Vital Stats
- Player: Brent Lindeque
- Company: Chaos Theory, also founded #RAK
- Est: 2009
- Visit: chaostheory.co.za
The rise of #RAK
Nek Nominations were taking social media by storm, and people were filming themselves doing crazy, stupid and dangerous things while chugging a beer.
It seemed so pointless to me. There’s huge power in sharing positive ideas and creating awareness through social media, and I wanted to do that instead.
I got nominated and decided to post a video of myself feeding a homeless person instead. This is South Africa — I drove down the road and found someone. That’s the plight of so many South Africans, and worth drawing attention to.
The tipping point
The post went viral and it changed my life. Local and international news stations and talk shows wanted to hear more. I’ve always been a positive guy, but this really showed me that the world is hungry for good news.
I’ve now got a weekly radio show on CliffCentral, I host the Good Stuff Catch Up on CNBC on Fridays and I have a daily blog, goodstuffguy.com where I share good news. We got 100 000 clicks in the first month as people shared our content.
Branding positivity
The only real difference between today and a few years ago is that I’ve now given my positive attitude a brand. The Facebook timehop app is often showing me old posts, and I’m the same guy, sharing the same content.
I haven’t changed; I’ve just got a bigger platform to make a difference. There’s so much you can do and achieve with the right attitude. I believe in being thankful for everything you have and paying it forward.
My email signature has always been ‘only good things’. There’s nothing better than seeing clients and suppliers starting to echo those sentiments. These aren’t just platitudes for me, I’m sincere, which I think is important. People respond to it, and it spreads.
The truth behind success
I started my brand activation, events and marketing business, Chaos Theory, six years ago from my garage. Since then I’ve worked with incredible people, both staff and clients.
I’ve learnt that you’ll be happier in business if you work with people you want to work with. Adding value to each other is more than just a business transaction. Don’t chase money. Be happy with what you do and who you are.
This means you need to be happy with who you’re helping — and what their brands stand for. You need to share values. That’s success to me.
There’s never a reason not to be kind. We’re all human, so be understanding and look for the good. You never know when someone is having a bad day. Don’t accept poor work, that’s different, but be kind.
Don’t be average
I was brought up to never do anything average. My personal mantra is to always go the extra mile. Under-promise and over-deliver.
Between that and working with brands and clients I like, the business has grown from strength to strength. We started with one rented photobooth delivering a Brutal Fruit activation.
Six years later we did the French train company L-Stem’s launch of Gibela, a local division with the tender to redo all the trains in Africa and South Africa. That’s 100 000 jobs across the continent. It’s huge for us, and the product of building relationships, always delivering on promises, and caring about clients.
Be busy to be energised
I wear five hats: Chaos Theory (which is my bread and butter, and I have an amazing team that keeps things running while I’m doing everything else I squeeze into a week), the radio show, CNBC, my blog, which requires me to wake up at 4am every morning to keep up with the writing, and my family.
Every one of them needs focus, dedication and time. I’m at gym every morning at 6am to keep my energy levels up. It sounds like a lot, but being busy keeps me energised.
The busier I get, the easier it is for me to juggle balls. It’s when I don’t have a big project that it feels like something is missing.