Unorthodox Blend Conversations

UBC057 - Mara Dettmann

Mara Dettmann is an advertising and marketing strategist with a focus on cultural marketing, technology and the ways people use emerging tools to connect with one another.Her work sits in the space between digital innovation and human behaviour, looking beyond the technology itself to understand how it shapes culture, identity, work and the stories people tell about themselves.—This conversation explores the evolving relationship between technology, culture and human connection. Mara reflects on the future of work, the rise of AI, the changing shape of creative careers, and the kinds of human skills that may become more valuable as automation becomes more capable.The discussion moves from gig work and the “weird job economy” to the value of friction, imperfection, and difficulty in our lives. Alongside this, there’s a broader reflection on storytelling, optimisation culture, control, and the ways people try to find stability and individuality in a world that often feels increasingly chaotic.—What makes this conversation compelling is that it avoids treating technology as either utopian or catastrophic. Instead, it focuses on the behaviours forming around it - the ways people seek control, optimise themselves, simplify complexity and increasingly try to remove friction from everyday life.But throughout the discussion there’s a recurring question underneath all of that: what do we lose when everything becomes too efficient?Whether discussing AI, fitness culture, automation or storytelling, we kept returning to the idea that discomfort, unpredictability and even inconvenience are often the things that make experiences memorable, human and meaningful.Rather than resisting technology outright, Mara approaches it as something that reveals human nature more clearly - our anxieties, ambitions, contradictions and desire for connection. Get full access to Unorthodox Blend at unorthodoxblend.substack.com/subscribe

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UBC056 - Ben Rayner

4w ago01:06:09Tap to summarize

Ben Rayner is a photographer and director known for capturing the raw, emotional reality of people and culture. Originally from London and now based in New York, his work spans sport, music and lifestyle - always centred around human connection rather than surface-level image making.His approach prioritises feeling over perfection, seeking out the in-between moments where authenticity, energy and personality naturally reveal themselves.—This conversation explores the craft of capturing emotion and the subtle, often invisible processes behind it. Ben shares how his work has evolved over time, from instinctively shooting moments as they unfold to deliberately creating environments where spontaneity can happen.The discussion touches on the impact of COVID on creative relationships, the role of AI in image-making and the growing importance of human connection in an increasingly automated world. Alongside this, there’s a deeper reflection on process from reading people in real time, embracing imperfection, and understanding that the most powerful work often happens between the planned shots rather than within them.—What comes through is a quiet confidence in human instinct over control.Ben’s work is about creating the conditions for something real to happen and being present enough to recognise it when it does. In a moment where technology is accelerating rapidly, that idea feels increasingly important.There’s a sense that the future of creativity won’t be defined by precision, but by the ability to capture something that feels unmistakably human. Get full access to Unorthodox Blend at unorthodoxblend.substack.com/subscribe

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UBC055 - Miguel Carrillo

Apr 2201:10:57Tap to summarize

Miguel Carrillo is a global brand and DTC marketing leader whose career has taken him through Converse, Nike and a range of culturally driven brand-building roles. He has worked across markets, categories and communities, helping brands grow while staying close to the people they serve.He brings a strong mix of strategic thinking, commercial understanding and cultural sensitivity, with a clear interest in how brands connect more meaningfully with the world around them.—This conversation explored the balance between scale and authenticity. We spoke about DTC and wholesale, about how brands build emotional connection, and about the challenge of growing without losing clarity about who you are and who you are for.A strong thread throughout was community. Miguel talked about the difference between brands chasing culture and brands fuelling it, and why the strongest connections are often built by serving real communities rather than trying to speak to everyone at once. We also touched on the shift from purely digital brand-building towards more physical, local and human forms of engagement.—What we took from this conversation was the importance of clarity within a brand’s core and its team. Miguel kept returning to the idea that brands need to know themselves properly, and that felt really aligned to. our approach to branding. Not every brand needs to be everywhere, say everything, or follow every shift in culture. In fact doing less, but doing it with more conviction, is often what makes a brand matter to people.We also liked the way the conversation framed community as something earned rather than declared. It is easy for brands to use the language of belonging, but much harder to build something that people genuinely want to be part of. The discussion around culture, consistency and long-term trust landed well because it moved beyond surface-level marketing language and into something more grounded.There was also a useful tension between digital and physical space. As online environments become noisier and harder to trust, the value of real-world connection feels more important again - for people and for brands. That doesn’t mean abandoning digital, but it does mean brands may need to work harder to create experiences and relationships that feel tangible, human and lasting. Get full access to Unorthodox Blend at unorthodoxblend.substack.com/subscribe

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UBC054 - Luca Ballarini

Apr 801:08:43Tap to summarize

Luca Ballarini is a designer, editor, publisher and place-maker based in Turin. His career has moved across architecture, magazine publishing, studio practice and urban thinking, but what connects it all is a clear curiosity about how design shapes culture, experience and everyday life.What we liked straight away is that Luca doesn’t talk about creativity as a narrow discipline. He sees it as something broader, more connected and more responsible than that.—This was a conversation about how creative lives evolve, and how one discipline often leads unexpectedly into another. Luca reflected on the role magazine publishing played in shaping his thinking, not just visually, but intellectually - as a way of choosing, framing and taking responsibility for ideas.We also spoke about music, independent culture, studios, cities and place-making, and how all of these worlds can inform one another. A strong theme throughout was authenticity: the belief that design should be truthful, useful and rooted in real human experience, rather than simply polished on the surface.—What stayed with us most was Luca’s warmth. He’s clearly thoughtful and highly creative, but there’s no performance in it. He has a very human way of talking about design, cities and culture, and you get the sense that whatever he turns his attention to, he is looking for genuine meaning, not just output.We also loved hearing about the early part of his career, where he simply went off and visited studios and magazines he admired, knocking on doors and following his curiosity. There’s something really pure in that approach - no overthinking, no waiting for permission - he just had a genuine desire to learn, to understand how other creative people worked and to place himself close to the things that inspired him.That spirit still seems present in how he works now. Across publishing, design and place-making, there is a clear thread of intention running through it all. He isn’t collecting disciplines for the sake of it; he seems to be searching for substance, connection and a meaningful relationship between his creativity and the world around him. Get full access to Unorthodox Blend at unorthodoxblend.substack.com/subscribe

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UBC053 - Jo Taylor

Mar 1901:04:43Tap to summarize

Jo Taylor is a strategist and cultural operator working at the intersection of sport, fashion, culture and storytelling. Over a 17-year career at Nike, she helped shape how the brand connects performance with culture - from global campaigns and Olympic moments to pioneering work in women’s sport, collaboration and community.Now leading her own venture, Glow Inc, Jo continues that work by helping brands, institutions, and creatives rethink how sport can expand into new audiences, new expressions and new cultural relevance.—Our conversation explores how sport has evolved from a performance-led discipline into a broader cultural platform - one shaped as much by identity, storytelling and self-expression as by results. Jo reflects on her time at Nike during a period of rapid change, where ideas were prioritised over functions and where sport began to merge more visibly with fashion, creativity and community.From athlete identity and the role of femininity in performance, to the future of collaboration, British fashion and global cultural ecosystems, we talked about past experiences and future possibilities - particularly around how new audiences, especially women, will reshape what sport looks and feels like in the years ahead.—What stood out for us is Jo’s consistent focus on expansion over comparison, asking what becomes possible when you widen the frame.There’s a clarity in how she approaches ideas: start with the future you want to create, define the space and then find the right partners to build it - rather than beginning with names or surface-level collaboration. For us it was a reminder that the most interesting work doesn’t come from reacting to culture, but from actively shaping where it goes next. Get full access to Unorthodox Blend at unorthodoxblend.substack.com/subscribe

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UBC052 - Mike Cherman

Mar 401:03:31Tap to summarize

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UBC051 - Lars Hemming Jørgensen

Feb 1801:13:34Tap to summarize

Lars Hemming Jørgensen is an international entrepreneur and business leader with experience spanning agency, media and investment roles across London, New York and Copenhagen.He has founded and led companies, held senior global positions at Vice Media, and today works across a portfolio of ventures including Alba Racing, KXNGS and a range of investments in consumer, technology and cultural businesses.Across these roles, his work consistently centres on building teams, shaping culture and pursuing growth opportunities where markets or systems are evolving.In recent years, his focus has increasingly moved toward projects that combine commercial ambition with social impact - particularly initiatives supporting youth development and gender representation in sport.—Our conversation with Lars moves across decades, cities and industries, but keeps circling the same themes: how culture evolves, how organisations struggle with change and why working with individuals can sometimes create more impact than working with brands.We talk about Vice as a cultural force, about entrepreneurship as a response to dissatisfaction, and about the emotional reality behind optimism and risk-taking.We also explore how trust is becoming the defining currency of the digital era — especially in a world where AI can generate infinite content but can’t replicate lived credibility.—We loved this conversation because Lars embodies something we recognise in many of the people we’re drawn to: a refusal to follow a linear path, paired with a strong internal compass about what matters.His story is a beautiful blend of ambition and humility - the drive to build things, balanced by intuition and a genuine openness.Our conversation also reminded us that meaningful work rarely looks tidy from the outside. Careers can zig-zag, our priorities change and success gets redefined along the way. And even more poignant is the idea that it is ok to start something big without knowing what it might become or why you are doing it…allowing your gut to take some of your decisions, even the big ones. Get full access to Unorthodox Blend at unorthodoxblend.substack.com/subscribe

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UBC050 - Drieke Leenknegt

Feb 401:13:23Tap to summarize

For our 50th conversation, we wanted to speak to someone who embodies much of what our Unorthodox Blend project stands for - honesty, reflection, creativity and courage. So it felt only right to invite one of our most inspirational and respected collaborators Drieke Leenknegt.Drieke is one of those rare leaders who doesn’t separate intuition from intellect. Her approach to brands, culture and team building is grounded not in performance metrics or surface-level positioning, but in a deep commitment to truth. Throughout her career she consistently brings presence, care and conviction to everything she does.Her 20+ years of experience leading end-to-end brand, product and enterprise transformations across the U.S., China and Europe is just the start - she is recognised for building culturally resonant brands, steering organisations through complex change and unlocking sustainable growth at speed.—In this 50th episode of Unorthodox Blend Conversations, we went deep on the essentials of contemporary brand building and transformational leadership in a global economy. A key theme we discussed is the crucial role of empathy as the most important leadership skill. Drieke argues that true leadership and business strength come from fostering cross-functional and cross-regional experiences, which builds empathy and curiosity for diverse cultures and job roles. This perspective of bringing together the “art and science” of business ensures that leaders understand and champion the non-negotiables for both financial success and long-term brand health without sacrificing one for the other. The discussion frequently returned to the idea of tension as a necessary and positive force for growth and innovation. Specifically, Drieke highlighted the critical tension between chasing short-term business metrics (like P&L and margins) and protecting long-term brand elevation, which requires consistent investment.—Drieke reminds us what leadership looks like when it’s rooted in depth, not just short term metrics. Her thinking blends strategic clarity with an emotional intelligence, but what makes it so compelling is the way she lives that balance - not as a theory, but as a daily practice. She doesn’t frame tension as a problem to be resolved, but as a creative space to be inhabited - where brand, business and humanity can all be present in bucket loads.There’s a clarity to how she sees things - a way of cutting through complexity without oversimplifying it. Her ability to hold space for opposing forces - performance and purpose, intuition and rigour, now and next - feels increasingly rare in the fast-paced world we find ourselves in, and feels more necessary than ever before.In a landscape full of noise, she speaks with calm conviction (and everyone with any sense listens!). Her ideas and beliefs about what we need to do reminds us of what’s possible when you lead with curiosity and build from a place of care. We know full well that journey won’t be made easy for us but if we’re prepared to be our best selves every day then the end result will be worth it.—A big thank you goes out to Drieke for joining us on our 50th podcast episode, when we started we weren’t sure we would get this far but we’re glad we did. Hopefully you’ve learned as much as we have over the last 2 years of conversations, and will continue to join us as we speak to more wonderful people. Get full access to Unorthodox Blend at unorthodoxblend.substack.com/subscribe

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UBC049 - Wei Kan

Jan 2100:58:53Tap to summarize

Wei Kan is a strategist and brand advisor with a rare ability to bring clarity to complexity. Having spent years working across Asia - particularly within the shifting cultural and commercial landscapes of China - he’s seen firsthand how fast things move and how fragile so many assumptions can be.But Wei doesn’t deal in noise - his approach is slower, more considered. He thinks about systems and people at the same time. And rather than speak over the top of a problem, he tends to pause, listen and gently reframe what’s actually being asked.We’ve known Wei for some time now. Our first collaboration was over a decade ago, on a project that involved cross-cultural complexity, time zone navigation and more moving parts than we’d care to count. Even then, it was clear he had that rare ability: to stay calm, see clearly and bring order.—Our conversation unfolded quietly, but with intent. We talked about how brands try to operate across cultures - and why so many still fall back on translation, rather than transformation. Wei’s view is that successful work isn’t about adapting surface codes, but understanding underlying behaviour. That means tuning into local rhythms and being honest about the limitations of a global playbook.We also explored the idea of identity - not just for brands, but for people navigating increasingly hybrid contexts. And a recurring idea came through - that in a world trying to speed everything up, presence matters more than ever. Being clear on what you stand for and careful about how you show up.—Wei brings a kind of clarity that’s rare. He’s not there to impress, or to take up space - but when he speaks, you can’t help but listen. There is a grounded intelligence to the way he sees the world and a generosity in how he shares it.What stayed with us from this conversation isn’t a soundbite, but a thoughtful, calm and aware posture that he holds which resonates through everything that he says. Mark and I agree that Wei is the kind of person you always want on your team, no matter what the project. Get full access to Unorthodox Blend at unorthodoxblend.substack.com/subscribe

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UBC048 - Jacquill G. Basdew

Jan 801:07:25Tap to summarize

Jacquill G. Basdew is a creative director, researcher and brand thinker whose work sits at the intersection of identity, memory and self-authorship. Through Living+, Jacquill has been exploring how personal history, aesthetic language and cultural intention can be brought together into something that feels both expressive and grounded.His work isn’t defined by a particular medium or discipline. It moves between visual research, storytelling, fashion, publishing and brand - but always starts from the same place: the emotional and intellectual weight of lived experience.—This conversation was a quiet and thoughtful one, and well timed at the end of a pivotal year for all of us. We talked about how creative language can emerge not from the need to produce, but from the need to process - to give form to ideas and memories that haven’t always had space to surface. Living+ emerged from that space - not a commercial brand in the traditional sense, but a working structure that offers enough definition to give direction, while still allowing for growth, exploration and change.We spent some time talking about Memories in Motion, a research project that looks at how stories travel across generations - visually, emotionally, sometimes invisibly. Drawing on family photography and oral histories, it’s a piece of work that doesn’t just document, but refreshes and reorganises meaning to bring new energy to what might otherwise stay archived or unspoken.The conversation moved between ideas of cultural responsibility, intuition, design rhythm and how to find your own tempo in a world that encourages speed and performance. What came through clearly was Jacquill’s ability to hold space - to make work that’s careful without being cautious, and emotional without being over-explained.—Some people create for attention, while others create to understand. Jacquill’s work feels much more like the latter - less about the show and more about the process, and if you’re prepared to join him for the journey yo'u’ll learn and grow along the way. There’s an honesty to how he speaks about authorship, and a kind of quiet refusal to rush things that don’t want to be rushed.He reminded us that creative platforms don’t always need to be large or loud - they can be precise, local, personal and even subjective. Meaningful work doesn’t always need to be positioned, explained or wrapped in narrative. Sometimes it just needs to exist and to hold for people to relate to it in their own personal way. Get full access to Unorthodox Blend at unorthodoxblend.substack.com/subscribe

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All episodes

UBC057 - Mara Dettmann

UBC056 - Ben Rayner

UBC055 - Miguel Carrillo

UBC054 - Luca Ballarini

UBC053 - Jo Taylor

UBC052 - Mike Cherman

UBC051 - Lars Hemming Jørgensen

UBC050 - Drieke Leenknegt

UBC049 - Wei Kan

UBC048 - Jacquill G. Basdew