CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 19, 2025--
A year after their viral debut, Totem returned to the 2025 South by Southwest Expo with a show-stopping interactive booth and live demos of their flagship product, the Totem Compass —the screen-free wearable that helps people find their loved ones without cell service or internet connection. For the second year in a row, live-recorded TikTok from the Expo floor went viral, surging to over 1.8M views in less than 48 hours.
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Originally designed for festival-goers, the Totem Compass found an unexpected new fanbase at SXSW: families. At Totem’s unmissable all-pink booth, parents gathered as their children played with the interactive light installation, triggering cascading waves of color to demonstrate Totem’s new light show technology powered by the Unity Mesh Network. As parents watched, they saw more than just a dazzling display—they saw a must-have tool for keeping children safe while giving them the freedom children crave.
As screen time concerns grow among parents, SXSW attendees saw the Totem Compass as an ideal balance of freedom, safety, and fun. Recent studies show that a whopping 78% of US parents believe it is unacceptable for a child under 12 to have a smartphone.
With a simple, screen-free design, the Totem Compass allows parents to enjoy peace of mind while giving their children more freedom to explore and have fun. Its intuitive UX is easy enough for a five-year-old to use, making it a must-have family tool for amusement parks, zoos, camping, family vacations, and more.
“We originally built the Totem Compass to help festival-goers feel safe and free, but SXSW revealed something much larger,” said Carter Fowler, CEO of Totem. “Parents around the world are desperate for a way to give their kids more freedom without putting a smartphone in their hands. With concerns about screen time at an all-time high, the Totem Compass offers a simple, intuitive way for families to stay connected and safe, no smartphones required.”
The excitement wasn’t confined to the SXSW Expo, however. Thousands of parents around the world jumped into the comments of the viral TikTok post to mirror the same excitement as SXSW attendees:
SXSW is just the latest chapter in Totem’s meteoric rise. Since its viral debut last year, the company has:
As Totem continues to expand and grow, one thing is clear: whether at festivals, amusement parks, or family vacations, no one has to lose the people they love ever again.
The Totem Compass is available now for $69 attotemlabs.com.
About Totem:
Totem, Inc. is a Tennessee-based startup dedicated to making live events safer, more immersive, and more beautiful. Founded in early 2024, Totem has rapidly grown from an idea into a bonafide global movement. Founded on the belief that no one deserves to be lost, Totem is guided by four core values—Love, Unity, Simplicity, and Beauty—as it seeks to usher in a new era of human connection around the world.
Totem Compass at SXSW 2025 draws rave reviews and parent obsession from a global audience of thousands of attendees. Families have deemed the product a must-have safety tool and have made it go viral for a second year in a row.
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A former guitarist for Grammy-winning Baltimore hardcore band Turnstile has been charged with attempted murder after authorities say he chased down and struck a former bandmate's father with his car, badly injuring him.
Montgomery County police officers responding to a Sunday report about a pedestrian being struck in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Silver Spring found William Yates, the 79-year-old father of lead singer Brendan Yates, injured in a front yard, according to charging documents.
Yates' family said guitarist Brady Ebert, a neighbor who parted ways with the band several years ago, had struck him with a car, police wrote. Yates’ daughter, Erin Gerber, told authorities that she and her husband were getting their kids out of their car when Ebert drove up honking at them and yelling obscenities, then drove into her father.
In video footage obtained from a neighbor, Ebert could be seen driving a gold Buick LeSabre and swerving toward William Yates but missing him, according to the charging documents. Yates then threw a rock at Ebert’s vehicle and Gerber dragged her 3-year-old son onto the lawn to avoid being hit. Ebert then turned sharply into Yates' driveway and struck him as he was trying to run away, investigators wrote. Ebert finally drove across the lawn and left.
Yates told a detective that as he was injured on the ground, Ebert returned and yelled that he “deserved it” before driving off again, according to charging documents.
Yates said Ebert used to be in a band with his son and had been causing problems for his family since being kicked out. He said Ebert had been taunting them for long time, but that his behavior had been escalating.
Ebert, 33, was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault, court records show.
During a bond hearing Thursday in which he appeared via video, Ebert called William Yates a “maniac” who threw a rock at him asked the judge to watch the surveillance footage, saying it would “contradict” the authorities' narrative of what happened, The Baltimore Banner reported.
But prosecutor Dominic Plantamura said the footage shows it was a “clearly targeted attack” and that Yates is lucky he wasn't injured more seriously.
Ebert's lawyer, John Costello, acknowledged Ebert’s contentious history with his former bandmate, but said, “That does not, in this instance, warrant extra detention.” Costello’s office declined to comment to The Associated Press.
The judge ordered Ebert held without bond.
According to Plantamura, William Yates was injured so badly that a bone stuck out of one leg.
In a statement, Turnstile said it cut ties with Ebert in 2022, “in response to a consistent pattern of harmful behavior." It said a boundary had to be set after he began threatening violence. While Ebert’s “baseless tirades” continued in public since then, the band said it didn’t address them to protect his privacy. Threats escalated in recent months and then there was a physical attack on Brendan Yates’ father this week, the band wrote.
“We are grateful that Mr. Yates survived, has successfully undergone surgery, and we’re hoping for the best possible outcome in his recovery,” the band said. “We have no language left for Brady.”
Turnstile were underground stalwarts until their 2021 album “Glow On” launched them into mainstream consciousness. They cemented their status this year by winning Grammys for Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance.
FILE - Turnstile's guitarist Brady Ebert performs at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club, Friday, April 19, 2019, in Indio, Calif. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
