The Worst Kept Secret From Durham, North Carolina

Hey honeys and hustlers,

Durham, North Carolina, isn't Hollywood. It's not New York. It's not even Atlanta, the so-called "Hollywood of the South." But it is where Matt and Ross Duffer—the creative duo behind Stranger Things—have chosen to keep their roots planted while building one of the most-watched shows in streaming history. Stranger Things has been streamed over 1.6 billion hours on Netflix. It's a cultural phenomenon that's spawned merchandise lines, theme park attractions, and an entire aesthetic that defined the 2010s. The Duffer Brothers could live anywhere. Do anything. Answer to anyone.

And yet, they've stayed connected to Durham—the mid-sized, quirky, unpretentious North Carolina city where they got their start. Throughout the show, they've woven in references to Durham staples. They've filmed locally when they could. They've made it clear in interviews that this place shaped them, and they're not about to forget it. For creative entrepreneurs trying to figure out how to make big projects and celebrate their local roots without losing themselves, the Duffer Brothers offer a prime example of how to do exactly that. You don't have to move to the "right" city. You don't have to abandon your roots. You don't have to play by someone else's rules.

You can build something massive and still stay weird, stay local, and stay true.

One of the biggest fears I hear from creative entrepreneurs is this question: If I start making money as a full-time creative entrepreneur, will I lose what made me special?

It's a valid fear. We've all seen creators and brands blow up and become unrecognizable. They chase scale at the expense of soul. They optimize for reach and lose their voice. They become what the algorithm wants rather than what they intended to create. The Duffer Brothers are a counterexample.

Stranger Things is massive. Global. Commercial. It has theme park rides, for crying out loud. And yet, it still feels like their show. It's still weird. Still heartfelt. Still rooted in the nerdy, nostalgic, small-town sensibility that made it special in the first place. Stranger Things is, at its core, deeply weird. It's a sci-fi horror show about kids in the '80s fighting interdimensional monsters with the help of a girl who has telekinetic powers. On paper, it sounds niche. Risky. Hard to sell. And yet, it's one of the biggest shows on the planet. Because the Duffer Brothers didn't try to make it "mainstream." They leaned into the weird. They trusted that the specificity and the strangeness would find an audience. And it did.

This is the lesson for every creative entrepreneur who's been told to "make it more accessible" or "broaden your appeal." Weird works. Niche works. Specific works. The riches are in the niches, as the saying goes. But more than that, the connection is in the niches. When you make something for everyone, no one feels like it's for them. But when you make something specific, strange, and unapologetically yourself, the people who get it will really get it. And they'll tell everyone they know.

So don't water it down. Don't make it more palatable. Don't smooth out the edges to fit into someone else's idea of what's marketable. The Duffer Brothers didn't move to Hollywood. They didn't abandon their roots. They didn't follow the traditional path. They stayed in Durham (at least in spirit and connection). They built a billion-dollar show on their own terms. They experimented with format. They scaled without selling out. And they stayed weird.

If you're a creative entrepreneur wondering whether you can build something massive while staying true to yourself, the answer is yes. You don't have to be in the "right" place. You don't have to follow the standard playbook. You don't have to smooth out your edges. You just have to make great work, stay connected to what matters, and trust that the right people will find you.

Stranger things have happened.

What creative entrepreneurs do you admire for staying true building a massive audience? Reply and let me know—I'd love to hear your thoughts.

P.S. Thank you to Keelin for sharing Monday’s article on Threads!

Yes, I’m using my own product to promote my own product. That’s how much I love it, and I know you will too.