I've come to believe artists are people who care. Not performing care to sell you something, actually caring, about the thing they're making and the people they're making it for. That's rare. And it's the thing I've spent decades perfecting.

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I've been in the culture game since before it was part of any "brand strategy." Before blogging was a word, I was blogging. Before Burning Man had a website, I had one about Burning Man. Before brands cared about fandoms, identity, or belonging, I cared a lot.

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When I moved to the Bay Area in the '90s, I built a Franken-computer from spare parts and started documenting my new California life online. The counterculture scene I was part of was the one that birthed Burning Man. Participation wasn't optional. Being different wasn't a costume. It meant something.

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That's when I became Rusty Blazenhoff, gave myself the title "Professional Free Spirit," and never looked back.

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Since then, here's some of what I've built and been trusted with:

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• For over a decade, I collaborated with Paul Reubens to keep the Pee-wee Herman universe joyfully weird and beloved across generations.

• I produced the on-playa newspaper and some events in Burning Man's early days, and later developed Project Citizenship, a grassroots effort to preserve what mattered most as Black Rock City grew up.

• My likeness has been turned into finger puppets and wrapping paper (thanks, Archie McPhee).

• I've spent over a decade publishing Rusty's Electric Dreams, my inbox zine for positive deviants and the people who love them.

• And I now help carry the torch for the late, great Allee Willis, visionary songwriter and creative powerhouse.
   

All of that led me to create Pop Cultish. I earn attention for you by giving it first, helping you grow something worth caring about, without losing what makes it magic. And I don't just care what you want. I care how it lands with the people you're trying to reach. I want them to feel seen and understood, not manipulated. It's about meaning. It's about belonging. It's about knowing what people really care about, and giving it to them. There's no one way to do this but there is a better way.

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Because culture isn't something you sell. It's something you spark. And it spreads when it's real.

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That's what I mean when I say I care. Paul Reubens knew it. Allee Willis's legacy is in my hands because of it. I'd like the chance to show you too.​

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Rusty Blazenhoff
Chief Attention Officer