Why elBenbo must die
Came a question:
Hi Ben
Really enjoy reading your stuff…
Just have a stupid question. What’s elbenbo?
Okay, after searching on Google and then reading this email it’s obvious that you’re elbenbo.
But still. What does it mean? Where did it come from?
Have a nice day,
I talk at length about this in my Brand Barbarian book.
But here’s the tl;dr version:
1. Waaaay back in 1999 I was playing chess with my pal Larry.
2. We were listening to Rush Limbaugh.
3. A commercial came on where Rush called himself “elRushbo.”
4. I said something like, “your move elLarbo,” and he made his move, then countered with “your move elBenbo.”
5. A few years later (2003 or 2004) when creating a new personal email address, I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to use, remembered that day, and used “elBenbo” in the address.
6. Fast forward another several years (early 2013) and I got into an argument with my girlfriend at that time. And she said something about me having two personalities — Ben and elBenbo. Ben being the fun, kind, all around humble (…) and lovable guy. elBenbo being the prick who’d snap if she even so much as forgot to put a ripe, plump tomato on his sammich.
7. Later that same year when it came time to promote the first Ocean’s 4 Mastermind (that I co-hosted with Ryan Levesque, Andre Chaperon, and Jack Born), I wrote a tongue-in-cheek email telling the above story about that argument, and about how at the mastermind elBenbo would be more likely to come out and play instead of Ben.
8. Suddenly after that people starting replying, asking questions, etc referring to me by that name, including when I spoke at seminars or was referred to by someone somewhere else on the internet
9. And even though it was never intended as anything but a throwaway gag for an email to sell some mastermind tickets… and even though I think it’s a bit dorky, way-too-derivative of Rush Limbaugh, and not something I would have otherwise thought to do intentionally… I just went with it.
10. One day I will kill off — yes, execution style — the elBenbo persona.
11. But that is a story for another day…
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Ben Settle
