LA assholes
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I was convinced LA would be full of assholes. What happened next still sits with me 15 years later. Reader, I pictured stuck-up Hollywood producers. Wannabes. Toxic positivity. People flexing careers they didn’t actually have. And I had never set foot there. Then this shit happened. I flew out for an interview at Deutsch LA (Yep, the Star Wars Kid Super Bowl spot people) and grabbed a beer with a buddy of mine at Larry’s next to the beach. We wanted to go out. It was Tuesday. We were carless idiots. So I asked the bartender: She goes: Great. “You got a car?” Her response? “Ok, I’ll just take you. I get off in 90 minutes.” My friend and I exchanged that “is this a trap?” look. Like: But she was dead ass. So we waited. And she drove our asses 50 minutes across town, gave us a tiny tour, then dropped us off at The Viper Room …and disappeared into the sunset. No agenda. No expectations. No ulterior motive. Just pure human warmth and helpfulness. I can still see her face. Clear as day. 15 years later. Now, how we got home that's another story 🤪 Here's what I think it taught me.. People don’t remember Your clever tagline. Your shitty pitch deck. Your fancy whatever. They remember how you made them feel. That bartender made LA feel human. Warm. Unexpectedly welcoming. She’s the reason I gave LA a real chance. I ended up spending over a decade out there. And without LA, Blacksmith probably wouldn’t exist. All because one stranger decided to go out of her way for two idiot Swedes, she didn’t know. So yeah, I'd say putting love and care into what we do whether its animated content, health products or tech is like built-in marketing in our services. As always, thank you for being here, and for reading my rants. —Christian PS. I plan on sending these emails 2-3 times weekly from now on. If this isn't your cup of coffee, please unsubscribe below. My feelings will remain intact. Somewhat. |