Hey everyone,
You might have seen these interviews before from previous CBO’s, and personally I’ve always found them to be a great way to bring us all closer to the people behind Nothing, beyond just the products.
As part of continuing that, I wanted to pick it up in my role and keep building on something that’s already worked really well, giving you more visibility into the teams, the thinking, and the people shaping what Nothing is today.
When I was last at Nothing’s London HQ, I caught up with the Global Community Team, Zac and Selin, two of the people helping shape this space and thinking about how Community fits into everything we do at Nothing. They were briefly introduced before here, but let’s get to know them a bit more.
Louis: Zac, Selin, thank you both for making the time to join me today. We’ve been briefly introduced to you both already but as a little ice breaker can you describe your role at Nothing in one word?
Zac: Transparency
Selin: Speed
Louis: And in true me fashion, I have to ask about your brew of choice, are you a coffee or tea drinker?
Zac: I don’t do either of those, so I’d go for a Cherry Pepsi Max or Matcha
Selin: Neither, but count me in for a hot chocolate after 3pm, with extra chocolate
Louis: Zac, what does your role look like day to day and tell us something about your role that people might not expect?
Zac: Honestly, pinning it down to just one thing is quite difficult as it’s such a broad mix. Day to day, it’s a real blend of PR, copywriting, and social, with Community sitting right at the heart of it, but it’s so much more than just managing platforms or “posting.” We’re essentially involved in conversations across the entire business, from shaping launch messaging to figuring out exactly how our creative ideas come to life.
I think something people might not expect is how involved we are in internal decision-making. Community isn’t just a layer on top, it feeds into how we think about things from the ground up. So a lot of the time, we’re representing the voice of the Community in rooms people might not expect us to be in.
Louis: And Selin, how does the Community Team fit into the rest of the Nothing structure, where are you guys placed and which teams do you interact with the most?
Selin: Community sits in an interesting place structurally. On paper, you might think of it as a standalone function, but in reality it’s probably one of the most cross-functional teams we have. As Zac said, we’re constantly working with social, culture, product, PR, events…you name it.
It’s less about where we “sit” and more about how we connect things. We’re kind of a bridge between teams and the Community itself. So we’re not just interacting with one or two teams, we’re plugged into a lot of different conversations across the company, making sure community is part of those discussions rather than an afterthought.
Louis: Let’s think about launches, with the latest (a) series being the most recent one. Talk us through the build up to that and what that meant from a Community side of things.
Zac: Launches at that scale are always intense, especially for one that includes multiple devices. There are so many moving parts, creative direction, messaging, timing, and from a Community side, we’re thinking about how all of that lands with people and how they can be part of it.
With the latest (a) series, there was also a strong narrative element, especially working closely with Chief Brand Officer, Charlie Smith, and leaning into that fashion angle, which was his direction for this particular launch. That added another layer to how we approached it, which made it really exciting creatively. On the day itself, a lot of what people don’t realise is how manual everything is. I was actually offsite during the event, working alongside the Social Team and posting in real time, it’s not automated what people might realise, it’s all happening live. You’re reacting, adjusting, making sure everything is landing as it should.
And then on top of that, the timing was pretty full on as Mobile World Congress had just happened, and we were not long after some other industry launches. But that’s also what makes it exciting right, you really feel the scale of it.
Louis: What does “Community” mean to you at Nothing? And why do you think it matters?
Zac: For me, community really comes down to collaboration. Without it, you’re just a company making and selling products. With it, you’re actually building something together.
What makes it different at Nothing is that it’s not just surface-level engagement, we try to build things from the ground up with the community. Things like the Community Edition or the CBO initiatives are good examples of that. Also with the wider community, we’re not just asking for feedback after the fact, we’re involving people in the process and giving them a way to shape what we do.
Selin: I’d describe it as home. It’s a space where people from completely different backgrounds can come together because they connect with the same ideas, creativity, curiosity, doing things a bit differently.
What I love is that it’s not limited to one type of person or skill. You’ve got people into design, music, tech, art, everything in between and they’re all kind of “nerding out” together in their own way. That shared energy is what makes it special.
Louis: What’s something the Community doesn’t see, but you wish they knew?
Selin: I think one thing people don’t always see is just how much planning goes into everything we do. Even something that looks really simple, like a small post on nothing.community, has probably gone through multiple rounds of thinking, alignment, approvals.
And then when you scale that up to bigger moments like partnerships or launches, there’s a huge amount happening behind the scenes. It’s a lot of coordination across teams, making sure everything lines up, and then executing it in a way that still feels natural and true to the brand.
Louis: What’s something Nothing Community does really well and what would you love to see more of?
Zac: One thing the Community does really well is feedback. People will provide it and they’re not always just reacting, they’re contributing ideas, sharing perspectives, and helping push things forward which we see a lot of across Nothing’s channels.
There’s also a really strong creative side. The art, the concepts, the way people support each other’s work, it’s something we see consistently, and it’s a big part of what makes the community feel alive.
If there’s one thing I’d love to see more of, it’s more in-progress sharing. A lot of people only share the finished concepts across our channels, but the process is just as interesting. Seeing how ideas evolve, getting feedback along the way, that’s where a lot of the magic happens. It would be great to see more people comfortable sharing that side of things.
Louis: Are there other communities that you know of that do some things really well?
Selin: One community that really stuck with me is the rock climbing community. What they do incredibly well is support, no matter what level you’re at, everyone is helping each other figure things out.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or an expert, you’re all working towards solving the same problem. And I think that’s a really interesting parallel. Whether it’s design, music, coding, or anything else, it’s about people coming together to create or solve something collectively. That mindset is really powerful.
Louis: Looking further ahead now, where do you see the Nothing Community in the next couple of years?
Zac: I think the Community will definitely expand, both in what it looks like and what it includes. It won’t just be tied to products, it’ll start to connect more with different parts of life and creativity more broadly.
I’d love to see it become more driven by creation on a regular basis, not just one-off moments. More projects, more experimentation, more opportunities for people to show what they can do. And geographically as well, more locations, more reach, a broader scope overall.
Selin: For me, the real goal is when the Community starts creating things without us needing to be involved at all. Things like meetups, photowalks, projects, just happening organically because people want to connect and create together.
That’s when you know it’s truly a community. When it’s not dependent on the internal team to make things happen.
Louis: Zac, you were already part of Nothing as part of the Nothing Store Soho team, but Selin I’d be keen to understand what drew you to Nothing, as it’s a bit of a change from your educational background right?
Selin: My background is in physiology and cognitive neuroscience, so at first I thought joining Nothing would be a big shift…But actually, it’s been surprisingly connected.
A lot of what I studied is about how people think, behave, and interact with each other, and community is really an extension of that. It’s about understanding what brings people together, what they care about, how they connect emotionally.
And you really see that here, how people react to the products, how they light up when they engage with the design. It’s a very human experience, which is what makes it so interesting to me.
Louis: And to both of you, what’s something you’re currently obsessed with outside of work?
Zac: Outside of work, it’s always been film for me. It’s something I’ve been obsessed with for years, whether that’s watching films at home, going to the cinema, or just keeping up with what’s coming out.
Lately I’ve been on a bit of a TV run as well, things like Invincible, anything X-Men related, Daredevil: Born Again. And then recently I got into the Artemis II launch, with live streams set up watching it. So yeah, a mix of film, TV, and space.
Selin: At the moment, I’m really into making music, both digitally and with instruments. I don’t have space for my piano right now, so I’ve been focusing more on electric guitar.
My favourite instrument is probably the ukulele, but I also play saxophone and clarinet. And I’ve just picked up a DJ deck as well, so I’ve been experimenting with that. It’s a bit of everything, but it’s all creative in different ways.
Louis: I couldn’t not ask this one, so what’s your favourite Nothing product so far, and why?
Zac: For me it’s Ear (3). It’s just the product I use the most, every single day. I love the design, especially the aluminium elements, and the sound quality is just solid.
Selin: Phone (2a) for me. I just love the design, especially the eyes on the back. There’s something really playful about it, and it feels very “Nothing” in how it stands out while still being functional.
Louis: Anything you want to say directly to the Community?
Zac & Selin: Just keep doing what you’re doing, creating, sharing, talking, experimenting, and being yourselves. That’s what makes this Community what it is.
From both of us, love you boo! Peace Up, A Town
I hope you enjoyed this interview with our Global Community Team, and found it insightful to learn a bit more about the amazing work Zac & Selin get up to behind the scenes. If you’ve got some other questions you’d like to ask Zac & Selin, or have some suggestions of what you’d want me to ask in future interviews, or people you’d like to hear from, drop them below.
