The internet is the single most transformative development since the Industrial Revolution. It has fundamentally rewired every aspect of our behavior: how we work, play, talk, meet, move. And while we’re largely better off for it, it’s safe to say this change hasn’t come without consequence.

Social media platforms have captured every ounce of our attention, rewarding us for consuming the lives of others instead of venturing outside to live our own. Compounded by the disappearance of third places, we now find ourselves facing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation.

These shortcomings are an opportunity to build better social platforms—ones that will mend our social fabric by fostering deep, meaningful relationships instead of shallow, one-directional connections. While social media is reliant upon business models that prioritize connecting us to ads rather than to each other, consumer brands thrive off community engagement and evangelism.

The gaming market has benefitted massively from this approach. Games today are often designed as social platforms, leading to blockbuster hits including Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox.

But consumer brands have the ability to harness an even more powerful force—human connection in the physical world. Nike (via Run Club) and other brands have shown early success in their attempts at building community-centric platforms. However, they will always be constrained by their pre-internet origins and legacy corporate structures.

In a world where brands have become an essential building block in the construction of our own identities, the evolution of brands into social platforms is both inevitable and appealing.

At Slow Rodeo, we’re building social brands around the interests that move us. These brands are designed to:

1. Establish third places for shared interests and passionate subcultures

2. Get us off our screens and out into the physical world together

In this new internet era, it’s time we reimagine the very notion of a brand through a different lens, breaking past the status quo of Shopify stores and buy now, pay later mechanics to craft fully-immersive worlds. By building these brands with emergent technologies like blockchain, a more mutually-beneficial model centered around social participation can become the new norm. We’re calling them Full-Stack Brands™.

As consumers increasingly distrust businesses to do the right thing, blockchain enables users to vote with their dollars, actively participate in the growth of a community (and be rewarded for it), and establish trust through a new brand-consumer dynamic.

To this end, we’re developing a connected house of onchain brands with the understanding that the internet is the starting point, but touching grass is the goal.

Our first is Court Date—an apparel brand and racket club designed to link enthusiasts across the globe. Users will be able to connect with other players, improve their game, and look damn good doing it.

The future of brands is full stack. Welcome to the Rodeo.