Willpower Weekly Issue No. 08
More Than a Moment: The Rise of Long-Form Storytelling
For a long time, marketing lived on quick hits, the snappy tweet, the viral TikTok, the billboard you drove past without blinking. But lately, the most meaningful cultural moments aren’t happening in 30 seconds. They’re happening in 30 minutes, or even three hours. Long-form content has grown into the most powerful way to build brands, tell stories, and connect with audiences. Why? Because it lingers. It creates a world you can step into, one that lasts beyond the scroll.
Take Huckberry’s DIRT travel series. On the surface, it’s about food, adventure, and discovery. Their latest episode dropped in Guadalajara in collaboration with Lalo Tequila, exploring volcanic highlands, secret surf coves, spearfishing, lucha libre, and the traditions behind tequila-making. But what makes DIRT resonate isn’t just the scenery; it’s the stories of the people, the makers, and the cultures behind every moment.
As the Huckberry team puts it:
“Since our inception, Huckberry has been about storytelling, adventure, and partnerships. As the media landscape has evolved, we’ve doubled down on authentic, human-driven storytelling through Dirt and our other content series. Dirt on the surface is about food and adventure, but what resonates most are the people and the diverse cultures around the world.”
And they’re not just telling stories for storytelling’s sake. It’s part of a flywheel strategy, partnering with brands like Lalo to fund content that drives millions of views across YouTube, in-flight entertainment (United, Japan Airlines, Air New Zealand), and streaming platforms. That reach builds brand love, creates new customers, and keeps Huckberry top-of-mind.
The audience response speaks for itself:
“In an age where everyone’s posturing for attention, Huckberry is quietly showing us how it’s done. Genuine storytelling, authentic brand building, and effortless adventure.”
“DIRT portrays the world in a way that I want it to feel to everyone — friendly, beautiful, open.”
“I spent hours on Huckberry’s website after binge-watching these episodes.”
DIRT proves that long-form storytelling isn’t just entertainment, it’s commerce, culture, and community all rolled into one.
The same principle explains why Formula 1’s Drive to Survive on Netflix transformed F1 from a niche sport into a global obsession. The races were always exciting, but the show made the teams human: the rivalries, the managers, the daily grind. People wanted to see not just the lap times, but the lives behind the helmets.
And this summer, Court of Gold did it again at the Paris Olympics, peeling back the curtain on the men’s basketball team. It wasn’t just about watching NBA players dominate. It was about the hotel lobbies, the practice banter, the behind-the-scenes dynamics that made the story live on far beyond the final buzzer.
At its best, long-form transforms moments into movements. It’s what turns a sport into a culture, a product into a brand, a trip into a legacy. And for brands today, the lesson is simple: quick content drives awareness, but long-form creates worlds people want to belong to.
Punching Above Their Weight
That same principle of long-form storytelling is starting to reshape how brands think about partnerships. Back in March, True Classic signed on as the UFC’s Official Basics Wear Partner. At first glance, a DTC t-shirt brand and the UFC might feel worlds apart. But in practice, it’s the same long-form strategy: embedding a brand into stories people already care about.
Fast forward to this past weekend’s Canelo vs. Crawford fight, which drew over 41 million viewers on Netflix. The hype wasn’t just about punches thrown; it was about legacy, rivalry, and being part of a cultural moment that extended far beyond the ring. True Classic’s partnership puts the brand in the middle of that narrative, turning everyday basics into something with meaning and stage presence.
What makes this partnership stand out is how fan-first it is. True Classic has gone beyond logos and octagon signage, they run weekly games with UFC fans, host activations on their own site, and give away PPV passes, actively putting community and storytelling at the center. Their Share Circle campaign is a great example: co-founder Ryan himself jumps into the Reddit thread to give away store credit and interact directly with fans. It doesn’t feel like an ad, it feels like a brand showing up for the community it wants to be part of.
And True Classic isn’t the only one making moves in the Octagon. Last year, Slate Milk debuted as an Official Marketing Partner of the UFC. For a brand that started as a better-for-you chocolate milk company, landing in one of the world’s biggest sports platforms shows just how far functional, high-protein products have come. Slate’s co-founder, Manny Lubin, who joined us at Catalyst Series: Cutting Through the Noise in NYC this summer, spoke about exactly that, how brands can rise above over-saturation by embedding themselves into the right cultural moments.
That same perspective came through at Wellness House in March, where Bob Mott (Huckberry) and Bryan Cano (True Classic) joined Eric Hinman on our Building Brand Loyalty Through Community and Content panel. The takeaway was simple: short-form might grab attention, but long-form is what endures. As Eric put it best:
“YouTube is more evergreen. It continues to live on.”
Left to Right: Bill Murphy (Willpower | CEO), Bob Mott (Huckberry | GM Media), Eric Hinman (Fitness Influencer/Entrepreneur), Bryan Cano (True Classic Tees | Head of Marketing)
From the Edge to Expansion: Othership’s Next Chapter
Earlier this week, Othership launched its fourth location, this time in Williamsburg, and along with it, the brand dropped what might be the best video they’ve ever made. Robbie Bent, the founder, admitted it made him cry the first time he watched it. And honestly, that’s the point: it’s authentic, polarizing, and deeply human. Some people will call it culty, others will call it genius, either way, it makes you feel something.
That emotional resonance is no accident. Robbie shared at our Catalyst Series earlier this year how opening Othership in New York nearly broke him. The first Flatiron build-out came with a $7.7M price tag, delays, threats from contractors, and even mortgaging homes, his, his partner’s, and his mom’s. He described himself standing on 20th Street, chain-vaping, crying, thinking it was all about to collapse.
And yet, it worked. The permits came through, the doors opened, and Othership not only survived, it thrived.
This new Williamsburg space is the payoff of that journey. It’s proof that when you build something authentic, when you care enough to suffer through the hardest parts, the result isn’t just another wellness studio. It becomes a village of people who find belonging, purpose, and connection in what you’ve built.
Protein Everywhere, All at Once
Protein used to be something you scooped into a shaker. Now it’s the headliner in every aisle. Just in the past month:
🎤 Unwell Hydration (Alex Cooper) launched a protein-fortified hydration line.
☕ Bulletproof dropped instant protein iced coffee.
🥛 Lifeway Foods is pushing kefir as a protein-forward functional drink.
Add in protein ice cream, waffles, chips, and then there’s the beef stick boom. What was once a dusty, overlooked gas station snack has muscled its way onto the prime shelves of Whole Foods and into a $3 billion industry. Sales are surging, formats are expanding, and suddenly a category nobody paid attention to is leading the protein craze.
But here’s the flip side: too much protein isn’t always better. Most Americans already get enough, while fiber and micronutrients lag behind. The protein arms race makes great headlines and TikToks, but it risks creating products that sell the macro, not the balance.
For brands, the takeaway is clear: protein might be the cheat code, but substance still matters.
Off-Brand, On-Trend
Retailers are doubling down on private label, and it’s not just about undercutting prices anymore. Stores like Trader Joe’s and Aldi have built reputations on high-quality store brands. Meanwhile, retailers such as H-E-B (Mi Tienda & Central Market) and Target (Good & Gather) are putting real investment behind their in-house lines. Private label has become a destination for quality and innovation, not just a budget fallback.
Sales tell the story. Private label is outpacing national brands in growth, and shoppers are increasingly open to trying store brands if the packaging, flavor, and values feel premium. For retailers, it’s a win, better margins and more control of shelf space. For emerging brands, it’s a new kind of competition: not just Pepsi or Nestlé, but the store’s own brand sitting right next to you on the aisle.
The question for founders: when private label feels just as good, how do you make sure your brand still feels indispensable?
Community in Motion
One of the best parts of Runningman 2025 was seeing so many familiar names from the Willpower community creating experiences that went far beyond product sampling.
Othership, fresh off opening its new Williamsburg space, brought the world’s largest sauna to Runningman, turning recovery into a collective ritual.
Promix (with founder Albert Matheny joining us at Catalyst Series in June) transformed fueling into play, with everything from an ice cream truck to a 110-foot obstacle course.
Everyday Dose, whose founder Jack Savage spoke at Wellness House this spring, curated a café each morning around functional coffee and matcha.
Hyperice introduced the Hyperboot, its latest collaboration with Nike.
Rythm made a statement with a 110-foot ferris wheel doubling as a mobile blood-testing lab.
WILDE kept the energy high with WILDE After Dark, Saturday’s post-race celebration.
For us, it’s a reminder of how this community continues to show up, creating activations that are immersive, thoughtful, and impossible to miss.
