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Storytime:
The Synchronicities Begin
Last month, I was in Bali - surfing, DJing a couple of parties when I got invited to this dinner by some very successful entrepreneurs I really wanted to meet. You know how it is – sometimes you meet people and think "I need to get in with this circle."
So I show up to this dinner, ready to make connections, and the table is full of people building incredible things – a founder who'd just sold his company to private equity, a guy running some of this sickest events in Bali, one of the world's top YouTube coaches, a creative director working with brands you'd recognize, among others.
But here's where it gets interesting. The conversation is flowing, everyone's connecting on this deeper level, and someone asks how we all know each other. That's when it hit me: I didn't know most of these people personally, but they all knew me.
Or rather, they knew my work through Tribe Accelerator.
As the evening unfolded, I started connecting the dots. Once I caught everyone's names and backgrounds, I realized these guys weren't just successful entrepreneurs who knew my stuff – some of them had actually been members in Tribe.
Now, if you're familiar with my story, you know that I ended Tribe about a year and a half ago. Just shut it down completely.
So here's the plot twist that blew my mind: the founder who'd sold his company to private equity? That was Will Brown - one of only three people in the world who's ever successfully sold a coaching business for serious money. Most coaching businesses, including Tribe, just sort of... stop after delivering what was promised. But Will had figured out how to build something that actually had exit value and made millions from it.
Keep Will in mind – he becomes important later in this story...
The Realization
As I sat at that table, I realized I was looking at the compound effect of Tribe - something I'd developed but hadn't fully appreciated until that moment.
Then came the realization that made me laugh out loud: these guys – the ones I thought I needed to network with – had all used my own system on me. The system I'd taught them for building meaningful high-level relationships. They had strategically invited me, curated this experience, and here I was thinking I was the one trying to network my way into their circle.
The connections were everywhere. The founder was collaborating with the YouTube coach on his next mastermind event. The guy throwing events told me I had impacted him in ways he couldn't even explain. There was an entrepreneur who told me I helped him get out of living in his parents' basement – and now I'm sitting at a table with him in Bali.
These guys had all been affected by the ripple effects of this global movement I started and then just... left.
Who is Arlin?
For those of you who are new here, let me give you some context. My name is Arlin. I started something called 8AM in 2016 – originally related to YouTube videos I was posting back then and a clothing brand. In 2022, it evolved into Tribe Accelerator, which became these curated experiences in cities where creative energy flows naturally: Portugal, Bali, Mykonos, NYC, LA...
But by the end of 2023, I was feeling this weird misalignment. I felt too focused on money, not enough on my inner calling and creativity. So I made a radical decision – I shut everything down, fired 16 people, and spent all of 2024 just meditating for 2 hours a day, making music, and refocusing back on 8AM as my total creative calling.
I put out an album, released a bunch of music, launched a new clothing collection. I felt super exhilarated by this creative freedom – and honestly, Tribe hadn't crossed my mind until that dinner a month ago.
But here's where the synchronicities start getting crazy...
The Universe Calling
Just two weeks after that Bali dinner, I get a message from Brian Moncada - literally the biggest YouTube ad expert in the world. He's inviting me to DJ his Colombia mastermind in September.
Think about that timing: The person who helped me create the original video ads for Tribe Accelerator is now connecting with my music and spiritual evolution through 8AM. He's inviting me into his world as an artist.
And get this – he knows Will Brown. Remember Will, the guy who exited his coaching business? Well, I start working with Will to help bring Tribe back, and in Will's coaching program, there's a video featuring Brian Moncada.
The connections were too clear to ignore. Even though part of me didn't want to revisit Tribe, it felt like the universe was saying: "These aren't separate paths – they're meant to come together."
The New 2025 Tribe Philosophy
This experience crystallized something I'd always known but never fully articulated. There's something the most influential creatives understand that others miss entirely.
People like Virgil Abloh, Rampa of Keinemusik, Kanye, Raf Simons – they didn't just build brands or careers. They built gravitational fields. Their success comes from becoming the type of person whose work and presence naturally draws other exceptional creatives into their orbit.
It's not about follower count or Instagram hooks. It's about developing an authentic magnetic presence that attracts the right people because it's genuinely unique to you.
I also realized this was at the core of the Tribe system all along
The Origin Story
So - let me share something personal that explains why this still matters so much to me. Despite growing up in a creative household and getting a great education, I was severely socially anxious and creatively stifled early in my journey. I had a vision and skills but couldn't connect with people who shared my ambition. In fact a lot of my friends in college shit on me whenever I tried anything outside the normal college track.
I was stuck in environments that didn't match my energy – friend groups that didn't understand what I was building, relationships that felt transactional and hollow.
That's when I started experimenting with what I now call ‘Creative Magnetism’. Instead of trying to network my way into success, I focused on creating things that genuinely excited me. And something magical happened – the more I poured my authentic energy into creative work, the more it started attracting people who resonated with that same frequency.
Crafting the System
This approach works because it's not about fake networking or becoming someone you're not. It's about amplifying who you already are.
Take Cameron – Cameron Cruz is an OG tribe member who went from living with his parents to signing $30,000 deals internationally for his 1 man business with multiple clients a month, now working with creators like Sam Kolder. Jack Bratset transformed from complete isolation & social awkwardness to becoming a DJ traveling the world. Austin Heinz moved to a new city knowing three people and within weeks had a network helping him secure work and he also met a girl he ended up marrying. The amount of guys I’ve helped introduce their wife to and start a family… is a crazy number.
And the validation to pursue this has kept coming. Just last week, I had a call with Brock from my current 8AM community. Successful trader, been following me for years, but struggling with severe social anxiety the last 5 years, only now getting better. When I mentioned Tribe Accelerator, he said "Dude, why didn't I join that? That's exactly what I needed."
So I tested something: I shared the original Tribe problem list in my 8AM group. The response was immediate: "It feels like you're reading my mind." Same problems, same audience, same need – just evolved.
The Full Circle Moment
Which brings me back to that dinner in Bali and the realization that changed everything.
Nearly half the guys at that table had been affected by the ripples of Tribe Accelerator - the systematic approach I'd developed years earlier was still creating connections and opportunities I never could have imagined.
I can’t shy away from that kind of impact.
Here's the truth – I'd shut down Tribe at the end of 2023. I'd run it successfully, made good money, and honestly? I didn't fully appreciate what I had created. All I wanted to do was make music and build my 8AM brand. So I just... stopped.
But sitting at that table, watching these people collaborate and elevate each other years later, I realized I'd been looking at the long-term compound effect of something I'd walked away from.
My Honest Internal Struggle with Bringing Back Tribe
Between the Bali revelation, Brian's synchronistic invitation, Brock's confirmation call, and my 8AM group's response – everything was pointing to the same conclusion: Tribe needed to come back.
But here's the shtick – part of me really didn't want to do this at all. I've spent years building this identity as a full-time artist, which honestly has major aura. The coaching identity? It feels like it subtracts from that vibe. There's something cringeworthy about it to me.
Yet I couldn't ignore the evidence. My nearly 3.5-year relationship with Chloe started because of principles I learned and taught in Tribe. The transformations I witnessed in those guys in Bali. Brock's call where I realized how many people are still struggling with the exact problems Tribe solves.
The Real Problems Guys Are Facing
Let me be specific about what I'm still seeing in 2025 through convo’s, DM’s, and broader market observation:
Social anxiety
Social trauma from past relationships or friendships
General social awkwardness is still keeping a lot of men isolated
Still, there’s a ton of men who don’t have like-minded friends or who think big.
Instagram is still screwing so many guys over because they don't know how to present themselves online. Guys either don’t touch it, or they have no idea how to use it. OR it just depresses them.
There’s still so many guys don't know how to identify and meet quality women or maintain relationships
Many guys are still stuck in small-minded social circles that don't support their ambitions
There’s still so many guys living in the wrong cities, spending time in the wrong places, trapped in bubbles they need to burst out of.
The amount of successful guys I know that wish they could break out of their circle. Who were going through things like i was - but they’re trapped in a ‘money prison’ where money is God instead of God being God and creativity for God being the currency.
Some guys don't need this. But a lot of guys really, really do. And when something works this well, when it genuinely transforms lives, I realized I have a responsibility to bring it back – even if it complicates my ‘artist identity’.
But to be honest… I’ve been revisiting the course i created and it actually is a piece of art.
Here’s What’s Possible When You Build a Tribe
Picture this: You wake up in a world where you and your creative work naturally attracts the people you want to collaborate with. Where launching a project means your network is already excited to support it. Where the most interesting people in any room recognize you and want to connect because your creative energy precedes you.
You've become the type of person that exceptional people seek out.
There's a whole architecture around how to create in this way, and then how you present yourself and your work – online and offline. How you curate your social presence, show up at events, communicate your vision, and build relationships within your growing network.
Within the first week of knowing this system, your entire presence shifts. You start signaling to high-caliber people that you're worth knowing. By week four in this system, you're curating experiences where you meet exactly the people you want in your life. By week seven, you have frameworks for building meaningful relationships anywhere in the world and for starting a family.
The Complete System (Updated)
Over the past few years since I originally ran Tribe, I've refined the approach through my 8AM work. I've added deeper elements around creative authenticity, spiritual alignment, and energy management that I didn't understand before.
This enhanced version covers:
Creative Magnetism: How to embed your authentic energy into everything you create
Brand Architecture: How to present yourself powerfully online and offline
Network Dynamics: How to build and maintain high-value relationships
Strategic Positioning: How to become known for what you actually want to be known for
Energy Alignment: How to maintain authentic creative flow while building influence
The Opportunity
Tribe Accelerator is now a seven-week intensive combining systematic relationship building with authentic personal brand development. You get weekly deep-dive sessions, access to a community of creatives actively building this lifestyle, personalized guidance on your specific vision, and ongoing support as you develop your magnetic presence.
If you're curious about how this applies to your specific creative goals, my team offers Creative Strategy Consultations where we'll analyze your current creative output, brand positioning, and network potential.
This isn't a creative strategy session. Whether you work with us or not, you'll walk away with clarity about your direction and actionable insights you can implement immediately.
How to Proceed
Below this video, you can request a Creative Strategy Consultation. These conversations are limited because we're personally reviewing each creative's unique situation and potential.
Here's the choice in front of you: You can continue creating in isolation, hoping the right people somehow find you. Or you can learn how to systematically build both the creative magnetism and network architecture that attracts your ideal collaborators and supporters.
The most successful creatives aren't just making great work – they're building magnetic ecosystems around their creativity that elevate everyone involved.
That dinner table in Bali? That's what's possible when you combine authentic creative expression with strategic relationship building.
If that sounds like the creative life you want to build, let's start a conversation about your vision.