Brian and I got to know each other working on the collaboration between Carhartt and New Holland Brewing, that resulted in The Carhartt Woodsman and many other projects. We talk about his roots in marketing, which began with a poorly funded escape to Portland, Oregon from his hometown Chicago, equipped without much more than a set of new tires from his Dad. Brian shares how his early lessons shaped his career, his perspective on branding, writing and storytelling, as well as how it brought him to work with the iconic Carhartt. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Steve Carter, November 25, 1951 - June 7, 2016 - Cheers, Mr. Carter.
Episode 17 - The Details
The Drinks: Biercamp Pale Ale, Ann Arbor, MI, Dark and Stormy with Ron del Barrilito barrel aged rum
The Music: “Wealthy Street” © and courtesy of Drew Nelson, “Everywhere is Calling” © and courtesy of Cavepeople
Brian Bennett
Creative Director at Carhartt. Chief Assistant to the lady who manages three rascal children. Meat eating American Patriot. Lover of life's rugged corners. Brian's a rough-and-tumble type who grew up on the South-side of Chicago, the son of a cop – just don't be fooled, he now lives surrounded by book nerds and know it all doctors in Ann Arbor, MI. Or Easy Town as his dad likes to call it. Brian balances his lack of current manhood by overcompensating with stories of his college football days and his experience creating work for Nike back when Lance and LeBron were cool. He'll also remind you how relaxed he is after writing ads for Corona for four years, yet his wife will tell you his kids unravel him daily. And don't even mention the current state of the Chicago Bears to him, he might lose his mind. Tough, yet sensitive, that's him (according to him). He claims to like poetry and gardening and shopping for dresses for his two little girls. Yet he's man enough to remind you he'd rather be in his backyard drinking whiskey, throwing axes and working a pork butt over for the 12th hour on his Brinkman Smoke'N Grill. When he's not BBQ'ng, playing legos with his son or watching football or coaching football or throwing a football or playing fantasy football he occasionally gets recognized for his day job. He's won several awards from an Effie to a Clio to a Cannes Lion but every time he tells his dad about them his dad changes the subject to the award he once won for singing Elvis on a Carnival cruise ship. Perspective is everything to Brian. So are chicken wings. In fact, he probably just ate wings so keep that in mind when you shake his extremely manly hand (a hand that his dad will tell you has never fixed a god damn thing).
