John Altman
Do less, get more done

For a few magical years it was my honour to be the in-house writer for The John Altman organisation, a small group of people dedicated to spreading the values of one of the greatest men ever to strap on an apron.



The story began when a couple of friends went travelling to America to find themselves. Instead, they found John Altman, a man wearing an apron (and little else) giving away cookies on a beach. The cookies were so good that the pair asked John if they could have the recipe.

'Sure dudes,' he said, 'spread the love!' And spread the love they did, with cookies made from 100% natural ingredients, organic wine, the world's fist self-help cookbook and the ultimate guides to doing nothing in London and Amsterdam.

As those two friends sadly lost contact with John, it fell to me to give him a voice and share his philosophy with the world. How to bake your way to happiness, do less to get more done, and above all, to spread the love.



'You might not see many people walking round with a 'John Altman changed my life' T-shirt, but he did change our lives. Not, as with most life-changing people, by doing something remarkable. Made an inspirational speech. Had a baby with you. Written an amazing book (or three). Taught you to ride a bike. But John Altman? He did nothing to change our lives. What did we learn from him? Nothing. What can you learn from him? Nothing. What can we tell you about John? Nothing. Well, not much apart from the fact that we met him in San Francisco and spent a week at his house doing, you've guessed it, nothing. And what's John going to tell you to do in London? Nothing. He's not even going to say a word about it.'
Taken from Where would John go? London


What: Brand Development/ Writing, lots of writing
Client: The John Altman Organization
Art and Creative Direction: Hajo de Boer
Animations: Emiel Steenhuizen/Mark Kuiper