Call meJeffrey

Yesterday morning, I was having a conversation with my friends Ian and Arsenio at Digg about our favorite albums of 2009. I realized that I’ve never taken the time to make a list of my favorite music from a particular year, considering how much I tend to tweet about what I’m listening to. So, without further adieu – my 10 favorite albums of 2009 (in no particular order), with links to my favorite tracks.

Silversun Pickups – Swoon
Suicide Silence – No Time To Bleed
Converge – Axe to Fall
Irepress – Sol Eye Sea I
Baroness – Blue Record
Isis – Wavering Radiant
Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon
Animals As Leaders – Animals As Leaders
Russian Circles – Geneva

I’m not the smartest person alive, and if you look into my past you’ll find all sorts of evidence to support that claim. What I am, however, is extremely lucky – and I find it’s to my advantage to be acutely aware of that. Here’s a story…

In 2003, a little over 2 years into my 5-year battle with ulcerative colitis I decided to begin two large tattoos on my arms to express coming to terms with my mortality, which came about from almost dying at the end of 2001. I had the whole thing figured out, and did everything you’re “supposed” to do to get ready to get tattooed (research your artist, decide on a meaningful concept, wait a while after you decide to make sure you still want it, etc).

While my intentions were good, my timing was not and I overlooked a pretty big detail. What I failed to realize is that getting tattooed while on a massive, ongoing dose of immunosuppressants to battle my UC wasn’t very bright. I spent a total of 10 hours getting tattooed over the course of two weeks.

About a week after my last session my right arm started to get very sensitive all over, from above my elbow down to my wrist. This followed by redness and swelling which continued for a full week. My doctor prescribed me antibiotics to tide me over until my appointment the following week to check it out. I never made it to the appointment.

On the Saturday before my doctor’s appointment, I woke up to find my arm so swollen I couldn’t bend it. It felt as if my skin would tear if I bent it too far. This was also a day where I needed to get up, get showered, and drive to Indiana to watch my friends Jake and Shondi get married.

While I was at the wedding ceremony some really awful stuff happened to my arm (I’m skipping over the gory details). I stayed at the ceremony until it was over, apologized to Jake and Shondi for having to leave in a rush – promising an explanation later – and drove home as fast as I could.

I headed to the emergency room after I got home and soon after I got there, the attending physicians rushed me into getting an ultrasound to see how deep the abscess that had been brewing in my arm had gotten (I did say the details were gory). It showed that the infection was mere millimeters away from reaching my bone. As they explained, once the infection gets to the bone, the limb is lost – from above the infection to the end of the appendage. I’ll never forget asking the surgeon who came to talk to me about my chances of avoiding surgery, and him telling me things weren’t looking very good.

They started me on a massive dose of antibiotics which I responded to extremely well, and long story short, my arm was saved. I spent a total of 3 days in the hospital and was released to recover on my own. I told you I was lucky.

For those who know me, I obviously finished what I started, though it took me a few years to build up the courage to get work done again. And when I did finally finish what was about 30 more hours of work, it was under the direction of a doctor who aided me in the safest possible way to keep from getting an infection.

The result of my bad timing and missed details in 2003 was almost losing my arm, missing most my close friend/business partner’s wedding, and almost ending the career of my tattoo artist (he said in all seriousness that if I had lost my arm he’d never have tattooed again).

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t see the tiny scar on my right arm and remember that my life could be a lot more difficult. Even with the best of intentions, overlooking a single detail of a decision, or being impatient as to when to make a move can end in disaster. The fact that I’m typing this with two hands instead of one is one of the main motivators to go after what I want, but also reminds me to have patience to wait for it to come.

I’ve made the hardest decision of my life today. I have resigned my position as chief creative officer at skinnyCorp/Threadless.

As you may imagine, this was not an easy decision. What makes Threadless special is its ability to turn every single person – from our vendors to our employees – into part of a giant family dressed in ink-slathered cotton. The collective dedication and creativity of the Threadless family, as well as our beloved community, is awe inspiring.

The pride I have for Threadless is unmeasurable.

Of course, none of this has been possible without Jake. He has always had the vision and ability to wade through my onslaught of ideas and cherry-pick the ones that we both knew were best for the community and for Threadless as a whole. The decision to leave was no different. After many long discussions with Jake and our CEO Tom, we’re all on the same page that this is the right direction to take.

If I had to pick the one thing I’ll miss the most, it will be working with Jake, Tom and the rest of the executive team as Threadless continues to grow more and more awesome.

So, whats next for me?

First, I am taking some time off. In the seven years of building Threadless, the longest vacation I ever took was about 2 weeks, and that was last month. I’m looking forward to spending real quality time with my family and friends, without meetings, deadlines or other work related things getting in the way.

Next, I am going to rededicate myself to things I love. Who knows, maybe I will start skating again. (Probably not, but we can all dream). I heard a rumor that people actually travel for pleasure. I may give that a go as well.

Lastly, I will start getting involved in a few projects that are just too exciting to keep secret, but too early to talk about. I hate to do it, but you will just have to stay tuned to hear about all the awesomeness to come.

The past seven years have been amazing. While I will no longer be involved in the day-to-day grind of the company I helped create, I will remain close to Threadless not only as an owner and advisor, but through my many friends there. And of course, I will continue to be an active part of the most awesome community, ever.

Thank you Threadless; I cant wait to show you what’s next.

This past week I watched two different documentaries about skateboarders from the 80’s who lost touch with their roots, struggled to adapt to the changing environment of their profession, and ultimately bottomed out in very sad ways.

“Rising Son” is a documentary about legendary skateboarder Christian Hosoi – one of the first skateboarders to make an incredibly successful living as a pro rider in the 80’s. The creator of the then-groundbreaking “hammerhead” shaped deck, Christian not only had the skill to rise to the top as a professional skateboarder, but also had an entrepreneurial drive that in many ways helped to shape the modern skateboarding industry today.

He is now 42 years old and only recently resumed his professional skating career after twenty-year hiatus through which he battled with drug addiction and served a 4-year prison stay on drug charges.

“Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator” is a documentary about controversially loved and hated ex-professional skateboarder Mark “Gator” Rogowski. After he rose to fame as a professional skateboarder, Gator gained near-celebrity status in mainstream media (during what I feel was skateboarding’s “glam” period), proving that if skateboarders had the right image to match their talent, brands could be built around them (in his case, Gator was to Vision Street Wear what Jordan was to Nike).

At 43 years old, he is now serving a 39-year sentence for raping and murdering a girl in 1991.

Pleasant stuff, eh?

For both of them (though, Gator more so than Hosoi) the skill that got them to where they ended up became secondary to the image they focused on upholding. What they had in common, in my opinion, was letting their personal brand blind them from the reality of fleeting relevance as their industry shifted focus (from vert to street skating).

Because their brand was so prevalent and so strong, it didn’t allow them to be nimble enough to change with the times, which lead to a sad, far-and-fast fall from the top.

So, what’s the point?

While it may require hard to work to achieve a successful personal brand, it unfortunately doesn’t require any actual skill. In fact, there’s no inherent factor in personal branding that requires you to continue to do what you did to get there once you find success. Why? Because it’s entirely possible to achieve great success in personal branding while having literally no marketable skills whatsoever (*cough* Paris Hilton *cough*).

If you’re not careful, personal branding could easily overshadow your actual skill-set and then you’re the person who is well known… but… what was it for again?

Watching these two documentaries, I saw the parallels between what happened to Hosoi and Gator in the 80’s (and others in the skateboarding industry at the time) and the rise of personal branding in social media today. I find myself sometimes wondering “OK, I know of this person – but why? What do they do again?”. Personal brand can grant someone scene celebrity in an relatively young industry which has been built on innovation, hard work and relationships (much like the skateboarding was in the 80’s) – merely by focusing on the relationships part.

I’m not saying that it’s not important to put yourself out there – because like it or not – these days it is. However, don’t let your personal brand shift you from person to persona as it gains traction. You’re here for a reason (unless you’re the offspring of someone who already has found tremendous success), so don’t lose touch with that reason. Your skill-set that jump-started your personal brand needs just as much work as your brand does (if not much, much more).

Innovation, hard work and relationships fuel the business we’re in (or at least the one I’m in). Those values are listed in order of importance. Personal brand only deals with the 3rd in the list, and alone has little to do with industry relevance. Focus too hard on that, and your creativity/innovation and hard work suffer.

Relevance is one of those things that you don’t realize how important it is to have until it’s gone. In my opinion, that lead to the fall of Hosoi and Gator – let it be a cautionary tale for us all.

I have a flight at 7:30pm to head to San Francisco to spend time with my girlfriend and also to connect with some folks for work. There’s nothing abnormal about this routine, but on this night – I’m missing out on something that I’d like to have been a part of. Tonight at 10:01 (my time) I will be missing out on being “able to choose a username for [my] Facebook account to easily direct friends, family, and coworkers to [my] profile.”

Basically what that says is that as long as I’m sitting on an airplane, I’m not in front of a computer, trying my best to snag facebook.com/jeffrey. It’s ok though, and here’s why. I’m not Jeffrey. I’m Jeffrey Kalmikoff. Besides, as long as there’s that bastard giraffe hocking toys to kids, I’ll never be the Jeffrey. And really, if Toys ‘R’ Us folded tomorrow, and I did become the Jeffrey, it’s still really just be Jeffrey Kalmikoff.

I was talking to my younger brother Josh on the phone as I drove to the airport. We discussed a few things, including a really kick-ass idea he has for a gaming website, but also talked about snagging his Facebook vanity URL. His point of view, “if someone gets what I want, I’ll just think of something better. Something wittier.” “Josh” I said, “do yourself a favor and just get your name – that URL will likely outlast whatever you found funny or witty or interesting about something like Uncler3mus (his twitter name).” “Just trust me on this one,” I said.

Even in the last 6-7 months the shift from pseudonym to real name in one’s online identity has been pretty prevalent. Many of my friends (myself included) went from pseudonym to real name – and some from real name just down to initials. What the shift really means is that everyone is seeing the value in having a single name – or at least a few names that all essentially mean the same thing. For me I’m Jeffrey (twitter), JeffreyK (skype), Jeffrey.Kalmikoff (gmail), and the one I’m starting to phase out FancyJeffrey (aim) – which at the very least still has my name in it.

I wanted to share those anecdotes to illustrate what I’ve come to terms with, and I think that it’s important that other people try to realize it as well. Your name only matters as a way to be a linkable entity to an action. Having an awesome “online handle” isn’t going to make what you do online (or off) any better than if you would have been using your own name. We’ve learned this lesson in the last 10 years as we started out being scared to have people learn our real identities online, so we created fake ones (mine used to be iFDL). The time of fear online is long since past, so it’s time to stop hiding behind “RadDude199″ or “ButteflyGrl22″.

As the time ticks away until Facebook opens the flood gates to vanity URLs tonight, maybe try to resist the urge to go after your current online moniker or pseudonym, and just go with what’s real. Just be you.