Phinger Nail Polish
Frankie with a P-H has a signature nail polish. It's kind of magical. Here's how it got him an invitation to do a TEDx talk.
In college, Frankie was a punk. In addition to his blue mohawk and other thematic wardrobe choices, he wore glitter nail polish. After graduation, Frankie entered the workforce as a community organizer. Following Saul Alinsky's advice to blend in and become familiar the groups he intended to serve, he wiped his nails clean, cut his hair, and adopted the more conventional blue oxfords and khaki pants of the normie world.
A decade later, returning to the world of his undergraduate design education, Frankie embraced glitter nail polish once again. It was a subtle gesture of resistance to conformity, gender and otherwise. It felt genuine. It brought him joy.
Alas, the return was short-lived: a hospital system hired him to its internal innovation team, and retreated to Alinsky's advice on blending in.
At the start of 2022, Frankie set an intention for the year: "share more of himself." The glitter came back off the shelf and into regular use. A client of Frankie's company noticed his nails at an in-person event. "Do you have kids?" she asked. It was the most logical explanation. Kids had probably cornered him at a sleepover and insisted on the decoration.
"Nope," he said, pausing and grinning nervously. "I'm... an artist."
The client broke into a welcoming smile. The buttoned-down-blue-shirt Frankie, who exuded professionalism and reliability, and the P-H-with-a Frankie, who cherished nonbinaryism and experimentality, had united. She asked for a link to his website and ordered his book later that evening.
A month later, she reached out. "I'm recruiting speakers for a TEDx event. Would you like to do a presentation about your art?"
Voilà. He'd been bold, he'd taken a risk, he'd shown up as his true self. Now, he was in. Over the next weeks he drafted a talk, solicited feedback from a dozen friends, and delivered the final iteration at a film studio downtown. This TEDx exists now because of that interaction.
* * *
"So," you may be wondering, "is this Phinger Nail Polish actually magical?"
YMMV. The only way to know for sure is to see for yourself.
Better yet, seeeee yourself, and share yourself with the world. 'Cause you know what's actually magical?
You are.