@former
Performance Report + Competitor Intel
@former — Last 30 Days
| Date | Caption / Theme | Type | Category | Likes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30 | Austyn Gillette skate movements — Spain (collab w/ @former) | Collab Reel | Athlete Action | 8,078 |
| May 11 | "Beer in the Dark" — FORMER's riff on Stab in the Dark format | Reel | High Concept | 8,003 |
| Apr 22 | "DELAYED!!!! Destroyed By Dane — Releasing This Week" | Reel | Collection Drop | 2,913 |
| May 5 | "WATCH NOW // DEFECTIVE UNITS: VOLUME 02 — B.TEAM" | Reel | Film Release | 2,666 |
| May 4 | "ONLINE TOMORROW // DEFECTIVE UNITS VOL.2 BTEAM" | Reel | Film Announce | 2,307 |
| May 3 | Dane Reynolds / Dillon Perillo — B-Team teaser Reel | Reel | Athlete Teaser | 1,878 |
| May 1 | DU Vol.2 B-Team surf film trailer | Reel | Film Release | 2,171 |
| May 14 | "Destroyed by Dane" collection — full product launch carousel | Carousel | Product Drop | 1,546 |
| May 16 | Stab High poolside — contest lifestyle content | Carousel | Event / Lifestyle | 1,535 |
| May 15 | Dane Reynolds design quote — "Destroyed by Dane" process Reel | Reel | Founder Story | 1,149 |
| May 6 | Jake Kelley — Puerto Rico trip for DEFECT surf film | Reel | Athlete Action | 1,360 |
| May 18 | "DESTROYED BY DANE //" — B&W surf action Reel | Reel | Athlete Action | 905 |
| May 9 | "DESTROYED BY DANE" teaser — Sealtooth's dog | Reel | Teaser | 791 |
| Apr 18 | Website restock — "merch back online, Enigma Jacket, AG Waffles…" | Reel | Admin / Restock | 313 |
What's Working — What Isn't
The two best posts this month share one thing: other people's audiences pulling them into orbit. Austyn Gillette (8,078 likes) was a collab that landed on both accounts. Beer in the Dark (8,003 likes) referenced an existing format (@Stab in the Dark) that already has a fanbase. When Former's content hooks into a wider cultural moment — or an athlete with reach — it easily 10x's the normal engagement floor.
- Athlete collab Reels — Austyn Gillette pulled 8K from his audience crossing over
- High-concept format riffs — Beer in the Dark shows cultural awareness earns outsized attention
- Film release Reels — the DU Vol.2 campaign averaged ~2,300 likes across 5 posts
- Founder story content — Dane's design process Reel (1,149) outperformed most product posts without trying to sell anything
- Event/lifestyle carousels — Stab High (1,535) travels well and shows the brand in the wild
- Pure admin/restock posts — 313 likes is your floor, and it's a hard drop from your average
- Teasers with nothing to see — the dog teaser (791) and the vague B&W surf (905) landed low; audiences need a payoff in the Reel itself
- Announcing the same drop multiple times — the DBD product carousel (1,546) underperformed the DELAYED announcement (2,913) from 3 weeks earlier; the excitement peaked before the actual drop
- Text-heavy caption-first Reels — Dane's design quote Reel (1,149) is middle-of-pack; the ideas are good but the delivery is passive
- Former posts ~3–4x per week — consistent but not overwhelming
- Reels dominate the content mix (11 of 14 posts) — right call given current algorithm
- The DU Vol.2 campaign created a strong week of content (May 1–6) with 5 connected posts averaging 2,100 likes — narrative arcs work
- April had only 2 in-window posts — the month felt quiet relative to May's campaign cadence
- Top 2 posts: 8,078 + 8,003 likes = 63% of total period engagement combined
- Median post performance: ~1,709 likes
- Posts below median: 6 of 14 (43%) — engagement is uneven
- The gap between best (8,078) and worst (313) is 26x — a lot of swing for a ~28K follower account
Competitor Top Reels Analysis
@satisfyrunning
~290K followers · Running apparel / ParisAdidas x Satisfy — "THE CIRCLE PIT" launch teaser
"Welcome to THE CIRCLE PIT" — Adidas x Satisfy event Reel
"THE CIRCLE PIT" — collapsed race format + live music event
"Desert Rats" — Summer collection, Atacama Desert film
Molly Seidel — first race in Satisfy colours (Olympic bronze medalist)
Satisfy are doubling down hard on one thing: the Adidas collab as a cultural moment, not just a product. Three of their top 5 Reels this month are all part of the same "Circle Pit" campaign — a teaser, a reveal, and the event itself — rolled out over 5 days. Combined those three hit 1.35M views. Their other winning move is athlete-as-editorial: Molly Seidel (Olympic medalist) in race footage, and the Desert Rats cinematic collection launch. Zero talking-head content, zero product flatlay — every Reel is motion and atmosphere.
@palaceskateboards
2M followers · Skate brand / LondonPalace x Nike Air Max 95 — "London, 1995" nostalgia film
Vans Palace Low 2 — S.S.O.T.Y. award announcement Reel
"PALACE WORLD INDUSTRIES" — animated character Reel
SSOTY Awards ceremony — Palace x Vans event Reel
"PALACE EVISU" — floral arch logo on cream, collab Reel
All 5 of Palace's top Reels are collab posts — 4 of them are actually posted by their partner accounts (Nike, Vans, Evisu), not Palace themselves. Palace is winning by being so collab-rich that partner brands' audiences do the heavy lifting. The #1 Reel (796K, 30.2K likes) is a short nostalgic film — "London, 1995" — for the Nike Air Max 95, shot like a narrative mini-movie. Their animated character Reel (457K, 20.4K likes) shows they're also investing in original creative formats. The pattern: big licensing collab + cinematic treatment + partner brand distribution = massive reach with minimal self-promotion.
@stussy
6.1M followers · Streetwear / CaliforniaStreet skating on brick — raw footage Reel
Stussy x Metalheadz — music collab drop announcement
Stussy x Nike — surf collab launch film
"Vancouver Video" — skateboarding short film
"Hammerheads in Izu" — underwater wildlife Reel
Stussy is a masterclass in brand-as-lifestyle, not brand-as-brand. Their #1 and #5 top Reels contain zero product. A skating video on bricks (2.3M views) and hammerhead sharks in Japan (2M views) both outperformed most clothing brands' actual launch content. When they do drop collabs — Nike surf (2.2M), Metalheadz drum and bass (2.3M) — they treat them like cultural releases, not product launches. The "Vancouver Video" (2.2M) links out to a full YouTube film. The playbook: cinematic quality over caption copy, lead with the vibe, never the SKU.
What Former Should Do Next
Former already has what most brands don't: real athletes, a genuine creative POV, and an active film pipeline. The missing piece isn't content quality — it's audience extension. Your two best posts this month worked because other people's followers found them. The opportunity is to build a systematic version of that: more athlete collabs, more format riffs, more cross-account campaigns, and less standalone product posting into a ~28K follower bubble.
Make every athlete post a collab post
When Austyn Gillette posts, make sure @former is tagged as a collaborator — not just mentioned. The collab feature means it appears on both grids. This alone could double reach on athlete content with zero extra effort. Do this for every Dane, Craig, Austin, Jake post going forward.
Run one more "format riff" per month
Beer in the Dark worked because it took an established cultural format and made it theirs. Look at what's already running in surf and skate culture — competition formats, review formats, ranking formats — and subvert one per month. Low production cost, high conceptual payoff.
Build film releases as 5-day campaign arcs
The DU Vol.2 week (May 1–6) averaged 2,100 likes across 5 posts and built real momentum. That's the model. Tease → athlete feature → announcement → watch now → recap. Don't just drop a video — build to it, then recap it. Stussy does this for every collab drop.
Stop announcing the same thing twice
The DELAYED announcement (2,913 likes, Apr 22) performed way better than the actual drop carousel (1,546, May 14). The audience peaked on the delay drama. The launch post felt anticlimactic. Fewer pre-announcements, more singular moments.
Cut admin posts entirely
313 likes on a restock Reel. Put that in stories or the link in bio, not the main feed. The feed should only ever be content you're proud of — action, film, founder voice, or collection launches. Restocks are a newsletter job.
Look at Stussy's non-product play
Hammerhead sharks in Izu. No caption. 2M views. This is a reminder that Former's world — the ocean, the coastline, the people in it — is content on its own. Not every post needs to be about the brand. Sometimes posting what the brand loves is enough.
