We’re Tobias and Mauro, two 21-year-olds from Spain who met working in the Netherlands. One afternoon, sitting in the café we always went to, we pulled out our phones and compared our screen times. The numbers were absurd. Hours and hours, every single day, lost to the feed. We just stared at each other. And that’s when it hit.

Mom had been right this whole time, and it really was the damn phone.

We had both tried everything already: Apple screen time limits, apps, blockers, timers, hacks. None of them stuck. The temptation was always sitting there in our pockets. Until one day, inspired by other brands of the moment, we asked ourselves:

What if the solution wasn’t inside the phone, but outside of it?

That thought cracked something open. We felt all these other brands and solutions didn’t speak to us, to our generation. They felt cold, corporate, and productivity oriented. What we wanted wasn’t another app. Our people needed something else, not just another tool, but a brand in the physical world, a community we could actually relate to. Something that gave us not only the inspiration but also the tools to live a life without regrets.

Based on these principles, we built Monk—for us and for you. A small physical tap that instantly blocks digital distractions, paired with an app that makes presence simple, effortless, and accessible. Bringing us closer to who we truly are.

Now, we’ve built our first tool, but we’re not stopping here. So remember:

Don’t let your phone run the show and start living a story you’d actually want to tell.