Shownotes, Quotes, Shop + Listen To the Podcast Featuring Watch Expert + President and Founder of RedBar Group Adam Craniotes
If you want to know anything there is to know about watches, turn to Adam Craniotes, Founder and President of RedBar Group. A one-time advertising executive + Macys copywriter, Adam’s lifelong passion---sparked at age 6 because of a Casio, his grandfather, and a local mall in upstate New York---led him to make a later-in-life career change. The result? The world’s, yes, world’s largest horological enthusiasts collective was born. Today, RedBar boasts eighty chapters of watch lovers who span five continents; a testament to the power of positive connection that can be found on social media. And rid yourself of the notion that this is an elitist community. You may be fooled into simply and carelessly associating RedBar with watch labels like Rolex and Patek Phillipe. Sure, brands of the luxury ilk are certainly a distinct part of the mix and interest, but what RedBar crew members share and celebrate, above all else, is the size of their passion for timepieces: not the size of their wallets. On the podcast Adam tells the story behind the group’s launch and name, his role as editor at large for Revolution magazine, He fills us in on the industry's quartz crisis; gets into the notion of "being surrounded by time," creating a network, life as a freelance writer, being shut out of watch groups himself and not wanting anyone else to experience the same. Adam's credo is that watches should be fun. He explains how he sourced "getthisshitdoneness," and the importance of wanting to be where you’re wanted. We hear about RedBar’s very firm No Assholes policy, the brand’s give-back fund, and collab’ing to create RebBar timepieces. We finish up our discussion with an exclusive #Obsixed Watch List round up, where Adam outlines his 6 favorite watches to buy, including one by the brand that is expertly eradicating the distinction between what we have traditionally called a women's watch, and what we know to be a men's watch.
"Watches to me, and it doesn't matter whether we're talking about the highest complication mechanical watch or even a digital watch that's just telling you the time, is an intersection of science, technology, and art that doesn't necessarily exist anymore. It's both timely and anachronistic at the same time. We need to know the time, no matter what. It doesn't matter if what we're telling the time is something that is being fed to me from a screen, through GPS satellites, or something that's mechanical on my wrist, as long as it's correct." - Adam Craniotes
"Writing can be fun, and it can be cathartic. The key is to put yourself in a situation that makes you comfortable and happy, one that allows things to move...instead of banging up against stuff." - Adam Craniotes