Podcast · Tech & Science

The Futur with Chris Do

The Futur Podcast is a show that explores the interesting overlap between design, marketing, and business. Our host (and CEO of The Futur), Chris Do, hold candid conversations with inspirational people from the worlds of design, technology, marketing, business, philosophy and personal…

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 27 min
Latest: 7 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

7 Oct 2026 · 44 min

Your Betrayal Works for You w/ Dr. John Demartini | Ep 454

A woman still resents the friend who broke her trust years ago. The story she tells about it is that people tear you down when you shine too bright. Chris Do hands the room to Dr. John Demartini, who runs his method on her live and in front of everyone: narrow the story to one specific act, find where she has done the same thing herself, then account for what that act actually gave her across career, money, family, friendships, health, and identity. Twelve minutes later she is not forgiving as a favor, she is thanking the friend, and she means it. Dr. Demartini has spent fifty-two years on…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

30 Sep 2026 · 4 min
Going Viral Won't Build Your Brand w/ Chris Do | Ep 453
There's a version of Hawk Tuah Girl in every algorithm feed: one clip, one accident, one viral moment that turns into an identity overnight. Chris Do says that's not a strategy, it's luck, and luck runs out. What actually holds up over years comes from solving the same problem for the same person long enough that your name becomes the answer. Chris explains his own 90-day blueprint for finding that thread: a month to experiment, a month to narrow in, and a month to commit fully. He ties it to Seth Godin's "The Dip," the flat, unrewarding stretch where most people quit right before the payoff…
23 Sep 2026 · 29 min
The Truth Behind Scroll-Stopping Thumbnails w/ Brittney Carlini | Ep 452
Brittney Carlini taught herself Photoshop to make thumbnails for her husband's YouTube channel because they couldn't afford to hire anyone. Now she builds tension into every frame she designs, a bar of soap forged from steel, a jet-powered go-kart racing a closing railroad crossing, the eye of a man about to swallow a pill. Chris compares the work to movie poster marketing, the cracked egg on the Alien poster, the shark in Jaws, neither of which appears in the actual film. The two land on where exaggeration turns into a lie, and whether AI tools now generating thumbnails in seconds will ever…
16 Sep 2026 · 30 min
Why Your Copy Isn't Converting w/ Joanna Wiebe | Ep 451
Joanna Wiebe invented conversion copywriting, and after eight years of barely-there YouTube growth, she grew her channel 3,000% in three months. She demonstrates the problem-agitate-solution and desire-obstacle-solution frameworks live with Chris, argues that voice of customer data beats clever taglines every time, and outlines the three-part moat she's building against AI: a book, YouTube, and stages. She also names the mistake founders make when they hire someone to fix a problem they should be solving themselves, and makes the case for personality over polish in a world where AI can…
9 Sep 2026 · 26 min
Why AI Can't Teach Taste w/ Brooke Hopper | Ep 450
Brooke Hopper is Adobe’s first Senior Principal Designer, and one of the people building Firefly from the inside. She tells Chris why Adobe licenses every image it trains on and pays the artists behind it, why she still gets bad results out of the tool she helped build, and why she's skeptical anyone should learn taste from a machine. She makes the case for designing for "intentional friction" instead of removing it, defines what agentic AI means past the buzzword, and names what she wants gen AI to do for designers: less content generated for its own sake, more time spent on the ideas…
2 Sep 2026 · 27 min
Know When to Quit w/ John Lee | Ep 449
John Lee went from selling prawn crackers and used game cartridges as a teenager to closing property deals with none of his own money, and eventually building a career across real estate, sales training, social media, and AI. In this conversation, Chris Do and John break down WIIFT (What's In It For Them), a mentor lesson that reframed John's failing investor pitches by moving the ask from "do you have the money" to "here's what's in it for you," turning years of rejection into funded deals. They also get into how to tell a real pivot from quitting too early, why doubt (not lack of skill) is…
26 Aug 2026 · 44 min
Scaling A Solo Creative Business w/ Matt Essam | Ep 448
Matt Essam, author of The Creative Studio Roadmap, joins Chris Do for a live episode recorded in front of a studio audience to break down the pillars of turning a solo creative business into one that scales: differentiation, communication, and delivery. Chris and Matt pull audience members into the hot seat to work through real pricing blocks, story-driven positioning, and the shift from selling yourself to selling your process, live and in real time. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:02) - Freelancer vs Business Owner (03:10) - Charging By The Job (05:37) - What Are Phantom Loops (09:14) -…
19 Aug 2026 · 35 min
Stop Studying, Start Learning w/ Justin Sung | Ep 447
Dr. Justin Sung was a practicing physician before he became one of the most-watched learning coaches online, and in this conversation he takes apart the biggest myth people believe about how they learn: that everyone has a fixed "learning style" they should lean into. Justin walks Chris through what actually drives fast, durable learning: the discomfort of overwhelm, the discipline of turning confusion into questions, and why understanding something is not the same as remembering it. They get into how this applies to neurodivergent learners, what makes a great teacher versus a great…
12 Aug 2026 · 43 min
Perfectionism Is Killing Your Brand w/ Matt Gray | Ep 446
Matt Gray built and exited companies, grew audiences into the millions across three ventures, then turned that same systems thinking toward his own personal brand and scaled it to over 3 million followers. In this conversation, Matt walks Chris through the full arc: getting sober and using a messy, unstructured writing practice as the starting point, learning to ship imperfect content instead of waiting to get it right, building a content waterfall system that turns one piece of work into dozens, and eventually structuring an offer simple enough to sell off a single Google Doc. It is a…
5 Aug 2026 · 39 min
The Psychology of Personal Style w/ Kimberly Parry | Ep 445
Chris Do welcomes stylist and archetypal coach Kimberly Parry to explore the deep connection between clothing, confidence, and identity. Parry walks through her Succeed with Style framework, the psychology behind why people sabotage a new look the moment they try it on, and the Bro Pro, Faux Pro, and GOAT archetypes she uses to help clients figure out who they actually are before they touch a closet. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:27) - Fashion vs Image vs Style (06:00) - What Swag Really Means (09:03) - Why Men Resist Change (14:14) - Fashion and Identity Formation (21:56) - Coaching…
29 Jul 2026 · 33 min
The 3 Rules of Personal Branding Nobody Tells You w/ Chris Do | Ep 444
Most people build a brand around what they do. Chris Do says that's exactly why no one remembers them. In this episode, Drigo sits down with Chris to dig into the philosophy behind his new workbook, Unbland Yourself, and what it actually takes to stop blending in and start building a brand that compels some people and repels others by design. Chris breaks down the three principles of personal branding, the one-word framework that anchors everything, why owning a specific space matters more than being broadly good, and the surprising reason your clothes are a tool, not a choice. Timestamps:…
22 Jul 2026 · 31 min
How to Sell Your YouTube Channel w/ Tyler Chou | Ep 443
Tyler Chou spent nearly 20 years as a Hollywood attorney at Disney, Buzzfeed, and Skydance before a midlife crisis and a layoff pushed her into the creator economy. Now she's the legal strategist behind some of the most valuable creator-led businesses on the internet, including one valued at $100 million. In this conversation, she and Chris break down what separates a YouTube channel from a real, sellable business: clean IP, an owned email list, the right revenue mix, and partnership agreements from day one. Whether you're chasing a $10M exit or just want to stop being one algorithm update…
15 Jul 2026 · 22 min
How Social Media and Passion Sold $60M in Cars w/ Chau Nguyen | Ep 442
Chris's cousin, Chau Nguyen, was one of the first guests ever on this podcast. Now he's back, nearly a decade later, with a different kind of company. After exiting Campus Special for $20 million and watching his VC-backed follow-up fail, Chau started messing around with an old Ford Bronco in his garage and accidentally built Vintage Modern, a custom vehicle company doing $60 million in revenue, selling cars to J.Lo, Usher, and LeBron, and shipping a new build every single day. This is a conversation about what happens when you follow the thing you actually love, what discipline looks like…
8 Jul 2026 · 8 min
The Pricing Conversation You Keep Avoiding w/ Chris Do | Ep 441
Most creatives wait until the very end of a sales conversation to bring up price. By that point, they've been half-present the whole time, one ear on the client and the other on the clock, trying to find the right moment that never comes. Chris breaks down why that pattern hurts you before you ever quote a number, and what it actually looks like to bring up budget, scope, and price upfront without making it weird. This one covers the mindset behind price avoidance, the practical language to open the money conversation early, and how to stay grounded when a prospect pushes back hard.…
1 Jul 2026 · 15 min
How to Attract What You Want w/ Jodie Cook | Ep 440
What happens when two people who've both manifested real results sit down to compare notes? Chris and Jodie Cook dig into the mechanics of manifestation; not as a spiritual exercise, but as a practical framework for getting what you want without becoming obsessed with it. From vision boards to agency exits to the danger of desperation, this one gets surprisingly tactical for a woo topic. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:00) - Vision Boards and Manifesting Wrong (02:15) - The Four-Step Manifestation Framework (04:45) - Chris's Take: Belief Has to Be All-In (06:57) - Chris's Own Manifestation…
24 Jun 2026 · 17 min
How to Close Clients as the Underdog w/ Chris Do | Ep 439
In this episode Chris breaks down one of the most studied sales moments in sports history: how Nike's Sonny Vaccaro walked into a room as the clear underdog and walked out with Michael Jordan's signature. Using scenes from the film Air, Chris unpacks the psyop, the competitor takedown, and the negotiation move that changed the business of sports forever. Plus, a real-world story from a friend that shows exactly how to apply the same tactics in a creative business pitch today. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:44) - The Underdog Psyop (01:50) - Dismantling Converse (04:05) - Taking Down Adidas…
17 Jun 2026 · 35 min
How to Niche Down and Grow Your Business w/ Matt Lakajev | Ep 438
Matt Lakajev is back. His first appearance on The Futur was a hit, and this time he brings a complete framework for one of the most common creative business problems: niching down. Not the vague "pick a niche" advice that floats around online, but a step-by-step formula for identifying whether your offer is even viable, who your ideal client actually is, and how to signal to them so clearly that they see your content and think, "Wow, that's me." If you've been building on referrals and wondering why online marketing isn't working the same way, this one's for you. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro…
10 Jun 2026 · 27 min
How to Stop Drifting and Find Focus w/ Jule Kim | Ep 437
Chris Do and Jule Kim sit down to talk about the one question most people avoid asking themselves: what are you actually supposed to be doing with your life? Jule is a coach who has spent years watching clients struggle to answer this, and she's honest that she's still working through it herself. What follows is a real, back-and-forth conversation about focus, latent talent, the danger of building a life around money, and why going back to who you were as a child is often the most useful move you can make. Timestamps (00:00) - Intro (00:38) - Doing stuff vs. doing work (03:06) - The three…
3 Jun 2026 · 32 min
How to Become the Authority in Your Space w/ Matthew Byrd | Ep 436
Most experts are invisible. They've put in the work, they know their field cold, and nobody has heard of them. Matthew Byrd built his authority from an entry-level position in land surveying to founding a global industry conference, and the path wasn't a big platform or viral moment. It was consistency, proactive networking, and content rooted in real expertise. In this episode, Chris and Matthew break down the five-part framework for going from unknown to authority in any niche. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:27) - Matthew's background and the authority gap (01:45) - The five lessons:…
27 May 2026 · 15 min
Why "Faking It" Kills Your Personal Brand w/ Chris Do | Ep 435
Chris Do identifies the invisible distance between who a creator is and who they present to the world, a phenomenon he calls the authenticity gap. He explains that performing for acceptance rather than showing up authentically leads to creative burnout, attracted the wrong audience, and inconsistent growth. By examining the difference between performance marketing and long-term brand building, Chris offers a four-column framework to help professionals discover their unique intersection of skills and passion. This episode challenges listeners to stop hiding behind a curated facade and start…
20 May 2026 · 28 min
How To Become World-Class At Anything w/ Jodie Cook | Ep 434
Most people think they're world-class. Most people are wrong. In this conversation, Chris sits down with Jodie Cook, entrepreneur, powerlifter, and author, to break down what it actually means to operate at the very top of any field, and what separates the truly elite from everyone else who just thinks they are. They get into the five markers of world-class performance, the four stages of competence (and which one is most dangerous), why the "curse of knowledge" makes mastery hard to teach, and how obsession, not talent, is the common thread across every elite performer Jodie studied.…
13 May 2026 · 21 min
Leading the Client Journey w/ Mikon van Gastel | Ep 433
Chris Do speaks with Mikon van Gastel about the critical gap between being a design practitioner and a strategic business leader. Van Gastel, co-founder of Sibling Rivalry, shares insights on how to "lead the witness" during pitches, the shifting value of experience in a millennial-driven market, and why the future of advertising lies in immersive ecosystems like the Sphere. Listeners will learn how to transition from making beautiful frames to building lasting client trust through deep listening and shared experiences. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:43) - Early career at Imaginary Forces…
6 May 2026 · 37 min
Build a Business You Love w/ Marie Forleo | Ep 432
In this episode, Chris Do speaks with entrepreneur and #1 New York Times Best Selling author Marie Forleo about designing a business and life centered around joy and fulfillment. Marie unpacks the dangers of a scarcity mindset and explains how reframing our relationship with money unlocks new levels of abundance. They explore the reality of being a multi-passionate creative, offering a framework for focusing on a "winning game" tailored to the current season of life. Listeners will walk away with actionable advice on hiring the right team, prioritizing personal development, and pursuing work…
29 Apr 2026 · 20 min
6 Skills That Make Creatives Irreplaceable w/ Chris Do | Ep 431
This episode explores the growing anxiety creatives feel around AI and reframes the conversation toward long-term relevance and value. Chris Do breaks down six high-income creative skills that AI cannot replace, emphasizing that these are not job titles but human capabilities to strengthen and lead with. He explains why strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and original creativity remain essential in a world where tools can execute faster but cannot define purpose or meaning. Throughout the episode, he highlights how lived experience, intuition, and human judgment create a moat that…
25 Apr 2026 · 32 min
Why Process is Better Than AI w/ Scott Clum | Ep 430
Chris Do sits down with artist and designer Scott Clum to explore the evolution of snowboard and skate culture's visual language. In an era increasingly dominated by AI and push-button gratification, Clum champions the tactile, utilitarian process of making art and embracing the beauty of mistakes. Drawing from his 40-year career shaping brands like Sims and Morrow Snowboards, he unpacks the crucial difference between personal self-expression and commercial design. Creative professionals will discover why staying true to the manual process builds a more valuable creative perspective and get…
22 Apr 2026 · 21 min
Personal Brand vs Reputation w/ Matt Essam | Ep 429
In this continuation of their dialogue, Chris Do and Matt Essam tackle the confusing distinctions between having a personal reputation and building a true personal brand . Many creative professionals experience internal resistance when considering a personal brand, often fearing the required effort or doubting the return on investment . Chris breaks down why audience size does not inherently equal income and reveals the unique advantages of a strong personal brand, such as the ability to jump verticals and command higher value . Listeners will walk away with a clear framework to determine if…
15 Apr 2026 · 23 min
Overcoming the Fear of Speaking Up w/ Jule Kim | Ep 428
Chris Do and Jule Kim explore the hidden costs of holding back and the profound impact of saying exactly what you think. Many professionals struggle to speak up due to cultural conditioning, fear of judgment, or social anxiety. By unpacking real-world scenarios—from navigating social discomfort at industry events to confidently stating a $45,000 project price—Chris demonstrates how direct, precise communication empowers operators. Listeners will learn how to shift focus away from internal discomfort and articulate their value without relying on unprompted proof. Timestamps (00:00) - Intro…
8 Apr 2026 · 13 min
Stop Selling Services, Sell Value w/ Chris Do | Ep 427
Many creative professionals detest sales because they focus on selling services rather than tangible business value. Chris Do unpacks the five biggest lessons from Kevin Daly's book, Socratic Selling, offering a framework for those who hate manipulative sales tactics. By learning to dollarize value, ask open-ended questions, and practice full-value listening, creatives can shift the dynamic from pitching to problem-solving. This permission-based approach empowers buyers to articulate their own needs and allows practitioners to close deals using hypothetical agreements. Timestamps: (00:00) -…
1 Apr 2026 · 14 min
Stop Doing Everything w/ Mo Ismail | Ep 426
Chris Do discusses with Mo Ismail the burden of over-diversification and the necessity of "burying" one's old professional identity to achieve a business breakthrough. By adopting the "Five Ones" framework, Chris explains how narrowing focus to a single target market and offering creates the pressure needed to punch through industry noise. This episode serves as a strategic roadmap for creative professionals who feel diluted and are ready to trade complexity for a potent, high-growth personal brand Timestamps (00:00) - Intro (00:24) - Taki Moore and the Five Ones framework (01:36) - The cost…
25 Mar 2026 · 19 min
Overcoming the Brand Identity Crisis w/ Tinna Loaiza | Ep 425
Chris Do sits down with brand identity expert Tinna Loaiza to explore why many creators feel disconnected from the businesses they have built. Tinna shares her journey of growing a faceless Instagram account to 400,000 followers before transitioning into a more authentic personal brand. They discuss a practical framework for shedding external expectations and "removing the pieces" of your identity to find clarity and professional fulfillment. Timestamps (00:00) - Intro (00:42) - Meet Tinna Loaiza and her marketing background (01:15) - Building a faceless brand to 400,000 followers (02:37) -…

About The Futur with Chris Do

The Futur with Chris Do is a English tech & science podcast from The Futur. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: The Futur
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 27 min
Latest episode: 7 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1209219220
Website: thefutur.com/podcast

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