“What you can do is fully lean into youth and fully lean into technology… if you lean into youth and you lean into technology, better chances than not, you will not get outmoded.” — Moksha Fitzgibbons

As culture accelerates and the creator economy reshapes how consumers discover trends, tastes, and talent, media companies face extraordinary pressure to evolve. Few brands have navigated these shifts as successfully as Complex, and even fewer leaders have had a front-row seat to every wave of change the way Moksha Fitzgibbons has.

In this episode of The Speed of Culture, Moksha—President of Complex—joins Matt Britton to discuss the evolution of youth culture, the rise of creator-led media, the power of community-driven experiences, and the transformative impact of AI on publishing. With more than two decades at the intersection of culture, commerce, and content, Moksha offers a masterclass in what it takes to stay relevant when the ground beneath you is constantly moving.

Tune into the latest episode or read the transcript below to learn more. Here are some top takeaways:

Complex: The Original Convergence Culture Brand

Long before “multihyphenate identity” became mainstream, Complex recognized that young people don’t live in silos. They blend fashion with sport, punk with hip-hop, skate culture with couture. When Marc Ecko and the founding team launched Complex in 2002, their vision was to create a magazine that mirrored how young people actually experience culture—fluidly, curiously, and without boundaries.

What began as a digital magazine on Sony MiniDisc (a bold bet that didn’t pan out) became a print publication, and ultimately, a digital-first powerhouse. But the turning point came during the 2008–2009 recession, when Complex’s print revenue was cut in half. Its early experiments in digital paid off: the brand saw 600% growth in digital audience, a moment that crystallized its future.

Today, Complex reaches more than 80 million people each month—a third of the U.S. internet population—by staying laser-focused on cultural relevance, curation, and community.

Leadership Through Curation, Credibility, and Discovery

When Matt asks what fuels Complex’s consistency, Moksha is clear:

• Curation is everything. Complex remains an authoritative filter for what’s cool—and what’s coming next.
  
• Icons seek the Complex cosign. Artists, athletes, and creators want coverage precisely because it shapes perception.
  
• Discovery is an obsession. Editors spend their days finding tomorrow’s stars, whether streetwear designers, rappers, or rising streamers.

One editor famously discovered streamer PlaqueBoyMax before he exploded in popularity, simply by staying curious and following emerging creator communities.

This dual focus on icons and up-and-comers is what allows Complex to stay both timeless and timely—an incredibly rare combination in youth media.

Lean Into the Youth. Lean Into Technology.

Culture constantly reinvents itself, but Moksha believes two forces will always point toward the future:

1. Youth

Complex’s mantra across the office is: “Win the new audience.”
Sixteen-year-olds represent the future of culture—and if they adopt your brand, you can grow with them for decades.

2. Technology

From print to blogs, from Facebook to TikTok, from SEO to LLM-driven discovery, Moksha believes that resisting technology is a death sentence for media brands.

“You can’t fight technology,” he says. “The people who owned horses couldn’t fight cars.”

By leaning into both youth and tech, Complex has weathered every industry disruption—and emerged stronger.

ComplexCon: Turning URL Into IRL

Complex's cultural connectivity isn’t just digital. Every year, more than 60,000 fans travel to Las Vegas for ComplexCon, a multi-day celebration of fashion, collectibles, music, art, and food. And thousands more attend in Hong Kong, with Abu Dhabi and Europe on the horizon.

These experiences serve a dual purpose:

• For consumers: They are reward moments—physical expressions of a brand they engage with daily on their phones.
  
• For the industry: They prove Complex’s unparalleled ability to galvanize young audiences.
  

Pulling off ComplexCon is monumental: cross-functional teams across creative, content, production, partnerships, and commerce work as one. It’s a 90-person endeavor, and the ultimate proof of the brand’s emotional relevance.

How Brands Partner With Complex Today

In a world where impressions alone no longer cut it, Complex helps brands tap into youth culture through four strategic avenues:

1. Custom Creative & Content

Brands collaborate with Complex to build custom video series, co-produced storytelling, and creator-led projects that feel native, not forced.

2. E-Commerce & Product Collaborations

One standout: a Murakami-designed capsule for MLB’s Tokyo exhibition game featuring Ohtani. It generated tens of millions of dollars across Complex, NBA, and Fanatics channels—proving the power of cultural IP fused with creator influence.

3. Experiential Activations

At Complex’s food festival, DoorDash used its activation to:

• Reward consumers with exclusive access
  
• Create social content
  
• Onboard hard-to-reach restaurants to its platform

This mix of consumer marketing + B2B growth is a hallmark of Complex’s partnership model.

4. Helping Legacy Brands Become Social-First

As CPG and QSR brands struggle to evolve into TikTok-native brands, Complex is increasingly advising them on how to become culturally fluent, agile, and audience-forward—much like Taco Bell did under Nick Tran.

AI: The Industry’s Most Disruptive Shift Yet

To Moksha, AI represents both the biggest opportunity and the biggest existential threat publishers have ever faced.

On one hand, AI will transform discovery. Complex calls the new frontier GEO—optimizing to rank inside LLMs, not just Google. If brands don’t become the authoritative source in a topic, they will vanish from generative search results.

On the other hand, AI is already accelerating creativity and efficiency inside Complex:

• AI-generated video scenes bring fantasy concepts to life in 24 Hours to Live.
  
• Internal GPT systems streamline design, greenlighting, coding, and even legal review.
  
• Operational acceleration boosts productivity and keeps Complex nimble enough to innovate.
  

Moksha’s guidance to his team:
Learn it. Use it. Move faster because of it. Those who resist AI will be left behind—just as print publishers were during the digital shift.

What the Future of Media Demands

Looking ahead, Moksha believes survival depends on four non-negotiables:

1. Obsess over the audience and the problem you solve for them.
   
2. Stay close to youth culture—it predicts where technology is going.
   
3. Embrace every new distribution channel—social, video, live, AI, and whatever comes next.
   
4. Remain entrepreneurial, experimental, and unafraid to pivot.‍

Publishers who cling to legacy models will fade quickly. But those who lean into new formats, live content, AI, and creator ecosystems will continue to win attention and relevance.

The Mantra: Urgency + Preparation

When asked for a mantra that shaped his career, Moksha recalls advice from one of his earliest bosses:

“Treat every day, every meeting like it’s your last. Enter every room prepared, informed, and ready.”

Paired with a personal drive forged by growing up with limited means, this mindset created a leader who moves fast, adapts relentlessly, and operates with the urgency that youth culture demands.