our leadership

Curt Cuscino is the Founder & CEO of HypeLife Brands, a progressive brand development & marketing agency helping disruptive B2C lifestyle startups engage the Millennial Generation.

Since HypeLife Brands’ inception in 2001, Curt's team at HypeLife has consistently employed a highly progressive approach to creating powerful, engaging brands and fundable startups in the ever-changing "universe of brand," while employing a heavy focus on precision marketing, keenly focused on building customer traction and long-term ROI.

His highly-awarded agency team's ability to navigate and master change quickly for HypeLife’s select roster of clients — a necessity in the digital age — sets HypeLife apart from your typical agency, enabling them to be far more nimble in tight spaces than many of their larger (and slower-moving) agency competitors. This unique agility makes HypeLife a highly valuable asset for their clients and those who are truly ready to elevate their brand to the next level.

Curt is a brand & marketing guru in his own right, as well as a thought leader when it comes to the challenges of future-proofing brands & early-stage startups to fully harness the power within the Millennial Generation through effective Millennial Marketing. He has been featured on a number of radio shows, and was recently interviewed by NPR on the subject for a national Marketplace feature on Millennials, Retail, and the Future of Everything.

"People obsess over sports, royal weddings, etc., because they want to be part of an adventure...I've built my own, and helped many other entrepreneurs build theirs."

Curt is, and always has been, a bonafide cultural sponge. As a child of the 80s, for decades his passion for culture has helped him remained in-tune with both above- and underground trends in pop culture, music, film, social media, branding, marketing and technology. He has worked tirelessly to cultivate that same attention to culture within his agency, building a life where interests and industry intersect. For Curt, his team’s work and his passion overlap daily in pursuit of the next big thing for HypeLife's clients.

Because of the key strategic role HypeLife Brands plays in its clients’ growth, HypeLife's collective eye is always on the future, and at the forefront of that Vision is Curt, channeling one-of-a-kind experiences and knowledge to fuel his brand strategy, creative, and technology teams, all while constantly educating clients in the constantly-evolving “ecosystem of Brand”.

Outside of his day-to-day running HypeLife, Curt is also a startup advisor at Cal State-Fullerton’s Irvine Incubator, and a speaker, father, husband, audiophile, technophile, music producer, DJ and host + creator of the nationally-syndicated, weekly radio specialty show Future/Sound. As you may have guessed, the mixshow airs to primarily a Millennial listener-base on college campuses across the U.S.

Since we know you're curious, learn more about what we've accomplished so far here on our case study, or just listen by subscribing to the free iTunes Podcast, or Google Podcasts , to hear past episodes of the show.

Connect with Curt on LinkedIn

Highlight Reel:

Led and managed the HypeLife team through a full-scale, international B2B rebrand for the largest privately-held global logistics company in the USA, Phoenix International (headquartered in Chicago, 1800+ employees worldwide).

Four years later (2012) — as HypeLife's AOR work with Phoenix continued, on both internal and external initiatives & programs — the company sold for $635M to its next largest competitor (Source: Reuters)
Curt is a regular speaker and a Startup Advisor/Mentor at Cal State-Fullerton’s Startup Incubator in Irvine, California
Led HypeLife's 360-degree brand development + marketing team for a Kansas City streetwear startup, garnering numerous direct co-signs and placements with a number of well-known music acts and athletes, including multi-platinum-selling band P.O.D., Kansas City Chiefs’ running back Jamaal Charles, and Tech N9ne’s right-hand hypeman at the time, Kutt Calhoun.
Featured in a 2017 NPR Marketplace interview on Millennials and the future state of retail
Managed Creative, Digital, Branding and Marketing teams at HypeLife producing award-winning work that has been acknowledged numerous times over his 20+ year career, including awards from W3, AIGA, ADDYs, HOW Magazine, the International Davey Awards, and more