Hey. I’m Brassy.
Owner and head coach at CDQ.
Professional chaos whisperer.
Recovering corporate hostage.
Farm-bred, neuro-spicy, and fully done pretending to be “appropriate.”
CDQ is my brainchild, born from equal parts burnout, stubbornness, and a lifelong allergy to bullshit.
I was grew up in the heartland on a farm, raised by my mom, grandparents, and a small community who believed in hard work, straight talk, and fixing things instead of replacing them.
I learned the world before the internet crossed the line from solution to problem. Before “screen time” became a lifestyle. Before everything required a login. Back when neighbors waved, phones stayed on the wall, and boredom was a skill developer, not a crisis.
I learned how to think before I learned how to type. I grew up pre-Wi-Fi, pre-“content,” pre-constant dopamine drip… which means I still know how to look a problem in the eye without Googling it.
I was the classic neurodivergent trifecta as a kid: Gifted. Talented. Behavior problems.
My report cards read like rap sheets:
- “Talks too much.”
- “Distracts others.”
- “Refuses to stay seated.”
But I was one of the lucky ones. My family didn’t try to sedate the chaos out of me. They came from stubborn stock on both sides, full of loud-mouthed, quick-brained problem-solvers who didn’t wait for permission. My grandparents didn’t coddle my neurodivergence or punish it – they aimed it.
If I talked too much, they handed me a microphone. If I wouldn’t sit still, they gave me harder work. They treated intensity like horsepower, not a malfunction. Later, thanks to them, I landed in a private high school (on scholarship) with a full-on classics education. I learned ancient languages and argued old novels. I learned logic, rhetoric, philosophy, debate, the works – just like the “haves” get.
Why does that matter?
I wasn’t just born feral; I was trained in strategy. I know how to break systems and build better ones.
As an adult, I did the “respectable” thing. I blended in and did what I was supposed to do (most of the time). I got an undergrad in marketing, an MBA, and a Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis. I have my PMP and more certifications than you can shake a stick at.
I’ve been a journalist. Consultant. Corporate leader. I’ve had fancy titles in marketing and communications with big responsibilities. PowerPoints with words like “synergy” and “alignment” that made my soul leave my body. I know first-hand how corporate cash rewrites reality, right down to the headlines.
I ran teams. I led strategy. I played their game so well they forgot I didn’t care about winning it. I was good at all of it. But being good at something doesn’t make it worth your soul.
If I’ve learned anything along the way, it’s that the system isn’t broken by accident.
But the thing is… I don’t want to participate in it anymore.
I don’t want a corner office. I want out.
Out of meetings about meetings.
Out of growth plans written by people I wouldn’t follow into a gas station.
Out of a system that breaks creative, restless, relentless minds just to make them compliant.
And I know I’m not alone.
If we’re serious about building a parallel economy – one where we stop bending to corporate bullshit and start building our own lanes – then we have to do more than rant about it.
The mainstream system trains, funds, and protects its own. So why wouldn’t we? We need to upskill each other, pressure-test ideas, support breakdowns without shame, and problem-solve like a unit. Not just trauma-dump and call it community.
I want to build something real, with people who operate like I do.
That’s why CDQ exists. Not as a pity party. Not as a hustle cult. But as a training ground for neurodivergent operators.
- People who read every email immediately and then forget to respond for six days because responding required too many decisions.
- People who hyperfocus for 14 straight hours with zero breaks and then can’t get themselves to start a two minute task.
- People who fix problems on sight, often before asking, “Was that even my problem?”
- People who survive not by fitting in, but by figuring shit out.
People like us weren’t built to sit quietly in ergonomic chairs while pretending spreadsheets are fulfilling.
We were built to build shit.
CDQ isn’t some polished self help program or Silicon Valley “optimization platform”. It’s a refuge for those of us who were told to focus harder, try harder, or act more “professional”, when the real problem was that the whole damn world was built using an operating system we weren’t born with.
- Emotional intensity? That’s fuel.
- Hyperfocus? A tactical laser.
- Anxiety? Risk radar.
- Oversharing? Morale engineering.
Most training, coaching, and “support” programs out there? They were built to indoctrinate neurodivergent people, not improve us. Even if most of those leading the classes don’t realize what they’re doing. They teach us how to fit in, comply, regulate, perform, and mask better in systems that were never built for us.
CDQ was built to do the opposite… to teach you how to use your neurodivergent traits as strategy and power. Hyperfocus, impulsivity, pattern obsession, anxiety, boredom intolerance, emotional intensity? We weaponize that shit.
If you’re…
- Neurodivergent (loudly or secretly)…
- Anti-corporate, allergic to hierarchy, incapable of small talk unless there’s big purpose…
If you’ve…
- Tried really hard to be “reasonable” and it almost killed you…
Congratulations. You’re my people.
And right now, I’m building the Founding Member crew.
Membership is currently 50% off for life. Once we get our founding crew locked in, I’m flipping the table, quitting corporate for good, and pouring my entire unmedicated brain into building this thing with you.
If you want to help me build the parallel economy, not just tweet about it…
Get in.
Or stay out there. Masking. Shrinking. Playing nice for people who wouldn’t survive a day living like you do.
Your call.
(Snag the prelaunch here and use code GABBIZ to save a $100 on your initial training camp too)
Let’s be done trying to fit into someone else’s world.
Let’s build our own.
— Brassy