Skip to content

Mario Schulzke

My name is Mario and I grow ideas, companies and hot peppers.

Members Public

Runway

Early in my career, I quit a full-time job at a mediocre ad agency to become an unpaid intern in a world-class ad agency. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I had been saving judiciously to be able to make this move by living

Members Public

Belonging

One of the truest truths of being human is that we all want and need to belong in some way or shape. Functioning families are a great example of people belonging. Sadly, oftentimes, people who don't have a functional family are more likely to fall prey to all

Members Public

Ambulance

I've only been the key actor in the back of an ambulance once, and hopefully, I won't find myself in that situation for a long time. It appeared to be a life-or-death situation, but fortunately, it wasn't. I'll never forget being carried

Members Public

Early

The first book I read (voluntarily) was, at the age of 16, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Bible of Bodybuilding. It taught me so much about fitness, which I've been able to put to work for the last few decades (gulp). If I had read that book later on

Members Public

Cabin

Off The Grid Adventures With A Clueless Craftsman If you texted my wife to inquire about my weekend activities from recent years, her response would likely mirror the above. It's probably true, accompanied by some sassy (and well-earned) emojis. But it's also the title of a

Members Public

Present

I started working in marketing right as the commercial Internet got started, before the days of Google or social media. It felt like the Wild West back then. We had very questionable ideas and were dumb enough to try most of them. Those early days were so much fun, and

Members Public

2025

The end of the year is a nice time to reflect upon what went well, what went wrong, and what you aim to do about it in the coming year. I no longer do New Year's resolutions; instead, I try to define broader themes with specific goals. I

Members Public

Open The Beach

Sometimes, in Florida, the beaches have to be closed when large sharks are seen close to shore. They can stay closed for a long time, usually until the sharks are confirmed to have moved on. Or until a highly trained angler (often having traveled from far away) catches the shark.

Members Public

Yes Then No

Early on in my career, I said "yes" to just about any opportunity that came my way. I treated every opportunity like a door that needed opening. * Publish a book on how to write complaint letters? Yes. * Help open a German restaurant in LA? Yes. * Go door to

Members Public

Beanies

I'm not a minimalist, even though I sometimes play one on the Internet. I have enough shirts, sweaters, beanies, hoodies, wool socks, hats, jackets, and bags to last me a lifetime. Yet you'll often/usually see me wear the same kind of outfit over and over.

Beanies