Nathan Poekert is no stranger to juggling a diverse workload. After moving to New York after college, he simultaneously worked as a graphic designer and marketing coordinator while also doing freelance photography and weekend flag football refereeing.

“It was very much the definition of hustling,” said the South Korean-born Poekert, who grew up in Florida and majored in marketing at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Two years ago, a job search post on Instagram Stories serendipitously landed Poekert a role where his ability to manage multiple projects is paying off. As director of social media, branded content and digital innovation at American Eagle, he spends his days connecting with retail’s most coveted consumers. He helped build the brand’s TikTok, YouTube and video strategies and also helmed American Eagle’s Roblox debut last year.

“We post a lot of memes and we post a lot of things we think our customers would be interested in—we’re not afraid to be scrappy with it,” Poekert said. “A lot of brands focus on brand guidelines and aesthetic. We are just trying to meet our customers where we are.”

After experimenting with different platforms and analyzing the results—Poekert worked as a risk auditor at KPMG for a year, so he also has a data and deductive reasoning background—he’s eager to see what sticks in the long term.

“At a certain point in time, innovation does need to impact the marketing funnel, and a lot of what we’re analyzing and focusing on is how can we actually show how these things impact sales,” Poekert said.

What advice would you give to teens about using social media today?

Not advice, but more so a constant reminder that behind every photo and video posted on social media is a camera roll filled with re-shoots and re-films. Social media may be real, but it’s still filtered. 

How is new technology changing the way you work? 

It’s not the new technology that’s changing how I work … it’s the accelerated rate that new technology is progressing that’s causing the change. Technology is moving faster than marketers can keep up [with]. The six-month cycle for a project from kickoff to completion is a relic. We’re essentially in a “do it in six weeks or it’s probably not worth it” industry right now. 

What piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? 

I feel like everyone is going to say their phones or may try to say something profound here so I’m just going to say my Whoop Strap. I let this thing dictate my life at this point, from when I go to sleep all the way to how much alcohol I drink. 

What is the biggest technical leap you’ve had to adjust to in your career and how did you do it? 

I’m going to be honest and say that the biggest drawback to Web3 is also the biggest technical leap I made. The amount of time it took for me to understand blockchain, crypto, NFTs, minting, environmental impact, how crypto moves and doesn’t move with global stock markets, etc., was like taking an intense and condensed graduate school program. I don’t have any secret sauce for how I did it except reading a ton and watching a ton of YouTube videos, but I think the important aspect is that I came to my own opinions and conclusions and didn’t let “experts” influence me.