Winter Arc: Is it hustle culture 2.0?
Methods+Mastery
A team of curious, tenacious, and candid experts who are committed to delivering work that works.
In today’s edition:
Decoding Winter Arc
The hustle culture, #girlboss, and rise-and-grind era from the 2010s may have clocked out in 2020, but a new Gen Z challenge called Winter Arc feels awfully familiar. Winter Arc is an opt-in-if-you-want movement with rules that bring about a full mental, spiritual, and physical reset. At the extreme, this can involve people shaving their heads, swearing off romantic relationships, and asking chatbots to bully them for motivation. These rallying messages from highly-motivated people on TikTok claim October 1st is “the new January 1st,” and encourage others to chase goals now while everyone else hits snooze.?
Winter Arc (also dubbed October Theory) is certainly a shift from a generation known for valuing flexibility, challenging tradition, focusing on personal expression, and rejecting capitalism. It’s not the first time older trends have piqued Gen Z’s interest (ahem, mashup culture), but it makes us wonder, is this a new self-improvement trend or merely hustle culture in disguise??
Please be aware that this edition and the links within discuss diet, exercise, and weight loss.
What we’re seeing #1: Gen Z’s version of hustle is more balanced—prioritizing structure, intentionality, and personal growth.
Winter Arc isn’t the only wellness challenge Gen Z is participating in. 75 Hard, initially created in 2019, is also seeing an uptick. A key difference between the two is with Winter Arc, the focus is on the benefit of feeling good or developing lifelong habits. Data also shows that Gen Z is exercising a lot more than they were five years ago — and even spending the most on gym memberships out of all generations. Pair this with Winter Arc’s emphasis on a full-body reset, Gen Z puts in the work on themselves FOR themselves.
Outside of health and fitness trends, Gen Z won’t be beating the “hustler” allegations anytime soon. This generation is big on side hustles. In fact, over half of Gen Z have a side gig. Whether it’s because they’re strapped for cash or don’t want to work for the man, they balance responsibilities and grind for results. Some even explicitly say they love the energy of living in a city like New York because of the fast-paced culture, which inspires the same mindset. At the end of the day, they’re hustling on their own terms and creating their own routines.
What we’re seeing #2: The allure of Winter Arc lies in its promise of routine.??
Gen Z may not love strict rules, but self-discipline is thriving among them. Whether it's a response to the lack of structure during the pandemic or a desire for control in an anxious world, routines have become essential. From GRWMs and “everything showers” to meal prepping and “cozy fall” or “hot girl morning” routines, there's a ritual for everything. Skincare, for example, often includes detailed steps like lymphatic massages, showing their commitment.
In the Winter Arc, routines are key, whether it’s waking up at the same time, working out early, or journaling. For Gen Z, it's not just about the tasks themselves but the discipline in sticking to them. The repetition, more than the specifics, seems to bring comfort.
What we’re seeing #3: A shift in how brands approach themes of ambition and achievement may be coming.?
Some brands like Nike and Gymshark are fully leaned into the rise-and-grind narrative, while others like Bulletproof aim for simplicity and balance over burnout.
Nike’s recent Winning Isn’t Comfortable series showed people literally rising and grinding — making the point that only the people willing to work the hardest will be the most successful. As expected, reactions were mixed. Some felt it was a great reminder of how hard work and dedication bring results, while others found the ad blunt, hypercompetitive, or promoted too much self-sacrifice. Brands like Bulletproof are referencing the trend more gently, embracing ambition without the same pressure.?
Winter Arc might sound like a blast from the past, but it’s not quite the same old hustle culture. It’s a Gen Z remix that blends structure with self-care, where each person gets to make their own rules.
What It Means For You & Your Brand
There isn’t one right way to hop on a trend like Winter Arc. Gen Z is full of bed rotters, rise-and-grinders, and everyone in between, leaving room for interpretation when it comes to what a “realistic” Winter Arc looks like. Think about where your specific audience or product fits in – for instance, if moms make up a large chunk of your audience, maybe lay off the hustle culture train during times of high stress, like back-to-school and holidays.?
Learn from the flop of #girlboss. The girl boss character arc helped initiate important conversations about female equality, but it started to go south when it became an impossible standard to live up to, pressuring women to do it all without a hair out of place. To avoid this notion, celebrate the messy, real human experience of trying to get better at something, reminding people that it’s also OK if they simply want to quit or try something else.
On that note, if you lean into hustle messaging, make it more about personal reflection vs. external validation. Even those who participate in the most intense challenges are clear that they’re doing this for themselves – no one else. Use approaches like Stories, polls, and questions to ask how they’re doing or what support they’re looking for. Plus, this is a nice way to reach people who aren’t quite ready to dive into a challenge like Winter Arc but want to use the new season to better themselves in some way.
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The Social Scoop
Get up to speed with the biggest stories on social.
Instagram wins with Gen Z, while Reddit overindexes with Millennials. A Piper Sandler survey found that 87% of the surveyed teens use Instagram once a month, up 7% from 2023 and a record high since the survey began in 2016. Meanwhile, EMARKETER found that 43% of Reddit’s active audience are Millennials, compared to 29% of Gen Z.
Our take: These generational nuances can all be tied back to communication styles and how each uses these platforms. Gen Z typically spends more time in DMs and on Stories vs. the feed, which unlocked new Instagram updates like Notes and comments on Stories. Millennials on the other hand grew up with the early internet, and Reddit is one of the last text-based platforms. It also hosts Millennial-focused topics like home improvement, gardening, parenting, and finance. And with the increased search traffic, it’s no wonder Reddit remains a relevant and reliable source.?
Facebook updates its mobile app to prioritize Gen Z audiences, with a new full-screen Video section, Local and Explore tabs, and updates to Events and Groups. These changes help improve content discovery and find more from people of interest. The new Local and Explore tabs will pull content from Reels, Marketplace, Groups, and Events, and are tailored to individual interests, while Events are now open to all, regardless of whether people are on Facebook.
Our take: Facebook teased this plan earlier in the year, and now Gen Z’s preferences for Marketplace and Groups are at the center of rejuvenating the app. Facebook shared that young adults on Facebook spend nearly 60% of their time on the app watching videos, so it makes sense that they’re prioritizing Reels and video. This new video tab provides a great opportunity to start resharing Reels and other short-form videos that performed well on your Facebook page.?
Meet Daze, the new AI-powered creative messaging app gaining pre-launch traction. Targeted toward Gen Z as an artistic alternative to traditional messaging apps, Daze offers features like multi-colored messages with creative tools like photos, drawings, stickers, and more, powered by AI. Daze is set to launch on November 4th and already boasts a 150K waitlist.?
Our take: We know Gen Z is feeling tech fatigue, but also enjoys the creativity of these spaces, and Daze brings the best of both worlds. Early testers were aged 13-22, making this an unofficial Gen Z and Alpha platform. Keep an eye out for early reactions once the app is officially launched.
Rabbit Hole of the Month
We’re obsessed with internet rabbit holes. Here’s one we dug into this month:
Subtle foreshadowing
Thanks to social media, everyone is a storyteller. Whether it’s a morning routine, funny anecdote, or paid promotion, regular folks are learning from cinephiles and professionals how to hook audiences and keep people engaged. With this evolution in filming and editing, a new trend has emerged: subtle foreshadowing.
Subtle foreshadowing is when the climax of a video is shown in small clips leading up to the moment itself. Decidedly not subtle. It’s an example of non-linear storytelling and has become increasingly popular among short-form video content. Some highly-viewed examples include one woman opening up her new bed (48.9M views) and a child running before (35.8M views)… well, we’ll let the foreshadowing spoil it for you.?
This trend is very new, having only emerged in the last month, but has already garnered over 35K searches on Google, up +210% week over week. There are now almost 20K videos with the #subtleforeshadowing hashtag, and even better: it’s brand-friendly.
Disclosure: Google is a client of Methods+Mastery
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Alt Text is brought to you by Methods+Mastery. Our insatiable curiosity and hunger to understand the world around us is what fuels our mission. We go down cultural rabbit holes to understand how trends form and how people think and behave — all so we can build work that works.
Disclosure: Methods+Mastery serves multiple clients. Those clients and/or their peers and competitors may be included in Alt Text, if we feel they’re relevant to what’s trending in social. We always disclose direct client relationships and affiliations.