As soul-destroying as this was, it gave me the motivation and clarity to figure out exactly what I don’t want to do in life. ![]() So in order to survive, I began working at a bank. I couldn’t find work in design due to my lack of experience and being 2008, right when the global financial crisis hit, jobs were scarce. Since my partner and I now had a daughter and I was fresh out of university, I had to be the breadwinner and fast. I believe it’s more important to have a vision of what you want and learn how to get other people to make it. Most people think that when you start out you need to know how to make the product, but it's not necessarily true. Instead, I went out and looked for someone that could, and discovered the art of delegating. I had no interest to learn how to sew, as I knew it would slow me down while I was growing the business. Although I studied Graphic Design, I knew nothing about clothing, but I could see what the silhouettes and design looked like in my head, plus I was a pretty good illustrator and had graphics ready to be printed on T-Shirts. I quickly found out there was little money to be made in magazines and for some reason felt clothing would be an interesting space to play in, and I Love Ugly would be a very intriguing name for a fashion brand. I knew nothing about clothing, but I could see what the silhouettes and designs looked like in my head. Prior to that, it was a magazine interviewing artists that I found on MySpace. ![]() I began I Love Ugly as a clothing brand in 2008. What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea? I Love Ugly is over 10 years old and feels like it’s just getting started.ĭespite a few setbacks along the way and despite my lack of skills when I first started out, I believe we are back on the path to hit that goal and are proof that with a bold dream, ambition and hard work anybody has the potential to turn an idea that began out of your bedroom into a multi-million dollar business. To this day, I still have the goal of I Love Ugly becoming the best online menswear brand in the world. Some of these products have gone to sell upwards of 50,000 units/pieces globally and are still some of the strongest sellers today. After a few product failures, I began having some successes and things began to get going quite quickly with a few hit products that were launched innovatively through social media. I was never afraid to experiment and cast the net wide early on, but at the same time, I had a clear sense of direction for what I wanted to create. After having a clear path of which part of the market to hit I was relentless, especially since I became an unexpected father at 22 years of age with only 3 weeks to prepare, I had no choice but to succeed. I identified there was a gap in the market for high quality, premium streetwear catered to men at an affordable price and sold primarily online. I felt that being from New Zealand and so isolated from the rest of the world would give us something unique to offer and become an advantage. This was how I Love Ugly was born.ĭespite being based in Auckland, New Zealand I had ambitions to create a global brand but had no idea how I was going to do it. I studied Graphic Design and was pretty good at art, but my greatest strength is my ability to manifest whatever was going on in my mind into something tangible. I started the company in 2008 out of my bedroom with zero experience in business or fashion. I'm the Founder and Creative Director of the men's premium streetwear brand I Love Ugly. Don’t fall for what you see! People sometimes dress the brightest, dance the wildest and sing the loudest when they are the saddest.Hello! Who are you and what business did you start? The list would be long, from Dancing on my own by Robin to Nothing Breaks Like a Heart by Miley Cyrus and many more. Many tears are shed under the blinking disco lights, and many bottles of booze are drunk only to shut the mind off.ĭid you ever notice that many dance songs have happy, upbeat tunes but quite sad lyrics? This is no coincidence. They go to a club when they can’t stand silence and loneliness gets too heavy. They go out when their four walls seem threatening and they long for the roaring bass. But many people dance to get rid of pain, free themselves of the dullness of their lives, overcome heartbreak and self-doubt, and forget rejection, hurt and loss. Yes, they are happy people at clubs, no question. ![]() Do you think people dance to express their happiness and joy, go to parties and clubs and jump on a table when there is a reason to celebrate and be crazy? Those pictures come to our mind quite fast if we think about the expression of happiness, but I reveal something: You have been deceived if you fell for them!
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