The Value of Keeping it Weird [Nathan Allebach]

If you were a person on the internet - especially Twitter - between 2017-2021, you've likely read Nathan's tweets. As the marketing lead on Steak-umm (yes, the frozen beef sheets), Nathan was responsible for taking a tiny food company most folks had never heard of and turning them into a genuine internet celebrity. Not with a spokesperson, but as a brand, offering a buffet of memes, reactions to other companies like Wendy's and Arby's, and philosophical musings usually reserved for college campuses.

Nathan and I chatted about how he came to be responsible for the account, the quirk of timing with the Joe Rogan podcast that helped launch the account, and the peculiar tone set by a previous social media lead that helped pave the way to "Steak-umm Bless". We also discuss how brands in the modern era could (or could not) replicate the success of yesteryear, and how changing platforms have made it more challenging for his work.