Gabb Life: Living Beyond the Screen

Over the last 3.5 years at Gabb Wireless, we put a lot of emphasis on the big dangers of the internet: predators, pornography, cyber-bullying… but the one that always scared me the most was less quantifiable:
Kids missing out on being kids.
No more skinned knees. No more falling out of trees. No more broken hearts and fractured forearms. They’re just staring at screens, clicking Thumbs Up on things that aren’t happening to them… while their childhood passes them by.
Now that’s frightening.
And that’s why we created Gabb Life. To help kids (and parents) realize how much more is out there…when you get out there and chase it.
These 8 and 10 year old aren’t buying their own iPhones. Too many parents are just taking the easy way out these days. Pass the tablet and shut the hell up, kid. You might as well be giving them drugs.
The alternative is so simple. JUST SAY NO. It’s not your job, mom and dad, to keep them entertained every waking moment. Your job is to keep them safe. Your job is to let their brains develop properly through these formative years.
So the best thing you can do as a parent is to LET THEM GET BORED. Sure, they’ll kick and scream for a day or two… and then it goes quiet. You’ll look around, worried they found a screen, only to find they’re outside building a fort or climbing a tree, picking up a skateboard, or trying to figure out that old guitar, tennis racket or surfboard. And then they’re off…
Living beyond the screen.
That was the vision of Gabb Life.
We recruited Ambassadors.
We put on Contests.
We launched a Podcast.
And we helped kids see that there’s more to life than watching other people live.
I’ve been putting the Gabb Life harddrives to bed this week. So, I assembled a few of my favorite moments. The mega ramp we built with bmx-er Caiden Cernius (13). Our O’side shoot with Sky Brown (14). Chasing Zion Effs through the streets of Miami (13) or racing dirtbikes through the backcountry of Temecula with Kelana Humphrey (14). So much! What a bunch of little legends all these Gabb Ambassadors were. We put together such a talented team to help inspire other kids to get outside and chase their dreams.
Personally, I’m moving on now. But I’ll never stop supporting the mission of Gabb.
Working to grow this start-up brand from seed to tree, from idea to phenomenon, has been the ride of a lifetime, a masterclass in marketing, mission, and doing the right thing. So to all the people still working there to keep kids safe: thank you, thank you, thank you.
Expect great things to come from Gabb. The future depends on it.