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Meet Robert Bowhan. Rob didn’t really get into fashion until after he graduated his master’s in business management. He became close friends with another young man whose family owned factories in Egypt - apparel manufacturing factories. They clicked right away and even talked about becoming business partners in starting a boutique in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was going to school. While that didn’t work out, it did open up the door for Rob to go work for his family as an agent - to come to America and find brands to have their shirts manufactured in Egypt. He was extremely under qualified for the position, but that didn’t stop him from trying.

Meet Mark, creator of The INC. Mark started the brand in college. He had always been into clothes, not necessarily fashion, but clothes. At first, the brand was strictly streetwear, such as The Hundreds and Diamond Supply. He did that through and after college on the side. When fashion began making the shift towards high fashion, the brand shifted with it and became a sort of streetwear, high fashion hybrid. That’s when Mark made his first official collection. He was still living in his parent’s basement then, but they made it clear that he needed to get some sales, or try and move onto something else.

Meet Matt Gresia, creator of Canswer Sock Company. Matt grew up just outside of New York City in a smaller town with a slower pace. He’s always had a desire to have a clothing brand - he can’t really explain why, but he does know that he’s super passionate about it. The idea of seeing people wearing something he’s made really resonated with him. Coming from skate culture himself, he knew that the desire of many skaters is to get sponsored as a sort of right of passage. He had dreams of creating a skate team through his clothing company, so that he could sponsor kids and make their dreams come true. While Canswer Sock Co. doesn’t have a skate team and probably won’t (Matt’s looking to expand beyond only the skate scene), it’s purpose in helping others remains.

Meet Elena and Gerald Flores. Elaine owns Sew Bonita, and Gerald, Taco Gear. Together they make up Sew Taco (an amazing podcast). I discovered them on Anchor and knew I had to have them on the show - they were kind enough to join me!

Meet Kenneth, creator of Shisty (rhymes with feisty) clothing. Kenneth’s interest in making clothing began as a hobby. He used to make clothes for friends, “distress jeans and stuff.” In his Freshman year of college, the name Shisty came to mind and he kept it. Under the new name, Kenneth began by making hats. He’d buy patches off of eBay and Amazon and iron them on. That alone began to get people’s attention, and that’s when he thought, “Okay, if people are enjoying the things that I’m doing with these hats, why can’t we translate it into clothes?”

Meet Noah, cofounder of Madhappy. In high school, Noah wasn’t the best student, but he was creative due in part to his parents background: his father was an architect and his mother an interior designer. He always dressed a little sharper and cared about what he was wearing. One of his brother’s friends, Mason, took notice, and reached out to Noah asking to meet. That’s when he pitched the idea of starting a clothing line. They knew nothing about the clothing industry at the time - all they knew was that they had a passion for clothing. So, for two years, Noah and Mason went to downtown LA every day with a mission: to create a t-shirt, a long sleeve, and a sweater. In the months it took to create those three pieces, they learned everything about fabric, textiles, factories, minimums, and more. By the time he was nineteen years old, Noah had put out his first clothing line with Mason: Us by Mason and Noah.

Meet Daniel “El Papi,” creator of Alright Co. - “bringing you alright designs since 2017.” Daniel, who’s twenty five now, finished high school eight years ago in 2010. Post grad life was spent working in a fruit market until his long time drawing hobby took him to college to study art with the goal of becoming a tattoo artist. It took a bit of time for him to find the right apprenticeship after that, but he did and has been for tattooing six years since. His style favors a strong outline, loads of colors, and is reminiscent of an old cartoon/comic style.

Meet Adam Muncy, creator of The Hounds Ltd, a clothing company with a heart for fashion and philanthropy. Adam grew up as a military kid in the small town of Cedarville, Ohio. A talented town, as he described it, where football was big. It was a socially conservative place that wasn’t very tolerant of “outliers.” Of his graduating class, he was the only one to go to college outside of Ohio. After some time going to school in Kentucky, he returned to his hometown to continue his college education until he realized that the whole college thing just wasn’t for him - so he left. He was selling sunglasses at the time, sold a pair to the right guy, and was offered a job banking. Up until a few years ago that’s what he was up to. Originally the plan was for him and his brother to start the company together, but when his brother chose another path Adam was forced to start it himself. It had been an idea of their's for a long time, and one day Adam finally made the decision to make it happen.

Meet Amit Kanfi, creator of LAMA?, a skate and surf inspired streetwear brand based in Tel Aviv, Israel, that isn’t afraid to ask the question “why?” or, in Hebrew, “LAMA?” During his time serving in Israel’s army, Amit took to drawing to cope with his PTSD. Whenever he had a chance, he would draw. At first, his illustrations weren’t meant for clothing, they were simply a way to say what he felt without speaking, and what he felt was the question “why?” “Why did this have to happen to me?”

Meet Christina and David, creators of Lost Cruces Clothing Co - a new clothing company based out of the small city of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Before Lost Cruces, though, David and Christina started their production company Cut Above The Average, about half a year into their relationship. While they were working on that, they were simultaneously trying to get out of Las Cruces and move to Denver. They quickly realized that a move like that wasn’t realistic in the short term. Soon they began to appreciate, more and more, the beauty of their home city as they understood that they weren’t stuck there - they were choosing to stay.

Meet Andy Parauka, creator of Properfit Clothing Co. - an apparel company, pattern provider, and YouTube channel. Much like I discovered Eric Yelsma and Detroit Denim on YouTube, I discovered Properfit through Andy’s fantastic sewing tutorials (do I spend too much time on YouTube?).

It all began when Andy moved from Michigan to Lake Tahoe, California to pursue a skate/snowboarding career. He was studying business at the time, while snowboarding everyday. As he delved deeper into the local scene, one thing became clear: it’s kind of like a fashion show at the mountain.

Meet Eric Yelsma, founder of Detroit Denim Company. Eric has always loved jeans. The idea of making them had entered his mind, but it wasn’t valid - you couldn’t make jeans for a living. And so, Eric spent fifteen years of his life working a corporate job in the chemical industry as a “glorified sales guy.” Well, in 2008/2009, Eric found himself out of a job. The chemical industry was going through some substantial changes, and the world was falling into financial crisis - millions of people were left without work.

Meet George. George Poulos is a skater, Youtuber, and creator of Arrow Skate Co, a clothing brand all about following your heart and doing what you love. He started the brand out of his Wesleyan University dorm room last year and has been growing it ever since.