Swings, Shoots & Sunsets

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Is it just me, or does every day of the week feel like a Friday right now?

We're in that part of the year where time gets weird. The days are long but moving too fast. It's late July bleeding into early August. The dog days. The golden hour of the calendar. I live for this time. Maybe it’s because I’m a Leo? Do all Leos love summer? It’s the endless sun & vitamin D. It’s the influx of serotonin. It’s the "hey, let’s play 9 and drink three Surfsides on a Tuesday."

And maybe that’s why I could never live somewhere seasonless. Summer hits so much harder when you know it ends. My name is Cael, and I’m a summer addict.

Take this week for example:
We spent two full shoot days in my hometown in MA for Mugsy. 7am to 7pm. Hot, sweaty days where we forced models to wear jeans. Day 1? We shot video in my parents’ backyard (thank you to my Mom and Dad — dinner on me tonight).

Then on Wednesday, I dipped out for a half day to play in a golf tournament with my best friends. We placed 3rd. Shot a net 60 as a team (4 man best ball for those who care). I think I contributed on 2 holes total. I’m more of a glue guy anyways.

Anyways, one of my favorite parts of my job (and the ecomm space in general) is the freedom to make content. We get to make content where and how we want. I can shoot at my childhood home. I can hire my friends. I can create a video ad that looks like it cost $25K… for basically nothing. But that’s not luck — it’s a system & 8 years of being in the game.

And if you run a brand or want to, you need this system too. Because I truly believe this is the new-age CMO skillset:

Here’s how I think about it:

4 Rules for Building a Content Machine (for $0.03 on the dollar):

1. Make your life your studio.
That backyard? That rooftop? That friend’s cool apartment? It’s all free if you ask nicely and say thank you with beers and food.

2. Cast from your Contacts.
Friends, family, friends of friends. It’s easy - just have really attractive friends. But seriously, real people > professional models 9 times out of 10. And they’ll work for free product and a meal.

3. Keep your crew lean.
You don’t need a 10-person video crew. You need 1 shooter who knows your brand, 1 producer who can hustle, and someone to hold a reflector.

4. Edit like a beast.
You don’t need a Hollywood editor. You need good taste, CapCut, and 1-2 references. If it feels clean and cool, it is clean and cool.

We just announced our next Steam Room Etiquette show by the way. Wednesday, September 3. Back to school show. Tell your friends. Get your tickets here. Every single show has sold out so far.

Have an awesome weekend everyone.