Thinking Out Loud

Previously working in Creative Comms, Bespoke PR and Advertising. Fancy moved into web3 as part of the founding team for the Protein Community & is now the instigator of RADAR.RADAR is community reimagining collective research processes and delivering the future. Fancy also advises brands and web3 projects navigating the web3 landscape, is a stakeholder in SeedClub (SC02) and has written extensively on web3 models and the future of the space.Keep up with Fancy:radar.xyzKeep up with Nikita:instagram.com/nikitaontheinternetworkwithblank.com

Alexander Russell is an entrepreneur based in New York City. He founded Nothing Special in 2019 at age 24 to make the fresh, world-class kava experience available to everyone.Kava is a plant-based beverage from the Pacific Islands that has been drank for millennia for its ability to promote relaxation without diminishing judgement or mental clarity. Nothing Special’s mission is to honor kava’s past and steward kava’s future in order to help people around the world consume less liquid and digital junk.Before founding Nothing Special, Alexander worked as an analyst at Lazard Frères & Co. in New York City. Alexander has an MPhil in Political and Economic Theory from Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a Lenox-Conyngham Scholar.He graduated with BS degrees in Finance and Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia, where he led responsible business initiatives for UVA’s endowment and worked for the Nature Conservancy.Keep up with Alex:enjoynothingspecial.cominstagram.com/enjoynothingspecialKeep up with Nikita:instagram.com/nikitaontheinternetworkwithblank.com

Arabelle Sicardi is a writer and brand consultant who focuses on the intersection of beauty, technology, and power.They pen a beauty industry newsletter and have written for places like Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Teen Vogue, The Cut, and Vogue Business. So far, they've written two books: Queer Heroes, a children's book on queer folks throughout history, and The House of Beauty, a non-fiction book on the beauty industry forthcoming from Norton, not yet available for pre-order. They joined us to talk all about modern brand building, their forthcoming book, and what it takes to build a career online.Keep up with Arabelle at:instagram.com/arabellesicardiMore from Nikita:instagram.com/nikitaontheinternetworkwithblank.com

Dr. Darien Sutton-Ramsey is a Board Certified Emergency Medicine physician, currently working in Los Angeles, California. He was born and raised in New York City, where he spent most of his clinical work up until July 2020. He is a graduate of NYU School of Medicine and NYU Stern School of Business. Aside from his clinical practice, Dr. Darien has special interests in public health education as well as the intersection of racial inequities and healthcare disparities. He started his career with ABCNEWS in 2017 as a Med Unit Intern. Since this time he has been a regular on-air contributor for Good Morning America - discussing all things health including COVID-19, chronic illness diabetes, heart disease, obesity, as well as current events and interpreting new data and research. Dr. Darien is also known as a “professor of TikTok Medical school” amassing more than 1 million followers through his education tutorials of disease. Darien joins us to talk about communicating science information online, his journey as a physician and educator, and more. This episode was recorded August 5, 2022, so tune to Darien's channels for the latest communications on Covid, Monkeypox, and more.Keep up with Darien:instagram.com/doctor.darienhttps://www.tiktok.com/@doctor.darienMore from Nikita:instagram.com/nikitaontheinternetworkwithblank.com

Tynan is an award winning beauty columnist, senior copywriter, and consultant with over ten years in the industry. His work has been featured in all your favorite publications including Vogue, The New York Times, Allure, Elle, Nylon, GQ, and more. He's also the host of the Smell Ya Later podcast. Tynan joins us to talk about modern brand building, beauty and wellness, and that whole celebrity brands…thing.You can find more about Tynan here:instagram.com/tynanbuckinstagram.com/smellyalater.mp3Follow along with Nikita at:instagram.com/nikitaontheinternetworkwithblank.com

Sarah Larson Levey is the Founder and CEO of New York-based Y7 Studio. She is an innovator, entrepreneur, 200-hour registered yoga instructor, author, and certified Health Coach.After working in Fashion for five years, Levey launched Y7 Studio at 26 as an answer to her personal desire for something other than the (very) traditional yoga practices offered. Since launching in 2013, the Y7 brand has expanded to a national business with studios across New York and Los Angeles, disrupting the fitness space and flexing real influence. Uniquely positioned—Y7 classes combine 60-minutes of intensity with heat and strength, complemented by deep breathing to calm the mind, all while set to the latest beats (think A Tribe Called Quest, Cardi B, Frank Ocean). Levey’s goal? To break down the traditional barriers of yoga, making it accessible and inclusive in attitude and design, with dark rooms and zero mirrors to eliminate the distraction of physical comparison.Sarah and Y7 are clients of BLANK, and joined us to talk about wellness, building an enduring brand, and what's next for the category-disrupting fitness brand.You can find more about Sarah at:instagram.com/sarah_ayakoinstagram.com/y7studioFollow along with Nikita at:instagram.com/nikitaontheinternetworkwithblank.com

Thinking Out Loud is a podcast dedicated to being publicly curious about creativity, commerce, and culture. Hosted by Nikita Walia, a brand builder and strategist with over a decade of experience; together, we explore the many dimensions of modern brand-building and how cultural codes evolve to build new models for commerce.This episode unpacks why this all started in the first place.