SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT - a Marc Maron inspired reflection by Erik
So, Schrödinger’s cat, right? Here’s the deal—there’s this box, and inside it, there’s either a live cat, a dead cat, or maybe both. And the big question is: do you open the box? But honestly, do we really need to? Like, what’s the upside here? You open it, and either it’s dead, which is a total bummer, or it’s alive and now you’ve got a potentially insane cat freaking out because it’s been stuck in a box. That’s not a win. This feels like one of those situations where leaving the box closed is the move. Why risk turning your day into a Stephen King novel? I mean, sure, you could satisfy your curiosity, but what if curiosity opens the box and the cat’s been doing pushups in there, ready to lose it on you? Sometimes, the best choice is just to walk away, let the box be, or take over the box, store it away, Raiders of the Lost Ark style and get on with ones life, right?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The team...
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SCOTT Bedbury
External Brand Advisor
Scott Bedbury is a globally recognized leader in brand building and marketing strategy. With senior leadership roles at Nike and Starbucks, he helped shape two of the most culturally influential and commercially successful brands in the last 50 years. His work in brand positioning, storytelling, and experiential marketing have become case studies for how companies can develop enduring emotional connections with customers and employees.
Bedbury has advised startups from Silicon Valley to Seattle, London, and Tel Aviv. He has also advised c-suite clients within legacy brands such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Apple, Samsung, NASA, the US Navy, Grupo Modelo, Starwood Hotels, Ferrero, and Volkswagen AG. Since the release of his first book, 'A New Brand World', he has delivered keynote speeches in 35 countries.
At Mickey Is Free! Scott serves as an external brand advisor. He understands that the brand runs deep - his association reflects our commitment to building something with purpose, independence and integrity. -
AMELIA
Skateboarder / Co-Founder
Amelia is co-founder of Mickey Is Free!® and a key voice in shaping the brand’s creative direction and cultural legitimacy within global skate and streetwear. At 15, she left Norway to attend Malmö’s Bryggeriet College in Sweden - an internationally known epicenter of Scandinavian skateboarding culture and a skipping stones distance to Copenhagen skate scene, across The Bridge.
Nothing moves forward without Amelia’s read on the scene. She brings first hand awareness of what resonates and what doesn’t.
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NORWAY SQUAD COLLECTIVE
Like mega corporations, the squad here in the fjord country likes cheese. The Norwegian Thor Bjørklund invented the cheese slicer and patented his ostehøvel design in 1925, 3 years before the now public domain Steamboat Willie character.
The collective, a gang of individuals with common interest in digital tech, media, AI, fashion and popular culture. Håkon, Grace, Espen, Eric (with a ‘c’, different ‘Erik’), Christen, another Erik, Amelia and Dag, are into skateboarding, surfing, music, politics, snowboarding, film, finance, energy, environment and brand strategy - mixed in with Henrik Ibsen and our friluftsliv sensibilities to bs.
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ERIK Dahl
Derivative Works Creator / Co-Founder
Erik is the original creative spark behind Mickey Is Free!® - a streetwear brand fusing legal nuance, countercultural design, and strategic storytelling into a commercially grounded brand. Based near the end of a Norwegian fjord, he draws inspiration from the legal and cultural legacy of the 1928 Steamboat Willie character - now in the public domain and reimagined. For this brand, Mickey is off the boat® and into skate and surf culture. Erik is also a founding member of Norway Squad - a loosely connected collective passionate about digital tech, Abraham Wald, AI, skateboarding, Maslow, surfing and Richard Feynman.
