Nicholas Graham Speaker Biography
The creative, unconventional businessman behind the "Joe Boxer" name and Chief Time Keeper of the 100 Minute Company
Nicholas Graham, founder and CUO (Chief Underpants Officer) of the ubiquitous Joe Boxer brand, changed the face of fashion when he turned his “little” underwear company into one of America’s most popular lifestyle brands. Graham is now bringing his wildly successful creative philosophy and unconventional business methods to the rest of the world via his 100 Minute Company.
At a pivotal time in history when the collective attention span is getting shorter by the minute, people hunger for new ways to buy and to sell everything. By believing that people simply long to have access, and to enjoy, everything from fashion, to music, to film, to travel, to books, and everything in-between, Graham founded the 100 Minute Company to maximize his theory that brands need to be more expansive in their thinking across multiple platforms, just as their consumers do. Graham’s irreverent yet spot-on business acumen delivers a new vehicle for producers and consumers alike to get what they want… and to have fun in the process.
A native of Calgary, Canada, Nick Graham was 27 when he moved to San Francisco in 1985 to pursue music. In the midst of the post-punk evolution, he found himself starting a small business out of his flat, making men’s novelty ties for rockers who fancied a bit more sophistication in their garb. Convinced the stuffy world of men’s undergarments also needed his unconventional stamp, Graham turned his sights to designing men’s underwear. Possessing a highly developed sense of humor—and penchant for the irreverent—he drew upon his graphic design background to create a line of boxer shorts with unexpected designs.
Under Graham’s direction, Joe Boxer eventually produced more than 1,000 eye-catching designs annually, for a broad range of well-made, affordable lifestyle apparel in everything from underwear, sleepwear, loungewear, to home furnishings. Marketed internationally, Joe Boxer developed an impressive global base of loyal fans that eagerly awaited each new collection. Graham’s bold, humorous and unexpected graphic patterns have broadly informed fashion trends for years. He infused “fun” into the business and his ideas have been incorporated throughout the industry ever since.
Graham has earned several of the top fashion industry awards, including the Woolmark and Marty Awards, the Absolut Golden Shears and MIRA Awards, and multiple Earnie Awards, as well as advertising’s coveted CLIO. In 2001, he brokered the landmark deal between Joe Boxer and KMart… the brand’s new home.
Ultimately, Graham’s eccentric charisma and seat-of-the-pants marketing style transformed Joe Boxer, the underwear company, into Joe Boxer, the entertainment company. As Graham says, "The brand is an amusement park, and the product is the souvenir." While he continues to act as Chief Underpants Officer, he also heads up 100 Minute Company, where his clients benefit from the self-admitted Attention Deficit Disorder that translates his theories for success on all fronts, from entertainment to media to product development. A popular public speaker, Graham is a sought-after presenter of new ideas.
Areas of Expertise: Fashion, Branding, Business Trends, Consumer Trends, Innovation and Creativity
Nicholas Graham Speaking Topics
The Joe Boxer Story: From Underwear to Everywhere!
The Joe Boxer Story is Nick Graham's amazing and true tale of success: How, without the use of conventional advertising or marketing methods, he turned his "little" underwear company into one of America's most popular brands. Through his infamous brand of wit and humor, Graham shares his personal adventures - including the serious aspects of creating something radically different - and leaves his audience inspired to take risks, persevere, and have fun in the process. 45 minutes.
The 100-Minute Brand: Who You Are Is What You Make
The 100-Minute Brand deals with how people can reinvigorate their creative process to translate (externally) the value they have within. Nick Graham uses his proven branding philosophy to take the audience to the heart of what creates a successful brand. Using his theory, based in part on the Powers of Ten, he demonstrates how the power of a single individual can outwardly create memory for others. It is also used to illustrate that the memory contained within an individual (their DNA), can and will dictate how they can translate their own memory to others, ultimately creating their own "brand." 50 Minutes.
The 100 Questions--Answers Are Free.
The 100 Questions are Nick Graham's insightful branding theories wrapped inside 100 queries. 100 Questions--one every minute--guide the audience to a better understanding of what Graham sees as a purely existential process of defining one's own brand. The first question asks "Who are you?" and the last, "How do you want to be remembered?" An extremely powerful and mind-expanding experience. 100 Minutes.
The End of Selling: What to Give a World That Has Everything
The End of Selling is Nick Graham’s argument that the world has run out of new things to sell-but is clearly hungry for new ways to buy. In this presentation, he demonstrates how every modern business process or product, no matter how dynamic or successful today, is actually just an updated version of a centuries-old idea. By using leading “smart” companies as examples, Graham invites the audience to strategically map out how they can stop selling, and start thinking about how to reinvigorate whatever process or product they are trying to market.
