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Meet Steve Cook (Co founder of social strategy collective The Undaunted) and discover his fantasy cultural year.
Some people fit neatly into the boxes society provides. Steve Cook, however, prefers to scribble all over them, set them on fire, and build something altogether more interesting from the ashes. A neuroconvergent systemic thinker, punk at heart, and chaos conductor by trade, Steve has spent 60 years not just navigating the labyrinth of human existence but actively dismantling its dead ends.
Through his work with The Undaunted, The Unheard Scream, and The Community of the Undaunted, he’s been orchestrating a new kind of social change, one that lives in the cracks between ideologies, histories, and rigid societal structures. So, if you’re expecting a traditional biography, you might want to recalibrate. Let’s dance with the monsters, shall we?
Early Creative Chaos: The Art School Years (1980-1984)
Steve’s journey into structured rebellion began at Watford School of Art, where he honed his conceptual thinking through the D&AD Advertising programme.
He didn’t just pass; he thrived, earning an A+ with Highly Commended across all assignments, a feat that signalled his ability to play within the system while simultaneously questioning its every rule.
The Advertising and Branding Rollercoaster (1985-2005)
From 1985 to 2000, Steve threw himself into the high-octane world of advertising and direct marketing, working across B2C and B2B accounts in increasingly strategic roles. He wielded his creative mind for the likes of Vodafone, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, The AA, Abbey National, and Amnesty International, among many others. But let’s not pretend it was all smooth sailing, Steve was never one to simply sell things; he wanted to disrupt, redefine, and create meaning.
Then came the Soviet adventure. Between 1990 and 1992, he found himself in the Soviet State Advertising Agency (SOVERO), smack dab in the middle of the USSR’s transformation. Tasked with guiding 400 creative and film production staff into a new world of “Western” marketing, he helped transition a state-run monopoly into a competitive agency that could survive the post-Soviet free market, because if there’s one thing Steve thrives on, it’s reprogramming broken systems.
By 2002, he was steering global brand strategies as Global Head of Brand at RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), pushing for international recognition and ensuring that 120,000 Chartered Surveyors got the status they deserved. But as ever, corporate structures were just a pit stop on the way to something bigger.
From Strategy to Systemic Rebellion (2005-Present)
From 2005 to 2015, Steve operated as an independent Organisation Strategist, shaping the futures of global enterprises, startups, third-sector organisations, and government initiatives across the UK, EU, and beyond.
His work encompassed business transformation, cultural shifts, mergers, and even entire market behaviour reconfigurations. But something was still missing ... real, human-centred impact.
Enter V. A Strategy Practice (2016-Present)
With a mission to flick the V’s at barriers to change, Steve and his team have been helping leaders redefine their purpose and execute visionary change strategies. His work is not about tinkering at the edges; it’s about dismantling, rebuilding, and making space for something better.
The Undaunted Era: Dancing with Monsters for The Great Unfuck (2021-Present)
In 2021, Steve co-founded The Undaunted, The Unheard Scream, and Unstitution, three interconnected initiatives aimed at tackling systemic social failure. The Undaunted isn’t just an organisation; it’s a movement, an art form, and an open invitation to reimagine how society functions.
The Unheard Scream is the deep-dive storytelling and research engine, gathering unheard voices and making sense of the chaos.
The Undaunted provides high-impact strategic advice to organisations ready to embrace real change.
Unstitution is the collaborative impact coalition machine, fostering change from the grassroots up.
Steve has also taken up the role of Conductor in Residence and Social Strategy Lead at The Undaunted, ensuring that this movement doesn’t just challenge the status quo, it burns it down and builds something human-centred in its place.
Most recently, in 2024, he co-launched The Community of the Undaunted, an intentional space for rediscovering the art of being human, fostering collective action, and turning systemic overwhelm into empowered impact.
So, what’s next?
Steve Cook isn’t here to play by the rules. He’s here to write new ones, remix the old ones, and ensure that no one gets left behind in the process. Whether through his work with The Undaunted, his past life in strategy and branding, or his refusal to be daunted by any challenge, one thing’s for certain: the monsters don’t stand a chance.
Steve Cook's fantasy cultural year
Guided by founder of the Arts and Culture Network, Mark Walmsley, Steve Cook embarked on an imaginative exploration of his passion ... social, systematic change.
A Global Study in non-linear societies
Mark proposed an ambitious, fictitious foundation-funded journey for Steve: a worldwide study on non-linear societies, focusing on studying the loss of curiosity and importance of arts and culture.
Steve suggested beginning in Pike Place Market in Seattle. As part of this journey, he accepted an experimental challenge, to immerse himself exclusively in post-punk, particularly Mogwai's music for a year.
Cultural Exploration & Time Travel Adventures
Their conversation turned playful as they began to design Steve’s "fantasy cultural year," with Mark wielding a magic wand and a time machine. Upon arriving in Seattle, Steve settled into a loft apartment overlooking the market with access to sustainable transportation options.
He chose ballet as the dance performance he would like to watch. Mark agreed with Steve's choices and suggested a dinner of pie with gravy after the ballet performance. The next day, they planned to watch a sport, with Stephen choosing squash, a sport he enjoyed in his youth and considered to have an artistic element
Art, Music, and Social Change
Mark and Steve discussed the concept of stepping into the work of famous artists in a virtual reality setting. Steve expressed his admiration for Joseph Beuys, a German artist, and shared his experiences with him, including curating an exhibition in New York. He also mentioned his shared traits with Beuys, such as looking at society and injustice, and thinking in patterns and systems.
The two reminisced about concerts they had missed in the past. Stephen expressed regret for not attending The Cure's concert at the Sydney Opera House and the Rock Against Racism Festival in 1978, where Tom Robinson and The Clash performed. Mark wished he had gome to Bob Marley at the Rainbow in 1977.
Hero day
Mark gave Steve the chance to invite anyone for lunch. He chose his wife and his musical hero, Ian Curtis from Joy Division.
Through this imaginative exercise, Steve’s fantasy cultural year emerged as a deeply personal, intellectually stimulating, and adventure-filled journey, bridging unmasking, identity and expression.
You can find Steve Cook on LinkedIn here.
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Mark Walmsley FRSA FCIM AGSM
Chief Culture Vulture
Arts & Culture Network
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