Some Healthy Competition: Mac & Nate, Laundry Service

 

We met in a class called “Confidence” during our senior year of college. One of our first assignments was to read a children’s book to a group of kindergartners, and if our memories serve us correctly, we crushed it. A year or so later, we found out we were starting at Laundry Service Portland around the same time. We figured if we could own a room full of kids we could do our thing as a creative duo.

How would you describe the relationship between you two? In what ways has the dynamic changed since you first began working together?

Our relationship is best described as Billy Hoyle and Sidney Deane from “White Men Can’t Jump”. 

First and foremost, we’re homies. That always comes first. When it’s time to work, we come to the table with a mutual sense of understanding and respect because we know we got each other. We’re also pretty competitive – in a healthy way, you know? We challenge our own ideas. We refuse to stop at  “good enough”. We hold each other, and our work, to a high standard. 

Tell us about the first campaign you worked on as a duo. 

It happened to be for one of the biggest sneaker drops ever. We had been partners for about 3-4 months and we were super hungry to make something impactful. We came to Jordan Brand with a big idea, and after a few rounds of re-pitching and refining we were fortunate enough to travel the world and bring it to life. (“We” as in Macaihah because Nate didn’t have his passport yet). We’re eternally grateful for our team’s guidance and support on this project. None of it would’ve been possible without them.

Do you have a favorite campaign you've worked on together?

Each project has been special in that it's taught us something new.

But honestly, most of our favorite work can be found in the collapsed slides of a pitch deck. Mac calls it the graveyard, but it's come to resemble more of a cemetery over the past year and a half – full of "out there" ideas with heart, but no home.

What has been the hardest part of working together? How do you resolve creative conflicts?

It can be hard for us to shut it off at times. That might not sound like an issue, but the amount of times we interact via IG DM’s in one day is a problem. For us, creative conflicts are best solved by getting out of the office and playing a game of H.O.R.S.E.     

Is there any advice you'd give to young creatives looking for a partner, or a duo just getting their start?

Look for people whose passion matches yours.

Look out for people who overuse first person singular pronouns.

Do you have a dream account that you haven't had the opportunity to work on yet?

Nate would say Outdoor Voices. Macaihah would say Complex.

We'd both agree that Jordan Brand is pretty dreamy.