Sun Bum: Tom Rinks. The Secrets of a Master Brand Builder (2023)
Tom Rinks shares his journey from furniture salesman to brand-building entrepreneur, highlighting his creation of iconic brands like Psycho Chihuahua (which led to a five-year lawsuit against Taco Bell), De Leon Tequila, and ultimately Sunbum sunscreen, which sold to SC Johnson for $400 million in 2019. Throughout his career, Rinks emphasizes the importance of design, authenticity, branding principles, and knowing when to step back and hire better operators.
Summary
Tom Rinks grew up in Long Beach, California, as the son of a Christian fundamentalist minister and an art-loving mother. After studying art at Hope College in Michigan, he settled in Grand Rapids where he worked as a full-commission furniture salesman at Art Van Furniture, learning crucial lessons about selling and understanding customer psychology. While at Art Van, he began sketching t-shirt designs on the side, including 'Surf Michigan,' which led to a meeting with Meijer buyer Vivian Dreyer. Despite showing only one t-shirt to this major retailer, Dreyer ordered 1,800 units, launching his first business, New Agenda.
Rinks then obtained licenses from major universities like Michigan and Notre Dame to create college-themed t-shirts, eventually accumulating over 400 licenses but struggling with profitability due to poor understanding of margins. Around 1992, he partnered with cartoonist Joe Shields, and together they created the Psycho Chihuahua line, which became wildly popular at trade shows. When Taco Bell discovered their booth at a licensing show, the company showed immediate interest, and Rinks and Shields spent 18 months collaborating on commercials, uniforms, toys, and packaging for what would become the iconic Taco Bell Chihuahua campaign.
However, Taco Bell suddenly stopped communications and later launched the campaign without crediting Rinks and Shields. After seeing the 'Yo Quiero Taco Bell' commercial using their commercials and concepts, Rinks pursued a lawsuit despite the company's massive legal resources. The case went to trial in federal court in Michigan, and after five years of litigation, a jury awarded Rinks and Shields $30.1 million plus $12 million in interest for breach of implied contract. After appeals and settlement, Rinks netted approximately $5-6 million after legal fees and taxes.
During the Taco Bell lawsuit years, Rinks started producing Christian-oriented videos as a non-profit venture after being inspired by pastor Rob Bell. This led him to hire designer Rene Canetti from Copenhagen, and together they founded Rinks Canetti, a branding agency that worked on clients like The Rock and Republic tequila and De Leon Tequila (created with childhood friend Brent Hawking). De Leon featured a sterling silver cork designed by jewelry maker Bill Wall and was positioned as a luxury tequila brand with bottles ranging from $125 to $850.
Around 2009, a friend asked Rinks to evaluate a failing sunscreen company with poorly branded products. Rinks saw a massive hole in the market—no authentic, cool sunscreen brand existed. Working with Canetti, he spent three months researching, ideating, and designing, drawing inspiration from mid-century modern furniture (specifically an Eames lounge chair), 1960s surf culture, Northern European typography, Japanese streetwear, and collectible vinyl art. The result was Sunbum: a wood grain-patterned bottle in yellow and brown with a yellow gorilla mascot named Sunny designed with minimalist features (oval face, X nose, sunglasses, simple mouth line).
Rinks and Canetti closed their branding agency to focus on Sunbum full-time. They positioned the brand in Cocoa Beach, Florida (despite operating from Grand Rapids initially, even playfully telling customers the weather was 'unbelievable' when it was snowing). The first year generated $100,000 in revenue; year two reached $1.1 million. Success came through guerrilla marketing with thousands of stickers featuring just Sunny the ape, strategic display placements using modified IKEA bookcases, and recruiting legendary sales rep Michael Lucero. High-end hotels, luxury resorts, and boutiques gradually adopted the brand.
Realizing that his creative strengths didn't extend to operational management, Rinks hired Adam Francis as CEO around year three or four. This decision proved crucial as Sunbum scaled to $70 million in annual sales. In 2019, after nine years, SC Johnson acquired Sunbum for $400 million, allowing the brand to expand internationally and navigate complex FDA regulations across different countries. Rinks attributes his success to a combination of lucky breaks (like Vivian Dreyer's initial order) and relentless practice, viewing his brands as extensions of his art and painting.
About this episode
<p>Tom Rinks got his start in the commission-only "shark tank" of midwestern furniture sales. That’s where he learned what makes customers buy. Decades later, those instincts helped him grow a joke of a side hustle into a $400 million success.</p><p>In 2009, he created the iconic branding for an obscure sun tan lotion, drawing on a mish-mash of surf culture, Scandinavian furniture, and Japanese streetwear. Sun Bum became a huge success, but even before that, Tom helped boost a wildly diverse range of brands: a line of tequila, a series of Christian videos, and the ubiquitous “Yo quiero Taco Bell” campaign. All were successful, though it took a prolonged legal battle for Tom to get paid for the Taco Bell chihuahua. </p><p>In this episode, Tom reveals how he learned to manipulate consumer psychology, survive the brutal warfare of a stolen idea, and engineer a brand explosion on his own terms. </p><p><br /></p><p><strong>WHAT YOU'LL LEARN</strong></p><ul><li>Chihuahuas and Apes: How the Right Mascot can Transform a Brand </li><li>What it takes to survive a five-year legal battle against a corporate titan.</li><li>The "Elvis Principle:” How combining unexpected design elements can create an unforgettable package </li><li>The "Trojan Horse" Strategy: Why forcing retailers to buy a massive display creates the illusion of a brand overnight.</li></ul><p><br /></p><p><strong>TIMESTAMPS</strong></p><ul><li>08:15 - What selling furniture taught Tom about customer psychology </li><li>10:00 - How the Slogan “Surf Michigan” got him into the T-shirt Business </li><li>25:07 - Psycho Chihuahua, Taco Bell, and the Branding Deal that Wasn’t </li><li>33:49 - Inside the grueling battle over a chihuahua mascot. “I was the guy suing Taco Bell.” </li><li>39:35 - A dramatic legal verdict, and Tom’s branding business takes off with fancy Tequila </li><li>49:47 - The sun screen opportunity: “I saw a gigantic hole that you could drive through.” </li><li>55:03 - How Tom and his partner came up with their “badass ape” logo </li><li>1:07:36 - Opening (fake) Sun Bum headquarters in Cocoa Beach, Fla </li><li>1:10:31- Early store displays and making the brand seem bigger than it was </li><li>1:14:56 - A $400M sale to SC Johnson, and Tom starts a new company</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>This episode was researched by Katherine Sypher and Susannah Broun and produced by Casey Herman, with music by Ramtin Arablouei, and edited by Neva Grant. </p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Follow How I Built This:</strong></p><p>Instagram → <a href="https://www.instagram.com/howibuiltthis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@howibuiltthis</a></p><p>X → <a href="https://x.com/howibuiltthis" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@HowIBuiltThis</a></p><p>Facebook → <a href="https://www.facebook.com/howibuiltthis" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How I Built This</a></p><p><strong>Follow Guy Raz:</strong></p><p>Instagram → <a href="https://www.instagram.com/guy.raz/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@guy.raz</a></p><p>Youtube →<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSfrxNEmCruNtjIzxCBHjg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> guy_raz</a></p><p><br /></p><p>X → <a href="https://x.com/guyraz" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@guyraz</a></p><p>Substack →<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/guyraz.substack.com__;!!Iwwt!RZoD751oWzUzoqqdJiqaoL6HdJfRHDUO1TKvYJ424d3Udn7-Pw9Nj6nEsauh9zcgEvLjUEc$" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><a href="http://guyraz.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">guyraz.substack.com</a></p><p>Website →<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/guyraz.substack.com__;!!Iwwt!RZoD751oWzUzoqqdJiqaoL6HdJfRHDUO1TKvYJ424d3Udn7-Pw9Nj6nEsauh9zcgEvLjUEc$" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><a href="http://guyraz.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">guyraz.com</a></p><p><br /></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>
Key Insights
- Rinks argues that understanding what customers want to feel about a product is more important than the product's features themselves, as demonstrated by his furniture sales tactics where he matched salesperson gender and language to customer psychology.
- The author claims that brand design is more critical than price in consumer decision-making, citing research showing that when faced with similar products, consumers prioritize design, which informed his approach across all ventures.
- Rinks observed that when a trend starts moving downward in popularity, it follows a predictable pattern: it starts with cool people, then younger siblings copy it, then parents adopt it, and finally the original cool demographic abandons it for something new.
- The author contends that the name of a brand is most powerful when the brand category is embedded in the name itself, explaining why 'Sunbum' works better than alternatives because it inherently communicates 'sun' and 'sunscreen.'
- Rinks argues that mascots and characters are valuable for brands because they don't age or face personal scandals like celebrity endorsers, remaining perpetually relevant like Mickey Mouse or the Budweiser frogs.
- The author claims that creating a brand requires understanding multiple cultural references and mashups—he drew inspiration from 1960s surf culture, mid-century modern furniture design, Northern European typography, Japanese streetwear, and collectible vinyl art to create Sunbum's visual identity.
- Rinks discovered through the Taco Bell experience that legal battles against massive corporations with superior resources can be won if you have authentic evidence, a good legal team, and a sympathetic jury, even after losing initial summary judgment.
- The author contends that most creative founders struggle with operational management and financial scalability, arguing that Harvard research shows creative companies often fail after year three when founders try to manage both creative and business functions.
- Rinks observed that positioning a brand geographically can influence consumer perception regardless of actual location, choosing Cocoa Beach, Florida for Sunbum's address specifically because it evoked the right brand associations internationally.
- The author argues that authentic product quality matters only after you've captured consumer attention through superior design and marketing; if consumers aren't attracted initially, product quality is irrelevant because nobody tries it.
- Rinks claims that the 'Elvis Principle'—juxtaposing contrasting personality traits like edge and goodness, sexy and humble—creates the most interesting and compelling brand personalities that consumers are drawn to.
- The author contends that knowing when to step aside and hire someone better suited to operate and scale a business is crucial for founders, and requires overcoming ego to avoid the predictable decline curve that most founder-led companies experience.
Topics
Transcript
Support for today's episode comes from Square, the easy way for business owners to take payments, book appointments, manage staff, and keep everything running in your business without running yourself into the ground. In my neighborhood, there's a shop that sells incredible locally made food, fresh breads, prepared meals, sauces, jams, all from producers within an hour's drive. And they use Square. And as a customer, I love the seamless payment, quick checkout, and easy receipts. Square's intuitive software and hardware simplifies everything. You can sell anywhere in store, online, or mobile while managing inventory and tracking sales in real time. With Square, you get all the tools to run your business with none of the contracts or complexity. And…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from How I Built This with Guy Raz
Advice Line with Jeni Britton of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (2025)
Jenny Britton of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams returns to the Advice Line to help three food entrepreneurs navigate growth challenges: Jesse and Ben's navigating marketing strategy for frozen French fries entering national retail, Casey White of Jaju Pierogi deciding between bootstrapping and raising capital for CPG expansion, and Callie of Ube.co determining whether to hire a PR firm or develop in-house marketing capabilities. Jenny and Guy emphasize focusing on product quality, authentic messaging, and strategic use of advisors over external capital when possible.
Catalina Crunch: Krishna Kaliannan. From Homemade Keto Cocoa Puffs to Breakfast Aisle Breakthrough
Krishna Kalyanin created Catalina Crunch, a high-protein, low-carb keto cereal, after developing type 1 diabetes and epilepsy in college forced him to adopt a ketogenic diet. Starting from his apartment kitchen in 2017, he scaled the business to over $100 million in annual sales by leveraging new alternative ingredients like pea protein and monk fruit, eventually expanding from direct-to-consumer sales to major retailers like Whole Foods and Costco.
Advice Line with Ronnen Harary of Spin Master/PAW Patrol
In this episode of How I Built This Lab's Advice Line, Ronan Harari from Spin Master offers guidance to three entrepreneurs: Ann Williams of Yearly Co. (luxury gold jewelry), Felix Cullen of Island Bee Company (honey and skincare products), and Matt Smith of Wandering Soul Beer (craft beer). Harari emphasizes the importance of innovation, brand storytelling, and maintaining work-life balance while building sustainable businesses.
Advice Line with Susan Griffin-Black of EO Products
Susan Griffin-Black, founder of EO Products, advises three entrepreneurs on scaling their businesses: Dr. Ruchi Gupta (Yobi skincare) on choosing between DTC and professional channels, Peter Andrews (Culture Wine Company) on focusing on specific regional markets for South African wine distribution, and Dominic Giddens (Cane Dog Coffee) on building an international brand from a Caribbean base.
Advice Line with Shazi Visram of Happy Family Organics
Guy Raz hosts the How I Built This Advice Line with guest Shazi Visram, founder of Happy Family Organics and Healthy Baby. Together they advise three early-stage founders on growth strategies, covering topics like brand differentiation, private labeling risks, investor timing, and leveraging PR. The episode blends practical startup advice with reflections on Visram's entrepreneurial journey.