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    CONTENT CREATION
    35m 10 min read 13,596

    How to Build Content People Actually React To

    Chris Do coaches custom shoe creators on how to stop making predictable content and start creating emotionally resonant stories.

    Chris Do

    Chris Do

    Founder, The Futur™ · January 17, 2026

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    Your Process is Polished. Your Content is Predictable.

    You have mastered your craft. The work is immaculate, the execution is flawless, and the final product is undeniably cool. You document every step, creating polished, high-quality videos that show the world exactly how you do what you do. Yet the likes are flat, the comments are sparse, and the viral moments feel like lightning strikes you can’t control.

    Your content has a fatal flaw.

    It’s predictable.

    This was the exact challenge facing Chris and Colin of Chummies, a creative duo who pioneered the art of making custom “trophy shoes” by deconstructing sports jerseys and sewing them onto sneakers. In a live content review session with The Futur’s founder, Chris Do, they laid out a common creator’s dilemma: despite having multiple videos with over a million views, their average engagement was stuck in a frustrating middle ground.

    They produce stunning work, turning Nike sneakers into one-of-a-kind homages for sports fans. Their stated goal is to make fans feel more connected to their teams and brands. They measure this connection through social media engagement: views, comments, and shares. Their baseline for a reel is around 5,000 views. Hitting 10,000 feels like a success. But the million-view hits prove something much bigger is possible. The question is, what?

    Their initial theory pointed to cultural relevance. A video about Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow performs well when he’s in the playoffs. A shoe celebrating a FIFA moment catches the wave of global attention. Content tied to superstar athletes like Patrick Mahomes or Shohei Ohtani transcends the niche sports fan and taps into pop culture.

    This analysis is correct, but it's incomplete. Relying on the zeitgeist makes your success dependent on factors outside your control. You become a surfer waiting for a wave, not a force that creates its own motion. Do’s diagnosis went deeper, moving past the obvious and into the architecture of their content itself.

    “I'm going to take a little bit longer to talk to you versus just answering your question about content,” Do began, signaling a shift from tactical advice to strategic thinking. “Because I'm going to help a lot of creative people understand how to have a strategic business conversation.”

    The real problem wasn't their skill or their subject matter. It was their storytelling.

    The Monotony of Mastery

    After watching a few of Chummies’ videos, a pattern emerges. A shoe is presented. A jersey is deconstructed. The sewing process is shown with skillful precision. A finished product is revealed. It’s a clean and effective formula for showcasing a craft.

    It is also the primary source of their engagement plateau.

    “After a while it becomes, and I'm sorry to say this if this hurts you a little bit, it becomes a little predictable,” Do explained. “I watched two or three of these things. I feel like I've watched them all now at this point. I'm just waiting for my team to win.”

    This is the moment most creators miss. They mistake consistency in process for consistency in storytelling. While a reliable structure is important, a predictable outcome is deadly. When the audience already knows how the story begins and, crucially, how it will end, there is no reason to remain emotionally invested. The tension is gone.

    Stories need tension.

    Do points out the internal feeling of a viewer who has seen the formula play out: “I don't want to feel like I got his gig. I got it.” The moment your audience feels they “get” your whole playbook, they’ve emotionally checked out. They might appreciate the craft, but they won’t feel compelled to comment, share, or evangelize.

    The solution is not to abandon the format, but to introduce strategic variability within it. This is where Chummies’ self-initiated projects, which make up 25% of their work, become a critical R&D lab for their content.

    Do challenged them to ask a simple question: “What's one variable I could change?” This question is the antidote to predictability. It forces a creator to break the mold without breaking the entire machine.

    • Change the Canvas: What if it’s not always a Nike? What if the silhouette is radically different, offering new panels and shapes to work with?
    • Change the Materials: What if instead of just jerseys, you used leather from an actual game-used football? Or vinyl from an event banner? Or even the fuzzy material from a tennis ball?
    • Change the Technique: What if you dipped the shoe, used hyper-black paint to create a silhouette effect, or introduced new embellishments? The unknown outcome of an experiment generates curiosity.

    Even a failed experiment can make for compelling content. “Sometimes they're just a disaster and they don't work,” Do noted. “But you can tell people what you learned in making this shoe.” A story about a failed attempt is often more human and relatable than another flawless execution. Breaking the monotony is the first step, but the next step is where true emotional connection is forged.

    Shift Focus from Process to Reaction

    The single biggest opportunity Chummies was missing had nothing to do with sewing machines or airbrushes. It was the human element. Their content was entirely focused on the *making* of the object, ignoring the emotional impact of *receiving* it.

    Do introduced a fundamental concept from neuroscience: mirror neurons.

    “If I smile and I'm laughing and I'm experiencing joy... inside you're mirroring what's happening that you're seeing,” he explained. “This is why when we watch movies, when the character gets choked up and they start crying, we start to cry. We can't even control it because we're mirroring.”

    Mirror neurons are the biological hardware for empathy. They allow us to feel what others are feeling, creating a powerful, often subconscious, connection. When your content only shows a process, the viewer is an observer. But when your content shows an emotional reaction, the viewer becomes a participant.

    This is the difference between showing a cool shoe and telling a story that makes someone feel joy.

    Do laid out a new story structure: “You can go to some young kid, you know, maybe not an affluent person, say, ‘What's your favorite team? Who do you love the most?’ I have an idea for you... and you give it to him. He's like, ‘Oh my god, you guys are the most.’ That's the emotional reaction.”

    This reframe changes everything. The shoe is no longer the hero of the story. The person receiving the shoe is the hero. The craft is still essential, but it serves the larger narrative of creating a moment of pure, unadulterated happiness.

    This approach transforms content from a demonstration of skill into an act of generosity. And that shift is the key to unlocking a different, more powerful kind of audience engagement, a concept Do frames as the “giving economy.” As he explores in a masterclass on building an authentic personal brand, vulnerability and genuine connection are the currencies of modern influence.

    Welcome to the Giving Economy

    Most creators operate in the attention economy. They fight for eyeballs, believing that whoever captures the most attention wins. But Do pointed toward an emerging and more sustainable model: the giving economy.

    “I think we're shifting towards the giving economy,” he stated. “That people will make more money by doing good in the world than they actually could sell services.”

    He cited examples of creators who have built massive followings not by selling, but by giving. The man who films himself building a fence for an elderly neighbor for free. The people who mow overgrown lawns for families in need. The creators who repair homes for those who can't afford it.

    These creators often generate far more revenue from brand deals, sponsorships, and audience support than they would have by charging for their services. Why? Because a story about generosity is infinitely more shareable and emotionally resonant than a sales pitch. It's a key lesson for anyone trying to build a personal brand that feels authentic and not transactional.

    For Chummies, this means rethinking their 75/25 split between client work and personal projects. The 25% of self-initiated work isn't just for experimentation; it's an opportunity to create flagship content built on giving.

    The playbook is simple and powerful:

    • Find a worthy recipient: A die-hard young fan, a community hero, a Make-A-Wish child. Someone for whom the gift will be truly meaningful.
    • Tell their story: Don't just show up with shoes. Film the conversation. Learn who they are and why they love their team. Build narrative stakes.
    • Orchestrate the reveal: The climax of the video is not the finished shoe. It's the look on their face when they see it for the first time.

    Do emphasizes that the motivation must be genuine. “Do it because it's right. Don't do it because of that,” he cautioned, referring to the potential for viral promotion. The byproduct of genuine giving is massive reach, but the act itself must come from a real desire to create a moment of joy for someone else.

    This strategy is not about abandoning commercial work. The client commissions pay the bills. But the giving-based content builds the brand, grows the audience, and creates the kind of emotional connection that turns followers into lifelong advocates.

    The Creator’s Playbook for Breaking the Mold

    Armed with a new understanding of emotional storytelling, Do provided a clear, actionable playbook for Chummies and any creator stuck on a plateau. It begins with a crucial piece of mindset advice.

    Principle 1: Stop Running From Success

    When Chris from Chummies acknowledged that Do’s feedback mirrored what made their 15-million-view Coca-Cola video successful, Do immediately spotted a classic creative pitfall. “This is the classic symptom of all creative people,” he observed. “This worked really well. Let's do something different.”

    Creatives crave novelty. But in business, when you find a formula that works, your job is not to abandon it but to understand it, replicate it, and milk it for all it’s worth. “We have to put that person, that personality, in the timeout box and say, you be quiet right now,” Do advised. “This worked. We need to do this again and again and again.” The goal is to prove you've exhausted the successful formula before moving on, not to jump to the next new idea out of boredom.

    Principle 2: Master the Art of the Mashup

    To create true surprise, you need to bring together things that don't normally belong together. Do used the example of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, a cultural “mashup” that combined the worlds of professional football and pop music, blowing up both.

    The same principle applies to a product. Chummies was already combining two worlds: sneakers (streetwear culture) and jerseys (sports culture). The next level is to introduce a third, unexpected world.

    “You bring worlds,” Do said, outlining a series of provocative combinations:

    • Sports + Luxury Fashion: Imagine a shoe made from a sports jersey and a vintage Louis Vuitton garment bag.
    • Sports + Street Art: Collaborate with a graffiti artist. Have them paint a large canvas, then cut up that canvas to create a limited edition run of shoes.
    • Sports + Automotive Culture: Incorporate materials or design language from iconic sports cars into a shoe celebrating a star athlete.

    This strategy of juxtaposition, a core concept in creative work, is about creating something that feels both familiar and entirely new. It is a direct assault on predictability. The expertise required to pull this off properly separates the true artists from the hobbyists, a distinction Do explores in his analysis of what creatives get wrong about originality and success.

    Principle 3: Elevate the Execution

    Finally, the way the content is filmed needs to evolve. The straightforward, flat-lit process video has its limits. Do encouraged them to look toward other genres that have elevated their visual language.

    “Go super over the top, kind of like almost a Japanese anime, where it's like a big shoe shot and just like dramatic movements, wide angle lenses, very cinematic,” he suggested. He pointed to the evolution of food content, which went from simple overhead shots to highly cinematic, slow-motion “cheese pulls” and ripped, shirtless chefs preparing meals like ninjas.

    The message is clear: “You've seen this, but you ain't seen the way I've done it.” As the originators of their craft, Chummies has to continually innovate to stay ahead of the clones and copycats. That innovation must happen not just in the product itself, but in the way it is presented to the world.

    Your Content Is Not a Recap. It's a Story.

    The session with Chummies reveals a universal truth for all creators. Merely documenting your skill is not enough. That creates collateral, not content. Collateral shows what you can do. Content makes people feel something.

    The transition from one to the other requires a fundamental shift in perspective. You are not just a maker. You are a storyteller. And every story needs core elements to work: a hero the audience can root for, a clear source of tension, and an emotionally satisfying resolution.

    In the case of Chummies, the hero isn't the shoe; it's the kid receiving it. The tension isn't “will he sew this right?” but “what will his reaction be?” The resolution isn't the finished product on a rotating stand; it's the moment of pure, unscripted joy.

    Your process is a part of the story, but it is not the whole story. As Chris Do shows, your greatest tool for engagement isn't your technical skill. It is your ability to orchestrate an emotional reaction.

    Stop just showing people how you make things.

    Start showing them what that creation means to someone else. That is the story people will actually react to. That is the story people will share.

    TRANSCRIPT

    00:00:00 We have pre-selected a handful of people who submitted their content for review. And this is all in an attempt to help you tune your content so that you achieve whatever result that you're going to achieve from Chummies. And there's two friends here, uh, Chris and Colin. We will show you a little bit if they're social content. So you guys can see that in a second here. They'll take a pair of sneakers, usually Nikes. For some reason, they seem to be all Nikes, but I'm sure there are other shoes. And 00:00:25 what they'll do is they'll take different patterns from sports jerseys and things like that. They'll cut them up. They'll sew them together to make something that feels thematically linked to what's going on. And I I I think these are commissions, right? If if I can deduce that, >> of course. Yeah, they're commissioned. And in fact, we are the original jersey making of the shoes. >> Oh, okay. Are there a bunch of clones that do this now? >> Well, there are. 00:00:54 >> Yeah. Okay. This is a world that I'm not I'm not familiar with. So, it's all good. Okay. So, you guys are the original. And what is the what is the outcome that you want to get from the creation of of content? What is it you're trying to do? >> I think it's really about how do we engage sports fans to kind of really feel like they are closer to their favorite team or favorite sport or favorite company or brand. And so how do we do that? Through showing off like 00:01:27 these shoes that we call trophy shoes. >> Okay. So custom I'm going to just write here on my whiteboard custom trophy shoes. And what is the desired outcome? Fans feel more connected to their teams. >> Correct. Uh and to the brand. It really is. It's like these people want to wear not only wear these shoes, but they could be walking billboards because they're walking ambassadors of the company or the brand or the team or the player. >> Okay. So, I wrote down custom trophy 00:02:01 shoes um equals fans love brands. Something like that. Yes. I know it's upside down for everybody. Sorry. It's just the way it's >> Yeah. [clears throat] Yeah, I can see it. >> Yeah. But I can hold it up here so you all can see. But as I write, this is my notebook here. Okay. and the reason why we create content and how how do we measure the amount of love that fans show to brands? >> Well, in terms of purchasing shoes, so for that's the long end, but then on on 00:02:29 social it's it's the comments and the engagement around asking for like these types of shoes. So engagement. So that would be uh views and then comments and then shares something like that. Right. >> Right. >> Okay. Uh what is the baseline and what's the benchmark? Baseline is what's the average and then what would you like to get it to >> of of comment or engagement overall or >> you tell me. You tell me what matters to you and I'll write it down. >> What are we measuring? Well, we we like 00:03:09 views, but we prefer comments and shares. >> So, what we do is we always ask about the baseline. So, I'll write this here. Baseline. And I'm going to take a little bit longer to talk to you versus just answering your question about content because I'm going to help a lot of creative people understand how to talk to potential clients or have a strategic business conversation. Notice we've not talked about any tactics. I just want to know what's important to you. So when we 00:03:36 said like the baseline, what's the average metric? You tell me. Uh views are like easier for us to look up. If you want to dig into your analytics, you can use that. I don't really care which one you use. For the sake of our conversation, pick one and let's stick with it. >> Okay. I think what if I were to choose comments? I mean, let's just go for views because I mean I it's easier to look up and it's also >> so we but I think what do we call success? I think we call success 00:04:10 10,000 views or more. >> Okay. What's the baseline? >> Um >> you know what I mean when I say baseline? >> I do, but >> just kind of 5,000. Okay. >> Yeah, >> that's cool. That's very realistic, actually. So, I I like that you said five. So, on a reel that you drop, you average about 5,000 views. If it gets more than 10,000, we're moving in the right direction. I see that you have ones that have a lot more views. The top three pinned things on your Instagram 00:04:42 account have a million-ish, right? >> Yes. >> Yes. That's fantastic. Now, are are those that high? because well sorry let me not lead the witness sorry your honor objection leading witness um why are those abnormally high >> um there's a few things and it usually it's because of viral levers like the the attention time that it was posted around maybe a major event or major moment >> um the second thing is the actual whatever it is if it's a shoe again tied to a game. So if Joe Burrow 00:05:23 is playing and he just scored a major point or it's the Super Bowl, the shoes of that video is going to increase at that moment. If it's a Pringles chip, if it's a Pringles chip, then it's maybe because we just released it. Or if it's >> or if it's Coke, then it's because it's kindly connected to the FIFA moment. Okay. So we are talking about like it strikes the nerve. It's trending part of the cultural zite guys which you can't always predict but it's not totally like 00:05:57 random chaos too. So we know that if it's tied to a cultural event that's happening everybody's looking forward then you're going to catch that wave and that's very important. Anything else that's contributing things anything else that's contributing to that? Well, at the very least, it's the behind the scenes of how a shoe is coming to life. Because though people are familiar with custom sneakers, not necessarily everyone is familiar with how they're made. And I think that there's a a level 00:06:29 of interest and desire to see how something so personal can be made over by a person. Okay. So, I'm going to flip this over to Colin for a second here. Colin, does that all line up with you from a creative standpoint? Are we are those normally high because they're hitting the right trends and zeitgeist? Is there anything else about them? Time of day, subject matter, something unique or different about the shoes? Anything like that? >> Not necessarily. I think the style is the same, but it also depend on who 00:07:03 maybe like a collab post of some sort. I try to be consistent as possible as the time of day that I post. Um, >> yeah. >> And then, >> okay, >> try to trying to tie it to a big game or something. >> Okay. So, if if I'm going to put that out there, we're just going to park it as assuming that this is true because I don't know, but I'm going to take your your comments on this to be true like gospel that it's it's just hitting the right trends. So, what could we do in 00:07:33 order for it to hit the trends more consistently? Best guess? >> Keep a calendar of major moments and post around those major moments. >> And are these always like sporting events? >> I think that they're cultural moments. Um, but sporting I would from our point of view it it sports. >> Yeah, it's almost all sports, right? Because I was looking through it. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So instead of just looking for cultural moments, we'll we're going to narrow it in because we're here for 00:08:03 we're here for the sports fans, right? >> Yeah. >> These are all the major sports, right? Basketball, football, soccer, those kinds of things. Baseball, >> correct? >> Okay, cool. Okay, so the solution is just have a calendar. Just be more aware what's going on. And we have to be ahead of it because let's factor into it creative production time from moment of idea. How long does it take from I got an idea to it's out on Instagram? >> What's a lead time? 00:08:33 >> It's a call in question. >> I mean, I guess physical production time is between 8 and 10 hours, but I could have an idea for for months and just trying to like think of like the right time when to actually move it forward. >> I'm talking about when let's say the two Chrises, right? Asian Chris and black Chris says, "We're ready. This is what you got to hit right now from that moment to like a real being done. >> How long is that? That's what I want to 00:09:02 know. >> Less than 12 hours. >> Okay. So, you can shoot and edit in less than 12 hours. Okay. That's very good. So, this is great news for us, Chris, because within 12 hours or so, we can have idea 2 on Instagram hidden. So that means the planning part doesn't have to be that long except for I'm going to assume Connor or Colin needs materials. He's got to have the right materials beforehand, which good news, relatively cheap to attain unless it's like um a signature jersey or something, right? Do 00:09:34 you ever use that like the winning jersey where the thing itself costs a lot of money? >> Yeah, there was uh yeah, I've used like game worn things and game footballs and stuff like that too. Yeah. Does the client supply you with those? >> Mhm. Yeah. >> Okay. >> How would you break down the Instagram reels on your your your channel? >> Is it uh what percentage is commission versus selfinitiated? >> I would say 75 commission, 25. >> Okay, this is good to know. Okay, so 00:10:09 basically three out of four posts you have no control over. Basically, you're you're doing client work. You got to hit a deadline. It's done. You'll film it. You get some uh views from it, engagement, and that'll be that. So, would be safe to say, let's take that off the table and focus most on the 25, the ones that you can control. Okay. Would there be anything that's going to prevent you from being able to produce this within 12 hours that you need Chris's help with? 00:10:42 >> What are the constraints to you being able to do this? I guess just other things going on or like um calls personal personal things. >> Okay, >> so we're going to list some constraints here. Constraints constraints and then so calls some personal stuff like you have a family, you have kids, anything that's going to take you away from doing this? No, not not that not that serious. >> Still a single man ready to do what needs to be done. >> Yep. >> Okay. [laughter] 00:11:17 >> Well, I would say travel. >> Yeah, travel, too. >> Travel. What's involved with travel? Like, what is that? >> Well, I mean, if you're going to need to make a shoe, it's going to be hard to make a shoe when you're away from your studio, >> right? He has to be in the shop, right? >> Correct. >> Okay. Anything else? So literally he couldn't do it if he's on vacation unless he brought his equipment with him. >> Yeah. Or found the nearest sewing 00:11:47 studio, >> right? Which is possible, right? >> True. >> Yeah. Okay. Okay. All right. Well, we know this and so we know big important things are happening. We probably should not plan travel on those days and we we can work around that. Okay, great. So, let's take a look at the clip that you shared with me and I'm going to share the screen. Okay. So, I don't know when this >> fan favorite Joe Burrow. >> Can I blow this? >> After leading the league in touchdowns 00:12:12 and yards last season, definitely excited to see if the Bengals can get back to the Super Bowl this year. Before I show you the final custom, here's a couple things you need to know about Joey B. He's been winner, a national champ at LSU, number one overall pick in the 2020 draft, took the Bengals to the Super Bowl his rookie year, and of course, you know the nickname, Joe Cool or Joey Burr. Ice in his veins, and style off the field that's just as bold as his game. Rate these 1 to 10 and tag 00:12:35 your favorite NFL team down below. and they just might be next. [music] >> Okay, goes. >> We're getting a content strike right there with that track from the white stripes there. I gave you a like and I'm going to give you a comment. Hey, great job if I can spell. Great job, guys. Boom. See, I'm helping with the algorithm right now. >> Appreciate it. >> Every comment helps. So, let's go to the main account, which is chum_chum. Everyone checks them out. They have 00:13:07 67.3,000 followers. And if I look at these posts here, I'm going to click on this. I'm just going to look at how your reels perform. And this is what I'm talking about here. So, we have three pinned, which is what I believe everybody can do. Um, they're all above 300,000. Two of them are above a million. And so, there's a thumbnail, which is the jersey, I believe, framed, and it must be some kind of Photoshop template because they all look consistently the same. And then they've 00:13:31 been pinned. It's a 1.6, 300, and 1 mil. When we look at these other ones, they're all over the place. So, some are two, some are 132,000, 190. So, we have a couple outliers here. And I'm already suspecting something here. It's interesting. You notice something here, guys? I'm not saying I'm like Mr. Pattern making, pattern recognition machine robot here, but it does seem like when you show the jersey, it gets a little bit better performance. Not always, because some of them where 00:14:00 you're showing cutting. So, look at this. the the top threeish performing posts have the thumb of the jersey. I don't know if that makes a difference. I'm just looking for anything that's a pattern. This one has 132,000. So then you can say, "Well, Chris, this one has 2,000 and this one has 132 and they both have the jersey." I don't know who Bararkley 26 is, but is that person less or more famous than Smith number four? Because I'm I'm not an athlete clearly. 00:14:29 Y'all tell me here. Chris Colen. Well, so the Smith one, that's a Ohio State football player. So I posted that Saturday morning before the the OSU Texas game, which is a pretty big game. >> Yes. >> And then that Barkley one I just posted like a couple hours ago for >> Okay. So it's still fresh. >> Yeah. Yeah. Mhm. >> Is there a game? >> Uh tomorrow is the first NFL season game. >> Okay. So it's a little ahead of the game there then, right? 00:14:58 >> Well, so yes, but that'll be part one. And I have another part two for for tomorrow. >> I see. Okay. Are there any other things that you can predict as to why these outperform aside from the the kind of cultural moment that we're experiencing? >> Name recognition is huge. Yeah. >> Um you saw Momes like there's I think there's a difference and that's kind of why I used the word culture earlier was because I think it goes beyond the sports fan. goes into pop culture and 00:15:30 people like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce are known across the board, even if you're not a true sports fan. And so I think that it's that popularity of the athlete or the team um or in addition to the game in the moment. >> Yeah. But I'm going to say this though, they're still athletes. It still runs sports culture. Just some athletes transcend pure sports fans and those are the superstars. Everybody knows Charles Barkley is uh Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and you don't even have to watch 00:16:06 basketball to know. So, uh this is Is this Kelsey? >> No. >> Um no, I think that's just a a team, >> but he's a Kansas City guy, right? >> Right. >> Yes. >> Yeah. So, because he's dating Taylor Swift, he's gotten a lot of lift from that. So that's a a crossover event between two worlds. Pop culture in terms of music and then pop culture in terms of sports. So you're getting a double hit there. And currently things with Taylor Swift tend to trend much much 00:16:34 higher. So whenever those moments exist, right? >> Um okay. And Otani is a big deal, especially because you're dealing with baseball fans that are American and Japanese and casual fans who don't know anything about it seem to know him. And he seems to be like a once in a-lifetime kind of athlete right now. >> Okay. And I I've seen lines for him being shared on social where, you know, they're getting some kind of bobblehead or something stupid, but people are nuts over him. Right. Okay. All right. So, I 00:17:03 I think I have a sense of what y'all are doing here. Let me stop to share here. If if you had a guess, what would you guess that you need to do to increase your engagement? >> Some the word consistency comes up um maybe in the in the style of the content. Um that's one thing. >> Yeah, I would agree with that. >> What do you mean to be more consistent or less consistent? When you say consistency, you can go both ways. Um yeah, I guess be more consistent with um a strategy around 00:17:45 who we're making shoes for and posting about and when we're posting about them. So like if Patrick Mahomes is going to be playing this weekend, then it makes sense to resurface that in the stories if we've already created the shoe. Otherwise, if it's a new athlete, maybe we need to and we're creating a new jersey around a new new shoe around that athlete. That that seems like what I would guess. Okay. Um All right. Since we have other people we need to talk to, I'm going to 00:18:18 give you my opinion. Everybody needs to understand I'm I'm not a student of their account, so I don't know. I've just looked at it for the time in which we've talked about this. And I did some homework last night just so I'm a little bit familiar with what you do. Here's my guess. Social media content that engages me on an emotional level tends to perform better. So, when you show a team that I'm super excited about and there's a rivalry or an upset, of course, more 00:18:45 people are going to be looking for this. But you can't control any of that. Now, I noticed something, Colin. When you do this, you're pretty consistent in the narration, the lighting, the editing. It's all pretty straightforward. And because it's almost always a Nike shoe as far as I can tell. There's after a while it becomes, and I'm sorry to say this if this hurts you a little bit, it becomes a little predictable, >> right? >> So I watched two or three of these 00:19:08 things. I feel like I've watched them all now at this point. I'm just waiting for my team to win or to be in the playoffs. So I think you have to be able to do this in a way where the structure is consistent, but the outcome is not exactly predictable. And I I don't know what that means just yet. So I just want you to sit here and listen and process. It could be switching up the brand of the shoe or even the model just so I'm like sometimes it's different because there's only so many ways you can sew in 00:19:34 jerseys and uh airbrush different designs on this, right? Sometimes maybe you have to dip it in something or just do something a little crazy. And I think this is where I want you to challenge yourself like if you do something a 100 times, you start to ask yourself like what's one variable I could change? And then you do that like I've never done this before. And sometimes they're just a disaster >> and they don't work. But you can tell people what you learned in making this 00:20:00 shoe. I'm gonna try something different guys. I've been fascinated by this this paint or whatever. I'm going to do this thing. Like I know that there's this black paint that you can use. That's the blackest paint ever. And it just looks like a 2D thing, right? Looks like a silhouette. I don't know what you would use that for, but I would experiment with construction, embellishments, different kinds of things in the 25% of the time that you make stuff. Clearly, you don't want to f around when it comes 00:20:27 to clients because they're like, "This is ugly, bro. What are you doing? I thought you guys were good." kind of thing, right? Or maybe even take instead of jerseys, you take uh basketballs themselves and take them apart and use that for part like the toe kick or the tongue or something. or you dip the laces, something you just to change it up because I I'm like I'm intrigued like what's he gonna do now? You know, I love the last piece, but as I've watched three or five pieces of 00:20:54 content, I I I don't want to feel like I got his gig. I got it right. So, a good structure, but a surprising outcome, a technique, one variable that you throw in there, something like that. Okay, that's one thing that you can do. The number two thing that you can do is you can go super over the top kind of like almost a Japanese anime where it's like like big shoe shot and just like dramatic movements, wide angle lenses, very cinematic. I've seen the food prep game go to that level. Used to be like 00:21:25 one camera pretty flat, people chopping ingredients and then it gets more and more cinematic and then now they're like breaking the sandwich and the cheese is dripping across. Then you have guys that are shirtless that are ripped and just doing it like ninja style. I'm like, so what they're doing is they're like, you've seen this, but you ain't seen the way I've done it. So you guys are the originator of this and eventually the competition catches up and you I'm like, 00:21:48 what what else am I going to do, right? And it could be something weird. I don't know. And and you need to introduce an element like that. Chris, you want to say something? >> I do. Do you So it sounds like the feedback is is consistent around focusing on the shoe. um and the making of the shoe as the source of the entertainment. Would is there any other suggestions outside of this of just like making the shoe that we should consider? >> Yes, there's lots. I was just getting 00:22:21 warmed up here. >> Okay, >> so [laughter] if you look at the brand of the shoe, the make of the shoe, different materials, there's only so many variables that you can swap out. Okay. So, when we just look at jerseys, I'm like, "Okay, I kind of know, but what if we took a piece of vinyl from an event that they were doing or a tablecloth cover that they did, something else other than this, the basketball, the tennis, tennis ball, something. So, we can change the materials, we can change the silhouette, 00:22:49 we can change paint, we can change the assets and components in which we're working with so that they're like these are not just shoes. They're one-of-a-kind works of art that blow your mind. And I don't know what that means just yet, but that's just the production of it. Then there's how you shoot it, the color grading, and how over top you get. But the part that I think where I was leading with this conversation with you all is where's the motion? What's the part you can control? 00:23:17 Now, I've seen a young man, he does custom shoes. He draws all over them. He does some pretty crazy designs. But what he does is he asks whoever to film their reaction to that shoe. Because here's the thing. I don't know if you know this, but there's something called the mirror neurons in our brains. So if I smile and I'm laughing and I'm experiencing joy, you may not express any of that, but inside you're mirroring what's happening that you're seeing. This is why when we watch movies, when 00:23:45 the character gets choked up and they start crying, we start to cry. We can't even control it because we're mirroring. And this is a necessary thing that we've evolved into so that we can feel connected to each other. Imagine if you're experiencing the greatest grief in your life. I'm walking. What's up everybody? Let's part. And you're like, whoa, bro. Not getting the vibe or you didn't read the room. So, I think if you can introduce an element of emotional reaction. 00:24:12 So, for example, you can go to some young kid, you know, maybe not an affluent person, say, "What's your favorite team? Who do you love the most?" I have an idea for you. Meet me back here tomorrow. I'm going to make you something. and you're like, "Okay, this kid, he wanted this and that and I wanted to add this and you give it to him." He's like, "Oh my god, you guys are the most." That's the emotional reaction. Okay. There's also this part about like, 00:24:35 oh, you can talk about your process, which is, huh, what am I going to do? So, we got this thing from this team and you're kind of like wrapping the table and you're like, I got it. I'm going to try this. And we see you going to get materials. So, you're delaying the reveal much, much longer. Stories need tension. So when you do something that's the same all the time, there's no more tension. We always know how it's going to begin. We always know how it's going to end. So that's where sometimes 00:25:03 consistency actually doesn't help you. We always know there's a shoe and there's a finished product. But all the ways we get there in between, that's where it gets real interesting. Okay. Clearly you know how to make these things. I enjoyed watching the process. There's craftsmanship involved. And I'm like, "Oh, I didn't know you could do that." And then you just do it. Cool. It could also be that you design a custom box, right? So that you're designing all 00:25:27 of it, not just the thing. So people then save the box and they Instagram the box and they backlink you. And I what I would do as much as possible and encourage whoever your clients are to continue to promote and share it on their accounts. It's important. the more people that are sharing, linking back to you, the the bigger the number of subscribers or followers you have, the more chances more eyeballs will hit it. So those that's my initial take on this and I wish I could do a deeper dive, but I 00:25:55 want to pause here and just ask you if you have any specific questions which I I can then address. All those are great things and and the thing is I think we've done a lot of those and when I think back to especially like the Coke video that's why it went 15 million views is because it was it was different. It was like let me go on a hunt at the FIFA game and so it's like the storyline of what what what is Colin doing and then the surprising moments with Jamar Chase and how we had the kid 00:26:25 reaction. So I mean everything that you're saying is like it's all Huh? Yeah, it's worked already, but I don't think that we knew why or paid [laughter] attention to why why it worked, >> right? And so now it's kind of like with what you're saying is like how do we bring together all the things that have worked and those and and hearing your feedback and putting all those things in together to make a more consistent strategy of saying like, okay, well, we can use this element, this element, this 00:26:56 element. And and the thing is when it comes to gifting like I I like that what you were talking about, you know, we're able to offer a gift um to people because there there's the unboxing and then the surprise and the emotional element of it. >> Yeah. There are people that um some I know in real life and some I just watch online where all they do is try and help people. You know who Uncle John is? He must be in the South, strong black man. He's like, "H my neighbor. He needed a 00:27:25 fence and I don't want to charge him anything. So, you know, I have free time. What am I going to do on a Sunday? Oh, nothing thing. It's just four hours and he built a fence. 2 million views. So, I am I think I may be pointing out to a new trend or a term called the giving economy. People talk a lot about the attention economy. Those that can control and capture and divert attention will be the millionaires and billionaires. But I think we're shifting towards the giving economy that people 00:27:51 will make more money by doing good in the world than they actually could sell services. People who mow lawns for people like elderly, you know, uh people who repair people's homes because they just want to. So instead of charging somebody $2,000 or fix their fence or their front door, they will make more money in brand deals and their followers than they do from actually charging for it. Do not underestimate this. So finding a person that's worthy of getting shoes, you know, like you hang 00:28:18 out around the right places, you're going to see like a parent saying, "You can't have those." You know, or you're at a game and you see his kid and it's really well behaved and said, "Hey, what's your favorite team? You know, who you rooting for?" And you have a whole dialogue and you shoot that and it's like I have an idea. I'm going to gift you a pair of shoes. What size shoe are you? You know, tell me a little bit more about you. And then you go away and make 00:28:37 that thing. I have one other idea that's a little crazy, but I'm going to share it with you. Okay? And we'll wrap up here. So the the observation I have is uh this is the classic symptom of all creative people. This worked really well. Let's do something different. >> You know what I mean? Like 15 million views for Coca-Cola. I'd be like um yeah. So how do we change one variable about this and do the exact same thing again? Creative people feel stifled and choked when they do the same thing over 00:29:03 and over again. So we have to put that person that personality in the timeout box and say you know you be quiet right now. this worked. We need to do this again and again and again. Prove to me that we've milked this cow to death and there's no more milk. It's it's dry, right? And we want to do that. Here's the crazy idea. Okay, so you have um what's his name? Travis Kelce. Is that his name? The Kansas City guy. I don't know anybody. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Travis Kel and you have Taylor Swift. 00:29:31 Two worlds combined together blow up both worlds. >> So Swifties are now becoming football fans. And the football fans may or may not be listening to Taylor Swift. I do not know. But it's a power of merger of two things. So right now the blanks basically your canvas are the Nikes, right? So you have that and then you have the jersey. So those are two things are coming together. That's why I think you have this initial pop. What would be really interesting to me is especially if you made this for someone who might 00:29:58 wear them and not just put it on a shelf. He said, "You know, my favorite fashion brand is this. My favorite team is that or this this athlete." And you brought those two things together because I could see one where you use a jersey and you use a vintage Louis Vuitton bag. So, buy those big garment bags because you have a lot of material work with and just introduce some elements. You bring those two worlds together or bring like sports cars and and athletes together or just bring two 00:30:24 things, mash them up and like, wow, the josition. No one ever thought of that. And it would be really really cool. >> You bring worlds. Okay. >> Welcome to the team, Kristen. >> Yeah, I expect to check [laughter] sometime pretty soon here. So, let's try this. Okay, let's do small experiments. And when you hit something, don't run away from it. Say, "Yo, what do we do? What is it about this?" And let's test the hypothesis and see if we can do it again and again and again. I would love 00:30:54 to see you working with artists, too. When I say artists, I mean like street artists. because street art and and uh street wear go together. So if you had a graph artist come in and do a piece on a giant canvas or piece of vinyl and you were able to cut that up. We're doing limited editions of these of five or 50. We're going to gift two to the artist and rest to the inner city kids. We're going to take it to this thing, you know, or or a foster home. You know, kids don't get no love. We're going to 00:31:21 give them all the love and you come in there. I'm already crying just thinking about it. You guys, come on. >> Yeah. Can you do this? >> We we we we will do that for sure. We will do do that. >> Um so here's what they're they're saying in the comments on YouTube. Why not do this for celebrities versus common people? You can do this for celebrities if you have access. Access is a difficult thing. But you know, do celebrities need more free junk? Probably not. I'm not going to cry 00:31:50 because you know, whoever athlete got gets another shoe. Probably not. but you tap into their superstardom and that makes a lot of sense. I'm trying to give you advice that you don't need special permission to to do and you don't need special access, you can do this today cuz yeah, um if LeBron James said, "Yo, hook me up, bro." Take that offer right away. Do not hesitate. Do not pause. Say yes. When how high, you know? But most of us, what we do is we create conditions in which we can't take 00:32:19 action. Like, oh, if only this person said yes. Or you know what happens a lot of times? And I hate to say this and I hope I don't become this is that sometimes people become really entitled and jaded. You pour your heart and soul into something, you make them a piece of art. They're like, "Cool." They don't share it. They don't mention it. They're like, "Actually, don't tag me in anything cuz I don't like that." Cuz they just don't genuinely feel it. To 00:32:42 me, the emotional strings that you're able to pull with people who are deserving, needy of this, who are like really big fans, especially like Make a Wish kids, you know, you're like, "Dude, we made you something." You know, and I'm not saying to do it for this reason, but a lot of times those Makea-Wish kids, then have the shoe and then they talk to LeBron and they're like, "Look at this. You're my favorite athlete. These guys over at Chummies made me this free promotion. 00:33:07 >> Do it because it's right. Don't do it because of that. and everything else should fit fall into place, guys. >> No, we're very inspired by this moment. It's definitely be on the lookout for some really good stuff this this November for sure. >> See what you guys create >> coming up. All right. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And hey, I like Nikes. I would just try different silhouettes from them. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. All right. >> Okay. Even that will just change the 00:33:37 game for you. gives you different panels to work with, gives you a different silhouette, a different shape. And I think I would go for that. If you are a person who creates content, you are a coach, an author, a thought leader, and [music] you're tired of just making content for content's sake, and you you're invested in this, you want to see it work because you know the value of content. I'm not here to convince you, but if you've enjoyed any part of this and you think I'm the kind of guy who 00:34:04 you would get along with and who could possibly help you, this was a little sample. This is an amuse bouch. This is what we're going to do inside content lab, a new program that we're launching. It'll be a link in the description. We meet twice a month. We do hot seat coaching, which is each person 10 minutes. And I think for the first 40 people who sign up, you're going to be guaranteed a coaching spot. And we have resources. I've compiled a bunch of things on [music] how to tell a really 00:34:33 good story, how to write compelling hooks and lines. We have 52 writing prompts like once a week, so you'll always know that you have something to do, but not in a way that overwhelms you. I think once a week is a good cadence, especially if you're not used to consistently producing content. Look, if you enjoy the kind of content that I produce, if you engage with it on social media, if you like the style in which I deliver things, that's all I'm going to do is I'm going to teach you how to do 00:35:00 what I do. Period. Uh, so no engagement groups, no weird black hat stuff. It's all above board white hat. [music] And I don't really care about schedules or posting times and optimizing for any of that. I'm sure some of you want to do that, and that's okay if you do. But my style is when I feel inspired, I write. Luckily, I'm inspired a lot, so I write a lot. I want to help you do that. So, Content Lab, how much does it cost? It's $500 a month. So, that's $6,000 a year. 00:35:28 Essentially, if you buy the year plan, which I recommend you do, you basically get two months for free. So, you pay for 10 months, which is five grand. Um, and if you think one new lead, one new prospect is worth five grand, then it's a no-brainer. Okay? And that's it for me. Bye, everybody.
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    “Stories need tension.”

    — Chris Do

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