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Key Takeaways
- The simple habit of including his audience in his life led him to an unexpected and fulfilling career pivot.
- Chasing likes, views or trying to go viral will lead to inauthentic brand moments.
- Long-lasting business partnerships are built on mutual interests and shared passions.
Not A Damn Chance Burger didn’t begin with a business plan. It began with an Instagram post and an unexpected sushi dinner.
Whenever Neen Williams travels, he asks his Instagram followers where they think he should eat. During one trip to Austin, Texas, Chef Phillip Frankland Lee, whose restaurants have earned Michelin stars, invited him to dinner.
Williams accepted without thinking much about it, assuming he was headed to a neighborhood sushi spot.
“I thought I was gonna get, like, California rolls or something very basic,” Williams says. Instead, he found himself at a hidden 17-course omakase restaurant.
“It was this mind-blowing experience,” he says.
As the meal continued, the two discovered they had more in common than either expected. Lee had grown up skateboarding and already knew Williams from his professional skateboarding career. Williams had grown up cooking.
“He’s a professional chef. I’m a professional skater,” Williams says. “We both have similar interests.”
Their friendship quickly moved from the restaurant to Williams’ backyard, where they spent weekends roasting pigs, cooking over open flames and experimenting with recipes. No matter what they made, they always came back to burgers.
“Our favorite treat meal was burgers,” Williams says. “We should make a burger spot the way that we like.”
They started hosting pop-ups at skate parks, comedy shows and community events, often giving away just 50 burgers at a time.
“There wasn’t really a plan,” Williams says. “We make a really good burger. ‘What are you doing this weekend? You wanna make burgers? Let’s do it.’”
They didn’t even have a name until the day they created an Instagram account, so people would have something to tag. That’s when Not A Damn Chance Burger was born.
Today, NADC Burger has grown to 13 locations, but it all started with one Instagram post asking a simple question: “Where should I eat?”
Authenticity builds trust
Williams doesn’t think much about algorithms. He thinks about being himself.
As a pro skater, fitness coach and restaurateur, Williams built a loyal following by sharing the things he genuinely cares about. Growing an audience was never the goal. Documenting his life was.
“My whole life motto hasn’t been, ‘I need to do this so I can get attention. I need to do this to get likes. I need to do this to get views,’” Williams says.
Instead, he posts what he believes in.
“If I truly believe in it, and, you know, if you’re with it, then you roll with me, and if you’re not with it, then you don’t roll with me.”
That same mindset shaped his fitness journey. After injuries forced him to rethink his approach to skateboarding, Williams immersed himself in strength training, nutrition and recovery. He documented the process because it had become part of his everyday life, eventually leading him to coach on the Ladder fitness app.
“It’s always just been organic,” Williams says. “This is me, this is what’s going on, and this is what’s happening.”
The philosophy didn’t change when he co-founded NADC Burger.
“I didn’t just put my name on this,” Williams says. “Philip and I created this together… This is my baby.”
Williams still visits restaurants, works the grill and spends time with his team whenever he can.
“I feel if you’re gonna come and support my burger spot, it’s only right that I come and show up,” he says.
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