000" height="740" width_o="1000" height_o="740" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d1d48641f0a4486a2d5f92f292e8d73a0c92df7b6b8dbe3293cd4af7e94417e5/Welcome.jpg" data-mid="59102180" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d1d48641f0a4486a2d5f92f292e8d73a0c92df7b6b8dbe3293cd4af7e94417e5/Welcome.jpg" /> Trainers are hand selected from the best gyms around the city and currently there is no application process. Invite only. <img width="1000" height="600" width_o="1000" height_o="600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/48b009f04cd364996b7872a0021a719b440855c011b4797041677fae37a70732/Card.png" data-mid="59102162" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/48b009f04cd364996b7872a0021a719b440855c011b4797041677fae37a70732/Card.png" /> But the real opportunity in Performix House was treating the gym like a content studio for trainers and brand partnerships.&nbsp; And like any modern business, we realized visual touchpoints were integral for trainer’s constantly posting on Instagram. <img width="1000" height="667" width_o="1000" height_o="667" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dc769244fbdd502c000c2883ac7b146855202417b7039dfb881a890b0b197a3e/ENTRANCE.jpg" data-mid="59102164" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dc769244fbdd502c000c2883ac7b146855202417b7039dfb881a890b0b197a3e/ENTRANCE.jpg" /> Throughout Performix House we installed multiple IG-ready moments where people could stay motivated and share their workout progress with their followers. The first time we installed it we installed it wrong, so we had to take a razor blade and scrape every single number off the wall. That was fun. <img width="1000" height="654" width_o="1000" height_o="654" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4efc40f95210fbf2dbd105be0a516a072832ca5ee04717947e7a3a860d147f1d/WALL.jpg" data-mid="59102179" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4efc40f95210fbf2dbd105be0a516a072832ca5ee04717947e7a3a860d147f1d/WALL.jpg" /> <img width="750" height="1000" width_o="750" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2bcc5111bcd25247c6071cd583750929d65191a085e9100ef0659efe368e4351/STAIRS.png" data-mid="59102175" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/2bcc5111bcd25247c6071cd583750929d65191a085e9100ef0659efe368e4351/STAIRS.png" /><img width="750" height="1000" width_o="750" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7ed7484d9386e613b580a0f658f07c62687b76875c68fcc39665c722c5efd44b/OWN-TODAY.jpg" data-mid="59102173" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/750/i/7ed7484d9386e613b580a0f658f07c62687b76875c68fcc39665c722c5efd44b/OWN-TODAY.jpg" /> To launch Performix House, we created an immersive campaign that demanded accountability.The manifesto for the house was based on Jocko Willink’s book,&nbsp;Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win, which preaches the SEAL’s basic methodology of not cutting corners. Simply, it’s the notion that, "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link." Our founder and CEO lit up when he heard this strategy. He said:&nbsp; “Every single fucking detail counts when you’re trying to become great.” If you skip a set. If you miss an hour of sleep. If you don’t hit your protein number. It all has lasting effects on reaching your goal months down the road. In order to be succesful, you need to own every single fucking detail. Every rep, gram of fat, wink of sleep is relevant on your way to greatness. Which is how we landed on, OWN EVERYTHING. The launch film (produced and directed by me): .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }Our teaser manifesto:<img width="1000" height="333" width_o="1000" height_o="333" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/133e624c4f3b2d18fb06c142dc3552383733315cbfac02f643c0271752043102/Manifesto.jpg" data-mid="59102171" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/133e624c4f3b2d18fb06c142dc3552383733315cbfac02f643c0271752043102/Manifesto.jpg" />NOTHING IS IRRELEVANT &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; CONTROL IS NOT AN ILLUSION If you walked by 14th and 5th you were subjected to two cryptic phrases reminding people that Control Is Not An Illusion. Siiiiick. 🤘🏽 .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Our biggest success was empowering trainers to promote themselves like independent businesses. More independent barbershop, less corporate gym. <img width="1000" height="670" width_o="1000" height_o="670" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/764f890d2cd3bc9e5ce2c61f13d699fd323d86ad76872473c872487e5d8ee6cc/TRAINERS_6upx.jpg" data-mid="59102177" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/764f890d2cd3bc9e5ce2c61f13d699fd323d86ad76872473c872487e5d8ee6cc/TRAINERS_6upx.jpg" /> I produced and directed over twenty individual trainer videos that they were able to use on their own social channels. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } In the ten months I worked here I got to work with proper villians aka brick boiz aka my dumb friends, learned how to do a 52" standing box jump, realized how hard it is to open a gym, and that I secretly want to be a fitness influencer.&nbsp; <img width="500" height="753" width_o="500" height_o="753" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b620ee0a41e8569649e5d22882941eda95e0bfe52e31d1d84a91e6a7303a7ba1/BRICKBOYS_2.jpg" data-mid="59127356" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/b620ee0a41e8569649e5d22882941eda95e0bfe52e31d1d84a91e6a7303a7ba1/BRICKBOYS_2.jpg" /> // Made with:&nbsp;Justin Fly, Bryn Little, Edgar Gallardo, Dave Kerr, Keiji Ando