Welcome to Created, the newsletter that hits your inbox faster than Casey Neistat’s marathon time. Here’s what we got today:
- Creators and celebs took over the NYC Marathon
- How Anthony Potero is redefining modern marketing
- Outlier of the week
The Creator Takeover of the NYC Marathon
Last Sunday, over 55,000 runners hit the streets of New York City. But the biggest names weren’t just wearing bibs; they were holding cameras.
Casey Neistat, Brooke Monk and influencers like Christine Doan, Karen Sarahi Gonzalez, and Olivia Maher all ran the course.
So did Bachelor stars like Joey Graziadei and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie.
The event drew 2M spectators, generated an estimated $700M for the city, and dominated social feeds.
Running Is Having A Renaissance
After years of declining race participation, the sport is booming again.
“Running is very hot right now,” said NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer on CNBC. “There are a lot of runners and the brands are really excited.”
The NYC Marathon saw a record 200,000 lottery applications, up 22% from last year.
And a big reason for that is due to creators.
Last year, Casey Neistat’s marathon video got 4.2M views. This year, Brooke Monk’s marathon TikTok earned 33.7M views.
But Not Everyone’s Cheering
Last year, fitness influencer Matt Choi was banned for life from the marathon after having two cameramen follow him on e-bikes during the race.
The incident sparked outrage among traditional runners, who said creators were turning the race into a personal content shoot.
Choi apologized, but the ban stood.
Our Take
Last year, we called the NYC Marathon “the Coachella for creator athletes.” This year, it earned that title once again.
Sure, there’s friction between creators and purists.
But every vlog, sponsor bib, and selfie at mile 20 is helping bring new fans to a sport that was running out of gas.
Now the question is, will the sport build with creators? Or try to outrun them?
The future of running depends on which lane the marathon chooses.
Why Crocs Hired The Banksy of YouTube
Anthony Potero (aka Anthpo) is a one-man marketing department with a track record most agencies would kill for.
He’s pulled tens of millions of views, gathered hundreds of fans in NY for his viral Cheeseball Man stunt, and even caught Timothée Chalamet’s attention with a look-alike contest.
Now, he’s turning that formula into a business — launching Pufferfish with Talia Schulhof; a creator-led marketing firm to help brands make moments people actually remember.
Proof > Pitch
Before launching the firm, Potero proved his success with marketing stunts such as:
- Kid With Crocs: Potero put 3D-printed Crocs on statues around NYC. It racked up millions of views before revealing it was a Crocs collab.
- Airlearn Billboards: He filled NYC with cheeky billboards of real words that sound inappropriate (“kock” = chef in Swedish, “pussi” = bag in Finnish) for a language learning app.
His New Experiment: A #1 Album
Potero’s next stunt might be his biggest yet. He’s trying to make a Billboard #1 album, with help from the internet.
He’s paying fans $8 to add sounds to an album. Then, having those same fans spend that $8 to buy the album to push it up the charts.
Our Take
Most ads are forgettable. Potero’s work sticks because it feels real.
He turns ideas into stories people want to join, not just scroll past.
And now, with Pufferfish, he’s giving brands the same toolkit: make it fun, make it human, and make it worth talking about.
If he pulls it off, the next viral campaign you see might come from a 24-year-old YouTuber with a camera and a plan.
🎯 Weekly Roundup: Thumbnails
Why we love these YT thumbnails:
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- $63K new vs $112K old truck comparison perfectly visualizes inflation in one glance (GEN)
- MKBHD’s skeptical look at a humanoid robot captures the tension between curiosity and caution (Marques Brownlee)
- More sugar in ketchup than in a doughnut? That’s bizarre enough to stop your scroll (Morning Brew)
- Clean “Style vs Comfort” layout makes the contrast instantly clear (Play Conveyor)
🚀 Weekly Outlier
This video by Liz Rowe has 274K views, which is 327 times higher than the channel’s average. Here’s why it took off:
- Actionable Playbook: From 7 books to 3 money-making paths with a clear order.
- Radical Transparency: Shares exact revenue vs. profit and ~$300k net worth at 28.
- Lived Experiment: Shows what actually worked (pivot from online course to higher-ticket in-person training) and why.
🏆 The Created Referral Program
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Trust me, these books are packed with more tips than most paid courses.
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👋 See You Inside
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– Jon
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