As I walking into the airport last night, I was quickly reminded of a special event from just a few weeks earlier. I was on my way to NYC for a camp that I had been planning for months, with individuals I had never met before, and in a location I had never been. We had all come together for one goal: to bring the experience of (Bikram) yoga to a group of veterans. What came out of that weekend surpassed our wildest expectations and, I can safely say, was a life changing experience for me personally.

This camp was sponsored by Team Red, White & Blue, an organization that Rule29 has had the wonderful opportunity to not only work alongside over the past few years, but also GIVE back to. (In fact we just launched their new site!) We’re huge supporters of Team RWB’s mission – to enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity. The camp was a prime example of their efforts to further this mission. It took place between Sept 22nd–24th with over 30 veterans and civilians attending from 10 states – one even coming as far as Germany. For some this was their first experience with yoga and/or Bikram yoga, which was the foundational style of the camp. During this 3-day camp, attendees participated in workshops, classes and a variety of social activities with fellow veteran and local community members. We had over a dozen instructors including renowned Rajashree Choudhury, the Founder and President of USA Yoga who assisted her husband, Bikram Choudhury, in creating the highly successful Teacher Training Program.

The most amazing part of this experience was the collection of stories that were told throughout the weekend. In fact, the story of the camp’s origin is quite interesting in and of itself, but one for another time. Barry Peterson (a Bikram yoga instructor, West Point grad, and veteran), the amazing Jane and Jake Kartsch (owners of Bikram Yoga Bronx), and I had been going back and forth for months working on how we can create an impactful event. That Friday evening, we all met each other for the first time. Barry had flown in from Reno. Nikki (another Bikram yoga instructor), JJ Star (filmmaker) and myself flew in from Chicago. Soon, camp attendees started to trickle in, followed by lots of hugging. That’s when it really hit me. This weekend wasn’t just about yoga, it was about bringing people together. Read the rest of the entry >

We’ve been off to a busy start this summer at the R29 office, including doubling our intern staff. #19 (aka Andy)  is heading out and #20 and #21 are moving in.

We’ve welcomed into the R29 family #20 (Megan Lee) and #21 (Seth). For their first day, they had the wonderful pleasure of witnessing the joys of the R29 eating contest along with gathering tons of first impressions on what it means to be a Rule29 intern.

Before we jump into the traditional bombardment of questions, here’s a little background on each.

#20 Megan Lee Earl 

She’s currently attending Columbia College and will be finishing up a BFA in Graphic Design this Fall. Little known fact: she actually studied biology for nearly two years at Loyola before seeing the light and switching tracks to graphic design.

#21 Seth Kasky 

He’s a senior Visual Communication student in the School of Art at Northern Illinois University and received his associate degree from Illinois Central College. Also, he is a self proclaimed coffee nerd.

Okay, on to the questions!

Read the rest of the entry >

We are big TED and TEDx fans at Rule29. And we are excited to share Justin’s first TEDx talk – See Different, Do Different. As people who wonder, we are built to see the world differently than most. It’s one of our unique, innovative traits. We all say we want to be a part of changing the world, but how do you actually accomplish this? Watch his TEDx Naperville talk and the other great speakers too.

Here at Rule29 we’ve had a house guest of late and while he’s been working away on his own project he graciously accepted our offer of covering the blog this week (Granted it was in exchange for desk space)

From the desk of Victor:

Have you ever driven by an office building, business, or home and wondered what happens inside?

Rule29 is one of those inconspicuous spaces. Residing in Geneva IL, their office is nothing more than a remodeled, two story, Georgian home with a nifty number sign in the lawn. You would never guess that within it’s walls, people light things on fire, break appendages, become basketball stars and change the world for the better.

But that’s precisely what happens (well…kinda).

You see, I was one of those random people that used to be on the outside looking in. I’m not a designer, I’m not a client, and my education puts me nowhere near this highly talented team. However, my passion for business, design, and social change made me curious about this little home with the nifty number sign in Geneva, Illinois.

So, roughly one year ago, I ventured into this place to see what it was all about. I was met by the man with the ever present grin. They call him Justin. Actually, that’s what I call him too. He’s also referred to as J, Uncle Justin, and a slew of other names that I can’t mention here. Justin is a busy man with a vibrant family, a book deal, and countless world-changing commitments so I was nervous to ‘steal’ any time with him on that fall day. We chatted about our dreams, our heroes, our faith, and our frustrations. His heart for good design and doing good kicked the dreamer right into me, and a friendship was quickly formed.
Since then, we’ve shared countless conversations and have even worked together on various projects; but, that’s not all.

You see, throughout that time, I’ve gotten to know the steallar team behind Rule29.

They’re even graciously allowing me  to share an office space while I work on a project. This means that, I get a front row seat into Tim’s sneaker brilliance, Kerri’s inability to pronounce Chihuahua, Susan’s love for heels, Andy’s marriage proposal techniques, Dawn’s noise making skills, Katrina’s whip-cracking abilities, Brian and Cheech’s looming iChat presence, and the fact that Bob is just always well Bob. Not to mention that Sarah (Justin’s wife), is the invisible powerhouse for the firm — and far more honest than Justin…

More importantly, I can now say that I have met some of the most inviting people on the planet. They’re quick to bring me ‘inside’ the Rule29 world. Whether it’s lunch dates or random brainstorming conversations, I’ve come to feel right at home walking through that finicky door and up those oddly narrow stairs.  Even though they may not totally understand why I’m around or what I’m doing, they have kindly invited me into their space.

Perhaps, this is my biggest learning from the Rule29 team thus far. They work and live in such a way that there is no ‘outside looking in’ or ‘inside looking out.’ The way they setup their work space, joke around with the UPS guy, hold outings with fellow firms (Grip & Faust), and the way they treat this random desk-occuyping-Egyptian…all of it is about an invitation. An invitation to wonder, attempt, struggle, fail, celebrate, and to do so openly with those around you.

So, thanks Rule29 for that invitation and the inside view — and for the lesson that good work and good life is not about being on the inside or the outside, it’s about being on the side with good people.

LEO,
v

Victor Saad is one of the founders of The Prop and is currently embarking on an 18 month adventure called The Leap Year Project We highly suggest you check out both a give him a follow @victorsaad He’s a pretty awesome guy.

Andy, our newest intern started this week. As is tradition, the R29 staff bombarded him with a bunch of questions in the interview process and his first couple of days at the Rule29 office. We also figured that some of our R29 friends might have a few questions for him as well so we opened up the floor and asked “What do you want to know about Andy?” on Facebook and Twitter. We’ve compiled some of the best questions and answers to give you a better idea of who is this mystery intern. Read the rest of the entry >