548 - Texas Forever: AID Origin Stories

Off in a far corner of the universe is a little blue marble comprised of over seven billion human beings who squabble around trying to find meaning in the random unfolding of their countless daily interactions. Somehow, someway, these four creatives found a friendship spanning distances from two blocks to an entire ocean. But how exactly did Mark, Sean, Dan, and Nathan all cross paths and form lasting friendships as they stumbled around through their wildly different lives? This episode of Adventures In Design chronicles how these heroes all rose above the casual "wassups" and "how's business" questions thrown about at low level acquaintances and moved up to inside jokes about hot tub princess parties while gorging themselves on the best food Austin has to offer. Mas Macho. Tech company launches. Food poisoning. Raunch offs. Unruly inner thigh grabs. It's all there as we get to hear the entire odyssey unfold from sunny Scripps Ranch to not so sunny Pudsey.

Talking Points

• The shame of splintered screens. 
• Dan gets held back for emotional reasons and later meets Nathan at track. 
• Poor kids, privileged kids, and community knowledge. 
• Designing out of necessity to start your design career with Mas Macho. 
• Nate hires Dan for the first unofficial DKNG project. 
• The Troubadour posters, portfolio developments, and old school workflows. 
• Copymax digital offset printing.
• DKNG's first Flatstock and first time ever selling their work. 
• Initial end game goals for Dan and Nathan. 
• Mark meets NG and Hate Crime. 
• Black Keys process videos that change the game. 
• The real reason behind texturing and pushing pros to their limits in posters. 
• Sean taunts Mark online and watches him get food poisoning. 
• Visiting the Hero and DKNGs booths with everyone missing. 
• Great minds thinking alike. 
• Lighting, fast food, and drug free hangouts. 
• The silver lining of a rough AID show. 
• Binding through a raunch off and hanging out with Kenny Powers. 
• Living too close to your friends and trying to get work done. 
• Did Nathan hate Mark?
• Going up to The Bay and launching a tech company. 
• The death of mega booths. 
• Nathan gets out of his shell and admits he doesn't hate anyone. 
• Serendipity for bros and inner thigh grabs.
• Improv skills.

Ready to hear another side of the stories that have made Mark into the man he is today? When Muhammed Ali passed away Mark released a Storyteller Episode framing questions about who you are and what you fight for.

Dr. Kuhlken knows Dan better than anyone and can see through Mark's antics and why he does them. Listen to this episode to start to understand your own origin story and who you are today in a full, clear sense.

You really get to know someone once you vacation with them and this episode details the only real fight Mark and Sean have ever gotten into. Even The International Bromance doesn't always see eye to eye all of the time.