blog.ninety-one // It’s strange writing this, but after producing new videos every day for the last four weeks, our inaugural Creator Mag Subathon is coming to a close.
What does that mean? Well, for one, you have only forty-eight hours left to refer a friend—and win exclusive prizes, from a Sticker Park to a framed poster to even a free flight.
On top of that: We have a new referral leader!
Reader Will Wallace broke the five-way tie this week. Should the results stand, Will gets to place a full-page ad in our next print magazine, designed in tandem with our team.
But the lead is still within reach. And if you want to snatch the crown, hit the button below.
We’ve had a blast sharing a peek behind the curtain this month, as we work towards releasing the next issue of Creator Mag. It was also, admittedly a big undertaking. Scroll down for some fresh Subathon reflections—including the results 👀
And one last note: Join us for an afternoon of co-working and board games this Wednesday at our studio! It’s free to attend, though spots are limited. RSVP here.
— NGL
P.S. Last blog, we reviewed a creator whose videos make us feel like kids again. You can read it here.
One :: I think that if you’re gonna upload daily, have a strong why. Thirty-day posting challenges are a tradition as old as the Internet itself.
Just as time-worn: The art of starting a thirty-day posting challenge…and stopping halfway through.
Before we kicked off the Subathon, I asked several creators for feedback on our plan. The prevailing sentiment? Good luck.
“Easier said than done,” my friend Andrew chuckled.
Every creator has hit that point. It’s late at night. You’re exhausted. Your eyes are screaming at you to close the laptop, and do everything in your power to avoid screens like the plague.
A thirty-day challenge ups the ante exponentially. So if you’re gonna commit to it, commit to it—and have a reason behind it, for when you’re stuck in those late-night moments.
For us, we wanted to celebrate this newsletter’s one-year anniversary, sure. And yes, we set a stretch community goal to welcome five thousand new neighbors into our creative neighborhood (more on that below).
But we also viewed the Subathon as a golden opportunity to talk directly with you, on a more regular basis. We’ve worked harder so that we can work smarter, determining the types of videos that a) we like to make b) we’re able to make and c) resonate with you. The campaign forced us to come together as a team, keeping the Slack channels firing and ideas flowing.
And we sold out of Issue Six in the process.
What mountains can we climb next?
Two :: I think we’ve grown the neighborhood by thirty percent. Scratch that—I know so.
Outside of a small miracle, we will not hit our stretch subscriber goal. Yet spending an entire month’s worth of messaging focused on a clear call-to-action (signing up for the newsletter) did wonders for our organic growth.
We didn’t launch our newsletter with a built-in following on algorithmic platforms. We’re also not investing in ads. The newsletters that grow the fastest from the jump usually follow one (if not both) of these paths.
Nonetheless, as the leaves start to turn and the air gets crisper, we’re picking up momentum right when it matters. I have a feeling we’ll look back in four months and view the Subathon as a real inflection point, as we continue to build this neighborhood alongside you.
Three :: I think you shouldn’t have to pay to participate in public life. Shifting gears a little bit, but I promise the detour will swing back around.
Sociologist Eric Klinenberg writes about this concept in his 2018 book Palaces for the People. Libraries, parks, and even sidewalks make up our “social infrastructure.” These are “the physical places that shape the way we interact,” Klinenberg says, “and when we design them well…we are far more likely to engage other people around us.”
He shares his belief that social infrastructure is just as essential as water, or power. And the best part: When we collectively buy in and invest in these spaces, we provide room to spark conversations and spread ideas with others you may otherwise never engage.
I was thinking about this on Saturday as I attended the Secret River Show, a free, pop-up concert series organized by local indie artist Lawrence Tome. He hosts them a couple times per month at different spots on the Chicago River; each location is shared via GPS coordinates on his Instagran story, and musicians play on a floating platform that’s only accessible by boat.
I’ll save a review of the show for Thursday’s newsletter, yet I’d be remiss in not mentioning a particular interaction. Two millennial-aged dudes were standing behind me, smoking cigs on their bikes as they bemoaned the state of modern culture. “Labubus…I just don’t get them, man,” one said in between drags. “Maybe I’m just getting old, but, like, I want to see something more original, ya know?”
He must’ve noticed me laughing to myself, because he came up a couple minutes later and complimented me on my beat-up pair of Air Max 90s.* We struck up a conversation about sneakers for a bit; I asked him if this was his first time coming to the show (it wasn’t); and by the time he headed out, I’d invited him to pop out to one of our gatherings at the studio sometime.
Chalk this up as a normal, human interaction. But in all honesty, in the year 2025, how many public spaces do you find yourself in, befriending strangers? Take it a step further: How many of those spaces are free?
I bring this up because I believe our studio can become one of those spaces, and we can contribute social infrastructure to the city (and beyond). Sure, we do host bigger, ticked events from time to time. Yet without building a strong neighborhood in tandem with the signal we send out online, there is no Block Party.**
Four :: I think the president declared war on an American city. Picture the hundred or so folks who popped out to the Secret River Show on a beautiful fall afternoon—swaying to the music, Coors Light in hand, a glistening Sears Tower backdrop as the sun sets behind us.
Now juxtapose that scene with a social media post from our president, mere hours earlier on Saturday. “I love the smell of deportations in the morning…Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR," Trump wrote, over an AI-generated image purposefully-reminiscent of Apocalypse Now. An image where American helicopters are bombing, you know, an American city.
Trump’s since tried to walk back those comments, but this rhetoric belittling Chicago as a warzone isn’t just unnerving—it’s becoming straight-up delusional, uttered by people simply divorced from reality.
There’s a lot I can write here. For now, I’ll say this: Our season-long theme, “TOUCH GRASS,” has never felt more relevant.
Five :: I think you should work with friends simply because you mess with each other’s stuff. Chicago streetwear designer Joe Freshgoods hosted a pop-up this weekend for the popular Houston-based burger joint Trill Burgers, which was founded by legendary rapper Bun B.
Joe’s reasoning? “I love bringing things I enjoy to Chicago,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
As it turns out, the pop-up was mere minutes away from my apartment. I’d love to tell you I tried the burger, but after waiting in line for thirty minutes this evening, a security guard came out and told us they were all sold out.
Still, credit to Joe for dropping a collaboration simply as an excuse to put his city on and work with one of his homies. Multiple passersby gawked at the line, and upon learning patrons were camping out for hours just to eat a cheeseburger, jaws were, indeed, dropped.
The silver lining? I’ll be in Houston on Saturday, as I’m traveling for our next Creator Mag cover story. My Trill Burgers review may be delayed, but it’ll arrive soon enough…
Thanks for reading! Shoot us a reply, comment, or DM if anything resonated with you in particular—we respond to them all.
* I got my pair of Infrareds all the way back in 2015, during my sophomore year of high school; a decade later, they’re still kicking. Honestly one of those joints that look even better the more yellowed they get.
** Another plug: Stop by for co-working this Wednesday!