Detonator
Blowing up July 4, 2012.

Two brothers. One had a mustache in third grade. The other inadvertently inhaled a pine cone. But we’ve come a long way since then. Really.

Now we work together as Detonator, a potent molotov cocktail of creative juices focused on bringing a little more “shock and awesome” into your life. Through writing, music, graphic design, film, and whatever else we can come up with, we deliver great ideas wrapped in C-4 and wired to blow your mind.

Want to know a little more about us? Ok, bring down the lights. Let’s get formal for a minute:

Matt Vanderlinden
Matt spent the last decade of his career as CEO of an apparel company specializing in collegiate-licensed children’s clothing. He built relationships with billion-dollar, multi-location retailers and small local bookstores alike. He was a member of one of the collegiate industry’s key advisory committees for the last few years. And in 2011, Matt was a presenter at CAMEX, the industry’s largest trade show. You can find apparel products that he helped create in hundreds of college bookstores all across the country. Places like Notre Dame, Harvard, Yale, Penn State, and The University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Chris Vanderlinden
Chris has spent the last ten years as an independent creative director tirelessly building the brands of his clients. He's worked with billion-dollar corporations, well-known ad agencies, and charitable organizations from all over the country. He's designed and directed compelling campaigns for print, web, and television. His ability to craft an emotionally engaging story that resonates with all kinds of audiences has kept his services in high demand.

Although we’ve taken very different career paths until now, there's always been some common threads running through our work. We both get seriously fired up when we feel like we're doing something meaningful. We have to be passionate about it. We want to build things that have lasting value. And we want to demonstrate that business can be the most effective engine for social change that the world has ever seen.

We found our paths intersecting at the corner of purpose and action. The result is Detonator. Now we’re working together to make a dent in the universe.

We could share all kinds of other details about growing up together, all of them embarrassing to some degree. But we thought we’d spare you from endless stories about who’s responsible for losing all the specialty pieces for the Lego® spaceship (Chris). Or for breaking the super-fast toboggan* (Chris). Or for bending the fork on Dad’s used-to-be-totally-awesome racing bike (Chris). Enough said.

*I’m talkin’ blazingly, illegally, ridiculously fast. Take that sucker to Sunset Park, coat the bottom with silicone spray, and you’re practically pullin’ a “Back to the Future,” flaming trail and all! You’ll wake up in 1955, I kid you not!

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