THE BRAND PARADOX

THE OFFICIAL THING OF GENERATION EVERYONE

Shortly before starting Mindgame, I had come to the decision that I didn't like brands. I was over their $5000 logos, their hipster marketing strategies, and their new and improved bullshit. I was mad because soft drink conglomerates were trying to identify with me as a young adult, and deodorant companies were trying to sell me extreme sport sticks designed to meet my special lifestyle demands. I discovered that most brands were not very interested in the quality of their product or service, and instead invested their time and money into anything but their product to satisfy their static moneymaking existence. I felt betrayed. Betrayal turned to intolerance. And this shift in attitude fueled a reassessment of my life and the world around me. Looking back now, it is easy to articulate and explain these things. However, if you had asked me then, I probably would have just told you that I hated Corporate America.

This hatred served as a catalyst for a lifestyle change, and my own personal "anti-brand campaign". I started by giving away all of my brand name clothes. Next, I rid myself of my brand name watch, shoes, and stereo. I asked myself "Why do I buy brand name shampoo? Sheets? Cereal?" Soon my house was being occupied by mundane white packages with black print and solid color t-shirts (which unconsciously shaped the look of Mindgame). I felt good. I felt reborn to a less complicated life.

THE BEGINNING OF THE BEND

When we started Mindgame, it was nothing…just an idea. An idea turned into a computer in my room, a phone line, and an AOL account. It was simple and fun; it was the beginning. Soon, Mindgame caught on. People liked the concept and were eager to have something new, and before long we became a brand. Up until then, everything had been going fine with my minimalist lifestyle. But now I was in the midst of a contradiction: owning the very thing I was trying to escape. (I like to think of myself as a pretty perceptive person, but apparently I hadn't seen this one coming.) This filled me with a lot of mixed feelings and self-doubt. It's kind of like when you hear about people becoming their parents. Their whole life they swear they will be nothing like them, but one day they wake up and it's already done. I wasn't going to let myself be that sob story, and to be frightfully honest, there was a time when I considered closing down Mindgame and becoming a vagabond.

The sheer responsibility to financial debts, business partners and the team would have kept Mindgame open for a short time. But it was the overwhelming support I got at the company's release through e-mail from skaters, and phone calls from shops that made me reassess the situation. It seemed as though rollerblading needed Mindgame, and if that were so, I wondered how continuing could be a bad thing. Blindly I went forward, hoping that the company would not turn out to be just another brand with a cool logo.

BUSINESS AND PLEASURE DO MIX, JUST ADD CONTROVERSY

As I went on, the flipside of the anti-brand coin reared its ugly head in my personal life. Basically, my feet hurt. My K-Mart shoes just weren't holding up, and I missed my Newbies. For a time I ignored this inconvenience and ones like it, as I chalked them up as obstacles on the path to my cultural enlightenment. I kept on. In my head, ridding my life of branded product seemed so romantic, so righteous. How could it not be "the way?"

Well…besides my arches caving in, I wasn't smelling too good, and I was drinking really really bad-tasting coffee. I started questioning what I was going to prove with my anti-brand campaign. I started to question a lot of things: Was generic toothpaste really a compromise I should make? Commercial airlines? And what about music? Wasn't popular music comprised of brand names as well?

I began to discover that I depended on brands for certain things, and that these things served a purpose in my life. Renouncing brands and the security and quality that some offer was just an elitist exploit choreographed by my ego. I came to realize that there are different types of brands, just like there are different types of people, or different types of fill in the ________.

I looked at the areas in my life where brand abstinence was based on pure snobbery, and made more appropriate and practical choices. Just as there are hurtful brands, there are hurtful ideals, as there are no constants in this world. This actually turned out to be a sign of hope for Mindgame. Viable brands provided me with things I needed, and I made plans to make Mindgame that brand within rollerblading.

The plan took a huge investment of time, effort, and money. By the time Brain_Fear_Gone was finished, I was filled with a feeling of accomplishment and gratitude. It was the first product we had been able to produce from scratch (without the involvement of pre-manufactured materials) and it felt good. Hard work was paying off, and people took notice, so we continued to put energy in this direction. Soon we were working on the Higgs Boson, and Mindgame started to get depth behind its graphical surface. But even with these positive starts, something wasn't sitting right with me as Mindgame went into its second year.

INSPIRATION + PERSPIRATION = INNOVATION

Towards the end of the summer of 2001, I started doing some reading on successful companies and brands. As I suspected, most of these companies measured their success by how much money they made (which is as ridiculous as somebody who measures their personal success by how wealthy they are). From these articles, I learned more about "what not to be" rather than "what to be" (which I suppose is just as much of a blessing). As I spoke to people about this, it was recommended that I look into "socially responsible" companies and how they were having a positive impact on their industries and the world around them. Upon doing so, I came up with yet a new plan for Mindgame.

Mindgame would be different, but it wouldn't be different for the sake of being different. Mindgame would be different with a purpose. Mindgame has different facets to it, being responsible to its partners and employees, the rollerblading industry, the rollerblading community, the business world, and the natural world around it. My new vision for Mindgame was simply for it not to end up like everyone's parents.

THE BRAND MANIFESTO

Lucky for us, our own lives are our best teachers. I have learned a slew of lessons over the last 3 years, which have attributed positively to Mindgame's evolution.

Mindgame is a brand with purpose and we produce purposeful products. Whether it's wheels to roll on, beanies to warm your head on cool skate days, backpacks to help you on a road trip, or videos to inspire you, we are committed to producing goods that make sense for you as rollerbladers, and that are relevant to your lifestyles.

Furthermore, we understand that in this society money makes the world go 'round. Money is not evil; it is just a medium for action. Money only has the power you give it. With this in mind, we are fair to the industry, rollerbladers, retailers and vendors, employees and founders, as we weave a web where each is dependent on the other.

Lastly (and most importantly), we are conscious of the world around us. Experimenting with cleaner goods, getting involved with charities, and stocking our facilities with Earth-friendly products has allowed Mindgame to serve a larger community.

ENTER THE MINDGAME

Mindgame has an image, but it is not merely an image. Mindgame is a brand, but it is a brand with moral intent. Mindgame is a testament to what a company can be, and I hope it serves as a vision for those wishing to start their own.

I'd like to take this time to thank all of the skaters, shops, distributors, magazines, videographers, websites, companies, and vendors who have supported Mindgame. I'd also like to thank the publications, companies, and people who have inspired our direction and who continue to make us hold ourselves to a higher standard. It would be impossible without all of you.

Shane Coburn