Golden Bristle is the coaching practice of Matt Thieleman — legally, Thieleman Ventures LLC, doing business as Golden Bristle — based in Michigan. This policy explains what information this website (goldenbristle.com) collects, why, and what happens to it. The short version: this is a simple marketing site. There are no user accounts, no logins, and nothing to upload. The only information we have about you is what you choose to give us, plus standard website analytics.
Information you give us directly:
We don't ask for — and don't want — sensitive personal information through this site (things like health details, racial or ethnic origin, or religious beliefs).
Information collected automatically:
Like most websites, we use standard analytics to understand how people use the site — things like pages visited, IP address, approximate location, device and browser type, and how you found us. This data is used in aggregate to keep the site working and make it better, not to identify you personally.
That's it. We don't sell your information, rent it, or share it with third parties for their own marketing. Two edge cases honesty requires us to name: if the law ever compels it (a subpoena or court order), we would disclose what we're legally required to disclose. And if Golden Bristle were ever sold or merged — no plans, but privacy policies are supposed to say this — the email list and business records could transfer as part of that, and the commitments in this policy would go with them.
To run this site, we use a small number of third-party services, and your information passes through them in the ordinary course of using the site:
Each of these services has its own privacy policy governing the data it processes. We choose reputable providers, but we don't control their practices.
Our community lives on Skool, a separate platform with its own terms and privacy policy. Anything you do there — creating an account, posting, messaging — is governed by Skool's policies, not this one.
Only as long as there's a reason to. In practice:
When there's no longer a reason to keep something, we delete it. One honest caveat: deleted information can linger in routine backups for a while — it's isolated there and cycles out on its own.
This site uses cookies for two things: making the site work properly, and analytics (described above). You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the site will still work, though analytics won't register your visit. We don't use cookies to build advertising profiles of you.
Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. There's still no settled standard for how websites are supposed to respond to it, so — like most sites — this one doesn't change its behavior based on DNT signals. California law asks us to say that plainly, so: we don't respond to them at this time. If a standard we're required to follow ever emerges, we'll adopt it and update this page.
Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link. Click it and you're off the list — no hoops, no "are you sure" gauntlet. You can also email us directly and we'll remove you.
Wherever you live, you can ask us at any time to:
How to make a request: email matt@goldenbristle.com with "Privacy request" in the subject line and tell us what you'd like. This is the actual mechanism, not a formality — requests go directly to Matt. To protect your information, we'll verify the request is really from you (usually by corresponding through the email address we already have on file, or asking a follow-up question). Expect a substantive response within 45 days. If we ever decline a request — the law permits that in narrow cases — we'll explain why in writing, and you can appeal by replying to that explanation. You can also have an authorized agent submit a request for you; we'll ask for proof that you authorized them.
Information held by third-party services (like a past newsletter delivery) may be subject to their deletion processes as well — we'll initiate those where we can.
If you're in the EU, UK, or another region with formal data protection law, these same rights apply with legal force there, and you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe we've handled your information unlawfully. We'd rather you email us first — we'll fix it.
A growing list of US states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, Virginia, and others — have consumer privacy laws that give their residents formal rights: to know what personal information a business holds about them, to access and correct it, to delete it, to get a portable copy of it, to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and of targeted advertising, and to not be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights.
Here's where we stand: we don't sell your personal information, we don't share it for targeted advertising, and we don't use it for profiling — so there's nothing to opt out of. Every other right on that list we honor for everyone, in every state and country, through the process described above. If we decline a request and your state's law covers you, you can also raise the issue with your state attorney general — though we'd ask you to email us first.
We take reasonable steps to protect the information you share with us, and we keep what we collect to a minimum. No website can guarantee perfect security, but there's also very little here to breach — we don't store payment details, passwords, or accounts on this site.
This site is for adults and is not directed at children. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us personal information, email us and we'll delete it.
We link to other websites (our community, our book's retail pages, scheduling tools, and others). Their privacy practices are their own — this policy covers only goldenbristle.com.
If we change this policy, we'll post the updated version here with a new effective date. If a change is material — meaning we'd use your information in a meaningfully different way — we'll say so plainly rather than burying it.
This policy is governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, United States.
Questions about privacy? Email matt@goldenbristle.com. A real person (Matt) reads it.
If you'd rather write, postal mail reaches us at:
Thieleman Ventures LLC (dba Golden Bristle)
200 S 1st St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
United States