(FORTUNE Magazine) – Robert Earl Wells IV likes to call himself the Martha Stewart of youth culture. God knows why. Perhaps it's because the 31-year-old marketing expert has hosted cooking segments with skateboarders and the like on his ESPN cable network show, XIP With Robert Earl. (Robert Earl is his stage name.) Whatever the reason, the Martha routine and the stage name are pure Wells: You want to push your company or product? Attract the kids? Well, you gotta be a little different.

Wells' best act these days is helping one of his small-business-owner pals--such as Peter van Stolk, of Jones Soda Co., and Greg Arnette, formerly of Arnette Optic Illusions--launch a new product from the ground up or revitalize an old one. His specialty? Wells, who grew up skiing in Lake Tahoe, Calif., and taught the first snowboarding lesson at Squaw Valley USA, has touted himself as the guy who knows what kids want. And he knows how to get that message across.

One example: To help Jones Soda Co., then based in Vancouver, B.C., break into the U.S. beverage market in 1996, Wells had Jones employees set coolers full of its soda inside surf shops in Southern California and had ads plastered all over the parks at televised skateboard competitions; you can't get any cooler than that these days. Now some of the most well-known athletes--skateboarder/videogame maven Tony Hawk, biker Mat Hoffman--pass out bottles to young constituents during events. The lesson: You don't need to spend all that much money to get the message out to compete with the big guys.

But if you have any plans to hire Wells, don't expect a buttoned-down MBA. He graduated from high school in 1987 and moved to the mountains instead of going to college. He spent summers making businesses that came out of his gut instincts, but what followed was a four-year series of ventures--a landscaping business, a snowboard shop, and a beer company, which he ended up driving into the ground. He realized he was better at identifying and marketing trends than at running companies himself. Good thing.

He started to "help out" his friends with their businesses, most of which were centered on the snowboarding revolution. Wells would start out giving opinions and end up getting offered a full-time marketing position. He always politely declined. Today Wells is married and lives just north of San Francisco. His reputation for the unconventional has attracted the attention of larger, like-minded outlets, including ESPN, at which Wells co-hosts other shows, and Coca-Cola, which wants him to redirect its youth-marketing campaign for Sprite. In a series of interviews, Wells let us in on the secrets of youth branding and how it starts from within a company--big or small.

When we first met, you called yourself the "general artisan" of youth culture. What makes you an expert?

It's what I know--it's where I'm from. It's knowing that this Generation 2000, today's 14- to 24-year-old crowd, wants to be associated only with certain things. To make it in a youth-oriented marketplace, you actually have to be plugged in to that specific community.

But you're 31. How are you going to remain current and still be able to relate to that crowd?

First of all, I think that psychologically I will always be "current." I might look fat and old, but as long as I keep myself involved in what's going on in the market, like with my TV show, I'll keep abreast of the market.

Can you give me an example of how a company can do this?

Take skateboarding--each company wants to attract a certain kind of kid to ride its skateboards. To take skateboard sales to another level, they should do something like pick a professional team of boarders to represent them. They should pick pro riders whose images and attitudes reflect the types of kids they want riding their boards.

But what if you don't have the network or resources to pull in spokespeople?

Then you have to have a great product. That's vague, but a great product can carry you without the sponsorships. Do other things: Make sure the product benefits the customer. It has to be better than the next thing out there; a way to do that is to have it give back to the community. It has to be socially conscious. Not just for marketing play, but for real.

Any advice on how you do this?

When I developed the blue-bubble-gum flavor for Jones Soda Co. back in 1996, some of the proceeds went to LIFEbeat, part of the music industry's effort to fight AIDS. All of a sudden Jones Soda was this little company that supported action sports and music. It supported things Jones is a part of, instead of just throwing money at a huge event and hanging huge banners like the big guys do. It's never a one-time event; it's more like, "This is going to be a 16-month practice where we're going to build a company with a purpose behind its products."

How did you know that flavor would be a hit?

No one had ever done a blue bubble gum before. It was a killer color, and it seemed happening--something the kids would definitely want to drink. It did well, helping out charity along the way. Today there are blue drinks all over the place. And to think that Jones Soda was the underdog in the soda market! I wanted to prove that an underdog could bust into the scene. The best was when the big guys [Coke, Pepsi] started using tactics we were using that they hadn't used before. That's cool. That means you're getting noticed by the competition, and you must be doing something right.

I can't think of a blue Coke product--how was it copying you?

It wasn't their flavors; it was their marketing tactics. In San Diego we deployed a mini-sales team who went to all the local surf shops and left coolers full of soda by the cash register. It was a hit, and next thing we knew, Pepsi had these hot chicks going around to the same shops, arms full of coolers, but the shops said, No way. They only wanted Jones--the smaller guy.

What's the best thing you've contributed to a company?

Making people comfortable with iffy situations. Like when I was working with Arnette. There was a major opportunity to get the sunglasses distributed through Sunglass Hut. Problem was, Sunglass Hut was seen in the industry as a redheaded stepchild--no one liked its reps, and going with Sunglass would cheapen Arnette's brand and destroy our niche. But a deal with Sunglass would get the glasses out there and be good for our company. So to make Arnette employees feel more comfortable about the deal, I decided to develop some type of rapport with the CEO of Sunglass Hut.

But he didn't even know you. How did you do it?

We were showing our wares at this annual trade show, which I decided was the perfect opportunity. So we dressed up as members of KC and the Sunshine Band. Everyone else was wearing sportswear, and there we were in white polyester leisure suits and bushy wigs. The key was that the night before, I had an extra suit sent to the hotel room of the Sunglass Hut CEO, John Watson. He showed up in it! Instances like that--parties, informal gatherings--are perfect opportunities to make everyone feel the same within a group, like they're part of the deal.

How do you balance a company between the MBAs and gonzo marketing?

To be successful in this market, an MBA alone can't win the game. Don't get me wrong: You need someone accustomed to leadership; you need the guys who can do the graphs, charts, and metrics. But you also need someone to handle the passion, the emotional side of the business. Youth-oriented companies are not global telecommunications businesses; they're more creative. You have to have someone put emotion into what you are doing.

So how do you get business people to take you seriously?

I'm honest and straightforward. People--like investors--would rather you not give off this allure that everything's rosy. Lay everything out there but wear pink shirts and have green hair--as long as you make a 200% return on their money. You can be your own person. I've never worn a suit! I've gotten to be a complete goofball in a strict, corporate environment because I get things done as well as motivate others to do so.

Have you had many failures?

Basically, from ages 17 to 30, I've learned what not to do. I was irresponsible with the snowboard shop back in 1991--which was right before the sport took off. I'd go on three-month surfing trips to Indonesia, only to come back and realize we'd forgotten to pay taxes. From that I've learned not to partner with someone just because they have money; you have to make sure they're capable of managing it too.

You help companies become successful, but right before they go big or get acquired, you bow out. Why?

There's a time when a business, in essence, sells out. It goes public, or it gets acquired and becomes huge. Then there's a different set of rules. It changes the emotion of the company--and while it might be good for the founders, it's not my gig. It becomes a machine. I don't want to be pushed around in a job situation.

But you've been approached by Coca-Cola. Are you considering working with it and other big companies?

I hate to say this, but there is one advantage to working with and for a big company. Besides seeing your grassroots tactics being deployed by someone big, it does pay the mortgage when you're starting to plan a family.

What's next for you?

Another season of my show, with a cookbook coming out sometime next year. That's my dream--my coup d'etat!