Our brand's secret ingredient: a dash of chaos

I miss Anthony Bourdain. The guy was a legend. Honest. Raw. No bullshit.

Every time I re-read his “Kitchen Confidential,” I realize that running a brand is a lot like running a kitchen.

It’s chaotic. It’s messy. It’s hectic.

But it’s where the magic happens.

When the chaos becomes the “mise-en-place.”

When all the ingredients come together.

People see the final dish, the finished product. The cool designs. The successful campaigns.

But they don’t see the grind. The late nights. The failures. The hustle.

We drop a new collection every Thursday at 12:34 p.m. And most times, something goes wrong.

When we started, I thought all the f*ck-ups were a one-time disaster because we were inexperienced.

Nope. It keeps happening all the time, even after twelve years.

Suppliers bail. Pirates attack boats in the Red Sea and all the shipments are a month late. The embroidery on the entire collection is upside down. All hoodies end up in Hamburg instead of Prague. Deadlines are missed. Stress levels through the roof.

But we push through. We learn. We grow stronger.

Bourdain once said: “Skills can be taught. The character you either have or you don’t have.”

In this game, character is everything. It’s what keeps you going when the shit hits the fan. It’s what makes you push through the bullshit and keep creating.

It’s easy to get caught up in the glamour of the finished product.

But remember: every beautiful dish is built from many great ingredients, combined with sweat, tears, and chaos.

Carpe Diem,
Tino

PS: Remember, almost every masterpiece starts with a mess.