Lessons from Gabe Whaley from MSCHF

Gabe Whaley, the founder and CEO of the art collective and viral sensation factory MSCHF, has cultivated a reputation for his unconventional and thought-provoking approach to creativity, commerce, and culture. Through a series of interviews and public statements, Whaley has shared insights into his methods for generating viral content and building a brand that thrives on subverting expectations.

Notable Quotes from Gabe Whaley

On the nature of MSCHF's work: "Our perspective is everything is funny in a nihilistic sort of way. We're not here to make the world a better place. We're making light of how much everything sucks." [1]
On their creative process: "We took an idea and turned it inside out and then presented it back to you." [2]
On their goal: MSCHF's goal is to "monopolize a feeling" where subversion is the rare constant. [3][4]
On the importance of authenticity: "All I'm trying to figure out is how to get brands to pay me to do what I was already going to do." [5]
On embracing failure: "If we have an employee who doesn't make a royal fucking mistake in like the first 3 months of them working with us. I have to sit down and have a talk and be like I don't think you're triggering enough of your of your co-workers. I don't think you're you're pushing us." [5]
On perseverance: "When you feel like giving up, keep going...The difference between the ones who succeed and the ones who don't is that sort of like pinnacle moment where you're like 'Oh I feel like quitting right now now is definitely not the time to quit.'" [6]
On their mission: "Everything that we do needs to like surprise and delight the internet. That's that's our our mission at the end of the day." [6]
On their strategy: "It's go big or go home it's be infamous or be obsolete." [6]
On the current state of marketing: "Right now, we've commoditized literally everything to the point where we're annoyed. We're irritated. We know that people are pulling tricks. Really, all that's left for marketers, product people, founders, entrepreneurs, is to put some soul back in their thoughts again." [7]
On their focus: "We're not creating a commentary on youth culture. We're creating a commentary on eternal human insights." [7]
On repeatability: "Every time I had a hit, I was like, oh my God, it's kind of repeatable." [2][8]
On his motivation: "I needed the feeling of creating something from nothing." [2]
On dealing with clients: "When it comes time to pay, they're like, actually we don't want to pay for anything that's not guaranteed." [2]
On resilience: "Take your beatings." [2]
On rules: "Rules are kind of cool because they show you where like people before you have drawn the line. And then you understand like what you can push a little bit." [8]
On taking risks: Many of his classmates at West Point "would rather risk war than have a life of like uncertainty." [8]
On the creative environment: "You have no masters. You are serving no one you are not trying to please anybody." [9]
On their creations: "It's actually sort of like a multifaceted mirror just reflecting back your own reality but like a slightly different point of view." [9]

Key Learnings from Gabe Whaley's Approach

Foster a Judgment-Free Creative Culture: Whaley emphasizes creating an environment where creatives don't feel the pressure of competition, which can stifle spontaneous and brilliant ideas. [7] He uses a "spontaneity whiteboard" that is erased weekly to encourage a free flow of thoughts. [7]
Separate Creative and Monetization Brainstorms: MSCHF holds distinct meetings for generating ideas (FPPs - Fucking Pure Play) and for figuring out how to monetize them (RPPs - Revenue Product Play), ensuring that creativity isn't initially constrained by financial viability. [7]
Focus on Human Truths, Not Youth Culture: Whaley's strategy is to tap into "evergreen human insights" rather than fleeting trends associated with a particular demographic. [7] For example, a project with Casper addressed the universal feeling of wanting to fake a social life when you're tired. [7]
Subversion as a Constant: MSCHF's work consistently challenges assumptions about art, commerce, and culture. [4][10] This approach aims to make people think critically about the world. [11]
The Medium is Part of the Message: The way an idea is distributed is as important as the idea itself. [9] For MSCHF, this means embedding their projects as deeply as possible into the systems they are critiquing. [9]
Embrace the Unpredictable Nature of Virality: Whaley acknowledges that while there are strategies to increase the chances of going viral, it's not an exact science. [5] It involves taking many swings and getting better over time. [5]
Ride the Cultural Wave: Whaley suggests that leveraging existing cultural conversations is the "path of least resistance" for getting started, as the world is already doing most of the work. [5]
Relevance Over Innovation for its Own Sake: He argues that investing in thinking and having a point of view is more important than investing in "innovation" as a buzzword. [5]
Make Your Passion Your Profession: Whaley's dream was to get paid for what he would be doing anyway. [6] He advises figuring out what you already love to do and pursuing it, as passion can become lucrative. [6]
Continuously "Do Things": By constantly creating and putting work out into the world, you position yourself for good things to happen. [6]
Don't Complain, Figure It Out: Whaley learned that complaining is unproductive because someone else will simply find a way to overcome the obstacle. The focus should be on personal improvement and finding solutions. [6]
The Power of Unbridled Creativity: MSCHF's success is built on a foundation of creative expression that is not afraid to break rules and challenge the status quo. [3][10]
Create Hits Consistently: The goal is to have an "always on strategy" to produce and distribute viral content on the internet regularly. [6]
The Importance of a Diverse Team: A collaborative environment with a diverse team fosters an atmosphere where unique ideas can flourish. [2]
Blend Amusement with Commentary: MSCHF's projects often mix humor with a deeper critique, subverting expectations in both art and retail. [2]
Ideas Undergo Rigorous Vetting: Not every wild idea sees the light of day; they are put into an "idea pool" and survive for months before getting approval for production. [2][7]
Challenge Conventional Wisdom: Through their work, MSCHF aims to inspire critical thinking about consumeristic behaviors and the things we take for granted. [11]
Make the Brand Feel Human: Projects like the Insomnobot for Casper, which didn't solve insomnia but addressed it, make a brand more relatable. [5]
The Power of a Good Story: Whaley believes that "everything is a storytelling device" and that the internet offers infinite distribution power for these stories. [7]
Find Courage in Uncertainty: Whaley chose an "undefined" path after leaving West Point, a decision that required embracing the unknown. [8]
New York as a Catalyst: He found inspiration in the energy of New York City, believing it was a place where he could build the life he wanted. [8]
The Value of a Sheltered Upbringing: Growing up in a rural area gave him a unique perspective when he was later exposed to broader culture. [2][9]
Learning from Every Experience: His time at West Point, though he ultimately left, taught him about discipline and the nature of rules. [2][8]
Early Experiments Pave the Way: His first viral project, selling bad advice on Twitter for a dollar, was a simple yet effective early test of his ideas. [8][11]
Think Outside Conventional Frameworks: Whaley's journey highlights the power of transforming unconventional ideas into impactful ventures. [2]
Create, Don't Chase, Trends: The focus is on producing original ideas rather than following what is already popular. [2]
Redefine Products Through Remixing: Innovation can come from transforming and merging existing concepts, like combining a work boot with a sneaker design. [2]
Viral Ideas Have Built-in Sharing Components: Successful projects create organic growth and audience engagement without heavy marketing. [2]
MSCHF is a Feeling: The brand embodies a blend of art, culture, and consumerism that is meant to be experienced. [2]
The Importance of Place: Whaley believes the environment you create is crucial for fostering creativity and allowing for mistakes. [9]
Magnify the Present: Many of MSCHF's works are described as a "magnification of the present" or an "acceleration of the present," reflecting our current reality back at us. [9]
Challenge the Value of Money: The "ATM Leaderboard" project was a social experiment that made people compete based on their bank account balances, questioning societal values. [9]

Learn more:

Lessons from Gabe Whaley from MSCHF

Notable Quotes from Gabe Whaley

Key Learnings from Gabe Whaley's Approach

Written by Antoine Buteau

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