Captain's Blog - The Line Between Renegade and Reckless

Written by Noah McDonough

Published June 13, 2025 • 6 min read

Renegade or Reckless?

I recently watched Titan on Netflix — the documentary about the OceanGate submersible tragedy. It’s a gripping, devastating look at what happens when bold vision collides with deep denial. But what really struck me, beyond the technical failures or media frenzy, was the mythic weight of it all. Titan. Titanic. Icarus. Different names, same story: humans reaching beyond the known, and paying the price for ignoring the warnings.

As Renegade Chronicles is a show based on creative outliers and system disruptors, I couldn’t stop thinking about that line — the one between renegade and reckless. Because the people we celebrate for breaking the mold often carry the same fire that can burn it all down.

Two Renegades. One Caution Light.

Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, was a visionary. He wanted to democratize deep-sea exploration, bring people to the wreck of the Titanic, and challenge what he saw as outdated safety regulations. He wasn’t afraid to break the rules. In fact, he was proud of it.

So was Richard Branson. A billionaire balloonist, space dreamer, and founder of the Virgin empire, Branson has made a career out of pushing boundaries. But when Branson’s Virgin Galactic test flight crashed in 2014, killing a pilot, he did something Stockton Rush didn’t: he grounded the fleet. He listened. He rebuilt.

I saw Richard Branson speak at SolidWorks World back in 2009 in Orlando, Florida. Afterward, I spoke with one of the organizers — the woman who helped bring him in. She told me something that stuck with me: he didn’t want the questions in advance. He wanted the interview to feel real. That says something about how Branson operates — with presence, trust, and a willingness to face the unknown without denying it exists.

Stockton Rush famously said, “At some point, safety just is pure waste. If you want to be safe, don’t get out of bed.”

That’s not bravery. That’s bravado.

Branson, on the other hand, nearly died multiple times attempting record-breaking balloon flights. He crashed into the ocean. He was stranded in the Arctic. He didn’t stop taking risks, but he adapted. He sought advice. He respected the danger. Branson flirted with the sun. Rush pretended it wasn’t there.

The Icarus Effect

The Icarus Effect

There’s a bit of Icarus in every renegade. You have to believe you can fly higher — or dive deeper — than others think is possible. But there’s a difference between building wings that can withstand the heat… and ignoring that the sun exists.

Branson danced with disaster and course-corrected. Rush built a capsule out of carbon fiber, denied certification, ignored engineers — and imploded at depth. Same fire. Different outcome.

The Danger of Tuning Out

Every disruptor hears the same chorus: “You can’t.” “You shouldn’t.” “That’ll never work.”

Over time, they get good at muting it. Too good, sometimes.

The same skill that lets them push past fear and convention can also make them deaf to necessary warnings. They stop asking, “What am I missing?” Because they’ve been rewarded — over and over — for not listening.

But not every warning is resistance. Some are the rails that keep the ride alive.

Honorable Mentions: Renegades on the Edge

Steve Jobs

Uncompromising and obsessive. His “reality distortion field” pushed people past limits — but his product standards never cut corners.

Elon Musk

A genius builder. But increasingly Icarus-like in his denial of red flags — from Twitter to Tesla’s Autopilot.

Elizabeth Holmes

Charisma over science. Vision with no foundation. A reminder that intention means nothing without proof.

Sara Blakely

A model of renegade done right. No investors. No shortcuts. She listened, adapted, and built Spanx into a billion-dollar empire — grounded in real feedback.

Closing Signal

So yes — be bold. Stoke the fire. Build the sub, the balloon, the spaceship, the story. But while you chase the edge, remember the Icarus effect. Wings burn when they’re built on denial. Build with fire. But build to last.