Meet Rande Vick | Author, Advisor, Alchemist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rande Vick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rande, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Honestly, it wasn’t a thought process, it was a reckoning.

When I got laid off from Fender in 2020, I didn’t just lose a job. I lost a piece of my identity. I’d been a “Fender guy” since I was 17. That logo was on my amps, my guitar, my shirts, and even my sense of self. So when it was gone, I was forced to confront something uncomfortable: If a brand could become that wrapped up in who I was… what was that? Why do some brands stick to our soul while others barely register?

That question became an obsession. I dove into neuroscience. And not just surface-level marketing psychology, but the deep stuff: brain chemistry, memory formation, emotional attachment, decision-making. And what I found blew my mind. There’s real science behind why certain brands earn a permanent place in our brains. But most strategists weren’t using it. Not in any meaningful, applicable way.

A few years before the Fender fiasco, my personal life had unraveled. Divorce. Deconstruction. All the things you don’t post on LinkedIn. But pain has a way of sharpening your lens. I started to see how story, identity, and belief aren’t just emotional – they’re neurological.

Starting my business wasn’t about building another agency. It was about building a method – a framework that could help brands create the kind of lasting emotional resonance I had once felt with Fender. But rooted in actual brain science, not guesswork.

That’s how the NeuroBrand Method was born. It turned one of the darkest seasons of my life into a strategy for helping others build unforgettable brands.

Sometimes your biggest breakdown is the blueprint for your biggest breakthrough.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Vick Agency isn’t your typical branding shop cranking out logos and taglines. We build brands that live rent-free in people’s minds using what I call the NeuroBrand Method. It’s a fusion of neuroscience, storytelling, and strategy that creates brands people don’t just notice… they remember.

What sets us apart is simple: while most brand strategists lean on intuition or the same old frameworks, we ground our work in actual brain science. I study how memories form around sensory cues, why certain sounds, scents, or visuals trigger instant emotional reactions, and what makes a story stick in the human brain. We’re not making guesses, we’re designing brands around how people actually think, feel, and decide.

I’m most excited about the results we’re seeing. When you understand the neuroscience behind brand attachment, you can create what I call “neurological imprints” – brands that literally reframe how people see the world. It’s not about being louder. It’s about being unforgettable.

But getting here wasn’t easy. Starting a business felt like building a plane mid-flight, with no map and the engines sputtering. I’ve been through the gauntlet; cash flow crises, ghosted contracts, the nonstop hustle to stay afloat. But the harder part wasn’t logistical. It was personal.

When I lost my job at Fender, it wasn’t just a career hit. It was an identity crisis. I had spent years tying my self-worth to a brand I loved. Even before that came divorce, spiritual upheaval, and the long, quiet work of rebuilding a life from the ground up.

Those seasons were transformative. They taught me more about human nature than any marketing textbook ever could. I learned that behind every decision is a story. Behind every brand is a person searching for meaning. That shift – toward empathy, curiosity, and real connection – changed the way I work, and the way I live. Going through divorce, faith deconstruction, and then career upheaval while building a business taught me something invaluable about attachment, identity, and resilience.

What I want the world to know is this: branding isn’t about vanity metrics or shiny logos. It’s about creating honest, emotional resonance that lasts. We work with challenger brands. You know, those brands brave enough to stand for something? We help them find their voice, their difference, and their place in people’s hearts.

Sometimes, the story you think is ending is just the beginning. That’s what Vick Agency was for me. And that’s what we build for our clients. Brands that matter.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My friends know I’m a native, so we’d probably bypass the touristy bit. Mostly, at least.

You know, I’d prefer to show them the LA that most people miss, the places where real stories live, not just the Instagram spots.

We’d start in my local village square in Claremont, During the summer, there are always great street performers playing some great music. There’s something about watching someone pour their soul into their craft that reminds you why art matters in the first place. For eats, the world’s best burger at the original Back Abbey.

Another night, we’d hit up places like Canter’s Deli where record deals used to get made over pastrami sandwiches, or The Rainbow Room on Sunset where rock history happened over drinks. I’m fascinated by places that have absorbed decades of creative energy.

I’d definitely take them to a few music spots – not just to geek out over gear, but because there’s something magical about spaces where artists have transformed their deepest emotions into something universal. Truetone Music in Santa Monica, the legendary Troubadour in WeHo. Maybe take a tour of EastWest Studios where so much history has been made. The neuroscience nerd in me is captivated by environments designed specifically to capture and amplify human creativity.

We’d spend time in Griffith Observatory, because nothing puts your problems in perspective like staring at the cosmos. Plus, I love spaces that make you contemplate the bigger questions – which is basically what I do for a living, just with brands instead of stars.

For nightlife, I’d find us some intimate venues where we could catch singer-songwriters or spoken word artists – people who understand that the most powerful connections happen when you strip away the noise and hit that primal frequency.

And honestly? We’d spend at least one evening just walking the shoreline in Laguna Beach, talking about life, identity, and what it all means. Sometimes the best adventures happen in conversations where you’re brave enough to be curious about the uncomfortable questions.

The goal wouldn’t be to impress them with LA’s glamour, but to show them the city’s soul – the places where creativity, vulnerability, and authentic human connection still matter.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A lot of people show up for your success in ways they’ll never get credit for. I’ve had mentors, friends, even strangers who believed in me at moments I didn’t believe in myself. But if I had to give a true shout out – it’d go to my wife, Bri.

She met me in the middle of the mess. Not the highlight reel, the rebuild. She’s walked with me through seasons where the path was foggy, the income was inconsistent, and the dream felt fragile. And somehow, she made those seasons feel sacred instead of scary. Her quiet confidence and deep intuition have shaped me more than any business book ever could.

I also owe a debt to the misfits and doubters I’ve crossed paths with. Those who made me question the rules, push back on the status quo, and find my own voice. And to Pete Enns and Rob Bell—two voices who helped me see that deconstruction isn’t the end of belief. It’s the beginning of something more honest.

Oh, and for sure shoutout to Dr. Paul Zak. His neuroscience research lit the fuse for what would become the NeuroBrand Method. Without his work on oxytocin and immersion, I might still be guessing instead of grounding.

Success isn’t a solo act. It’s a mixtape of voices, moments, and people – some planned, some accidental – that somehow harmonize at the right time.

Website: https://vickagency.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vick_agency

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randevick/

Image Credits
Brian Oliva (Main Photo)
Brianna Vick