This summer was just crazy fun! Spent 10 consecutive nights in the van, did 10 festivals, and I got some amazing lessons from the very people building the next cultural movement. Tattoo artists, custom bike builders, airbrush artists, hydrodippers, vanlifers, leather crafters, fashion designers, all people who don’t just sell stuff — they build belonging. For some it’s the hobby, for many it’s a job, but for a few it’s a lifestyle. And they nail sales and marketing without a funnel in sight. They instinctively get the 6Ps (Problem/People/Pain/Passion/Product/Profit) Let’s break it down: Problem: Their People are tired of mass-produced, soulless gear. They want things that feel authentic, and have a story. Rebellion against plastic perfection. People: Their crowd isn’t online-first. They’re in fields, garages, and showgrounds. They talk in person, not Zoom calls and still build huge followings. Pain: We’ve been sold a lie that everything new is better, which is blatantly untrue. People are waking up to this and these brands fix that by helping people reconnect with character, and build identity. Passion: This isn’t a marketing spin. It’s a lifestyle that bleeds through everything, every rusty logo, every custom stitch. Product: The product is the story. Every mark, every mod, every patch = proof of life. Profit: There’s money in it — because authenticity is a currency that never devalues. And the big truth? The ones who started in the markets, or at festivals, talking to real humans have learned what digital can’t teach. They learned to test by feeling the crowd, not tracking the clicks. Cultures aren’t built in a void or a funnel. They’re built by people, in fields, with vans, bikes, music, guitars and recorded on 35mm film. Something tells me simpler times are coming…..one can only hope.