I retired from their logos. I am building my own in public.
If you want to build authority, you can’t look like a billboard for someone else’s brand. You need your own uniform. You need your own skin.
This week, The Hoard is about physical transformation. I’m taking assets I’ve earned and repurposing them for who I am becoming.
Here is what I’m keeping this week.
1. The Project: The “One-Eyed King” Jacket
I bought a black denim jacket for $36. Six pockets. Utilitarian. Solid. But the real asset is the backpatch.
I had an old grinder’s chair from an online poker site. I didn’t buy it, I earned it by playing millions of hands. It had a massive, intricate embroidery of the King of Diamonds (the only One-Eyed King, representing the merchant/business side of poker).
The chair was uncomfortable (I’m 6’3” and didn’t fit), but that embroidery was a masterpiece. I played through the pain of a million more hands in the chair and then cut the leather out.
Most people would see a broken chair worth $0. I saw a $300 piece of art. I’m dropping it at a seamstress to have it surgically grafted onto the denim.
The Takeaway: You have assets in your life right now that look like “trash” because they are in the wrong format. Cut them out. Move them to a new vehicle.
2. The Brand: The Pharaoh & Freedom
To match the jacket, I’m building a custom cover.
The Base: Black snapback. Purple bill.
The Patch: A gold and purple Pharaoh Cat (cyberpunk Egyptian vibes). cost: $0.69.
The Reason: My cat, Freedom, is sitting on my lap as I type this.
Purple isn’t magic/woo-woo. It’s the color of royalty and high-level thinking. I could have spent $50 on a Nike hat. Instead, I spent $6 total to make something unique to my style.
The Lesson: Stop trying to blend in. If you are pivoting your career, change your skin. Make it impossible for people to confuse the “Old You” with the “New You.”
3. The Insight: The “Wasted Time” Myth
To get this jacket made, we went to two different tailors. The first shop didn’t have the heavy-duty industrial machines to handle the leather. We walked out empty-handed.
My wife said, “Well, we wasted our time.”
I disagreed. We didn’t waste time; we gathered data. Because we went to the first shop, we learned exactly why the job was hard. We learned the specific machinery required. When we got to the second shop (who had the industrial gear), I could explain exactly what I needed and why. They understood instantly.
The Payoff: I had mentally budgeted $150 for this custom work. The actual quote? $15. They are doing the jacket and the cat cap for under $20 total. The entire project, jacket, patches, hat, labor, is costing me bits and bobs.
This is the secret to the AI transition: When an experiment fails (like a prompt that doesn’t work or a shop that can’t do the job), you didn’t waste your time. You learned the parameters of the machine. And sometimes, that knowledge saves you a fortune.
See you tomorrow for THE FORGE/VENGA! column. We are breaking down the tech stack behind Monday’s growth experiment.
Nothing is wasted. Everything is fuel.
Venga!
- Mark | VengaDragon
True story! I learnt a valuable lesson from my other half. Learning for situations and outcomes that aren't necessarily what we had anticipated - especially when negative - can be easily spun into a positive. I'm donning that "new skin" for 2026!
I have an intro video for my channel in the works. Just gotta do a few tweaks and add audio then I'll post it. I just find new things each pass of footage though.