Press kit
Press &
podcasts.
Covering click-to-cancel, dark patterns, junk fees or AI customer service? Mitch has the receipts and the rants. Everything you need is on this page.
Fact sheet
The book.
| Title | F* YOUR FRICTION |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | What to Say and Do When Systems and People Steal Your Time and Money |
| Author | Mitch Mitchem |
| Publisher | Stoop and Strike Publishing |
| Publication date | October 10, 2026 (revised edition) |
| Formats and ISBNs | Paperback 979-8-9936593-4-3 Hardcover 979-8-9936593-5-0 Ebook 979-8-9936593-6-7 Audiobook coming soon |
| Pages and trim | 192 pages, 5 x 8 in. (print) |
| Category | Business, consumer advocacy, self-help |
| Available at | Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books and more. See where to buy. |
Bios
About Mitch.
Short bio (about 50 words)
Mitch Mitchem is a Second City-trained improviser, keynote speaker and the author of F* YOUR FRICTION: What to Say and Do When Systems and People Steal Your Time and Money. In about three decades onstage, he has given more than 4,000 presentations to more than 10 million people in 12 countries.
Long bio (about 150 words)
Mitch Mitchem is a Second City-trained improviser, keynote speaker and the author of F* YOUR FRICTION: What to Say and Do When Systems and People Steal Your Time and Money (Stoop and Strike Publishing, October 2026). In about three decades onstage, Mitch has given more than 4,000 presentations to more than 10 million people in 12 countries. He has given a TEDx Talk, spent two decades performing Comedy You Can Dance To at Chicago's Excalibur, and has shared stages with Jimmy Buffett, The Beach Boys, Ziggy Marley, *NSYNC and Britney Spears. His clients have included Walt Disney World Resort, Microsoft, the Orlando Magic and VISIT DENVER, where Jason Lusk said: "Mitch Mitchem was the highest rated speaker VISIT Denver has had in the last ten years." The book is his field guide to beating the phone trees, cancel traps and chatbot loops that steal our time and money.
Photos and cover
Images.
Free to use with coverage of Mitch Mitchem and the book. Click Download for the full-size file.
Download 1600 x 2560 JPG
Download 772 x 1373 PNG
Download 2500 x 3333 JPG
Download 750 x 519 JPG
Download 1575 x 998 PNG
Web-size cover: 750 px wide.
One-page summary
What the book is about.
You're not crazy. You're not lazy. You're being robbed. The phone trees, subscription traps, password loops and systems that make you do the work are stealing your time, money, attention and energy. Much of that friction is not accidental. It is the business model.
F* YOUR FRICTION is a direct, funny, evidence-backed field manual for recognizing useless friction, deciding what deserves your energy, and taking your life back. It gives readers tools they can use the same day:
- The Grandfather Test: five questions that cut through any corporate lie.
- Fix It or F* It: a ten-second way to decide if a fight is worth it.
- The Six Friction Identifiers: spot the moment a company quietly hands you its job.
- The AI Friction Killer: use AI to fight for you, without giving up the human element.
- THE RECLAIM METHOD: a 4-week plan to take back the hours, days, and years friction has already stolen.
It is written for anyone who has ever been stuck on hold, trapped in a subscription or sent in circles by an app, and for the leaders who build those systems and want to stop.
Cleared stats for your story
- "In 2024, consumer protection agencies from 26 countries, including the FTC, reviewed 642 subscription websites and apps. Nearly 76% used at least one possible dark pattern. Nearly 67% used more than one." FTC press release, July 10, 2024. (The FTC made no findings on legality.)
- "64% of people are willing to pay more for simpler brand experiences (Siegel+Gale, 2023, 15,000+ people in nine countries)." Siegel+Gale, World's Simplest Brands
- "The average American spends two to three years of life waiting in line, per MIT queueing expert Richard Larson." NPR, Jan 6, 2005
Sample interview questions
Ask Mitch.
- The federal click-to-cancel rule was struck down. So are we stuck in subscriptions forever?
- What exactly is a dark pattern, and how would I recognize one?
- Is it true there’s a way to get past the chatbot to a real human?
- Companies say AI makes customer service faster. Why does it feel worse?
- Do companies really make things hard on purpose?
- Junk fees. Are they getting better or worse?
- Why is it on me to scan my own groceries now?
- You say friction isn’t bad design, it’s the business model. That’s a big claim. Defend it.
- Give me one test I can use today on any company.
- How much of our lives are we losing to this stuff?
Press contact
Book an interview.
For interviews, podcasts, review copies and quotes, send a press request. Pick "Press or podcast" on the form and tell us your outlet and deadline. We reply fast.