🌟 Prepare to Embark on an Unforgettable Journey with Fausto Montano, the Mastermind Behind Vie Riche! 🌟
In this mesmerizing episode, we unveil the remarkable narrative of Fausto Montano, the genius founder who transformed Vie Riche into a $20 Million streetwear juggernaut over the past decade. Join us as we delve deep into the inner workings of his phenomenal success story.
👔 Episode 14: "Vie Riche: Forging a $20 Million Streetwear Dynasty"
Peel back the layers and acquaint yourself with the man who forged this iconic brand, as Fausto Montano shares intimate insights into the pivotal moments that have etched their mark on his entrepreneurial journey. Engage in a riveting dialogue as we dissect the tragic event that irrevocably altered Fausto's perspective on life itself, propelling him to reach heights beyond imagination.
But wait, there's more to this extraordinary saga! Fausto's narrative takes a heartwarming twist as he unveils the profound impact of fatherhood. Witness how the arrival of his daughter served as a catalyst, catalyzing his personal evolution into a devoted mentor and empathetic business luminary.
This installment of "The Innovators Den" isn't just a tale of triumph; it's a masterclass in resilience, determination, and the alchemy of transformation. The incredible odyssey of Fausto Montano will undoubtedly kindle a fire of inspiration within you, urging you to chase your aspirations with unwavering ardor.
Prepare to join us in a gripping discourse that is set to stoke the flames of your entrepreneurial spirit and alter your perception of life's challenges. Tune in to Episode 14 of "The Innovators Den," and let Fausto Montano's remarkable voyage be the catalyst that propels you to reach for the stars.
Don't let this exclusive episode pass you by! Subscribe now and be part of a movement that champions innovation, entrepreneurship, and the indomitable human spirit. We'll see you there! 🚀🎙️ #TheInnovatorsDen #VieRicheSuccess
🌟 Prepare to Embark on an Unforgettable Journey with Fausto Montano, the Mastermind Behind Vie Riche! 🌟
In this mesmerizing episode, we unveil the remarkable narrative of Fausto Montano, the genius founder who transformed Vie Riche into a $20 Million streetwear juggernaut over the past decade. Join us as we delve deep into the inner workings of his phenomenal success story.
👔 Episode 14: "Vie Riche: Forging a $20 Million Streetwear Dynasty"
Peel back the layers and acquaint yourself with the man who forged this iconic brand, as Fausto Montano shares intimate insights into the pivotal moments that have etched their mark on his entrepreneurial journey. Engage in a riveting dialogue as we dissect the tragic event that irrevocably altered Fausto's perspective on life itself, propelling him to reach heights beyond imagination.
But wait, there's more to this extraordinary saga! Fausto's narrative takes a heartwarming twist as he unveils the profound impact of fatherhood. Witness how the arrival of his daughter served as a catalyst, catalyzing his personal evolution into a devoted mentor and empathetic business luminary.
This installment of "The Innovators Den" isn't just a tale of triumph; it's a masterclass in resilience, determination, and the alchemy of transformation. The incredible odyssey of Fausto Montano will undoubtedly kindle a fire of inspiration within you, urging you to chase your aspirations with unwavering ardor.
Prepare to join us in a gripping discourse that is set to stoke the flames of your entrepreneurial spirit and alter your perception of life's challenges. Tune in to Episode 14 of "The Innovators Den," and let Fausto Montano's remarkable voyage be the catalyst that propels you to reach for the stars.
Don't let this exclusive episode pass you by! Subscribe now and be part of a movement that champions innovation, entrepreneurship, and the indomitable human spirit. We'll see you there! 🚀🎙️ #TheInnovatorsDen #VieRicheSuccess
What's going on everyone? Welcome back to the innovators. Then I am formally known as hashtag. Please follow us on YouTube at the innovators. Then I'm here with Steve O business.
Speaker 2:I love how you guys doing and we have the special guest Falstom Utaño.
Speaker 1:It's a very special guest. Definitely a pioneer in the industry. You can well very much here.
Speaker 2:As far as, like you know, when it comes to creative and entrepreneurship and going out there hustling to like all of your dreams, this guy has been one of the leaders doing that since I was young. I remember him doing that, so welcome Falstom.
Speaker 3:Utaño Appreciate that man. That's a great introduction. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:I'd like to give you flowers now. Appreciate that. You always led by example. You know we're not perfect, but you always led to want to create and create a space for yourself to live out your mind.
Speaker 1:No, I appreciate that it's true. Thank you, and the people might not know, but can you elaborate a little bit about yourself, your story?
Speaker 3:where you're from, falstom Utaño, born and raised in the Bronx. Dad died when I was young, raised by my mother, raised by the streets, kind of say you know what I'm saying. I was on welfare and nothing I mean I just I was always a hustler like, always ambitious, always wanted to do better. I used to tell my mom when I was young you know, be rich, you know, be rich. You know, I think there's a lot of people's story Right, a lot of kids, you just know similar because we have a similar upbringing though.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I guess that similar in bringing Bronx vibe was trying to see the hustler that's older than you getting in and seeing it.
Speaker 2:I think you know I saw it we grew up in a time where, like hip hop was a culture and we saw these rappers coming into, rappers, entrepreneurs, while we was growing up. That's, you know those. Those are the options. That's true. That's true. We grew up listening to this music and we was like we want to make our own company, we want to start a business, we want to create content.
Speaker 3:I mean hip hop got the same birthday. What do you mean?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:August 11th is hip hop's birthday. Right, I'm, I'm okay. So we like 10 years apart. Yeah, so you're right, we grew up. You know, hip hop was 10 years old. So, as they was growing and finding themselves, we're watching it develop in real time.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, we from you know we were like we, latinos, so we grew up Latinos, but this was within front of us, this was in the radio, this was on BET.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That was where we had.
Speaker 1:I still remember buying, getting my first CD I think it was no Way Out by P Ditty, and you know I had to explicit sticker on it. I was like my mom was like what does this mean? I'm like oh, it has no bad words, it has no bad words, it has no bad words it has, like my please.
Speaker 2:It has no bad words. It's crazy. It was my first album I actually bought but, you know, fausta, I remember him even starting, like with his first glass case. Like he, he, he was young and he wanted to like start his own business and I saw him do that and put the teams together and you know, and want to build a team, and he was thinking about his team and building his company. And you know, there's always, you know you always go through the Charleston Tribulations.
Speaker 2:But I think, he learned the most through that experience, and you know, and that's why he kept evolving.
Speaker 3:I mean, you know, when you're young you don't really believe this or understand it. But failure really makes you learn and like get better.
Speaker 3:But you know, you tell that to a young kid and it's like, oh, I failed, or even somebody they're just going through it when they fail to get discouraged. But if you learn, I didn't have a mentor and I always tell this to my kids like I wish I had a mentor, like a real mentor, right, because the way I did it was kind of like, just you know, Google, it exists and stuff like that. So it was kind of like, like you said, just trying to put people together and like I didn't know how to draw. So I went and got somebody that knew how to draw Just little things, right, like whatever I didn't know. I tried to grab people to create this team to help me get where I'm going and eventually learn from them, learn with them in a lot of cases, but I wish I had a mentor.
Speaker 3:So now I try to mentor my kids as we're growing up. Like it's very important for me that in and when I say kids, I'm talking about my two kids and then I have my nieces and nephews and my God, kids and they're all my kids. Like I treat them exactly like if they was my and that's why people will usually think I have more than two real kids, cause I know, cause I'm always posting on my son, my daughter. They call me dad. You know, no matter how old or young they are, they just stay, we connect.
Speaker 2:So even with those challenges I mean when you became a father you do still in the middle of trying to build your dream you didn't give up, Like that's you know most people be like. I need to stop and focus something that I don't want to do.
Speaker 1:Get the money now, you know, but he still, he pushed through that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean people who know they saw him pushed through it. You know alone and was more.
Speaker 3:But he did it. Yeah, no, I mean I remember when I found out that my BM was pregnant, she was like 18. I was 19. I was, yo, terrified, like literally terrified, like what am I going to do? Like cause that whole time? I mean I feel like I grew up early, my dad, that when I was eight, so like by 13, 12, I was ready in the streets Like my mom wasn't really telling me what to do anymore. And I remember, even like first, second grade, I was going to school by myself, like, yeah, like my mother, yeah, my mother wasn't taking me to school, like we was kind of just walking to school by ourselves. I mean, it was right around the block, but you know, as a eight year old, going to school by yourself, grab the dollar from the thing in the morning and just kind of go, whatever it was. And so I was.
Speaker 3:I was in the streets early, just wilding like with the older kids. I was, I was the youngest kid in the crew, but I learned from them too, so I'm watching them they getting fly. You know they got the vances and this and I'm and I'm catching up. I'm like I got to get it. Yeah, the vances. Yeah, I had to. I had to keep up. So you know we're in the streets early. But yeah, 19 got pregnant. You know she got pregnant and I was terrified. It was terrifying.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I think that I had to, like I got to do this, oh yeah they're definitely motivated, me they're definitely motivated.
Speaker 3:But to touch on what you said about the glass case, it wasn't my first business because I was already. I already had sold drugs and stuff. But I was smart enough to take the concept of. I remember the first time I sold drugs it was like 14 years old, right, and the way it happened was like math. It was like one of the older kids was selling weed and they would sell a little bag for five dollars, right, and I just stopped them and I was like, how much you sell a five dollar bag? Like what are you paying for that? He was like, oh, I don't pay for it. Some guy gives it to me. I keep one dollar and 25 cents out of it. And you know, and that's how the business was, right, like the Kinect or the older guy bought all the work, weed or whatever, back that up. Give it to him, right, and he would sell it one by one for five dollars and then he would keep one 25.
Speaker 3:Some like, oh, okay, so I went and I was like if I give him 150 or 175, I can make, I can make himself for me. And I'm a 14 year old, like figured, yeah, and I went, saved up money, but I don't know how far. Ounce, ounce of pound, half a pound, bagged it up. I was like yo, if you sell this to, i'ma give you 150, 175. He was a little. He's like I. I don't know if he knew that it was me or in the middle, but now I'm a 14-year-old having an older kid sell weed for me and that's how, like math, it just I was. I was born with that intuition of like figuring it out.
Speaker 2:We met in Southern Boulevard, right, you said well, yeah, I used to go where fashion was. What we was from is Southern Boulevard in the Bronx. I used to go hang out over there and then fossil was already Southern Boulevard in the Bronx nuts interrupt.
Speaker 1:It's like Take a Ford. The. Fordham Of the South Bronx yeah, the South Bronx, exactly that. And 3rd Avenue. You have Southern Boulevard, yeah, fordham, and then you have 3rd Avenue, correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's like all the stuff I used to stop all the stores All right, like that's where the strips of stores are at. So basically I Used to go over there, I used to run into him, so he was already a sales rep in the coolest store with the best business owner at the time.
Speaker 3:I'll be sure to settle, but like so that's crazy. You say that. So a boo I think it was called uptown fashion, I forgot something like that but what happened was him and his brother. They was African fly, you know the how the fly shit. And I shot there when I was a kid like I was, like you know, I used to go there at some point. My cousin Melissa shot out some of the. She was working there, so I will go hang out not to put too much of their business out. But one of the brothers started gambling and lost all the money and they and yeah, and they, so the just always going down. I remember I was talking to my boo. He was telling me what.
Speaker 3:I'm like yo, what's up? What you know was a flash of the you be having to the. He was like, oh, and kind of told me the situation. I was like yo, what's up, let me invest, I'm like 18. Yeah, let me invest, let me, let me, let me be partners with you. He's like, it's like it was up. So you know, that became my store. Yeah, it was my store. I invested. He would never be there, I would hire our fire and that was my I'm 18 running the store. And then that's.
Speaker 2:That was the first dip in fashion, correct In?
Speaker 3:the business. In the business, I was always fly.
Speaker 1:In the business Fashion I've been selling fly shit.
Speaker 3:You know, my block shout out to Freeman was flying like the PBS, like well, like what, but for Roto? And then I remember when he got back on his feet he was like look, I'm gonna give you money back to the. And then that's when I was like I, i'ma take it. And then, while he's world, there was a like a dope barbershop over there by Lehman High School. What was the?
Speaker 1:what's the square? That's just a square, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, the biggest dopest barbershop used to cut TS here, Noz the whole.
Speaker 1:Barbershop. I've been there, yeah, talking about, yeah, queens.
Speaker 3:Queens Bridge was the, the crew right from Naz's crew. Yeah, so they used to go, like it was famous. So I was like, I spoke to him. I'm like now I'm like 1920 and I'm negotiating a deal with him Like what's up, I'm gonna rent the whole front. It's that word I 700 a month, or whatever it was shout out to. Twinkie, introducing to my partner, still says to this day, my partner, bella, we, that's not it, that's my soulmate.
Speaker 2:We've been business, even in shout out to a bella shout out to be a man.
Speaker 3:We've been together, oh my god, since then. Never stop being partners. That's, that's literally my partner. So me right there, yeah, man.
Speaker 2:No, I'm actually met a bella before you guys met. I knew him through through high school.
Speaker 3:Yeah we have mutual friends, that they connected us through black bugs, you know, yeah, cuz he was into graffiti too.
Speaker 2:Basically, you know, we met through their prior, so that that was cool. When you guys connected, it was like it was through.
Speaker 3:Twinkie. Yeah, so Twinkie brought me to my house because I was already living by myself, so you brought him to my house. And it's crazy story, cuz he's like oh, oh, there's my boy, bella, this is false.
Speaker 2:So he's opening up a like a little spot store at that time White tees were in that was like a time where, so it was more like I got white teeth for sale, oh, and I got grass. I got a brush.
Speaker 3:Well, before we got to that, that's when Twinkie Brungham, right, and he's like he does airbrush, and and he was working at Banana Republic at the time, right, so we talking, and he's like yo, I'm like I'm opening the spot, come do airbrush as partner, up, da-da-da-da. He was like yeah, let's, I'm with it. And he quit the next day and we just started a business like shit, like that, and just literally.
Speaker 1:That's how it started.
Speaker 2:That's, that's real time, that was real time, yeah and then you know, I know you went to I don't know if you want to mention the old brand, but I know I won't point you created a brand brand, right, you partner up with your food few guys and you know that was like your dream, dream and yeah, so.
Speaker 3:So what happened was and I'm gonna run through that quick what happened was the. The shop has slowed down because a lot of our business was the people that came in, and then the school, the high school Next door. We would like sell CDs and white teas and airbrush the sneakers and airbrush tea. Yeah, the Mays tape era DJ crew coming through and dropping off and, yeah in case, late. I think he was a big, big, you know big, big, be rich yeah all that, but shout out to case lately.
Speaker 3:You know wrestling piece. He was a big be rich fan, he's the buying and Tom thinking Harry's. In New York summer time came so business slowed down and I think I want to sell drugs again. And then, yeah, went to do airbrush and other play like Dr J's and other stuff like that. And then one day we was I was with my Boys on the block and Freeman, and we ended up chilling with my boy, bruce took us to some mansion. There was his cousin, there was his uncle's house.
Speaker 2:Porsche truck. Yeah, you remember, oh yeah three whips.
Speaker 3:He had the beam of the Porsche and the range. Whoo, this guy was rich, right, tony Shulman used the owner of Mecca and Nietzsche, right? But I didn't know this at some. So we go to this crib who's just giving us the keys to the way we indict man, picking up girls, taking them back to the crib? So I'm in the attic and I'm like, oh, who's crib is this? I find out it's his. That I'm like I want to meet him. He's like my. He's like he's not. You're not gonna meet him, he's not gonna. You know, you're a kid. So I'm like, no, I'm gonna start a brand. I remember I'm gonna start a brand. I still got the picture.
Speaker 3:I remember the day I was like yo, I'm gonna start a brand. And then so at the time, at that time, by that time I was already working at Arjun mortgage and there was this girl named Angie there that I was cool with and I know that she know how to draw. Again, remember, I was like I know how to draw. I couldn't, I can't, draw your stick. Figure to this day I took Photoshop and all that. This shit I'm gonna still, don't fuck with it. Shout out to a bill. Thank you. I hit up Angie and I'm like I want to start a brand to do the da. She's like, yeah, let's do it. She's yeah, let's do. Whatever you want to do, let's do it. You know, let's, let's do it. We start picking a lot of names and I remember we in the Metro North we looking at different names and and.
Speaker 2:I hit up a bill.
Speaker 3:I'm like yo bill, let's meet up. I told him the idea is like, I'm with it. He was working on dr J's at the time. He was working with this guy named Danny, which is now a big. Oh Look how the world works. Danny is the guy I don't know yet. Mama, we said hip hop birthday. He's just turned 50. Hip hop right August 11, nike did 50 boxes I To like influencers of the music, dj Khaled and all these people and the box came with like sneakers and hip-hop Essentials and the Air Force ones with the inside the soul. There was like this color thing, like like a drawing of hip-hop. Danny was the one that designed all the artwork for that box, perguero oh, shout out to Danny, he was also one of the.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's part of the.
Speaker 3:The influence of la vie. So, anyway, he was working with him at the time, there was airbrushing and he brings them along. I'm looking at any designs like Wow, this is Fuck. I said, nope, yep, we're doing this. We already had the other designs, we had the team and you know it took us like about two years. We rented a space in Angie's house. She had like three bedroom and one of the barrels was empty. So I was like yo, we're gonna rent this space of her mother and we're gonna come here and work. And we worked, we all had jobs, right. So we like we get out at five, we'll be there by six, we will stay there to two in the morning for two years straight just working on how to figure it out, how to create a brand.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so that's the things that people don't really see right now. That brand lasted nine years. I'm a highlight what happened? Lasting nine years it took us two years to release our first brand, a first piece of clothing.
Speaker 2:But this is the time when you guys, like, when it was going from retail to online, you was on my space with the I love you, teacher.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's, that was the that was not the first, but I was a few those like yeah, yeah, noz wore that. Like you love my style, I love my style. And we actually brung back cuz I love New York, yeah, but I love New York was already a thing. So we took that concept right, virgil change, like the whole Virgil mine of looking at something and recreating it. So we took the you love my stuff, the you I love New York, and we said how can we make this fire? And we turned it into you love my stuff, but the heart. We did a leather cut out of color snake skin. We cut it, so they we stitched it, we printed you love my stuff. And people went crazy and that rebirthed the I love New York.
Speaker 1:A rough, like everybody started doing it after yeah, yeah, we, we've been innovative man.
Speaker 3:We've been. We've been doing a lot of things. I don't think we get the props and I'm okay with that, but we've been. I should not be okay.
Speaker 2:And that's why we got this type of platform Highlight. You know people who's been really doing it and going through all the trials and tribulations of building a brand and building a business, and you're one of the guys who's done it.
Speaker 3:I appreciate it. I've done a lot of things, that we've innovated a lot of things that we don't get props for this cool, it's cool, but yeah, so anyway did that. And then that brand lasted, like I said, nine years. We had Indian partners at some point cool, you know good guys, but you know they were stealing and things and that kind of fell out. But I think that brand one year they're like 1.2 million In that year.
Speaker 3:So that was my school. That goes back to what you were saying when we was talking off camera. That was my school. Like that's when I was learning what all this means and how to make it work and kind of things. So when I, when we Split up and we all went out different ways you know Danny, angie, chris he was Chris shout out to Chris, me and a BL connected again it was like yo, we can do a second brand, we don't need cuz, kind of just be me and you and Kind of see what happens.
Speaker 3:And that's how we rich was born. And then even the name lobby means the life. We rich means Rich life. So it was like part two, like I, it was almost like part two, like it's a lot, yeah, like a continuation the life and not the rich life it was. It was perfect. It was like you know, and it just came to us and Shout out to Josh and Anthony. They believed in the vision and they backed us up and we grew. In six months we was already like a. We sold our first trade show. It's like 200 something. Thousand to two, three days Wow, it was like what happened because they did like this digital print.
Speaker 2:That was not. It was new in the Fashion time. So they started like most of new trend, it was trending but it was not like large-scale yet and they went and took it and they created this concept like that's.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was 2013. I Went to an event and that's when I first met you. Like, yeah, we don't remember, okay, but I met you that day because it was a V rich about. Oh, don't like a fashion show in Not 809 or two or so, oh it was an umbrella, was an umbrella? Wait where gross is there? No, no, no the kid that we're like a lime green outfit. I still got the picture.
Speaker 1:That's the first time I saw the brand, I was like damn, like the colors are so vibrant. I was like, you know, like this, this brand is really popping, and we spoke about that afterwards, before we actually met again. Though, though, see how the world works now we work together.
Speaker 3:We're working together.
Speaker 1:But um yeah, no, that that was the first time I actually went to an event like that and that was my first exposure to like oh shit, someone that looks like me can actually do something like this.
Speaker 3:That's dope. I'm glad that I can inspire. I mean, that's what I love to do. I love to inspire and to kind of motivate.
Speaker 1:Can you speak a little on that? I know you have two kids.
Speaker 3:Oh man, those are my babies. You know, I wish that my dad. My dad was entrepreneur, right like when. I remember my earliest memories. He was an immigrant how does? His first color was, in the city's bands, green. It was like a hunter. Green had the, the radio with you. Remember the radio, the dad. The minute is that he's have the music. It was like this big controller, it was fire, was cream leather interior. I Didn't know about nothing, but I knew that this is a luxury car like Mercedes Benz, because it was just highlighted so hard, you know. And then, yeah, that was able to drive.
Speaker 3:Yo and my dad was fly like he had.
Speaker 3:Jerry curls. They're 80s, yeah, 80s, 90s. He had opened up a mechanic shop. He ain't know nothing about cars, but he he's an entrepreneur. Entrepreneur. He went to the bride I don't know, it was one of those Mechanic shop schools and learned and opened up his first mechanic shop and then had to and I remember even my mother telling me he was about to move out the hood before he died.
Speaker 3:He passed away, he got murdered. He got murdered by one of his fake friends, like, well, his friends or compadres or whatever you want to call it back in the days. So many stories, but jealousy there's that I want to get into that. But anyway they murdered him and in that kind of and I tell this to my kids that resetting, because if my dad was gonna take us to the next level where Maybe I didn't have to struggle or sell drugs or certain things when once he got murdered, that reset it my whole path, right. So this is a true story.
Speaker 3:Like I remember the when my daughter, when my baby mom's water broke, he was in my we live in my mother's house and and her water broke. It was like five in the morning and I was into selling drugs at the time. I had a little douche spot. I remember I wanted to go open no shop and I send in a cab to the hospital and I Ended up making it on time at night to see her give birth and I and I was there and I watched, I recorded it my big moms give birth to my daughter and you know and the whole experience.
Speaker 3:They take me to the room, they put my daughter in my arms and I remember crying and saying that was the last day I was gonna sell drugs and that that was the last day I just I knew that this person was so important to me at the moment. Like this person, I was like you belong to me, I'm in charge of you, like I gotta be responsible for you. So I was like, yeah, I'm not doing that anymore because I knew how it affected me With my dad. So I was like I got to be there. So that changed my life, she changed my life, my daughter, and so now, even To I just mentor them and I'm there for them. They're like they're my best friends. Oh, I'm their best friends and I and I pride on that. Let's see that.
Speaker 1:I also saw that you got your daughter into entrepreneurship as well, so yeah, yeah, yeah, I got a which turn 18.
Speaker 3:I bought her a first LLC. I got it for her, made it explain what it, what it means to to own an LC, to own a business, got her first back account, um, and just kind of teacher these things. Like they don't teach this in high school. No, nobody ever taught me either. So I'm like let me teach you. And even there's a show on youtube called a lux Um, and they talk about everything like I shot out, you know you should watch it. There's so many things, but to give an example, to like 15 ways to, I don't know, save money or whatever, like, just, it has to do with business. It's called the. The platform is literally the. Their slogan is the platform for future billionaires. Although, so I've been.
Speaker 3:I've been showing, watching these episodes with my kids since there was kids, since literally the kids, and just kind of. And then, and as they talking about it, I'll pause and be like, did you understand what they mean? No, let me explain it to you and elaborate. And there I'm embedding this. Since, like, I'm so about six, seven years old, I'm embedding all these things to them and like, do you understand what is a LC? Do you know, as a corporation? Do you know what it is to save money? Do you know what it is? You know how they start it and whatever it is that they're talking about. I, one by one, I will break it down, um, because I wish I had that. I would have been so much further in life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like net versus gross.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow, yeah, he's like that. Yeah, just net versus grow, what is that? What is gross? What is a? What a? Um, how do you buy a house? What I remember my son one time asked me my son is 12 years now, so he has to be like eight. He was like that, like you know what's the difference between owning an Airbnb and owning a real house and multi-family? And he and he's having these conversations with me at eight, right, so I'm breaking it down like, if you do it, you know and I'm not gonna get into that now but yeah, and this is, I'm happy that at eight years old, he's asking this question and I'm telling him about money and I'm having him count money, like this is money and this is how, what you do with it. And so yeah, uh, uh, yeah.
Speaker 2:We need more of that right. You know me in our communities and our households and we got to be that. Now you know I mean 100%, but yeah, so uh and that when you started with v rich, you know you you made a career for yourself and Through that career, you you started building all these relationship with stores right. Correct and then traveling to a whole bunch of trade shows, like in vegas magic show, where you, where you help to scale your brand you know right.
Speaker 2:I think some people don't know the net agree to you of all that process that you have. You do go to store the store and build the relationship with these stores you couldn't touch on that, yeah, and like also the day to day.
Speaker 1:I don't think people understand the day to day of owning a brand like.
Speaker 3:They just think that you're just Is being close and yeah, on the brand school, I'm a cool guy Now. I mean it started, and it started didn't start with me, we just started with la vie, because that that was really like, like you said, before the school where I learned all this and that's why we was able to blow up v rich so fast, because we already had the school and the relationships that we built during la vie um to make v rich blow and um those things. So I remember in la vie Our first trade show was uh, they gave us an opportunity in vegas is la marne dully. I don't know if you'll remember the, that, that brand la marne dully and they created their own trade show. It was in vegas. It was super dope. It was like, um, go on, it was. It was going at the same time with agenda and all these other cool trade shows and, um, it was super dope.
Speaker 3:We kind of just Went learned it and I remember that, uh, we had our samples right. So the way the trade shows works is you go to trade show, you take your samples and and stores come and visit your booth and if they like your stuff, they put in orders. That's the nitty-gritty of that. It was our first trade show. We didn't know. We wrote like I don't know, like a hundred thousand dollars worth of orders at the time significant for brandas that didn't.
Speaker 3:Yeah and um, but something happened. We told stores I think this is like july we told stores that the collection would be in by november and you know. So that gave us three months to kind of like, get into orders, put in the um, pay for the production, get it done. Shipped from at the time was pakistan, get a ship to the united states and then ship it to stores and that's the process of that right of wholesale. And Danny at the time Didn't do the corrections on the samples till like january.
Speaker 3:Or on the tech, on no, no on the samples. So when samples come in, for example, let's say this sample right comes in and this is the, the print is wrong or this is place right in the wrong place, we'll say like no, move this, do that, change the fabric. That's, that's the either versions of corrections. Or and we didn't get. Actually we didn't. He didn't get to him till november. We were supposed to ship in november. He didn't get to them till november. This is july.
Speaker 3:So that messed up the whole production. The production came in in january. Stores didn't want anymore because stores in january already taken in spring stuff and that was winter stuff and technically you're late as a yeah, if you're late, they don't, you know they they're able to cancel, and and that's how me and a bl we both had jobs. So me and a bl, we're getting our cars on sundays from morning to night. Sunday is a horrible day to do sales, by the way, because nobody none of the owners is really in stores, but that's the only day that we have free. We take all the samples put in the car.
Speaker 3:We had this whole production in uh in uh like uh Look book and no no, no, we had the production sitting here in new york of all the clothes that we bought, right, and we would go from store to store and sell them, try to sell them. The production, um, you know the clothes and that's how we build all these relationships, so that you know. Just to answer your question, um, but, but it was hard, it was, it was a lot. It was hard because we wouldn't catch the owners or the buyers on sundays. We would try to come back on certain days. They was there, yeah, pulled up with a rack and you know, and they didn't know the brand. So they was like, uh, we don't really want it and Did it, and we had to convince them and try and it was like a jay-z story that nobody wanted to sign them and you went in just like yeah, we don't, we don't do this yeah.
Speaker 2:Do the dog. Yeah, that's a beautiful.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so by the time we got to be rich in, the relationship is already built, is my point. So after that, you know, we got into stores and I in, in, in is, and it's crazy because by that time it was so quick. We did the trade show. All the stores already know us. We, like you said, we had, we was doing um and war was popping at the time, right, and it was doing like this, um leather pants, and it was doing um, like you said, like religious type vibes and digital print.
Speaker 3:And no, no, they was doing sublimation. Sublimation, yeah, die, sublimation. But what happened was sublimation at the time, and this is how me and abuel innovated again sublimation. You can only sublimate on poly, right, and? And people to have it feel good, they would do poly cotton blend. So the cotton would distress and make the, the, the, the ink fade. So it didn't look clear.
Speaker 3:So me and abuel went on a mission to find Really good poly, that's the hundred percent. No, we at the time we was in LA, we went to, we went to a lot of like. We went to LA, then they were going to china, but we, we was going to LA, new York, and we, we would try to find this hundred percent poly that felt good on the skin and that print. When we came out, yeah, it was a neoprene, we did, yeah, it was. We went, we went, we went and we found all these dope fabrics that were print so vivid so that when we came out it was the same vibe but better. So people's like and, and I think a newer t-shirts at the time was like 400, 500, like Givenchy and all those prices. So we came out like 200, 190, so we're cheaper than the competition, look better than the competition and, like I said, we sold. It was a line. Yeah, that's how we rich was born.
Speaker 1:Man, talk to us about what you're wearing right now. Oh no.
Speaker 3:You should, that's from the last drop right.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 3:No, this is one of ones You're never gonna see. This. This is this is me. You know, man, you're never gonna get this one. Um, this is. There's a graphic in the back. Now, to be honest, this is a sample that we, uh, we, we do a lot of samples, right, like we design a lot, we do, yeah, we do a lot of design. So we samples a few things and sometimes we approve things. We sometimes we don't. The ones that we don't, we get to keep them, get to be the one of one. But right now, our new collection just dropped, the fall collection, we call it the back to school. We did a resort theme. Mm-hmm, You're right, we did. I went um, I went with like dope, pastel blues and pinks and usually fall, it's like autumn colors, right, especially now with, like um, oranges yeah, the orange, the browns and the creams mindset of like all right, we've got to do this next season.
Speaker 2:What, where, where you guys start that?
Speaker 3:every time Is is, is there's honestly on some virgin shit is like We've innovated. But we also we get inspired by everything. We see everything right. So for this collection in particular it's, you know, for me golf is popping right now, like everybody's on the golf wave, right.
Speaker 3:Yo golf, golf is on like if you got money, you golfing, you're not playing ball, you're not like, let's, let's go golfing. So anyway, I don't know if it's my age, I don't know what happened, but I feel like this golf wave is is in my face. So, um, for fall, usually people's going with the with the autumn colors, and I was like yo, yo, like I don't know how in particular, but we was both just talking about, and I was like yo, um, let's go with some pastels, let's, let's put um, inspired by the romana, because romana is big with golf, yeah, um, and like the whole, like we did some sets like example. Yeah, yeah, we did some sets like golfing type vibes and like the colors and I did it to be different in the store. So then you know, when you go to the stores right now and you look at a fall, you're hanging next to all these other brands and their colors is dark. You know, whole this type of vibe.
Speaker 3:I was like I want to stand out, I want my fall to be like all night because it's still warm. Technically, right, I first a four drop. A fall drop is in august, uh, late august, early september, so it's still kind of warm in most places, or it's still hot in most places. So I wanted to bring that, even though it's fall, bring that to the table because our name is so strong. Still we're able to. Still we hold a marketplace, uh, market cap, in these stores, you know. So If that was new, they would have, like now, this colors don't go, but because it's be rich is like I will fuck with it. Well, we'll take a chance.
Speaker 1:Oh, nice speak a little bit on those cuz. I think like one of the ones that I enjoy was Alan Iverson. Like AI is always on.
Speaker 3:Yo, and that's my son's, one of my son's favorite player. He's a basketball head, he's like, and my son is an old school, right, he's 12. He's, he's 12 years old, 511, 190. Listens to Wu Tang, listens to Jay Z, listens to Biggie, listens to Frank Sinatra Like he's on some. You know he's the old soul, like I tell him, and in basketball, like he would. You would think he's gonna tell you LeBron is better than Jordan dub.
Speaker 3:He's like Jordan is better than LeBron, like he's an old school. So I like I was in this one of his favorite players. So when I like I was in was able to wear every when I like I was very rich and I showed them that he went crazy. Oh my god, that's just reason.
Speaker 1:I mean everybody's, what we rich from he's also done it in that, and I think I'm a wet commercial.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Hennessy on what maybe Hennessy?
Speaker 3:They're me same company.
Speaker 2:So fast. There's anything like that. People don't know that you want to highlight or any projects you working on that you Want to throw on there that you might want to mention, you know, just so people can know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. In the Dominican Republic I'm opening a multimedia Multimedia studio where you're gonna be able to do like podcasts and music and do photo shoots and I'm actually I'm actually doing a gaming role for gamers, so that's super cool. Project is under the fuego fire umbrella, which is like a Music label. That is a music label. I started with my uncle in the military public and then I'm also opening up if you're familiar with the Dominican Republic, then the capital and I've an issue, a lot, and mr Grill on the second floor, I'm opening up a jewelry store. So I'm a fake jeweler now Not so fake, well, a jeweler now where I'm able to do custom jewelry.
Speaker 3:I haven't said this to nobody yet. There's the first time I'm seeing this. But thank you, yeah, I've always. I've always done it. I've always been to Jullery, into Jullery and I've always designed kind of jewelry and help people with, like they call me hey, father, what do you think? So I've always done that, was been interested. So I've always fake, designed it, design jewelry, but now it's like I'm actually open up a spot and be able to do so. I'm excited about that. I'm always, you know, we into real estate, we're into different things and just kind of trying to take you sign for my kids and their kids and hopefully they don't mess it up.
Speaker 1:I Like where they can find the new collection, when they can find you well, the new collection.
Speaker 3:The website be rich. Vi e dash our. I see he calm. We got. We got a clearance sale right now for you know some stuff a On sale. We got the new collection. This is drop Should be on the. Super power files underscore on all platforms.
Speaker 1:Take time Instagram one major thing is that v rich doesn't like we drop things, so once they're out there.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, that's the cool part about me rich like we'll do, I don't know, between 190 to 220 of each item and when it's gone is gone. But we sell to 300 stores worldwide Japan, a, canada, we in.
Speaker 2:Midwest down West Coast.
Speaker 3:Yeah, west Coast, midwest, outside Northeast, mid-atlantic, some stores in South America, so yeah, once, once is sold out. You know we get a lot, whole bunch when people tell us that, oh, you're gonna redrop this dub, so once you, if you missed it, you missed it.
Speaker 2:Well, there you go. We got another segment on the innovators, then we got foster montaño pleasure having you. Yeah, yeah, appreciate being yeah, and we got we don't formally know much hashtag, danny, so very only know and you know, you got Tell me know at the innovators and make sure you follow us?
Speaker 1:subscribe like share, appreciate it. Yeah, check it out, oh you.