About

THE NEW FLEX is a single-page essay about status: what it used to mean, what has changed, and what is worth showing off now.

The argument is simple. For decades, status meant acquisition: what you had and what you could afford. The essay suggests that something has shifted. The old flex was what you bought; the new flex is what you built, what you know and what you would do if nobody was watching. It ends with a challenge to the reader: what is your flex?

Who made it

THE NEW FLEX is a project by Mike Litman at Cultural Capital Labs, a London studio that builds products and writing at the intersection of taste, technology and culture. The site's own colophon says Mike has built 14 products without writing a line of code, and that his flex is taste.

What is on the site

There is one essay, laid out as a scrolling sequence of sections, plus links to Cultural Capital Labs, mikelitman.me and Mike's LinkedIn profile. There is no shop, no login and no newsletter on this site.

Questions, corrections or ideas are welcome at the contact page.