I was watching a documentary about Mike Tyson and it made me think about branding. As a creative entrepreneur, you’re told over and over again that your branding is your most valuable asset. It sets you apart, makes you personable, recognizable, attractive.

Whether he was aware of it or not, Mike Tyson was a branding genius. He would speak in bold phrases and present himself through bold images. Think about the clean, stylized look of his youth. Parted hair, glossy red gloves, and black satin shorts. You could draw him in a few lines and that image would be terrifying.

Think about his high-pitched voice, the way he pronounces words. His boyish vulnerability. His tribal face tattoo inspired by the warriors of the Māori tribe. 

All those things made the man iconic… But it didn’t make him a champion.

What made Tyson a champion was his dedication to his discipline, his training, and his strategy. Tyson was undeniably and demonstratively the best boxer. The proof was right there at his feet, in the form of the great boxers he defeated.

Without his branding, Mike Tyson would still have been one of the most memorable athletes of all times. That image he cultivated was an expression of the things that made him a genius in the ring (and a controversial monster outside of it).

One could argue that the fear-inducing aura that surrounded him contributed to his victories, since boxing is also a mental game. I’m sure it destabilized more than one of his opponents. It was just a factor of his success among many.

In the creative industry, branding often feels like an impenetrable buzz word. An elusive blind spot for all but the initiated. Something you should kick yourself for not being better at. Bad branding is often considered as the de facto cause of all those shots you missed.

The truth is success takes a lot of time. First, you have to practice enough to become great (which is more accessible than our culture lets you think). Then you have to become so fierce as to create work that no one else but you could create. And then you have to wait for the whole world to catch up to you, to understand your value.

They say that if you produce undeniable work you won’t be denied. 

Undeniable is the most valuable brand.