100+ MAKERS AND MAVERICKS — 2015.
Each year we compile a list of the one hundred+ people that got us to utter those words ‘I wish I had done that, made that, invented that, thought like that, changed that’. These are the people who shone the brightest for us back in 2015.
Our Maker and Maverick of the 2015 was Elon Musk. As it was in 2014. Why? Because his mission is to protect the human race. To help battle climate change. One step toward that was to give all his patents away to other car companies.
Tech
Matt Cohler, Peter Fenton, Bill Gurley, Mitch Lasky and Eric Vishria
Founding Partners
Benchmark Capital
There are only five of them. Their website has one hyperlink. There are no junior partners or senior partners, only partners. They believe when you restrict yourself in size, there’s nowhere to hide. A speedboat in a world of cruise liners.
Founder/Designer
Oculus
He dreamt up a homemade headset that may transform everything from gaming to medical treatment to engineering. Mark Zuckerberg stopped by the office for a quick demo and ended up buying the company within two weeks.
Founder/CEO
Little Bits
Everyone can invent. That’s the thinking of Ayah who from her engineering background founded Little Bits. It’s an easy-to-use electronic building blocks platform that is empowering everyone to create inventions, large and small.
Co-founder
Pictures are important. And becoming more so. Instagram is simple, easy and beautiful. And it keeps growing. From their platform, the most interesting startups in the world will launch for free. And they will change industries.
Founder
2015 was a big year for Pinterest. They introduced ‘Buyable Pins’ but they won’t charge the retailer a fee or take a cut. There are 60 million buyable pins. The digital curator of products and ideas is playing the long-game.
Founder
Snapchat
Do you get Snapchat? Most people over 30 don’t. But each day over 400 million snaps are sent. And growing. The company is worth $10 billion. That’s because it’s what the kids use. Stories have been a huge hit. Unlikely to disappear.
Founder
We Are Knit
Yes, we work with them. But they are here because they got voted Digital Agency of the Year in the UK. And there are only 15 of them. They can think it, and make it. Very few can bring digital and physical together like these 15 can.
COO
Her husband died in a tragic accident. On her Facebook page she wrote ‘I’ve learned resilience can be learned. I have learned how ephemeral life can be. I can no longer have Plan A. So I am going to kick the shit out of Plan B.’
Chris Sheldrick & Jack Waley-Cohen
Co-founders
What 3 words
Find a 3m x 3m spot anywhere in the world with words. That is the purpose of What 3 Words. Chris and Jack are replacing tired numerical systems of GPS coordinates with just three words from the dictionary. Check. It. Out.
Rhys Newman and Julian Bleecker
Co-founders
Omata Inc
Omata launches this Spring. After seeing early prototypes, we can vouch that they will bring a new level of functionality and design to data that you want while riding your bike. Disruption never looked so beautiful.
Founder, CEO
Uber
Uber makes getting a taxi easier, and cheaper. And they are scaling fast. From India to Portugal to UberEats food delivery service to, one day, self-driving cars. Uber is a global transportation service that has only just began.
Founder
Lowercase capital
He has backed some of the hottest startups out there. An early investor in Twitter, Uber, Kickstarter and Instagram. He is direct. He is insightful. If you have a great idea, he will find you. And back you. He is the lone wolf.
President
Y Combinator
Y Combinator is the startup hit factory with successes like Dropbox and Airbnb. Paul Graham handed the reigns to Sam in 2015. His brief is to go and grow it around the world. London YC has already started. Where next?
Retail
Founder
Best Made Co
Best Made is dedicated to equipping customers with high quality tools and empowering people to get outside, reconnect with their hands and nature, and in doing so, embark on a life of great adventure. A simpler life.
Senior VP of Retail
Apple
Lured from Burberry where she was CEO. She launched the Apple watch in 2015. She believes the universal language is not texted, emailed or spoken, it is felt. It will be fascinating to see how that translates to the Apple stores.
Neil Blumenthal, David Gilboa, Jeffrey Raider, Andrew Hunt
Founders
Warby Parker
It was founded in 2010 with a strong purpose. To offer designer prescription glasses at revolutionary prices and with every pair sold, a pair goes to someone in need. It’s an online business with a small amount of showrooms.
Co-founders
BrewDog
No one has done more for the craft beer revolution in Britain than this Scottish company. They have made their customers shareholders. Their mission is to make people as passionate about good beer as they are.
Founder/CEO
Blue Bottle
James has great taste. Yes he knows how to slurp his way through a coffee tasting, and know which is the best one. But go to his coffee shops, and everything is beautiful, everything designed, everything en pointe.
Founders
MiN
They started their boutique fragrance store in New York back in 2010. They believe finding a new fragrance should be a guided experience, like a wine tasting. The shop is an incredible place to see, and of course, smell.
Founder
Aesop
Aesop skincare was founded in Melbourne in 1987 and now has over 100 boutiques. His quest was to produce the highest quality hair, body and skin care that you can. His stores are simple, calm and each one unique. Inspiring.
Founder/CEO
Monocle Kiosk
What happens when you have one of best magazines on the planet, and the biggest seller of magazines in the UK treats print as a commodity? Well, you show them how: Print newspapers on demand. Great mag titles + great coffee.
Lead Designer
Nike Women
I have two daughters, so each time I walk into the Nike running shop in Cardiff, I am blown away just how good the women’s product is. I couldn’t find out who the lead designer is. But whoever you are, take a bow. You are in the zone.
Co-founders
Dollar Shave Club
They met at a party and spoke of their frustrations with the cost of razor blades. So with their own money set up a monthly subscription service importing blades from S. Korea + China. Having a little fight with P+G now.
Simon Mottram and Luke Scheybeler
Co-founders
Rapha
I remember Simon coming down to the house, and he said he was going to start this cycle clothing company. And he left a cycling book. And me thinking that he would. The cycle cafe mixes coffee with a place for community. + great product.
Wellbeing
Founder/CEO
ClassPass
ClassPass is a $99 subscription service that allows you to go different fitness classes without having to sign up to one gym. So you can have the best of a city, and not just the best of your gym. Currently only available in NY, SF and LA.
Co-founder/CEO/biologist
23 and Me
What does your DNA say about you? Knowing it isn’t for everyone. Some people would rather not. But for some it is incredibly enlightening. 23 and Me is pioneering the way for you to know you. A report starts at £125.
Co-founders
Love Your Brain
Kevin suffered a severe brain injury whilst training for the Winter Olympics in 2010. Against the odds, he ditched the wheelchair and started walking again. The foundation he’s started with his brother helps others get their lives back.
Scientist/Writer
Author of Gut
Giulia believes you should listen to your body. Especially your gut. She won the Science Slam with her talk ‘Charming Bowels’. Giulia is the guru on the least talked about organ in society: the digestive tract. ‘Gut’ is her best-selling book.
Executive Director
Skidrow Housing Trust
Solve housing first, and then everything can be solved. LA’s Skid Row is a street lined with tents. Each night 2,000 people have nowhere to call home. The Trust provides permanent housing to help the homeless. Good design is for everyone.
EVP of Brand and Community
Lululemon
Lululemon has a great reason to exist: To improve the wellbeing of its customers. An amazing culture has grown out of that. A culture that is not a corporate one but a human one. It’ll only get more inspiring under Duke.
Editor in Chief
Huffington Post
The force behind the Huffington Post is using her influential voice to get people to look after themselves. To promote the importance of sleep. And get everyone to learn to switch off their devices so they look after their mental health.
Founder/CEO
Theranos
She has not had the easiest of years in 2015, but the reason she founded a blood test company in 2003 still remains. After her uncle died of cancer she wanted people to diagnose their symptoms faster. And speed matters. It can save lives.
Illustrator/Artist
Author of Animal Kingdom
The battle of stress busting hobbies took the shape of adult colouring books in 2015 which were pioneered by the talented Millie through her book ‘Animal Kingdom’. It was Amazon UK’s best selling book of 2015.
President
Doctors Without Borders
Her organisation has been on the front line of the world’s first Ebola epidemic and went where others had quickly fled, they headed straight toward the outbreak. With 800 experts all working to get W. Africa to zero cases of Ebola.
Fitbit
CEO
What you can measure, you can improve. And when that thing is how much exercise you are taking, it becomes a powerful tool for making the world healthier. Fitbit are proof that wearables can make a difference.
Founder
Breathe Sync
To master mindfulness you have to first master how to breathe. It is something we do over 20,000 times a day, but its surprising how bad we are it. The Breath Sync app teaches us exercises to become much better at it. Inhale. Exhale.
Food
Author/cook/stylist
A Modern Way to Cook
It was a busy year. She had a baby, and she released her new book ‘A Modern Way to Cook’. She’s making going vegetarian much easier. The food looks amazing. And tastes even better. How long before she gets her own TV show?
President/CEO
Beyond Meat
He grew up on a dairy farm. And became a vegetarian. Disappointed with the protein substitutes on offer, he looked for a new way to sustainably turn plants into meat. Beyond Meat is changing the world. One meal at a time.
Lunch Lady
Founder
Kate’s daughter got bullied for the lunches she brought to school. The Lunch Lady blog was started shortly after and became a huge hit online. It is all about the balance of food and family, it’s now also a magazine by the same name.
Farmers/Co-Founders
Yeo Valley
Yeo Valley has been a family business for over 500 years. Farmers, Tim and Sarah, have been taking on the big players in the yoghurt market by supporting British family farmers and sticking to their beliefs in organic farming.
Founder/CEO
Falcon Coffee
Can coffee be used to make change happen? After spending 20 years developing the supply chain from the grower to the customer, he believes this little green bean can change the lives of the growers from towns to countries.
CEO
Souk el-Tayeb
He created the first farmers’ market in Beirut. In a country that has been divided along ethnic and religious lines for decades, the common act of shopping and enjoying the same foods has began to erase invisible barriers.
Chef/Restaurateur/Campaigner
The Jamie Oliver Group
He could just do nothing. He has a successful business, after all. But he continues to campaign for kids to eat healthier. His latest quest is ‘Sugar Rush’ and he is using his fame and his TV muscle to make change happen. Sweet.
Director
Chefs Table.
The awarding film director of the critically acclaimed Jiro Dreams of Sushi took a mini series on Netflix featuring six maverick chefs from around the world and uncovered what drove them to be so good. And made it cult viewing.
Head Chef
Founder
Can one man change how we think of a country’s food? Rene has done a darn good job of that for Denmark. He took it to Japan. And soon Australia. But at its height it will close this year. And the farm project will begin.
Bruichladdich Distillery
CEO
Providence matters. Progressiveness matters. A distillery founded back in 1881 is steeped in history on the Hebridean island of Islay and yet does tastings sessions on Pericsope of its artisanal single malts. Respect the past. Look to the future.
Author/Food Activist/Blogger
Food Babe
Vani is keeping the food industry on its toes. She had 54 million people to her site last year. She looks for ‘unsafe’ ingredients and when she protests on what she finds the companies have to listen. Because their customers are.
CEO
Union Square Hospitality Group
It all started with his first restaurant called Union Square. It would take him another 9 years to open his second. And he now employs over 3,000 people, and has 31 Shake Shacks alone. All based on great food and great service.
Ilia Papas, Matt Salzberg and Matthew Wadiak
Blue Apron
CEO
Live in the city? Not much time to go food shopping? Blue Apron delivers weekly pre-portioned ingredients and recipes to your home. The company recently announced that it had surpassed 1 million meals shipped monthly.
Co-founder/Chef/Author
Blue Hill Manhattan/Blue Hill Stone Barns
Yes, he has won more awards as a chef than most could dream of. But his real influence comes through his books, and his opinion pieces in the New York Times and asking the important question: What is the future of food?
Platforms of Influence
Medium
CEO
Medium has become ‘The network to share ideas and opinion pieces’. It has always been easy to use. But now it is important to use. When Amazon and New York Times had a public spat, they took to Medium to have it.
Entrepreneur/Investor/Strategist
The mighty sleeping giant has awoken. LinkedIn launched in 2003 but something happened in 2015. Suddenly the app got easier, blogging got easier, slideshows got easier. And this thing suddenly got a lot more useful..
Kayvon Beykpour and Joe Bernstein
Periscope
Co-founders
No doubt, this was the most innovative new platform of 2015. It allows you to broadcast live, take questions, and by tapping the screen, your audience can show the love with hearts coming up the side of the screen.
Founder/CEO
Squarespace
Squarespace have made it so simple and easy to build a beautiful website. Their platform builds the small makers, young startups websites. And they all look amazing. Simplicity without extreme effort. So good.
CEO
YouTube
Not everyone can say that Google started life in your garage. But Susan can. And now she heads up YouTube. If you have a story to tell, YouTube is the platform it needs to be on. End of story.
Film maker/YouTuber/Entrepreneur
Beme
In 2015 he launched Beme, his app that allows you to capture moments on your video camera. But in 2015 he cemented his reputation as one of the most interesting daily Vloggers on the planet. Tattoo on his arm reads: try harder.
Entrepreneur/Online Editor/Blogger
Creative Mornings
Creative Mornings is a breakfast lecture series. It is organised by volunteers. And it’s flying. It is now in over 130 creative cities. And has become the platform for the creative generation to have their voice. Tina makes good things happen.
Author/Entrepreneur
Everyday he writes a blog with his thoughts for the day. And millions read it. He has written 17 books. His voice is one of the most consistent, most considered, and most progressive on the net.
CEO/Author/Keynote Speaker
VaynerMedia
The voice of social media had a busy year in 2015. He started the #askgaryvee show. His media company now employs 550 people. He has his fourth book out this March. His previous 3 have all been best sellers. Occasionally doesn’t swear.
CEO/Community Builder
DIY.org
DIY is an online platform for creativity and making. Kids get skills, meet others who share the same passions and generally be awesome. Every member has their own portfolio where they share what they make and do.
Profit+Purpose
Sami Inkinen, Vishal Vasishth, Ev Williams, James Joaquin and Virginia Sapp
Partners/Entrepreneurs/Investors
Obvious Ventures
They are looking to invest in companies that deliver positive social and environmental benefits with every dollar of revenue they earn. They call it #worldpositive venture capital. Where purpose meets profit.
TOMS Shoes/Coffee
Chief Shoe Giver/Founder of Toms
Blake Mycoskie came up with the ‘one-for-one’ way of doing business. He did it for shoes and is now doing the same for coffee. Buy one bag of coffee and provide a week’s worth of clean water to the people that grow it. Genius.
Yancey Strickler, Perry Chen and Charles Adler
Kickstarter
Co-Founders
In 2015 Kickstarter became a B corp. So the gold standard for crowdfunding platforms and completely vision-led got even more transparent. Only the best projects came to life. So far 95,971 Mavericks and Makers projects got funded.
Virgin Group
Tie-loathing adventurer/Troublemaker/Philanthropist
When it looked like he was going to lose his rail franchise, hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition of protest. That says a lot. He’s an advocate for change and good causes. On the side of the customer.
Sugru
Founder
Jane wants you to fix things. She wants you to hack things. She wants you to improve. Sugru helps you do that. It’s so diverse in its uses, you can’t really say exactly what it’s used for. Apply it to everything.
Founder
A Vida Portuguesa
Catarina created a place for Portuguese makers to demonstrate their heritage in Lisbon. All that skill + knowledge has not been forgotten. The shop supports small batch traditional producers and only stocks Portuguese brands.
Airbnb
CEO
Brian believes we can all have a sense of belonging when we travel. He saw a way to build a company. And in the process build a community. So we shouldn’t feel like strangers. He is a travel revolutionary.
CEO
Unilever
The biggest change will come from mainstream, and it doesn’t get any more mainstream than Unilever. He is on a mission to give all his brands a social mission. To show that purpose driven brands, can make change. And money.
CEO/Chief Product Architect
Tesla/Solar City/Space X/Battery
Elon Musk has a mission to save mankind. It may explain why when his car company after spending billions on technology to make his cars have a lower impact on the environment, he gave all his patents away.
C0-founders
Patagonia
First they used their clothing company to get us consider the environment and the impact we all have on it. Now they are taking their viewpoint of the world to get us to rethink the food chain. To inspire environmental solutions.
Brave Wales
Founder/Commercial Director
Zip World
It’s a great when your infrastructure is already built. You just put it to a different use. In just two years they have gone from an idea to a £5 million Co. Going downhill fast isn’t what every company desires. But this one does.
Actor
We all know him as a great actor in everything from ‘Damned United’ to ‘The Queen’, but in the Tredegar march to celebrate the founder of the NHS, Aneurin Bevan. He gave a speech and told politicians ‘By God, believe in something’.
Sprint Cyclist
In 2015 the double world champion put the work in. She trained. And trained. And stayed injury free. And low and behold, when they named the team for the Great Britain cycling squad for World Cup finale, Becky’s name was in there.
Co-founders
Welsh Water
From a shed in Wales they raised one of Britain’s biggest bonds so that Welsh Water could have no shareholder, and Glas Cymru, its holding company, is run solely for the benefit of its customers. World glass.
Welsh Government
Deputy Director Directors and Business
How do you convince Hollywood to make films in Wales? How do you convince Pinewood to set up a studio in Wales? Old unused factories make it super cost effective. In 2014/15 Natasha brought £33 million in. May the force be with her.
Founder
Wrights Food Emporium
Is it a Cafe? Is it a Deli? Is it a Supper Club? Or it is just a great beautiful mash up of all three. I think the latter. Off the beaten track, somewhere in Carmarthen, so set the Sat Nav. And it’s packed full. Kudos to the team.
Chairman/Founder/Tech Investor
He has founded or funded over 100 high tech communication startups. He is Wales’ first billionaire. And he is investing back in Wales. The Celtic Manor has brought the Ryder Cup to Wales. And has a restaurant that is World Class.
Designer/Strategist
Smorgasboard Studios
He lives both in Amsterdam and Cardiff and runs an independent design studio who believe in purposely remaining small, which allows them to pick and choose their clients. In 2015 they won the account for rebranding Wales.
Investing Partner/Writer/Author
Sequoia Capital
Michael is a Welsh born venture capitalist who arrived in America in the early 80's. He joined Sequoia in 1986 who invest in early stage startups and can count Apple and Google as investments. In 2015 he wrote Alex Ferguson’s book.
Founder
Hay Festival
It started back in 1988 from the winnings of a poker game. It has become a world leading book festival. It was described by Bill Clinton as ‘the Woodstock for the mind’. If you write a book, this is where you need to launch it.
CEO
Swansea Bay Lagoon
To use the power of the tide to generate electricity is a smart one, of course the environmental impact is a key one to look at, but the scale of this project is staggering. It will cost £1 billion. Time will tell if the Government will back it.
Founder/CEO
Global Welsh
To change the fortunes of Wales, it has to harness the Welsh people who left physically. But not emotionally. This is called the ‘Diaspora’ and Walter is on a quest to get these people to invest back in the homeland.
Video Engineer/Coder
Periscope
He has worked on digital video for 27 years. A few years ago he wrote some basic code that demonstrated how to do a video streaming from an iPhone and put it out there. The founders of Periscope saw it. The rest you know.
Creativity
Photographer
For Magdalena ‘Freedom is about living in the moment. It’s not staged with light boxes and a tripod’. Her Instagram feed reflects her desire to seek adventure in the wilderness of California with ‘point and shoot’ cameras.
Typographer/Designer/Printer
Erik is something special. As one of the world’s most renowned typographers, he has shaped the way we see words through typeface design. Same can be said for graphic design. And oh, if you can see him talk, do just that. He’ll inspire you.
Designer/Author/Artist/Keynote Speaker
James Victore Inc.
His Burning Questions weekly videos became a must view source of inspiration for the creative community in 2015. Each week he talks you through a topic that every creative has to face, learn about, go through. Heartfelt gold.
Photographer
Alec is one of the top documentary photographers in the world. His book ‘Songbook’ was a stand out book of the year. He took to the road and went across America to make it. To him ‘the most beautiful thing is vulnerability’.
Artist /Writer/Author
From Glastonbury to Australia, to a retrospective exhibition ‘The Panic Office’, 2015 was another big year for Stanley. He continues to be amongst Britain’s most important artists. He has worked with Radiohead since 1994. Legend.
Principal
Olson Kundig Architects
As an accomplished alpine climber, Kundig is familiar with the rugged outdoors of tall trees, rocks, lakes, big sky, as well as with ropes and other mountaineering equipment, all of which have influenced his way of designing.
Artist
His Dismaland caught the imagination of the world. It had 150,000 visitors and boosted the local economy by £20 million. From doing backdrops to unknown bands, to Clown skateboards, he has become a global star.
Urban Activist
JR never stops. In 2015 he took his art to Boston, to Hong Kong and to the UN Climate Change conference. His latest leap of faith is a short narrative film, starring Robert De Niro about an immigrants stay at Ellis Island.
Photographer
He loves taking long, long train rides. And a stunning set of photographs have come from it. ‘So long as you like the outdoors life and you don’t mind getting dirty and not having a change of clothes for months, it’s pretty great’.
Executive Creative Director/Runner
Wieden and Kennedy
When lots of creatives try and win awards, Susan Hoffman goes all out to find the truth. Low and behold the truth connects emotionally with people, and ends up winning lots of awards too. Truth wins.
Actor/Comedian/Chauffeur
If you haven’t seen one of his carpool interviews, go and have a look. If there is a prize for someone who is enjoying himself the most, then he gets it. He drives around LA in his Range Rover and sings with the stars he picks up. So funny.
Actress/Campaigner/UN Goodwill Ambassador
Her speech at the UN went viral on YouTube. She made the decision to balance her on-screen jobs with her work for HeForShe gender equality crusade, and her role as a UN Goodwill Ambassador. Plus she had her second cover on Vogue.
Artist/Activist/Blogger
He has been detained. He has had his passport taken away. But continues to be an icon for a progressive China. In 2015 he had a bit of a spat with Lego which got his ‘free speech’ show talked about. He was also exhibited in London at RCA.
Illustrator/Aritist
Self taught. And uses materials in an improper, instinctive way; a mixture of control and accident. This creates imperfections and warmth to help her stand out in a perfect world. ‘A little bit gnarly but closer to the truth, I hope.’
Co-founder
Dazed
At 19 he started Dazed and Confused with Rankin. Today it has grown into a media empire. Still independent. Still innovating. While others feared Digital, Dazed were pushing it forward. From films to events, they push. Ever forward.
John Boiler, Glenn Cole and Robert Nakata
Co-founders
72andSunny
Building an ego free culture has helped 72andSunny become one of the most creative communications agencies in the world. Voted best agency twice already, and in 2015 was voted in Fast Company’s top 100 most innovative companies.
Co-creator/Host/Executive Producer/Journalist
Serial/American Life
Serial was the fastest podcast to be downloaded 5 million times on iTunes. Ever. It won a prestigious Peabody award in 2015 for being an audio game changer. What Sarah, and the rest of team did was put Podcasts back on the map.
For the Planet
Still at School/Scientists
At 14, most of us struggled to do our homework on time. But these Irish girls (plus one not in photo) completed a paper ‘Combating the Global Food Crisis’ which showed how bacteria could speed up germination process. It’s a big deal.
Author/Journalist/Activist
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”. That is his ethos. His books have made him one of the world’s most influential food writers. His focus in 2015 was getting us to think about choosing climate friendly food.
Co-founder/Actress
The Honest Company
She broke out in hives after using baby laundry detergent, and started looking for better products. In the end she had to start a company to make them. They now make more than 120 products, all formulated without toxic chemicals.
Founder
Rainforest Connection
Rainforest Connection uses upcycled mobile technology to monitor and protect remote forests, enabling real-time interventions. So your old phone isn’t saving the world stuck in a draw. Put it to some use, give it to these folk.
Founder/CEO
Bio-bean
Bio-bean has industrialised the process of recycling waste coffee grounds into advanced bio-fuels. As we drink more and more coffee, the supply of waste coffee grows bigger by the day. It’s good to know our waste isn’t going to waste.
Doug Tomkins -RIP
Outdoorsman/Conservationist/Entrepreneur
Alas, he went out in his kayak with friends in Chile when a strong wind tipped him over. He did not survive the icy waters. He started North Face. He started Esprit. He conserved over 2 million acres of wilderness in Chile and Argentina.
CEO
Janicki Bioenergy
They’re changing sanitation and water treatment in the developing world. It is based on the principle that sewage contains about 80% water and 20% biomass. The biomass has enough energy in it to steralise and boil the water.
Alina Rwei, Chris Lai and Sasha Huang
Co-founders/Students at MIT
AquaFresco
Washing machines use 20 gallons of water to remove one tablespoon of dirt. These three students at MIT invented AquaFresco, a type of filter that allows washing machines to reuse 95% of the water produced from each load.
Inventor/Teacher
Zeer pot
A Zeer pot fridge consists of one earthenware pot set inside another, with a layer of wet sand in between. As the moisture evaporates it cools the inner pot, keeping up to 12kg of fruit and vegetables fresher for up to 20 days.
Engineer
ICCT
Acting on a hunch, on behalf of his not for profit ‘International Council on Clean Transportation’, he ignored conventional ways of testing car emissions, and the results surprised him. But not VW, well, they already knew.
Author/Doctor
‘Missing Microbes’
He has been a doctor for over 30 years, and he has seen the increasing use of antibiotics to solve everything and anything. Doctor Blaser believes the overuse of antibiotics is fuelling our modern plagues like diabetes. A lone voice.
Words That Matter
Internet’s Managing Editor
Nextdraft
There are newsletters. And there are newsletters. And your time is limited. David takes the news and puts his spin on it. It’s funny as hell. Poignant as hell. Often only brilliant. But mostly it’s better than that. Sign up today.
Author/Media Columnist/Keynote Speaker
Ryan Holiday is a media strategist and prominent writer on strategy and business. His book ‘Obstacle is the Way’ is not a book at all, but an operating system for life and business. Sign up to his blog and newsletter.
Writer/Designer/MacDowell fellow
His essays are something to savour. He writes seldom. But he writes good. And he makes them look so amazing. He is currently writing a book which means less essays. Drat. His essays are on his website and up on Medium.
Author
We’re all fighting this internal battle: Tech vs. Luddite. Andrew Keen’s books strike a chord as he analyses the impact of the Internet and highlights the importance of being offline. Insightful and timely reading.
Tina Essmakerna and Ryan Essmakerna
Editor in Chief
The Great Discontent
This magazine is what happens when you put words that matter against photographers that matter. It features inspiring conversations with today’s artists, makers, and risk-takers. Focusing on beginnings, creativity, and risk.
Paul Arden -RIP
Art Director/Creative Director/Author
His book ‘It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be’ seems as timely now as it was when it came out. It’s still going strong in ‘Urban Outfitters’. I smile every time I see it on sale somewhere. He was my old boss.
Founder
Do Book Co
To start a branded book platform with no investors, no marketing cash, the odds are against you succeeding. But Do Books is beginning to fly. Selling all over the world. And staging events in London and Bristol. She’s a doer.
Entrepreneur/Author/Weightlifter
How do you get more done? How can small habits change your lives, and society, for the better. Through an understanding of behavioural psychology, habit formation, his blogs help you understand you better.
Artist/Designer/Author
Well, 2015 was a bit of a year. She launched her book ‘The Crossroads of Should and Must’, and then launched 100 self portraits in 100 days. She works out of her studio in San Fran, where she paints, designs, and writes.
Author
Amongst writers and creatives, his books have become required reading. And re-reading. There are three books: The Art of War; Do the Work; and Turning Pro. You will buy them for yourself first. Then you will buy them to share them.
Music
Musicians
Royal Blood
In 2015 they won the best British band at the Brits. They got voted best live act in Q magazine. In a world of vanilla, sure is nice to go to concert and leave knowing that you won’t be able to hear anything for a couple of hours.
Co-founder
Festival Number 6
Very quickly, this annual art and music festival held at Portmeirion, in Wales, has become the cult music festival. In 2015 Grace Jones headlined. But the whole vibe of the place is what really stole the show.
Co-organiser
Glastonbury
Her dad started it, but Emily has been increasingly getting more involved. Last year the headline acts were the Foo Fighters, Kanye West, The Who and Pharrell Williams. It is the largest greenfield festival in the world.
Singer/Songwriter/Pianist/Poet
From spending two years busking for food on the streets of Paris to signing to a major record label. The singer-songwriter was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2015. And he went on to win it. Not a bad year.
Co-president
Rough Trade
These are not shops. They are cultural hubs. These are places to hang out in an environment that celebrates the art, not the commodity. You can find one in London, New York and Nottingham. Vinyl has its church.
Singer/Songwriter
‘To Apple. Love Taylor.’ With those words the folk at No 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino quickly changed their plan for not paying artists during the 3 month trial with Apple music. She writes a good letter. And a good pop song.
Thom Yorke, Ed O’Brien, Philip Selway, Colin Greenwood,Jonny Greenwood
Musicians/Singer Songwriters/Influencers
Radiohead
In September 2015 Radiohead holed up in the studio working on their ninth studio album. As always, they keep pushing it. Iterate. Iterate. Iterate. Once they are happy, there are rumours of a tour in 2016.
Musician/Singer Songwriter
Third Man Records/Tidal
In 2015 he toured. And toured. And then on the last gig, he announced he was taking a break in 2016 from touring. He is co-owner of Tidal which is better than CD quality streaming. He has a vinyl press. The music won’t stop.
Vice President
Apple Music
Apple music will mean iTunes days are numbered. But Apple thinks it is better to cannibalise yourself than let someone else do it for you. Is it better than Spotify? The customer will decide that.
The Arcs
Musicians/Singer Songwriters
The Arcs is an American garage rock band formed by the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach. Arctic Monkeys were the support band for the Black Keys on their last big tour. It was a hugely influential time for them.
Sport
Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai
CrossFit
Founders
Not many people can say they invented a whole new sport, but CrossFit comes close. It is a philosophy as well as a competitive fitness sport. It involves high intensity interval training with weights and other exercises.
Writer/Speaker/Business Consultant
Author of ‘Legacy’
How does a team dominate a sport when it has neither the most players, or the most money? It creates a team philosophy where everyone has to sweep the floor, where you have to leave the jersey better than you found it. No egos here.
CEO/Director
Sport England
Research showed one of the strongest themes stopping women form doing sport was a fear of judgment: Wrong size, not fit enough and not skilled enough came up time and again. ‘This Girl Can’ advertisement tackled that head on.
Founder
McNair Shirt
As a professional snowboarder, he knew what he wanted from a mountain shirt. He wanted simplicity, silence, warmth. He wanted it to be naturally breathable. He couldn’t find one who did that. So he made one. Instant classic.
Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice
Founder
Soul Cycle
SoulCycle is indoor cycling re-invented. Set in a dark candlelit room to high-energy music, riders move in unison as a pack to the beat and follow the signature choreography of the instructors. It’s tribal. It’s primal. And it’s fun.
Coach/President of Knicks/Author
As a basketball coach he has won 11 NBA titles. His nickname is the ‘Zen Master’ which has come from his holistic approach to guiding his teams. He believes the egoless team is the one that gives, learns, and wins the most. He should know.
Charlie Engle knows what it’s like to run America. He knows what it’s like to run the Sahara Desert. He is one of the most accomplished ultra-marathon runners in the world. 2016 could be his year.
Rider
Inspired Bicycles
Danny MacAskill is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He is a street trials pro rider who just keeps making great film after great film. In November 2015 he released Cascadia. 11 million views. And counting.
Co-CEO’s
EXO Protein Bars
Crickets are one of the best sources of protein there are. Better than eggs. Better than chicken. Better than salmon. So Greg and Gabi had the idea of making protein bars out of crickets. Yup, nature provides.
Founder
Otter Surfboards
When a passion for surfing and a passion for fine woodworking come together, something beautiful can happen. The Otter surfboards are just that. They make a handcrafted hollow skin and frame wooden surfboard of utter beauty.
Product
Founder/Maker
Blok Knives
From his workshop that dates back to the late 1700’s, he handmakes his kitchen knives. They are not fast to make. But speed holds no interest for him. He is only interested in making a good knife. There’s a long old waiting list.
Managing Director
Naim
Naim saw the future before most other audio companies. They saw the importance of digital. So they pioneered streaming. And got very good at it. They launched the Mu-So in 2015. And oh boy, it’s good.
Shoe Designer/Maker/Owner
Grenson Shoes
A shoe company that started in 1866 would not be blamed for resting on its heritage and history. But under Tim’s leadership Grenson has become one of the most forward looking shoe companies out there. Forward he goes.
Co-founders
Solidwool
What happens when the wool on your local sheep has no value. You have to think different. To take the unwanted and make it beautiful.The end result is Solidwool. A composite material. Genius. Think fibreglass, but with wool.
Designer/Vice President
Apple Watch
No company has done more learning about wearables than Apple. For sport and for health it will come into its own. To be this useful when something is this small, says a lot about the design of it. That’s what Mr Ive does best.
CEO
Hobbs House Bakery
They have been baking since the 1920’s. A true family business with five generations of baking experience. They believe in real bread. They started a cookery school. And now Tom is going to lead the next generation of bakers.
Founder
Tallowin Leather
Mark founded it with a single aim, as simple as it is ambitious; to create the finest handbags available. He crafts them out of the the finest Italian leathers, handstitched in French linen. Current waiting list times are on the website.
Founder
Go Pro
While on hiatus in Australia and Indonesia on a surf trip, he used a 35mm camera attached to the palm of his hand by a rubber band to try and capture his surfing activities on film. There’s a moral there: Always be prototyping.
Founder/Brewer
Kernel Beer
Since Opening in 2009, he has become one of the most respected small brewers. Kernel’s fresh and hoppy pale ales are some of the best tipple that can be had in all of London and beyond. This is the one all the beer geeks rave about.
Hedley and Bennett
Founder
From climbing through a window in the famous Providence restaurant to get a job there, she has started an apron company that brings design, colour and a joy of life to the kitchen. She is a genuine force of nature. No stopping her.
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