Two businessmen with a variation of Christiano Ronaldo’s hair style and loads of dirty money to burn were in the gym talking about wrist watch brands. On the outside, those bozos appeared to be knowledgeable and passionate successful men. However, I knew that they were nothing but snobs addicted to shiny things.
“Unless it’s a mechanical watch with an in-house mechanism, you might just as well put toilet paper around your wrist. All else just doesn’t cut it, and I will never accept it as a work of art. Quartz based mechanisms are for total losers,” said the fatter of the two who was a solid 7/10 whale.
The guy was one of those “I own the world.” rich people who have never worked a day in their lives and owe their entire monetary wealth to an inherited swine factory, which they would run into bankruptcy in 3 months without daddy’s guidance and mafia connections.
“I would have to agree. I can’t see myself falling so low. Wearing watches with batteries? Those are for the plebs and their kids,” replied his buddy.
“I hear you, man. My dad bought me my first mechanical luxury watch when I was 10. It was a silver Rolex – 100% original. I felt like a true king next to my friends wearing plastic watches found in cereal boxes. Since then I’ve never looked back. I don’t think a watch under 20k deserves the warmth of my wrist. Look at my new blink – Rolex Daytona Platinum Ice Blue Dial. Got it last month.”
“How much?
“Dirt cheap – 65k. A steal, if you ask me, bro!”
“So, what’s that? A week worth of pay?”
“More like 3 days….hahahahahaha”
“Oh, man! It’s gorgeous. Rolex and Omega are my favorite brands. The rest is for common people.”
“I feel you, man. The other day I was in the store on the main street. There was a beggar looking for a “good” watch under 200 bucks. Good luck, loser! The only thing you can find in that price range are Mickey Mouse poverty watches,” continued the proud Rolex owner.
His speech revealed an immense egoism and the character of a mental midget snob.
Different companies have manipulated us into fighting over brands while they are making big cash and creating a fascist state.
Today, the logos on clothes and other products are bigger than your head. The first characteristic that people notice about a product is not how it works or how it’s made, but rather who branded it.
When I was a skater I met a rapper who had glued Nike’s Saturnian symbol on a regular pair of cheap tennis shoes just to be fashionable because at the time Nike was launching the SB line (skateboarding brand).
Similar examples reveal that brand awareness has been integrated deep into our minds. Even when there are two products of equal quality doing the exact same thing really well, there are still people writing angry comments in an attempt to shut down hard the supporters of the rival.
One notorious example would be the constant battle between AMD and Intel. The truth is that both can work just fine, and it’s irrational to treat either as a church. And yet there are people calling themselves Intel Generals. What’s that? Somebody who would defend the brand until the end of times regardless of the fact that AMD’s alternatives can allow you to the same thing. Those guys will never learn that the processor you use is not your legacy.
Isn’t that what we do with exercises too?
We like to separate into exercise camps. Many people are attracted to the macho “squat or die” brands of guys like Mark Rippetoe and John Broz and defend those guys with a passion. When you subscribe to the squat ideology, it’s not because you can’t get strong by doing other exercises, but because you want to be a part of the cool brand. In this case, the squat is not seen as an exercise or a method to get stronger but as a subjective way to achieve a manly status.
I was a member of the 5×5/only barbells camp and looked at people doing machine or dumbbell exercises as losers choosing the easy path. In many situations this was correct – people are afraid to do difficult tasks. Eventually, I understood that what matters the most is how hard you are willing to work, not the choice of resistance. What’s harder? Doing full range rows with 5 plates on a machine or pull-ups with 50kg/110lbs added weight? In both cases were are talking about strength & effort, so it’s all fine.
At end of the day, even rich people who can afford to buy expensive brands come to the painful realization that time remains the same regardless of your watch brand. Even if you have gold, silver or diamonds around your wrist, the clock is not ticking any differently for you.
Brands could be useful when it comes to classifying plastic products, but their importance drops once we get closer to the real deal. There are different types of love, courage, passion, and strength, but ultimately, each one of those has a core that cannot be affected by corporate branding.
