Why Chaos, Curiosity, and Voice Still Win with Alex Ferzan of Manojo Mezcal & ZADDY
Every founder has an origin story, but few start in a sweaty Long Island basement with a hardcore band, zero money, and a DIY mindset that still shapes everything they touch today. This week on Above the Fold, I sat down with Alex Ferzan, co-founder of Manojo Mezcal and founder of ZADDY, a long time creative troublemaker who has built some of the most unforgettable brand moments in CPG.
If you care about brand voice, community, or the art of making noise in a crowded industry, this episode hits hard. Alex and I get into his early days in the late nineties punk scene, his jump into music management, and how those years of taking photos, writing bios, booking tours, and doing literally every job possible became the training ground for how he builds brands now.
The Punk Mindset That Never Left
Alex came up through a scene where you either figured it out or you went home. He talked about learning every skill because no one else was going to do it for you. That resourcefulness followed him into his later work with bigger artists like Rihanna and even deeper into the creative world when he realized the music industry was about to break apart. That realization pushed him toward art, advertising, and eventually brand building.
This is something founders forget. Your past work, even the weird chapters, always shows up later. Alex is a great reminder that the most interesting builders usually had a life before their LinkedIn era.
From Touring Vans to BABE Wine
One of my favorite parts of the conversation was hearing how Babe started. It was never a corporate brainstorm or a polished pitch deck. It was a group of people, a weird mix of internet culture, and a New York Post headline about a rosé shortage.
They posted a meme, sold two hundred thousand bottles by accident, and then scrambled to create a product they did not plan for. It was chaotic, but it also revealed the real formula for early brand traction. A clear voice. A hungry audience. A willingness to move fast.
Alex explains it best. Marketing is smoke and mirrors until a product hits people at the right time. There is no perfect name. No perfect strategy. Just timing, instinct, and a little luck.
Why Being Multi Passionate Actually Works
Something I loved about this conversation is how brutally honest Alex is about not being great at everything. He knows his strength. He knows his gaps. And he believes in having multiple things going at once because it gives you leverage and energy instead of boxing you into one identity.
I share this mindset. Everyone loves to yell “niche down,” but honestly, knowing how to work across different lanes is a superpower if you are intentional about it. Alex talks about this with so much clarity and humor. It makes you rethink what it means to grow a career without shrinking yourself.
The Story Behind Manojo Mezcal
We also go deep into Manojo Mezcal, a brand built with chef Enrique Olvera and rooted in real Oaxacan culture. Alex walks me through the name, the lore, the artwork, the blood red marks on agave that tell you when it is ready, and why the brand intentionally avoids the mystical narrative that so many mezcal brands use. Because to them, mezcal is table liquid. It is communal. It is not a costume.
The whole conversation made me think about how brand building is really just storytelling with receipts. Real people. Real places. Real details.
If you are building a brand, launching a product, or trying to figure out why some ideas catch while others die on the table, Alex brings the kind of lived experience you cannot fake. Twenty years of work. Two agencies. A major acquisition. Celebrity clients. And still the same punk kid energy that refuses to play the game safely.
