In the midst of so much doom and gloom, one industry brand had a very bright moment this week courtesy of Humans of New York on Instagram.
Humans of New York tells the extraordinary stories of ordinary people in New York. And this week, the Nixon watch brand played a leading role in one woman’s tale.
To summarize the story, a couple celebrated the husband, Nate, winning a Nixon watch on eBay with an intimate moment between the two of them. During that intimate moment, Nate had a massive aneurysm. At the hospital, doctors told Nate’s wife to say goodbye to him because he would likely die.
She told Nate, who had wanted another child, “If you don’t die, I’ll have another baby.” Nate was in the ICU for 28 days but made it through.
When his recovery was complete, they had another child, a boy – and they named him Nixon.
After seeing that Humans of New York post, SES reached out to Nixon Co-Founder Chad DiNenna to ask him about his reaction to the story and the impact it has had.
Tell us about how you first learned about the Humans of New York Instagram post?
Chad DiNenna: A friend from Hawaii was the first one to forward it to me and soon thereafter it was a constant stream of DM’s, emails and texts. There was a ton of positive buzz among the staff and fans of the brand. My favorite comment has been one that read “This is the best post in the history of Instagram.”
Have you reached out to the family?
Chad DiNenna: Nate reached out after seeing me tagged in the feed. We’ve connected and rest assured we found links to his favorite watch!
How did you feel, especially knowing they named their son Nixon?
Chad DiNenna: There’s often a personal story behind a Nixon watch. And we’ve heard a lot of good ones over the years – from a certain world champion surfer who had his watch collection stolen only later to track down the thief who dug up the loot from a buried hiding spot to numerous images of Nixon logo tattoos!
But this is truly one of the best. We’re stoked that Nate is a fan of the brand and we promise that little Nixon can pick out any watch he wants when he’s old enough.
Have you heard from a lot of people who have seen the post?
Chad DiNenna: We have. Coworkers, family, retailers, friends, athletes and ambassadors were tagging the brand or people individually wanting to make sure we saw the story and connected with Nate, baby Nixon and mom.
It’s amazing how many people who are not from NY follow the feed. With over 10 million followers, most of whom are locked inside their homes looking for personal connections, and this post helped to bridge the gap. It is nice to see our watch play a small part in their story.
How has it impacted your staff?
Chad DiNenna: Having our family and friends acknowledge the story made us all smile – especially when the outcome was as good as it was for Nate and his family.
A personal TMI story with a happy ending was just what we all needed for the lockdown blues.
