How Fringe Boots Saved Me on the Freeway—and What My Story Can Teach Us About Bold Copywriting for Creative Brands

A Night in the Valley, 1987

Big attitude, bigger hair, and Van Halen’s 5150 blasting through the speakers of my 1973 VW Super Beetle. This Bug had been through it all. The odometer was stuck somewhere deep in the past, and the gas gauge was broken. The brakes were so worn I planned every route by altitude—which was hard to avoid if you were at all familiar with the outlying hills of the San Fernando Valley.

One time, my back tire flew off and passed me on the road. I watched the sparks fly like the Fourth of July in my rearview mirror. I was basically living on a prayer every time I pulled out of the driveway.

It was December 1987, and I’d just been at a friend’s house watching some up-and-coming band rehearse for their big show at a notoriously named club in the East Valley—one of those bands whose lead singer was convinced he was Axl Rose but never made it big (or even small) past that weekend.

Dressed to Stand Out

I felt pretty cool in my black leather jacket, black eyeliner, black jeans tucked into black boots. (If it wasn’t black in the ’80s, I probably wasn’t wearing it.) And the boots? Pure drama. Not just typical black leather boots—these were black and gold, with black paint brushed over the gold. (I know, it sounds horrid now.) Long black fringe ran down the back seam and swayed when I walked.

Over the top? Absolutely. But in 1987, that was the assignment—and I loved them.

Breaking Down on the Freeway

The night ended, and I was heading home. Just me, my cool outfit, and KLOS—the coolest rock-and-roll radio station in L.A. As I flew down the freeway with the windows down, even my bangs defied gravity. Everything was cool and carefree when suddenly, as I was heading westbound on the Ventura Freeway close to midnight—the Bug died.

She gave up in classic fashion: a dramatic sputter, a wheeze, and a slow coast to a nearby call box—those metal roadside dinosaurs spaced a mile or so apart that nobody uses today. I grabbed the receiver like it was my only hope—because it was.

The operator sounded more annoyed than helpful. He couldn’t hear me over the traffic. Go figure. Honestly, if he’d known my mother, he would’ve accommodated me immediately. Missing curfew was not something you bounced back from lightly at our house.

I stood there behind the pole, trying to make myself invisible to headlights and speeding cars. My heart was racing.

The Rescue—and the Reveal

Then—the horn.

Over and over. Loud. Persistent.

I peeked around the call box sign, and out of the passenger window—who did I see but my sister Leslie—head flung out, arms waving like she’d just spotted Eddie Van Halen himself. It all happened so fast. What were the chances? I was saved!

She and my brother-in-law hit the next off-ramp, flipped around, and pulled up like my own personal tour bus. Rescue had arrived.

I was floored. How did she know it was me? She didn’t recognize my face—I was hiding behind the call box. Was it the big-hair silhouette? Probably not, since most L.A. girls my age sported the same Aqua Net hairdo.

It was the boots. They saved me.

Proof That Standing Out Works

Those unique, flashy black-and-gold fringe boots in the headlights—that’s what caught their eyes. Hysterical.

But also? Proof that standing out can change everything, even when you think no one’s looking.

The Lesson: Why Copywriting Matters

Style begins in your creation. But getting it noticed (and sold)? That starts with the copy. Whether you’re crafting leather jackets, fringe boots, or marketing your artistic genius, the words matter. If your audience doesn’t understand who you are, what you do, and why it matters, you’re basically headbanging alone in the garage.

Great Copywriting:

• Cranks up your voice to eleven—loud, clear, and totally you.

• Turns browsers into believers—because they get what you stand for.

• Builds trust—so people stick with you and follow your journey.

• Moves people to act—click, buy, share, refer.

  
  

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