What if I told you that wearing a t-shirt could change your entire life?
I know that sounds ridiculous.
But stay with me.
Because today’s guest, Amy Stafford, is living proof that the smallest moment of connection can create the most extraordinary ripple effects.
Amy is the founder of Blixa Six Studios in Berlin, Germany, where she’s equal parts cultural producer, creative director, and artist.
For over 20 years, she’s been shaping the Lucky Trimmer short-format dance festival.
A volunteer-run international community that uses design and performance to bring people together from around the world.
But her story of how she got there?
It’s going to make you rethink everything about connection.
Picture This: Berlin, Early 2000s
You’re an expat in Berlin.
No smartphones. No social media. Barely any internet.
You’re walking down the street when you spot someone wearing a t-shirt.
A t-shirt made by a friend from your past life. In Baltimore. Ten years ago.
Do you approach them?
Amy did.
And that single moment of courage led to a 20-year journey of building one of Europe’s most beloved dance festivals.
But here’s what’s going to blow your mind:
Amy isn’t even a dancer.
She found her way into this community by offering what she was good at (design) to something she was curious about.
By volunteering.
And through that contribution, she didn’t just find belonging.
She helped create a global network that’s still growing today.
How We Met (And Why It Matters)
Before we dive into Amy’s story, I need to tell you how WE met.
Because it’s actually a perfect example of what we’re about to talk about.
I showed up in Porto, Portugal, on a tour bus.
Then we got seated next to each other at lunch in the Douro Valley.
We just started chatting.
And now here we are.
The SeaTac Connection
While we were on the bus, Amy heard me mention something about flying out of SeaTac.
She thought: “Oh, SeaTac. I know that.”
When we sat down at lunch, she made the Seattle connection.
Turns out she knows a family I know. Her oldest surrogate family in Seattle.
There were SO MANY little connection points.
And here’s the thing: The SeaTac thing is funny because it’s going to tie into what we’re talking about today.
There are all these things out there (if you’re listening and paying attention) that can be connection points with people.
Amy heard me say SeaTac over the noise of a bus.
She filed that away. Then brought it up later.
That’s how connections start.
Moving to Berlin: The Expat Experience
Amy grew up in Seattle. But she left when she was 14 (parents’ divorce), spent time in Boston, came back, then moved through Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco.
In 2000, she was offered an opportunity.
She met a woman at a conference. Gave her a ride back to her hotel.
The woman mentioned she had a communications agency (a brand strategy think tank) in Berlin and London.
Amy said: “I’ve been wanting to get to London.”
Six months of emails. A trip to check it out. A job offer.
About six months after that initial meeting, Amy was getting on a plane with her cat and a suitcase.
Moving to Berlin.
What Berlin Was Like Then
This was 2000.
Before social media. Before smartphones.
In the US, we were a bit ahead with high-speed internet.
But in Berlin? Basically dial-up. And you paid by the MINUTE.
Which meant tech adoption was REALLY slow.
These days, we take so much for granted:
- ▪️ Google Maps on our phone
- ▪️ Apps to find local events
- ▪️ Ways to meet people
- ▪️ Activities we can join
NOTHING like that existed.
So after being there for a couple years, Amy was… stuck.
The T-Shirt That Changed Everything
Amy had been in Berlin for about 2.5 years.
She was walking down the street. Very close to her house.
She sees this guy sitting on a corner at a cafe.
He’s wearing a t-shirt that was made by a friend of hers from Baltimore.
Amy has the SAME t-shirt.
The t-shirt says: “I’m with Mr. Means.”
Mr. Means is the guy who made these shirts.
This was like 10 YEARS later.
Amy’s in Berlin. Discovering this guy on a street corner.
And she thought to herself:
“You know what? I HAVE to go talk to him.”
Because of course it’s Mr. Means.
This conversation about how small moments of connection can ripple into something extraordinary is full of incredible stories. Listen to the full episode here to hear them all.
The Courage to Approach
So she went up to him.
“You’re with Mr. Means? So am I. I’m with Mr. Means too.”
He’s like: “No way.”
They exchanged phone numbers.
Developed a friendship.
And many things evolved from that.
Why This Matters
This was BEFORE social media.
So a t-shirt was a way to find your tribe before there was even a term for that.
Mr. Means probably made 100 of these shirts. Maybe less.
Not thousands. Just things he gave to his friends as guerrilla marketing.
There was no clear indication of WHO he was or WHAT he did on the shirt.
But it was a SIGNAL.
And Amy was brave enough to approach a stranger because of it.
Enter: Lucky Trimmer
About a year after meeting Clint (the guy with the Mr. Means shirt), he and a woman from Berlin started an experiment.
A dance event with short-format contemporary dance pieces.
Amy was in the audience for the first show.
She thought, “Wow, this is amazing. How can I get involved?”
Why Dance?
Here’s what’s interesting:
Amy is NOT a dancer.
In the US, she never went to see dance (aside from The Nutcracker at Christmas).
But in Berlin, dance gave her a way to go into the theater WITHOUT needing German as a language.
She could appreciate a performance. Be in an audience. Enjoy it.
Without needing to KNOW German.
That’s a little bit of the belonging piece, right?
When everything’s in German, you feel a little on edge. Uncomfortable. Like you don’t fully belong because you can’t catch 100% of the meaning.
But dance? Universal.
Plus, tickets were affordable because culture is subsidized by the government in Germany.
The Hell Truck Story
At the next Lucky Trimmer show, Amy actually DID a performance.
She told a story about the “Hell Truck” she used to drive in high school.
A really crappy little Ford Courier. She had to put oil in it every day. Water every day. No power steering. No power brakes.
She’d have to turn the HEAT on in the SUMMERTIME so the engine wouldn’t overheat.
In Seattle, she’d have to get a running start downhill to make it up the next hill.
She learned a LOT about cars at a very early age.
And she told that story. On stage. In front of 250 people.
Almost as a dare to herself.
The Realization
After that experience: “Wow, holy shit. Getting up on stage in front of 250 people? That’s HARD.”
“I can’t believe I did that.”
And she had SO MUCH more respect for performers after that.
She thought: “I can see why a lot of them become alcoholics. It takes a LOT to go out on stage.”
After that, she was like:
“You know what? I really want to stay with this and contribute. But I don’t need to perform anymore.”
Volunteering What She Was Good At
As a designer, new to Berlin (she’d been there about 4 years at this point), Amy saw an opportunity.
Her idea:
“Here’s a way for me to demonstrate my skills, build my network, and contribute to this community.”
“And actually have a chance to BUILD my own community through it.”
Because it’s VERY difficult to do that in a foreign country before social media.
Everything at Lucky Trimmer is volunteer-run. No one gets paid.
So Amy started:
- ▪️ Doing all their flyers and posters
- ▪️ Helping with communication
- ▪️ Eventually getting involved with the curatorial process
- ▪️ Moving them online with applications (instead of 500 DVDs to watch!)
The Application Fee
Then Amy said: “Maybe we should charge an application fee.”
“None of us are getting paid. It’s not for us. But just to make people SERIOUS.”
“There’s a threshold. A barrier to entry. Fifteen euros.”
For about a YEAR, Amy lobbied for this idea.
Many people in Lucky Trimmer were German. Some were East German. Very resistant to the idea of charging.
Amy explained: “In the design industry, this is common. If you apply for a competition, you pay. Often $100 or more. Fifteen euros is NOT a lot.”
Eventually, they came around.
The first year, they lost some applicants. But the quality got BETTER.
Over the years, more and more people applied.
And it made it possible to:
- ▪️ Visit other dance festivals
- ▪️ Print t-shirts and canvas bags
- ▪️ Create a grant program (Lucky Change Maker) for artists using dance for the greater good
All because of that fifteen-euro application fee.
Building the Lucky Trimmer Brand
Around 2006, Amy led the whole team through a brand brainstorming process.
They came up with this idea:
Lucky Trimmer represents the CHILD MIND.
A sense of:
- ▪️ Fearlessness
- ▪️ Openness to take risks
- ▪️ Experimentation
- ▪️ Making mistakes
- ▪️ Not working from judgment
- ▪️ Working from CURIOSITY
And here’s what’s fascinating:
Having set that core essence in 2006, and now we’re in 2025?
That core has created a resonance within the organization that works like a STRANGE ATTRACTOR.
In chaos theory, strange attractors attract similar things and repel opposites.
Lucky Trimmer attracts people and participants who reflect the same values.
The ones coming from competition or backbiting? They don’t stick.
They don’t make it through the “force field of goodwill.”
It operates like a tuning fork.
Things that resonate at that frequency find their way there.
The T-Shirts as Tribal Badges
Over the years, the Lucky Trimmer t-shirts became this tribal little badge.
Dancers who perform wear the shirts to their dance classes.
People from around the world discover Lucky Trimmer this way.
The awareness grows. The community grows.
And when dancers come to perform, it’s really lovely to see the connections made.
Lucky Trimmer has done a beautiful job of creating this self-styled FAMILY.
People all over the world who share this passion.
Not just for dance, but for expanding it beyond just your local community.
What One Artist Said
This year, Lucky Trimmer moved from Berlin to Frankfurt with a new leadership team.
At a round-table discussion, one artist from Italy said:
“I love coming to Lucky Trimmer. This is my second time. It’s always such a positive experience.”
“The thing that’s so great? There’s NO COMPETITION.”
“We’re all working together. We’re all happy to be here. But there’s no looking over your shoulder wondering what the other artists are doing.”
Amy said: “Yeah, because the PRIZE is coming to Lucky Trimmer. That’s the prize.”
“Once you’ve gotten here, you’ve made it through. You’re all gold medal winners by showing up.”
Everyone else in the group nodded.
“This is really a special, unique kind of festival experience.”
The Ripple Effects Keep Going
Going back to the t-shirt:
Amy met Clint because of a Mr. Means shirt.
Lucky Trimmer created its OWN shirts that became tribal badges.
Those shirts spread the message globally.
Dancers wear them. People ask about them. The community grows.
And Amy? She’s been house-sitting for Clint in Paris.
The guy she met on a street corner in Berlin because of a t-shirt.
The relationships just grow and continue.
Something built out of goodwill echoes out across time in different ways.
Social Capital in Action
Here’s something Amy mentioned that’s SO important:
Through all these connections at Lucky Trimmer, she’s wound up working with clients like:
- ▪️ Katerina Witt (Olympic gold medalist figure skater)
- ▪️ All kinds of artists and creators
All through connections made through Lucky Trimmer.
That wasn’t her aim. But it’s the natural end effect of participating.
Why This Happens
When you volunteer and bring your skills to something:
People SEE your work.
They TRUST you because they spend time working with you.
So it’s only natural that people say your name in rooms.
“No, no, no. You have to talk to Amy for that.”
That’s social capital in action.
And when you’re the ONLY designer in a room full of dancers and organizers?
You become vital. Front of mind.
“We have a bunch of photos. Which ones do you like, Amy?”
For someone trying to feel like they belong?
You’re going to feel like you belong PRETTY QUICKLY when people keep looking at you because they literally NEED you to move things forward.
Amy’s stories about community and courage keep building throughout this episode. Tune into the complete conversation for even more.
Getting More Involved
At first, Amy was an “external service provider.”
Just doing design stuff.
Then, maybe two years in, she said, “Let’s do the branding. We really need a system and story.”
In that process, she got more EMBEDDED.
She became involved with the construction of the overall storytelling.
Not just creating a flyer.
Then she said: “I kind of want to get involved with the curatorial stuff.”
Their attitude: “Please come! The more the merrier! Come sit on the couch with us for 14 hours while we watch all these videos.”
Amy thought: “That sounds like fun.”
(Not the endurance part, but the communal commiseration around the energy and effort it takes.)
Getting On Stage
At some point, Amy said to Uli (one of the founders):
“Maybe we do the introduction together. You speak in German. I speak in English.”
He said: “That’s great!”
So around 2011-2012, Amy started doing that.
Getting on stage. Traveling to different festivals. Introducing Lucky Trimmer.
It got her much more comfortable with public speaking.
And it’s easier to talk about Lucky Trimmer than herself.
The Grandma
Now Amy’s “the Lucky Trimmer grandma.”
She’s been there since the beginning. Everyone else has moved on. New people have come in.
Her dad had a joke: He’s had the same axe for 50 years. But he’s had three different heads and six different handles.
Lucky Trimmer is similar.
So many different people have participated and moved through.
They’ve held the SHAPE. But the contents have changed.
The Small Moments That Compound
Amy can look back now at all these little random everyday moments.
Conversations where she was just saying:
- ▪️ “Hey, what if we put this on YouTube?”
- ▪️ “What if we charge an application fee?”
- ▪️ “What if I help with the introduction on stage?”
In the moment, those probably didn’t seem like they’d completely shift the culture of the festival.
But looking back? They DID.
Those small moments COMPOUNDED.
T-Shirts as Connection Starters (Alex’s Story)
Okay, I need to tell you MY part of this story.
Before meeting Amy, I used to not want to wear anything branded.
Not luxury brands. Just… the local bakery I love. The band I like.
I didn’t want it.
Why? Because it felt VULNERABLE.
It was like putting my interests and passions OUT THERE.
If I’m wearing a local bakery’s branding, it’s like: “Okay, I don’t even know the owners. Why am I walking around in a bread shirt?”
The Shift
I’d already been thinking about this before meeting Amy.
I realized: The reason I wasn’t doing it is that it felt like an IN for people to talk to me about said thing.
It was admitting I LIKED that thing. That band. That company.
So I started buying a couple of shirts with branding.
Then Amy told me the Mr. Means story and the Lucky Trimmer shirt story.
And I realized: These are CONNECTION POINTS.
The Backstreet Boys Grocery Store Story
Recently, I was at the grocery store.
I was wearing a Backstreet Boys shirt (I’d just seen them in concert).
The guy working behind the counter goes:
“Is that a Backstreet Boys shirt? Wow, that’s a throwback. We must be about the same age.”
Out of NOWHERE.
We had a whole five-plus-minute conversation about the Backstreet Boys.
I walked away SMILING. Feeling HAPPIER.
Why This Works
For the RIGHT people, these shirts create conversation starters.
Something someone is actually EXCITED to talk about.
Not everyone will catch it. But the people who DO?
Like the Violent Femmes shirt Amy wears to the gym.
People in their 50s and 60s NOD. They KNOW.
The ones in their 20s? They don’t get it.
That’s the POINT.
It filters for the right people.
Contributing to Something Greater
Near the end of our conversation, Amy told me a story that gave me goosebumps.
She’d been talking with friends about Quakers.
One of the basic tenets of being a Quaker:
Contributing to something GREATER than yourself that may not be COMPLETED in your lifetime.
But you’re putting your energy toward it.
For Amy, Lucky Trimmer is its own entity. But it stands for a VISION that will not be completed in her lifetime.
It’s not about claiming glory. It’s for the glory of Lucky Trimmer.
The WWII Story
After WWII, there were tons of orphans who’d lost their parents.
A community of Quakers got together and helped find families for the children.
They were given the Nobel Peace Prize.
But the group said: “We won’t accept the prize unless you give it to ALL of us. Not by name. To this LARGER GROUP.”
Amy got goosebumps telling this story.
“It’s not about ME. It’s about this GREATER thing.”
Each person participating in Lucky Trimmer shares this idea.
It’s for something greater. For the long term.
To foster this sense of play and creativity WITHOUT fear of judgment or criticism or failure.
Don’t let that stop you. Do what you love.
Finding Your Verb
I asked Amy: If someone’s craving that connection to something greater (not necessarily religion or spirituality, but this sense of making a dent in the world), what would you tell them?
Amy’s answer:
One of the questions she asks clients in brand discovery:
“If you were going to tattoo a VERB on your body that you’d be willing to live with for the rest of your life, what would it be?”
A verb that represents your greatest thing.
Whether it’s:
- ▪️ To serve
- ▪️ To illuminate
- ▪️ To bake cookies
- ▪️ To whatever
Once you can get clarity on that verb (that WHY), you’ll be steps ahead in finding the WHAT.
Just Do It
But also: You won’t KNOW what you’ve done when you’re DOING it.
It’s really hard to know.
It’s easy for me to look at Amy and see the ripple impact of Lucky Trimmer.
And if I met attendees or went to the festival? That would be AMPLIFIED.
But when you’re IN IT? You just have to keep going.
That’s my personal experience with this podcast.
I do this. I talk. Then I get the WILDEST messages.
And I’m like: “Wait, that’s because you listened to ME?”
Amy said: “You’re just in your head doing your thing. You don’t realize there are people out there like ‘This has transformed my life.’ And you’re like ‘I’m just doing my thing.’”
You watch the dance videos. Get up on stage. Feel these everyday actions for your verb, for your why.
And you’re just not gonna know the impact until later.
The Bottom Line
Here’s what I want you to take away from Amy’s story:
One moment of courage (approaching a stranger about a t-shirt) created DECADES of connection, community, and opportunity.
Amy didn’t find Lucky Trimmer because she was a dancer.
She found it because:
- ▪️ She was CURIOUS
- ▪️ She said YES to trying something new
- ▪️ She VOLUNTEERED what she had to give (her design skills)
- ▪️ She contributed to something she believed in
Communities need all kinds of people with all kinds of skills.
Lucky Trimmer needed a designer just as much as it needed dancers.
Your local environmental group might need someone great at social media.
The book club might need someone who can organize events.
That neighborhood association might need exactly the skills you bring to your day job.
So if there’s a group you’ve been curious about but weren’t sure you’d belong because you don’t have the “main skill”?
This is your permission slip to show up anyway.
Offer what you’re good at. Stay curious. See what happens.
Because belonging isn’t just about what you GET from a community.
It’s about what you get to GIVE.
And when you contribute authentically to something you care about?
You don’t just find your people.
You create the kind of world you want to live in.
Nothing is linear. The path is winding.
But your next life-changing community connection might just be one or two yeses away.
Maybe it’s a t-shirt. Maybe it’s a shared symbol. Maybe it’s a moment of vulnerability with a stranger.
The connections you’re seeking might be closer than you think.
You just have to be brave enough to say hello.
Curious about Amy’s other work? She has a free coloring booklet from her Unnatural History Collection
If these ideas about finding connection through curiosity and courage resonated with you, listen to the full episode for all the stories and advice we shared.
