Here's a change no one saw coming..
By Nickshackelford · September 12, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Here's a change no one saw coming..
I've always had a working thesis since I started this game 11 years ago: to be useful & respected in a space that I care deeply about.
It started off in The Facebook Ad Buyers with Tim Burd, then I joined forces with Taylor Holiday at CTC. I spent just under 3 years there to kick off my career and learn as much as I possibly could before I went out on my own. Over that time, 8 years passed & I started a handful of businesses that have impacted a lot of lives & continues to impact many lives. Agencies, events, brands all while I was able to stack skills and value along the way.
The last 5 years, I transitioned away from the day-to-day of Agency, I had the opportunity to start building one of the most incredible direct-to-consumer brands at BREZ. What started as an advisory and a check turned into full-blown direct-to-consumer all hands on deck, I’m talking 0-$100mm kind of shit.
Dealing with regulation, inventory, paid, subscription, retention, & now a major retail expansion program, all condensed into a 3-year sprint. Was absolutely incredible and continues to be growing with a more sustained approach now. I would consider myself S-tier in growth and marketing and incredibly comfortable with difficult decisions and being wrong isn’t something I’m afraid of. From people management to program management.
I’m down for it all, I thrive in it, I enjoy it, & look forward to the stress, but I realize running an agency doesn't prepare you to run a brand. OC is actually a pretty decent hot bed for DTC talent but most of this is concentrated into an area I left, CTC, So after last year when I got a random text from Tay asking if I wanted to sub in for a Hyrox event that I never did before in Vegas on a 3 week notice. I didn’t even check, I just said yes & went for it.
We did OK, but he carried me the entire time lol. We’ve been training, talking and preparing ever since for the Anaheim Hyrox.
Of course, I was talking to Taylor Holiday about BREZ, marketing, and growth. I was able to see under the hood of some of the programs, reports, brands, and processes he's been able to deploy since I used to be there.
As someone who gets to talk to 15 to 20 different brands and agencies every week, it's pretty eye-opening to see the type of content, team, tech, and partners they have access to. So I floated the idea of potentially joining in to see if there is room for another brand builder, operator, and partner.
To my pleasant surprise, Taylor said there was.
Here's to day one of V2 of joining the team at Common Thread Collective to continue building the future of direct-to-consumer brands with retention, sound fundamentals, and tech to enable that growth.
I truly believe this is the future, and I'm excited to build with the incredible team here in the OC and abroad.