-Mrs. Hansen, 4th Grade (2006)
TLDR;
Professionally: People call me a digital architect. Idk what that means but I'm a marketing & sales consultant+creator for 7 & 8 figure personal brands, podcaster, copywriter, brand advisor, and offer designer.
Personally: I'm a superhero nerd, baseball fanatic, lover of music, softball coach, breakfast burrito aficionado, tattoo canvas, college dropout, and relentlessly curious student of life.
I saw a timeline like this on a website one time and thought it was rad.
So I decided to take that idea and make it my own.
* The business shit starts in 2015 and gets juicy in 2018.
At least the legal ones...
(opt-in to the free email list to read some crazy stories here.)
Let's begin.
Born on November 20th in Los Angeles, CA.
Irrelevant, but also the year Derek Jeter (my favorite athlete) won Rookie of the Year and the Yankees (my favorite team) won the World Series.
My Pops puts me in a legitimate wiffle ball league as my first taste of playing organized baseball.
It'd quickly become the thing I loved most in the entire world for the next 18 years of my life.
I "graduate" 4th grade and as I leave campus on the last day of school, I visit my favorite teacher I've ever had. Her name was Mrs. Hansen.
She looked at me at 10 years old and gave me advice I'll never forget:
"Don't be an asshole. Nobody likes an asshole." - Mrs. Hansen
Hint: This is one of the secrets from The Freedom Scrolls.
I graduate high school on the Dean's List.
I turn down scholarships and walk-on offers to small DI and DII schools for baseball and academics.
(I was terrified of the idea of debt and asking my parents for that much money to help me go to school. I didn't realize how bad my emotional money blocks were for another 5 years).
My brother starts a few successful online businesses so I get to see what financial success looks like as an entrepreneur.
I start reading + listening to Tim Ferriss... A decision that forever changed my life.
I get my Associate's Degree in Entrepreneurship from Irvine Valley Community College and end up on the Dean's List again.
I also hang up the cleats and stop playing baseball... A decision that caused a gnarly identity crisis and a ton of anxiety for me.
I transfer to Cal State University, Fullerton to get my B.A. in Entrepreneurship.
I drop out of school within 3 days after a few absolutely absurd conversations with the "business professors".
I really go through an identity crisis after not being a baseball player anymore.
I binge-watch GaryVee content and Youtube entrepreneurs and get sold on how easy starting an Ecom business is.
My Dad and I start a cosmetics brand together called Bock's Naturals.
* It fails miserably.
I wasted $22,641 of my Dad's money.
... Fuuuucking awkward, amiright?
I realize I have to get real experience in the business world.
My first thought is to work at a marketing agency so I could see + help multiple clients right away.
I compete in a competition with over 100 people to become an intern at Common Thread Collective to become a digital marketer.
I become one of three people that get hired.
It changed my life and I meet mentors like Jordan Palmer, Taylor Holiday, Andrew Faris, Josh Rodarmel, and Nick Shackelford.
I learned through hella experience working with or around brands like:
- Lululemon
- North Face
- Diff
- Theragun
- Colour Pop
- APL
- Wilson
- QALO
- '47 Brands
- Smart Cups
I later become a Brand Manager for Fielder's Choice Goods and the youngest employee at their parent company, a holding company named 4x400.
It's 6:38am.
I'm first person in the office in the office and impressed with myself.
It's now 7:41am...
... and I'm walking out of the office.
Why?
I got fired.
Welp.
What did I do the next day?
I texted all 5 owners of the business and thanked them for the opportunity.
... Because you never know, you know?
I start my own freelance digital marketing side hustle called Uncommon Ventures.
Jordan Palmer (part owner of Common Thread Collective and former NFL quarterback) becomes my first client.
* He specifically acknowledges how I handled being fired at Common Thread Collective and tells me that's why we should continue the relationship.
I start to realize I was pretty good at this digital marketing thing and started to work with + advise verified and 6-8 figure brands such as:
- Jordan Palmer & QB Summit
- Chalene Johnson
- Brock Johnson
- Mia Finnegan
- Billy Hinzo
- Ben Briggs
- Kaleb Fossum
- Matt Artisan
I also dove deep into the workings of Ian Stanley and tackle some emotional issues with money.
I join his flagship coaching program, 90 Days To Freedom, for $5,000. This helps systemize my offering as a digital marketing freelancer.
... Within 7 days, I land five-figures in client contracts.
Within 3 months, I buy my dream car.
A Lambo? A Ferrari? Rolls Royce?
Nope. A midnight gray convertible Chevy Camaro.
Why?
It looks like the Bat-Mobile at night and Batman is fucking rad. My dad drove a 2001 Z28 Camaro growing up and I thought it was the coolest car in the world.
I start a podcast with my best friend, Kaleb Fossum, during COVID like every other person in the world did.
... (That links to his Instagram. From there, you can find a lot about what he does. He'll be one of the greatest blessings to your life and I highly suggest you inhale+binge his content and products. He has my highest recommendation.)
The podcast is called the Be Uncommon Podcast where we riff on what it means to be human, your unique individuality, and how to design a life that brings joy to your soul.
I keep building my freelance business - focusing primarily on email marketing and copywriting.
I raise my prices up to $750 per email and have a record month working only 18 hours total over 30 days.
This becomes the inspiration behind The 90 Minute Workday.
Kaleb and I riff on building the Be Uncommon Podcast into an actual brand with physical + digital products.
We fuck around and send a video to The Dyrdek Machine (Rob Dyrdek's venture capital studio).
Kaleb and I end up pitching Rob Dyrdek on a theoretical product on his podcast.
Listen to the episode here.
Rob has been one of my favorite entrepreneurs since I was like 19 years old because of the way he attacked business as a "nobody skateboarder from Ohio."
It was one of the most surreal moments of my life at the time.
I start coaching Varsity softball at my old high school because I miss the game of baseball and have the time of my life doing it.
I design a lifestyle full of whatever I wanna do that day.
I workout, read, write, coach, and create.
I work 1-2 hours per day, tops.
I move from Orange County, CA to Austin, TX.
Now we're here...
Building the pages you're reading of Chase Energy while still running my one man offer creation studio, Uncommon Ventures.
That's the gist of it.
Thanks for your time and attention.
I'm just trying to help and I encourage you to question all the people you choose to give your attention to - including me.
Let's chase energy together, yeah?
Ride the lightning,
Luke Bockenstette
P.S...
Wondering where to go now?
Finger-Punch Me
