Video summary
In an abandoned ghost town on the outskirts of Austin, Chris and his team are filming a promotional shoot for their energy drink brand, Neonic America. The setting is steeped in American Western imagery, featuring elements like horses, Ford F-150 trucks, banks, jails, and saloons, which immediately raises questions about cultural appropriation when Chris wears cowboy attire while asking if he is appropriating the clothing of "your people." Despite these concerns, the atmosphere remains lighthearted as they interact with a copper horse named Maximus. The filming process involves specific logistical challenges, such as managing heat in temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit), utilizing fans to cool down during high-intensity intervals between camera setups, and dealing with stock shortages that have frustrated customers who had previously sold out three times in the country. A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the technical difficulties faced by Neonic America when attempting to replicate their successful UK flavors for the US market. The team explains that differences in water hardness and temperature fluctuations during transport destroyed delicate flavor molecules, necessitating a complete reformulation from first principles rather than simple adaptation. This rigorous process involved tasting approximately 50 to 60 shots of the drink until they achieved a product so familiar it felt like cloning their own child but with errors corrected. Chris describes this endeavor as a spiritual battle against his desire for control and emphasizes that patience was essential, noting that launching a new brand involves unseen struggles not typically disclosed by industry insiders. Beyond the production details, the narrative touches on personal growth and professional history. Chris reveals he spent ten years working in commercial mail modeling during his twenties, honing skills in front of cameras which he is now applying to build his own legacy brand. He also shares a recent experience with equine therapy, where he learned to care for horses by brushing them, cleaning their gear, and taking walks over two-hour sessions. This interaction provided him with a sense of Zen that was missing from his previous life, contrasting sharply with the chaotic nature of filming in extreme heat while pretending to be an action hero or "badman" character named James within the script's narrative framework. The video concludes with reflections on the absurdity and fun inherent in their work, despite the pressure of maintaining brand consistency and avoiding stockouts. Chris acknowledges that calling his job a form of labor feels ridiculous given how enjoyable he finds it, even as he navigates the complexities of marketing and product development. The segment ends with him apologizing for breaking an unspoken "spiritual cowboy code" regarding hat and boot etiquette while expressing hope to return better prepared next time, highlighting the blend of genuine effort, humor, and cultural exploration that defines this unique promotional campaign.
Read the full video transcript
you got it Chris yeah she might hesitate
but I'm spending the day shooting in an
abandoned ghost town on the outskirts of
Austin we got a horse we've got a Ford
F-150 we've got a bank we've got a jail
we've got me behind a bar cleaning a
glass we've got me falling asleep with a
cowboy hat on
[Music]
bonic America restock day we are in you
I'm inside of you right
now hi there nice to meet you Chris nice
to meet you too who's this copper hi
copper look at how beautiful you are
you're a sweet girl so horse tied up you
out the front of the saloon kind of and
things so fun I forgot to bring the
truck we have another truck got a
contingency truck we have we have a
second truck which is better to be
honest Harry's truck's an F-150 Z's
trucks are Tundra you know none of this
Japanese nonsense I was telling him I
did um equin therapy last week o I kept
calling it horse meditation and the the
lady wasn't happy at me calling her that
involv so you basically just look care
for horses for a while so for about 2
hours you're brushing them and chilling
out with them and cleaning them and
taking them for a walk and so we're
currently about half an hour outside of
Austin and we are filming the newtonic
America restock photo shoot make an
energy drink they said it won't be weird
they said you okay to go roll the
sleeves on this or do you not like that
look um you want fully down let's let's
have it fully down for this first
one do you feel like I'm appropriating
the clothing of your people ma is this
cultural appropriation to you we say
honestly work with the horse here so
make sure we're listening to
here other than that have a r
Sho what's actually happening is we
needed to reformulate the flavors in the
US we struggled to match the UK flavors
across to the us when you have different
hardness of the water when the flavors
are transported in a huge big keg and
it's hot and it's cold and all of the
little light molecules that make the
flavors taste good they just get
destroyed uh it was really hard so we
went from scratch and recreated the same
flavor that the UK has but just from
first principles which meant maybe 50
shots maybe 60 shots of of neonic that
we had which is strange because it's
like seeing someone clone your own child
but make errors so you're looking at
something that's so familiar you're
tasting something so familiar and going
yeah it's almost there but the nose
that's not his nose or whatever all of
the things that happen when you're
starting a drink brand that no one tells
you
about oh that's time that's definitely
what was needed better out than in I
always say copper better out than in so
we're going to get some shots of you
walking down this way Chris you must do
Andrew huberman's nonsleep deep rest
protocol parasympathetically activated
you
all yep
yep most important thing you down look
there's nothing out there that'll help
you go that extra mile legally anyway
that's why we made new tonic America you
gun loving Freedom tot in crazy people
yeah uh I did commercial mail modeling
for 10 years so it actually feels nice
to be taking advantage of those skills
which were hard-earned spent a lot of
time in front of the camera lens
throughout my 20s and now I am paying it
forward to my own
brand let's go for a little
wall you got a yeah she might hesitate
[Laughter]
but around you careful let's do a look I
just need to grab the old rain there we
go we're good we're good
together we're going to go see
Max baby hi Max baby hi Maximus you say
hi Maximus yeah if you come up here and
go super slow let me see the canr a
little bit better
sorry need some more mental
horsepower drink new tonic
that was perfect perfectly time you are
so
beautiful I did Equine Therapy a week
ago so that was the first time that I've
ever been around a horse except for once
when I rode one and I really feel like
had I not done that today would have
gone at least three times it would have
been way more difficult horses are Cool
Copper 20 years old super chill like my
spirit animal I think actually I I
really enjoyed working with a horse um
something something don't work with
children and animals except that animal
it's just Zen as
[Music]
[ __ ] America we need to have a chat
we've sold out three times in your
country already but this time the team
has promised me upon pain of death that
we will not sell out
again yeah I'm not built for the heat
it's probably 35° which is 100 in
Freedom units I'm not usually this shiny
I promise you're okay I got look it I
got a whole bag of botting paper and I
got little fans for you fans yeah
they're cute little pink ones I hope you
don't
mind
oh yes okay
good you will need it yeah I'm basically
doing high-intensity intervals from a
fan to a camera to do a thing and then
sprinting back to the fan to blow it in
my face
what what do you
want I'm still the straightest man in
America this is before
neonic after
neonic okay we'll do a quick run through
for Speed okay start
James thinks that he can move to
Australia and do no
work meanwhile I'm having to read
scripts risk what tiny amount of
credibility I've got left pretending to
be a bman in an
abandoned Western
H what's James doing having a child
pathetic selfish
frankly no he knows the sacrifices that
I make
all right but we didn't think that you
guys would sell us out so fast we have
been out of stock for a few months now
and James and I know how frustrated you
have all been launching new tonic has
been a spiritual battle between me and
my desire to control everything you
don't just get to record something and
upload it on the internet so uh patience
I've been learning
patience slowly uh but it's great I I
love the project the fact that I get
call this work
is stupid it's so much fun I just love
it I I love the product I love working
on the marketing I've just seen how
freaky those portraits are that's
disturbing jeez um like what version of
the simulation am I living in where I
get to call this work it's OB it's
absurd it's crazy oh we we got some
empty crushed ones should I get those
likey
dry you
[Music]
okay this is where Harry and
if we sell out again stock management
yeah we're
[Music]
here a please can we please look at the
time how efficient guys would you expect
anything
less if I have broken some Unwritten
rule about how to wear a felt hat with a
particular set of boots with a
particular type of belt some sort of
unspoken spiritual cowboy code uh I
would like to apologize profusely uh I
know that you're armed
um please don't come to where I live
I'll will be better next time