How Overdrive Defense turned the taboo into an opportunity

Is it taboo? Or an opportunity?

Your edge is your competitive edge.

Brian Bordainick and Julie Schott, the pair best known for founding acne patch company Starface, are testament to that.

The daring duo have a reputation for fronting products that tackle social stigmas head on, from acne-patches to emergency contraception.

Think about it like this: most cosmetic brands treat acne as a quiet, clinical condition to be erased or hidden.

Products focus on hiding, concealing and straight up pretending it’s not there.

This brings an air of shame to the issue from the jump.

Starface, on the other hand, made acne a neon badge of honour. The brand’s pimple patches—a literal and figurative star in an industry obsessed with flawlessness—were big, bold, and unabashedly bright yellow.

They were not designed to blend in; but stand out, to declare, 'Yes, I have a pimple, and I’m not hiding it.'

This unorthodox approach to a 'flawed' skin condition didn’t just create a product; it crafted an entirely new category.

Acne patches had existed before. But Starface turned them into a Gen Z icon, proudly flaunted by celebrities like Justin Bieber and, later, fictionalised on HBO’s The White Lotus through the character of Portia.

Where other brands don’t dare to go, Schott and Bordainick see an opportunity to connect and reframe narratives around personal imperfections and hardships.

Their strategy has only grown bolder with every venture since—whether tackling emergency contraception with Julie Care, smoking cessation with Blip, or their most recent challenge: drug safety with Overdrive Defense.

All of these brands tackle stigmatised issues, with some of the coolest brand design and messaging I’ve seen to date.

Bordainick and Schott’s ventures are an inspiration to explore the controversial.

When we embrace what’s traditionally shied away from and turn it into a proud statement, we’re not just changing a product—we’re reshaping culture.

With their latest, Overdrive Defense, Bordainick and Schott have turned 'harm reduction' from a clinical term into something unapologetically bold and rebellious.

It’s the kind of audacious, no-apologies messaging that younger consumers crave: unfiltered, unafraid, and perfectly positioned to resonate with a generation tired of safe, sanitised brands.

The company sells an extremely orange box of test strips, 'established to save your life.' These strips check cocaine, heroin and other drugs for contamination with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid.

'If you're not using drug test kits, you're basically playing Russian roulette with a loaded gun, man,' reads Overdrive’s website. 'Passing that test? It could be the line between you walking away or not. So, get smart, gear up, and test your stuff. Life's already crazy enough—don't go out there without a damn shield.'

According to USA Facts, Fentanyl alone caused 73,654 overdoses in the US in 2022, nearly double the amount of deaths from three years prior.

And that number is steadily rising.

Illicit fentanyl is driving the increase of overall drug overdose deaths in the US. It's responsible for a whopping 70% annually as other illicit drugs are being laced with the deadly opioid. An epidemic, it’s now the leading cause of death in the US for people aged 18-45.

While the drug testing product category is a glaring necessity, it remains taboo.

That’s why Overdrive Defense doesn’t mince words when it comes to its audience.

The target? People experimenting with recreational drugs (obviously). But more often, college students or festival goers who’d never consider heading to a needle exchange because that feels scary and a little too serious.

Instead, they’re offered products that look like lifestyle essentials. They're designed to fit seamlessly into backpacks, jackets, or purses. It’s harm reduction wrapped neatly into a product experience tailor-made for real people in real situations.

Bordainick and Schott know their audience like they’re old pals and meet them exactly where they are.

Forget preaching, the brand connects with their world by speaking their language, adopting their style and approaching with genuine empathy.

Because tackling the taboo doesn’t have to mean talking down - as so many awareness brands do - it’s about talking real.

And making the uncool, cool. Something that Bordainick and Schott seem to have a knack for.

From Starface’s pimple patches to Julie emergency contraception, making the 'awkward' into something actually cool is their superpower.

By doing this, these products become conversation starters, not PSA lectures.

Overdrive’s website nails it with messaging like, 'We’re tossing you a lifeline, not some holier-than-thou lecture.' They ditch the patronising tone you usually find in public safety campaigns and opt for autonomy and empowerment instead.

If you want to be someone’s favourite brand, you’re probably going to be someone’s least favourite brand, too.

And you certainly can’t be everyone’s favourite brand when it comes to topics that the public has, historically, shied away from.

On the other hand, if you’re playing it safe, you’re probably not making much of an impression. Stand firm in your brand’s values and be okay with alienating a few if it means strengthening your connection with those who truly get it.

Plus, in crowded markets, a little controversy can be a fast track to relevance.

Bordainick and Schott have turned the 'too hot to handle' into a playbook for success.

With Overdrive Defense, they’re proving that taboo topics deserve space, too. For brands that want to break free from the 'safe,' there’s no better example.

After all, as Bordainick and Schott have shown, sometimes the riskiest move is no risk at all.

-Sophie, Writer