Let's Hear It For The Disruptors

At Urban Jack, nothing fires us up more than a real sense of independence. Independence of mind, body and spirit. It’s what makes us ready to take on the world our way. Every day. 

It’s a spirit that we see in all the stuff that really excites us. The people, the companies and the organisations that take the world by the scruff of the shoulders, give it a good shake down, and say ‘we could do this so much better.’ Because, at Urban Jack, we think independence is just another word for being a disruptor. And we love the disruptors.

They’re the ones who think big. The ones who, free from the Death-by-PowerPoint presentations, the board meetings and the strategic projections, are liberated to think out of the corporate box.

Whether we like it or not, there’s no denying it: if we’re not careful, the people with the loudest voices, the deepest advertising budget and the biggest social media presence tell us what clothes to wear, what music to listen to and what to think about...fill in the blank.

It’s hard to go against the flow. But when you do, magic follows.

It’s why great independent thinkers like Elon Musk are planning for space travel while big multinational aircraft manufacturers are still building planes that shuttle across the oceans. It’s why all those awesome apps like Shazam and Deliveroo (and by the way, what did we do before Deliveroo?!) are built by startups in sheds, only to be sucked up by Google and Facebook and the like.

And why all the best games are made by indie developers - think Bethesda Studio’s Fallout and Skyrim, and think Blizzard’s World of Warcraft - while the big boys watch and weep.

Yeah, disruptors are a precious, precious thing. They’re like evolutionary mutations. Quantum leaps in our DNA. And you can be one too. We all can be. We just have to have the courage to do things our way. 

Have the belief that, sometimes, swimming against the tide takes you into wonderful, unchartered waters. And yes, they may be choppy - but we’ll take wild swimming over lane swimming at the local council pool any day. Especially if it’s the sort of swimming that leads to a bloke coming round on a bike to deliver a pizza from our favourite restaurant.

But here’s the thing. When it comes to independence, not all is what it seems. And that’s why we’re glad you’re here. Because, much as we’re proud to be an independent, it irks us that some brands put on independent clothes but are anything but.

Because you know that cool, quirky shaving range you’ve seen on the shelves in your supermarket? Well, it’s just possible it’s not quite as independent as you’d think. 

Did you know, for example, that approximately 182 skincare and beauty brands are owned by just seven multinational conglomerates? As consumers, we like to think that we're making a conscious decision when we buy from a certain brand, especially when it comes to the stuff we slather on our face.

But it’s hard to resist the pull of these mega-companies when they’re spending billions on advertising  every year.  And, hey, good luck to them. Just because you’re big definitely doesn’t mean you’re bad. But a little knowledge is a good thing to have: so always check the small print.

And remember,  without the Steve Jobs, the Afrika Bambaataas, the JK Rowlings and Quentin Tarantinos  - people who followed their bliss, ignored the experts, and did things their way - the world would be a much duller place.

So think about it. How independently minded is your next move gonna be?