Behind the Seams: Fashion, Mental Health, and Unique Designs

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What happens when you just miss out on your dream job? For Rochelle Gregory, founder of Rocky Raffaella, missing an internship with Alexander Wang could have been a major setback. Instead, it became the catalyst for building a globally recognized fashion brand. In this episode, we dive into Rochelle’s journey from fresh university graduate to dressing some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Rochelle shares her insights into what it takes to succeed in the competitive fashion landscape, revealing how her unique designs tell stories beyond fabric and thread. From pioneering hand-smocking techniques to breathing life into each piece with artisan craftsmanship, she creates more than clothing—she builds an experience. With highlights from dressing notable celebrities and overcoming industry hurdles, listeners grasp the meticulous effort that goes into standing out in a crowded marketplace.

But standing out comes with challenges. Rochelle dives into the pressures of the fashion industry, the struggle of maintaining artistic integrity in a world driven by trends, and why she remains unapologetically unique. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to truly disrupt an industry, this conversation is a masterclass in fearless creativity.

Episode Transcript

George (00:00):
You know what's really good about doing this podcast?
What is it?
It's that you get to connectwith not only our listeners, but
then other people outside ofour circle and people that we
probably normally wouldn't haveon the podcast.
That's what's really cool aboutthis.

Robby (00:14):
Why would we not have this person on the podcast?

George (00:16):
Well, I'm saying it's outside of our realm, are you
talking?

Rochelle (00:19):
about me.
We are.

George (00:20):
We're talking about you, but indirectly.
It's like you know, this islike the intro, where we're just
about to surprise everyone witha guest speaker, because we
normally do a lot of podcastswith just me and Robbie.
But today we have a veryspecial guest with us.
We've got Rochelle here fromRocky Raffaella.

Rochelle (00:36):
Hello, I'm excited for this.
Thank you, welcome.

Robby (00:40):
So for those who don't know who you are.
Do you want to give us a littlebit of a spiel about what you
do and, I guess, how you guysknow each other, how we've met
before?
Yeah, yeah, and then we'll takethe conversation from there.

Rochelle (00:52):
So I am Rochelle Gregory started Rocky Raffaella
straight out of uni.
It was kind of like one ofthose things where I just missed
getting an internship withAlexander Wang, which was like
my dream.

George (01:06):
And who's that?

Robby (01:06):
for those of you that don't know, because I don't know
who, that is, you don't knowwho Alexander Wang is, do you
know him Well?

Rochelle (01:12):
There's a bit of controversy there now.
Back then he was a verywell-known fashion designer,
yeah yeah, so loved his stuff.
Just missed out on getting itto one other girl and I used
that as kind of fuel andmotivation to start Rocky
Raffaella.
You know, mental health is kindof part of my journey, so I
just have to touch on thatbecause that's what fueled the

(01:35):
brand as well.
It was like I wanted to createa universe to escape to.

George (01:39):
Yeah, cool, and did you kind of lose yourself in that
work universe?

Rochelle (01:44):
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, that's the first time Iwas like this is Rochelle
Gregory.
Like I felt like I was 100% mytrue self when I designed.
So then, yeah, I created RockyRaffaella and I hit kind of big
success pretty early on.
Within two years, I wasdressing some big names and I
think that happened just fromthat.
You know go-getter personality,like jumping to things, and the

(02:07):
clothes are very unique.
People hadn't seen them.
You know, being out wearing itat the right time attracted all
this crazy stuff.
So that's kind of how myjourney started.
Yeah, today, still going strongNine years later here.

Robby (02:23):
I am.
Yeah, nice so for people whohere, I am yeah, nice.
So for people who don't knowthe brand, tell us a little bit
about.
Obviously we do big fans.
Great jacket, by the way, Greatjacket, yeah, sick jacket.
How cool is the jacket I'mgetting MJ vibes?
First thing I said when shewalked in I was like hey, sick
jacket, I like red.

Rochelle (02:41):
Yeah.

George (02:43):
Notice you wear red shoes sometimes.

Rochelle (02:44):
Yes, I saw those when I came in the other day.

Robby (02:46):
Yeah, sick, it's cool.
Yeah, bright, it's a cool thing, and you've got to be able to
pull it off.
Yeah, do you know what I meanConfidence, confidence, they
make you run faster too.
Yeah, of course.
Why else would you wear it?

Rochelle (02:58):
Yeah, I got here in two seconds.

Robby (03:02):
Is that your?

Rochelle (03:03):
Yes, this is one of my designs.

Robby (03:04):
Oh sick.

Rochelle (03:05):
Yeah, why I think I'm a little bit unique is I kind of
push the boundaries.
So this is all hand smocked.
So I work with, like, basketweavers and Indonesian artisans
to create kind of, you know, outof the ordinary designs.
It's like a hand sewn techniquethat creates like a texture

(03:27):
within the material.
Is that what's happening on thesleeves?
Yeah, that's it.
Okay cool.
So yeah, for those who don'tknow the brand, it's kind of
it's that element of yin andyang.
It's like got this veryfeminine touch to it that it's
like mixed with this edginessand kind of, you know, feminine
edge.
You know rebellion meets class.

(03:47):
It's like that middle boundary.

George (03:50):
Yeah, do you have a men's range as well, or do you
just do women's at the moment?

Rochelle (03:54):
No, so I do custom jackets for men, like I've
dressed a few people like that.

Robby (03:59):
The shirts as well.
Do you have any shirts?

Rochelle (04:00):
Yeah, Well the shirts are quite like.
You'd say more like your DJs,and that kind of like.
You know you've got to.
I don't know.
Could you pull off a shirt Me?

Robby (04:11):
A leopard pink shirt.
If you'd brought one, I wouldhave put one on now.

George (04:13):
Yeah, bring it Leopard, I'm all about leopard.
For as long as I've known thetwo, I can't not look at a
leopard and think of you.

Robby (04:23):
He said tight like a tiger because I was sitting up
there.

Rochelle (04:27):
Well, I mean the shirt's a unisex, but yeah, I
guess anyone can wear it, but itis Feminine.

George (04:33):
Yeah, that's right.
It's a women's brand.
That's right, it's moretailored towards that.

Robby (04:42):
Women, yeah.

George (04:44):
Yeah, right.

Robby (04:45):
Yeah or not, or completely the opposite.
Um, yeah, I would definitelypull it off though, just for the
record.

George (04:52):
So I would look at the fashion industry and correct me
if I'm wrong, but I would lookat that industry and think it's
a really hard space to besuccessful in.
You know, kind of like when youwant to say, if you grow up and
you're like I want to be anactor, I want to be a famous
actor or I want to be a famoussinger, it's one of those

(05:12):
industries that so many peoplewant to do it, so many people
want to be successful in andit's it's kind of you see the
best of the best but you don'tsee anything else in between
that.

Rochelle (05:19):
Yeah, Is that a correct?

George (05:20):
assumption of the industry.
Oh, absolutely it's.
Is that a correct assumption ofthe industry?

Rochelle (05:23):
Oh, absolutely.
It's like the zoo out there.
But in saying that, I mean, Ifeel like everyone.
I feel like it's reallyimportant for me to stay true to
my identity.
So I've always kind of createdthese really show-stopping
pieces.
They're very unique and I thinkthat's why celebs like them so

(05:45):
much.
If you think about it, theycould wear whatever they want.

George (05:48):
Yeah.

Rochelle (05:51):
But I think my clothes spoke to people because it was
so different and I remember lastyear, when I was purely
focusing on the Australianmarket, a lot of buyers or
mentors were really trying toget me to.

George (06:03):
you know, be like other brands you know a lot Got to
sell your soul a little bit.

Rochelle (06:07):
Yeah, and you know, do what these people are doing.
And I stuck to my grounds.
I'm like no, because peoplecome to me for that.
You know uniqueness or you knownot to wear what every single
other person is wearing.
So I found that a lot ofAustralian brands, you know all
are kind of staying in that Safezone.

(06:27):
Yeah, yeah, and I'm not and Idon't plan on changing, just to
be like everybody else.

George (06:34):
So you're more of a boutique like company in that
regard.

Rochelle (06:37):
Yeah.

George (06:39):
So is it difficult for you?
So say, your jacket you'rewearing now, could you sell
10,000 units?
No Of that jacket?
Yeah, so jacket you're wearingnow, could you sell 10,000 units
?
No Of that jacket.

Robby (06:45):
Yeah.

George (06:46):
So it's like no, this is the jacket, this is the.
Again.
Correct me if I'm wrong,because I'm ignorant in this
space.

Rochelle (06:52):
Yeah.

George (06:53):
But could you?
Is it just by order?
So someone sees that jacketonline, or you wearing it or
someone else wearing it, and sayhey, I love that jacket, can I
have one?
I'm this size and then you makeit for them.
Do you actually sit there andmake each piece?
Or just maybe not jackets, butanything?

Robby (07:11):
Are they made in order?

George (07:12):
Yeah, but are you the one that is actually sewing it
together and putting it together, or do you have a team doing?

Rochelle (07:16):
that.
No, I have a team doing that,yeah, yeah, so I mean, at mean,
at the start, of course, like Ihave to teach my team,
especially when I design alwayscome up with a new concept or a
new skill that I've learned.
That's part of the designprocess, and then I'll go back
and teach the team.
You know how to do it, and thenwe go through kind of a
learning process of, like, theskills that are going into the
new collection.
Yeah, um, but yeah, very much.

(07:39):
Look, it still takes three days.
There's still a lot of a lot ofartistry that goes into it.
It's all hand-smocked, whichtakes a lot of time.
So, yeah, it's not fast-pacedfashion, but at the same time,
we also don't want to.
You know, there's a lot ofsustainability and all that
these days.
So, if we don't keep a lot ofstock, however, we do have some,

(08:02):
so you can order one online,but yeah, it's not going to take
five weeks to get one orsomething like that.

Robby (08:11):
Iggy order me a pink leopard shirt now.

Rochelle (08:14):
No.
So what I'm trying to say is wekeep wastage in mind, but at
the same time we do have somestock, if that makes sense.

Robby (08:24):
So just for the people who don't know not me, of course
, other people yeah, what's handsmocked hand smocked.

Rochelle (08:30):
So it's a sewing, it's a hand sewn technique.
So pretty much you, you knowyou do like a grid, and then
it's the way you sew it, with um, a sewing needle and thread,
and then when you turn it theother way, it's a whole pattern.
So it creates a texture withinthe material.
So to give that 3D effect, Isthat what's happening here?

Robby (08:54):
That's it.
That's cool.
That looks sick.
Yeah, that's cool.

Rochelle (08:56):
It looks like a braid, but it's actually called
smocking.

Robby (08:59):
Yeah, cool Red leather, that looks cool.

Rochelle (09:02):
It is giving MJ vibes.

Robby (09:07):
I like it.
It is very much.

Rochelle (09:10):
Why fashion?
Good question, I think.
Just I've always been creative.
Like I struggled immenselythroughout high school with
learning difficulties.
Like someone a teacher wouldexplain something and I would
literally think they werespeaking another language.
Like I just didn't get things.
I was always creative.
Explain something and I wouldliterally think they were
speaking another language.
Like I just didn't get things.
Yeah, I was always creative andthat came out later when it was
like what do you want to dowith your life?
And I was just in this absolutedestructive pattern, you know,

(09:33):
drinking all that, just livingthis extreme life.
And I think a life coach, youknow, helped me uncover that I
had a love for design, but atthe time I couldn't see it
because it was so dark.
But yeah, I guess as soon as Istarted it was like wow, okay, I
was born to do this.
Yeah, yeah.

George (09:55):
It's often a sad reality .
A lot of the people that have,you know, a decent level of
success do come from hard timesbecause it's like they hit rock
bottom and then it's well,what's the way out?
And this is the way out, andalso you hit the nail on the
head Like you went to school, itdidn't relate to you and it's
so unfortunate.
That's where the educationsystem here fails.
So many people, especiallypeople even in traditional yeah,

(10:18):
it's like this.
Well, they're factory workers,they're an organisation to breed
factory workers.
I want you to go out, get a job, pay your taxes, buy a house,
die.
Yeah, and that's it.
Yeah, there's nothing there tosay.
Well, hang on, why don't you goand create a one-off piece and
be highly successful, have heapsof, you know, quality of life
and business and all that sortof stuff?

(10:39):
They won't ever teach that andthey don't encourage it.
It's like no, no, what's thesquare root of 53,000?

Rochelle (10:45):
Well, that's why I think I went.
I think that's why I hit thatkind of rebellious wildlife,
because I didn't fit that.
I was so different and in somany ways.
So I think that's when I turnedto this unhealthy lifestyle,
because I wasn't what.

Robby (11:10):
You didn't fit between the lines right, exactly right.
You're like I don't fit in thissquare or this circle or
whatever shape it is.

Rochelle (11:15):
But I can party, so let's go party.

Robby (11:18):
And also partying tends to be a way where it's like,
well, I'm not going to thinkabout how I don't fit in that
thing while I'm doing this.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
So it's like a.

Rochelle (11:27):
Escape.

Robby (11:28):
Yeah, escape Numbness.

Rochelle (11:30):
Oh yeah, do you know what I mean?

Robby (11:31):
Yeah, it's like let me just drown the pain, everything
out and focus on this one thingOkay, okay, why?
So what's probably the leastfashionable human on the planet?
I have like 37 black t-shirts.

Rochelle (11:51):
And a pair of red shoes.

Robby (11:52):
And a pair of red shoes.
What's the one thing you wish,like obviously being in the
space and doing what you do atthat level.
What's the one thing you wisheveryone knew about fashion?

Rochelle (12:02):
The design process behind it, especially with my
brand.
It's like a journey, like I,literally just when my last
collection was this, you know, Istarted to look at my life, at,
you know, like a domino effect,like this experience or this
meeting this person, and I juststarted to think, wow, this is
like how I am here today.

(12:23):
This is the butterfly effect,like all these small habits and
choices that I had made had nowcreated who I am today, and that
kind of was like oh that's thebutterfly effect.
So then I started getting reallyinto butterflies the way they
looked, the colors on theirwings, like everything.
I went down a rabbit hole andthat's the part I love the

(12:46):
design process, and I think somuch goes into it.
It's not just fast fashion, youknow, you're creating something
that's coming out of your innerworld and there's so much to it
.
You know a lot of brands today,even, just you know, buy other
brands' clothing and take it tothe factory and say copy this.
And it's going on and it'shappening a lot.

(13:08):
Um, copy this in this amount ofcolors.
And it's like throw a few roseson it and you know, call it
your own yeah, make it, yeah, 20different, yeah, and it's like,
oh, like.
you know there's actually realartistry that's involved in
brands and you know there's somuch you don't see and that's
why I share a lot of it onInstagram, like me behind the

(13:30):
scenes, creating it all becauseit's important.

George (13:33):
Yeah, well, it's good for people to see that process
and see what's behind it, youknow, and they get more of an
understanding and connectionwith the brand when that happens
too.

Rochelle (13:41):
Yeah.

George (13:41):
Now, we both do that.
We share a lot ofbehind-the-scenes stuff just
educational things in ourbusinesses and people relate to
that, especially your targetaudience.
They'll relate to that andappreciate it and then feel more
connected to what you're doingand what you're selling.

Rochelle (13:57):
Yeah, yeah.

Robby (14:00):
Do you find anyone did that for you like tried to steal
a piece.

Rochelle (14:04):
Oh, it's happened.

Robby (14:04):
Yeah, oh it's happened?

Rochelle (14:05):
Oh yeah, I had a call from a friend one day and she
was like she has a really bigbrand called Rat and Boa.
And my friend, Valentina, rangme one day and she's like hey, I
just want to let you know, thisgirl's bought stuff from me and
you and she's taken it to thefactory and created her own
brand, mixing both of yourbrands.
I was like what?
And like back then I was likeyou know, let's get it.

George (14:29):
Let's burn her factory down.
Yeah, I'm like she's fast.

Rochelle (14:34):
Actually, actually, and I remember like she used to.
I remember her being like whenare my clothes coming?
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
And then what I realised wasshe was waiting for my clothes
to arrive so she could use themon set for her own shoot.
So, anyway, now when you lookat the brand, it's literally
like Rocky, raffaella, times,rat and Boa, and I used to get

(14:57):
so angry because it's like Iliterally like work my ass off,
but now it's like flattery,flattery, flattery.

George (15:06):
Yeah, well, there's um.
You know what I'm about to say.
Copying is a imitation is thegreatest form of flattery,
that's it, you know.
So, like they'll never be you,they can only ever copy your
idea once you've made it up.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
So it doesn't end up like Ilook at stuff like that when
people try to imitate and I'mlike, oh cool, there's only one,
me.
There's only one you.

(15:26):
There's only one you.
They can't do it better than us.

Rochelle (15:31):
Yeah, plus she would use polyester materials and
people would feel like they'reon a sauna.
Anyway, she just didn't reallyunderstand or know fashion and
tried to rip off other people.
What?

Robby (15:43):
did you say Polyester materials make you feel like
you're in a sauna.
What does that mean?

Rochelle (15:47):
Yeah well, you can't breathe in it.
It's a very cheap material, soif you're making a shirt out of
it, you're going to sit theresweating.
Is this polyester?
I think that's cotton, from myeyes.

George (15:58):
It's a cotton T-shirt, but yeah, it's learning.
I can't look at a leopard theother way, any other way.
Now I've got a question for youguys.

Rochelle (16:06):
Oh, goodness me.
Okay.
So we obviously have thisbeautiful sign here that's
shining in my eyes.
I want to know where MillionDollar Days came from and the
story behind it.

George (16:15):
Very cool, Go for it, Are you there?
So we were at.
Oh well, I'm pumped Greatquestion.
I think we've discussed this,but we just sort of breezed over
it.

Robby (16:24):
It's a refresher.

George (16:27):
A refresher for everyone who may have.
We were at a training actuallytwo and a half years ago.

Robby (16:32):
Is it that long?
Fuck it's long.

George (16:35):
It'd have to be It'd have to be at least it was about
two and a half years ago, sobefore we started running events
and doing all that sort ofstuff.
We're at a training to learnhow to run events and do
trainings on stage and all thatsort of stuff, and part of the
training was like he was showingus how to sell from stage and
we're like man, if you nail that, you'll make a million dollars

(16:56):
in a day, like without a doubt.

Rochelle (16:58):
Okay.

George (16:59):
You'll make a million and we're like it was honestly
out of and not to shit on anyonein the room, because everyone's
got their journey.

Rochelle (17:06):
Sorry, in terms of like their mindset or how
they're running, no, no, no, itwas the concept of selling from
one to many.

Robby (17:12):
So it's the concept of get a bunch of people in a room.
It started off with you.
I can't remember whether youturned back or I turned back,
but we looked at each other andwe're like we should do an event
.
He's like I don't know if weshould do a fucking event.
And then we did, and then thewhole concept of we're going to
make a million bucks in a day,and then it's like hey, million
dollar days, that's amazing.

Rochelle (17:33):
I love that.
That's so good.

Robby (17:34):
And then that's how it all kind of come to fruition
from.
I think it was day four at theevent.

George (17:42):
Yeah, something like that.
Yeah, because we were literallythere and it was like a five or
six-day straight trainingbroken into three sections, and
this was the level two of thetraining, and we were there and,
like the things he was tellingus, we'd seen it from stage,
from other people as well.
So we knew that what he wastelling us, we'd seen it from
stage from other people as well.
So we knew that what he wasteaching us actually works.
Yeah, and it was just a matterabout having a product to sell

(18:06):
from stage.
And then we went out on ourfirst event and we killed it
Like we did really well and madewe've openly said it like in a
day I did 350 grand in sales ina day in one day Wow, Now,
that's not money in the bankaccount right there and then,
but it was committed over 12months, whatever it might be,
but you still take it.
I'll take it as a win.
But the whole concept behind itwas like we saw how it could

(18:28):
happen and how it could work andwe're like this is you nail
this and it's only a matter oftime before you have those
million-dollar days.
And then that's sort of how thepodcast came to fruition.
And you know, it was probablysix months post that we actually
started episode one.
He literally messaged me andgoes hey, we should start a
podcast.
I'm like fucking oath.
Million dollar days and then,yeah, it just started Love it
and it just came from that, yeah, and it probably started off.

(18:50):
You know our journey to making amillion dollars in a day
because it's such a far-fetchedconcept to so many people.
Most people in the world thatyou speak to are just like I
would love to have a milliondollars, and we're talking about
doing it in a single day, notover the course of a year, 10
years, 30 years, no, no, no,we're going to do it in a day,
and even then, when it happensand it will happen it's like

(19:14):
well, what's next?
How do you make 10 in a?

Rochelle (19:16):
day.

George (19:16):
Because there's people out there like this is where the
limiting beliefs come in fromso many people and why I think a
lot of business owners goagainst the grain when it comes
to that.
Because you could have veryeasily not got that internship
with Alex, was it?

Rochelle (19:30):
Alexander McQueen.
I mean, I wish, I wishAlexander Wang.

George (19:35):
Wang.
So, mr Wang, you missed outbuddy.
I wish, I wish Alexander WangWang.
So, mr Wang, you missed out,buddy.
But you could have very easilygone somewhere else and gone for
another internship, or gone andworked for another brand yeah,
and just been that, or just wentand worked retail for example
yeah, like, most people do Likemost people would.

Robby (19:49):
Yeah, most people would, and they want to do fashion.

Rochelle (20:01):
They're like, yeah, I'll go work at.
Well, that's the thing withbelief systems, and I'm very,
very aware of this.
I had no business experiencewhen I started the brand I was
literally straight out of unibut I did have a belief that I
had a talent to show the world.
So I really believe that I hadthis, and that's kind of what
drove the brand as well, becauseif I didn't, I'd probably, yeah
, be working for Scanlon orsomething.

George (20:19):
Yeah, and that's fine if you decided to go down that
path and you enjoyed it, butit's the ability to go against
the grain is what's really goingto get you some success and
fulfilment in life.
I believe anyway, and that'swhere I see a lot of people that
are in our circle and justanyone giving it a nudge and
just doing something above thenorm and you can still do above
the norm in a job but I findthat those people that have real

(20:44):
ultimate success have justpushed the limits in whatever
you can do.

Rochelle (20:49):
Yeah, I actually remember having like really
limited money in the bank and Ihad the opportunity to dress,
you know, the Hadids, which washuge in my eyes and for people
who don't know who that is,they're like a really well-known
family in LA, yeah, and youknow, daughters.
Muhammad Hadid is the father,and then the daughters are Bella

(21:11):
and Gigi Hadid.

Robby (21:12):
They're very famous Very famous?

Rochelle (21:14):
yeah, yeah, is she a model?
The two, yeah yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, there's two sisters, and then they're massive, yeah
.

George (21:21):
Massive, yeah Like hugely famous.

Rochelle (21:23):
Yeah, and then they've got another sister that's not
so well-known, but now she'smore Dud, so yeah, anyway, of
the family.
We became friends, me and thehalf-sister, oh, friends me and
the half sister, and then theyhad a half brother that went out
with Dua Lipa and that's kindof how it all.

(21:43):
I got my clothes on that kindof circle, but I just remember
not having a lot of money andjust being like you know what.
This is actually a really hugeopportunity.
I didn't even know if I wasgoing to meet him, but I knew
that I had to get the jacket tohim some way.
So I got on the plane.
Everyone told me not to.
I kind of just jumped at theopportunity and what ended up
happening was I ended up meetinghim.
He did a live, unbelievable, youknow situation and then that,

(22:08):
just from being there, went todressing Paris Hilton and then
went to all these other hugethings, just from that.
But any, if you were in asituation and too logical, you
would have been like, oh, that'snot a smart idea.
The funds, you know X, y, z notto go.
But I always had that, like youknow, going against the grain
of what people said and justlike jumping at what I

(22:30):
intuitively thought was right.

George (22:32):
Yeah, roll the dice.
Yeah Well, alex Wamosi saidthis the other day it's like
never take advice from poorpeople and that's not poor as in
monetarily poor, like you mightbe well off, but it's
effectively saying don't takeadvice from people who haven't
achieved the things that youwant to achieve, or just within
their own circle, their ownbubble, because they're saying

(22:54):
don't go overseas, no, no, don'tdo that.
Do you know how much anairplane ticket is these days?
It's like $1,200 return, thenaccommodation, then
accommodation, then you've gotto don't drink the water there,
you'll get sick.
There's so many barriers thatthey just put up and it's like
cool, if you had listened tothat, you probably never would

(23:15):
have had those opportunitiesthat opened up to you.

Rochelle (23:16):
Yeah, and that's also their thought system, based on
what they know Off theirexperiences, and this is what
I'm saying.

George (23:22):
Their experience isn't going to be your experience.
They're getting their knowledgefrom the limiting beliefs that
they've encompassed over theyears and are giving it to you
based off that.
It's like hang on, when was thelast time you met one of the
richest families in the world?

Rochelle (23:36):
Yeah exactly.

George (23:40):
I was like hang on, when was the last time you met one
of the richest families in theworld?
Yeah, exactly.
I was like, oh well, I neverdid.
Yeah, because I guarantee youthat if you just posted it to
him and spent did an expresspost, so he gets it soon
probably.
Look at it, go.
Oh, it's a cool jacket.
Wear it once.
Maybe never wear it, just go.
Oh, I'm over this now.
It took two days, but now whenyou come here and you go, here's
the jacket I personally madefor you and like, wow, this is
amazing, this is cool.
Let's talk about it and seethat you're a half decent person
, because people always love tobuy from people as well.

(24:04):
They want to see the facebehind the creation at the end
of the day, and the fact thatyou've gone over there and have
that connection is massive.

Rochelle (24:11):
Yeah, Well, I just quickly what else ended up
happening from that.
I believe like it's about whatyou do at that time as well.
Like I remember I had a wishlist.
You know why are you there?
Try and get into five storeslike dream big, wrote them all
down, emailed them 30 times.
Nothing happened.
I'm like I'm gonna go in thereevery morning.
One of my top one was FredSiegel.

(24:31):
It's on um Sunset Boulevard.
30 emails, nothing back.
Anyway went in there everymorning with the jacket.
On One of the mornings thislady came up to me and she goes
oh, can I ask you where's yourjacket from?
She goes oh, I'm actually thebuying manager, or blah, blah,
blah, and I'm never on the floorbecause they're not these days,

(24:52):
but I just happened to be here.
I would love to book you in tomeet with the buyers.
Within a couple of months I wasstocked in Fred Segal and it
was like money I didn't evenknew I could make.

George (25:04):
The opportunity was.
You know you took theopportunity and you were
persistent too, because I'veheard this thing you're only 10
no's away from a yes.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Yeah, imagine if you knew onthe 10th no you were going to
get the yes next.
You would go out and try andget those no's as soon as you
possibly could.
Yeah, but people get sodiscouraged at that first no
that they never take the step tothe next one, and to the next

(25:26):
one, and to the next one.
But you've just got to be sopersistent.

Rochelle (25:30):
Oh my God, Failures is like.
Every time I get a no or afailure, it's like what can I
learn from this?
Failures are, I believe, whatmade me get success, and like
not being afraid of it either.

George (25:41):
So, going back a little bit to when you said you got
that invitation, what was so?
You'd been doing it for acouple of years, I don't know
how, whatever the success was orthe monetary gain was in that
time, when was the?
How did that first invitationcome to you to be like, hey, I
want your product or I want tosee your product?
When did you get that veryfirst break?

(26:02):
Let's call it?
As in like a celebrity wearing,yeah Well just yeah, absolutely
let's go from that perspective,because and who yeah?

Rochelle (26:11):
Okay, yeah.

George (26:12):
Because it would have been quite.
I mean, in your industry Iimagine it's very much about
trying to get those like thatmicro influencer or massive
influencer if you can land itwearing your stuff so that other
people can look at it and go,oh wow, they're wearing that, I
want to wear that.

Robby (26:28):
It's rich, yeah, it's rich, and it's influenced,
that's right.

Rochelle (26:30):
So, okay, this is a cool story.
So I was around the time of thetennis Australian Open and I
was out for dinner with myfamily at a Japanese restaurant
and I was wearing a jacket andanyway, it was like there was a
table with Novak Djokovic, borisBecker, the wives XYZ, and I
happened to know one of thegirls on the table.

(26:52):
She said why don't you comeover and have a drink?
Anyway, I went over, had adrink and the conversation
quickly turned to what I waswearing, and this is what
usually happened.
It was different, it was unique.
It spoke to them and the wiveswere like we love one, we want
one, ended up creating a jacketfor them Jelena Djokovic and
Lily Becker.
They went back to London.

(27:13):
Then they started wearing itaround, you know, to London.
Then they started wearing itaround, you know.
Obviously, they were at eventsall the time.
They went to Victoria Beckham'sfashion show, got pupped
wearing it and then all of asudden, they started messaging
me my friend wants one, myfriend wants one.
It just spread.
And then Lily Becker happenedto be in LA with Nicole Ari
Parker, who's this big, famousactress, and then they wanted

(27:35):
one.
It just spread like that.
And with the Hadids.
That's a separate story, Ithink.
Basically, I was like you knowwho are these big dogs hanging
out with Some not everyone'sgoing to be you know who are
their friends?
Blah, blah, blah, like whereyou know who are they hanging
out with, who can I get in touchwith?

(27:55):
To get to the big dogs, and Ithink I started dressing Big
dogs, the big dogs, like I thinkI started dressing their
friends.
You know, like you said before,micro-influencers who I knew
was hanging out with them, andbecause I knew the clothes spoke
, I just had to get it seen.
And then Alana Hadid startedfollowing me one day and she

(28:17):
goes hey, I just saw my friendin LA wearing one of your
jackets.
I really like the brand.
So we started this pen palrelationship.
This is the sister that youguys call the dud.

George (28:27):
The half sister that was Rob.
She's called her the dud wasn'tit?

Robby (28:31):
Yeah, it was me.
Yeah, I'm sorry.

Rochelle (28:34):
So we started this pen pal relationship.
She started wearing all myclothes to events she's
obviously hanging out with hersisters.
Then she had a tracksuit brand.
She wanted to do acollaboration together.
Yeah, so we created a jacket.
Then she said she was at LaPastio one day with her dad.
She was wearing the jacket.

(28:54):
She messaged me saying hey, myjacket's getting more attention
than me.
My dad really wants one.
So, and then that's when he waslike hey, I really want one.
And then I started dressing thedaughters and just kind of went
that way.

Robby (29:10):
Who's the biggest star?
You'd say that has rocked thebrand.
No pun intended.

Rochelle (29:20):
Well, do you know what the funny thing is with these
girls?
Like, because I know HaileyBieber's got two jackets.
One was gifted through AlanaHadid and the other one was
through a stylist, sam Wolf.
But I don't have pictures of it, but I know she personally
chose it.
So because she asked foroversized, because she only wore
oversized.
So I created a jacket for her.

(29:41):
But to get one of thosepictures, I don't know how.
So I had to wait for her to getpapped or something.
I don't know.
Maybe I missed it, who knows.
So I know that a lot of famouspeople have them, but it's about
because they're so famous.

George (30:00):
Yeah, it's not like you could send a message.
Hey, send me a photo, I'll giveyou a 10% discount next time.

Rochelle (30:08):
But Gigi Hadid and Ruby Rose wore it on a
Maybelline ad in New York whichwent viral.
So that was pretty big ParisHilton.

George (30:23):
I saw on your social media page you had Robbie
Williams.

Rochelle (30:26):
Yep Made him a jacket.
Oops, so that's a guy that Imade a jacket, and also Mohammed
, see, so I can custom.
You want one, don't you, robbie?
I think this is it, I need aconversation.

Robby (30:38):
What?
I think this is great what?

Rochelle (30:40):
you think this is a free podcast.

George (30:44):
Yeah, that's cool, Mate.
Could you imagine us rocking upin leopard skins at the next
Builder Summit Successconference?
People will lose their mind.
You want to talk about makingmillion-dollar days.
Expect nothing less Sponsoredby Rocky Raffaella.

Robby (31:00):
So you've had some pretty big icons yeah.

George (31:05):
Do you still keep in touch with these people as far
as are they still wanting yourproduct?
Do you find it's fads?
Not in the sense, not inregards to your brand, but it's
like the flavor of the week.
I'm like, oh no, I'm over thatnow.
I don't want to do that anymore.

Rochelle (31:19):
This is so cool because this just shows like
this is like my thing about whowe look up to, like I think I'm
not putting down Australiananyway, but a lot of influencers
here.
They're like very these.
What I'm trying to say is theseladies went on to buy from my

(31:41):
website.

George (31:42):
Yeah.

Rochelle (31:42):
They didn't ask for it for free.
They didn't say oh, I like this.

Robby (31:45):
They didn't hear that they wanted it.

Rochelle (31:47):
Nicole Ari Parker she's on Sex and the City and
she's a huge actress in New York.
She goes on and purchases it tothis day.
Lily Becker literally goes on.
They don't ask for a code, theyliterally just go on and buy it
.
Yeah.

George (32:01):
They appreciate the brand and the value it gives
them.
It's like 100%.
Whereas here we've got thatmentality oh, I'll wear your
jacket if you give me a free one, and then I'll put it on my
page, and then everyone willwant to buy one too.
I was just about to say thatexact line.

Rochelle (32:15):
Oh, honestly, like who we look up to here, I feel like
we need to shift who we look upto because you know it's all
about.

George (32:25):
But from a business perspective, do you play that
game?
What do you mean?
Does it cheapen your brand inany way?
If you play that game?
Because, say, you give it to amicro influencer, I don't even
know who where to begin.
Who's Delta Goodrum?
I don't know, son of a microinfluencer, I don't fucking know
, like everyone knows.
If you don't know, doeseveryone in Australia knows who
Delta Goodrum is?

Robby (32:44):
It's pretty safe to say let's ask the bloke in the
corner.

George (32:47):
Iggy, do you know who Delta Goodrum is?
So Delta Goodrum, she comes in.
She's like look Delta.

Robby (32:55):
I can't believe you called Delta Goodrum a micro.

Rochelle (32:57):
I would love to dress Delta.
Yeah, I'm just saying.

George (32:58):
Delta, come here.
You're on a Delta name basiswith her because you're BFFs.
Now, delta, I need you to Also,she's not a micro influence.
I know, I know, I'm just sayingsomeone of that's well known in
Australia yeah, here's my jacket, wear it, it's yours, it's free
, Wear it around, wear it to theVoice or whatever thing she's

(33:19):
doing right here and now.
Is it a matter of her if shedoes that?
And then everyone says, oh, Iwant that jacket, and then it
explodes in that regard, andthen you do have those sales and
that influence and that reachin that regard.

Rochelle (33:32):
Yeah, I mean, it definitely works, especially if
people look up to this person.
They're like, oh wow, we loveher and also, what a sick jacket
, what a sick shirt.
And they're like they want tobuy it.
It still works.
I just think the attitude ofyou know tall poppy syndrome or
wanting to fuzz people Like evenyou know, I reached out to

(33:53):
someone who had like 5,000followers, that's it, and
they're like, oh sorry, I onlydo like paid work or I forget
what it was, but it was likesomething ridiculous.

George (34:06):
It's like how do you go?

Rochelle (34:08):
from dressing these huge stars to trying to.
You know.

George (34:11):
Convince someone who's not like.
I don't know this person that'sgot 5,000 followers.
Do you know what I mean?
No, no.
Don't this person that's got5,000 followers.
Do you know what I mean?
No, no, I don't, unless I doShit.

Rochelle (34:19):
But I still reach out to those people because I still
think.

George (34:23):
The micro works.
It does work.
We've got I won't say who, butwe know someone who has, say,
50,000 followers and they're inthat fashion space and companies
like I don't know.
Officeworks will go here, playwith these crayons with your
kids and we'll give you a $5,000voucher or whatever they give
you.
Yeah, and it's like money fornothing.
Do you know what I mean?

(34:43):
It's money for jam for them.
They're like okay, cool, I'lltake a couple of photos.
Tag Officeworks and away you go.
And now they think about thatwith everything they do it.
I want.
Well, officeworks gives me fivegrand.
I want five grand from you, orI want 30% of every sale, or
whatever it might be.

Robby (35:01):
I partly understand it, though, because if that's their
source of income, it's likeasking, it's like saying
probably can you fix my car?
Yeah, sure, but you've got toask a mechanic to fix your car
for free.
It's like this is what I do formy, it's how I make bread.

Rochelle (35:14):
Yeah, now you want me to go do it for free.
No, I get that, I totally getthat part.
But it's also like the attitudeor only wanting to do what
other cool people are doing, orlike, but it's very much like
that.

George (35:25):
The whole social media is like that, especially in that
fashion space, I think too.

Robby (35:28):
Yeah, and I think the stars in LA, like they're beyond
that.

George (35:32):
Yeah, they're not doing that for money, that's right
they're not doing it.

Robby (35:35):
They're not like hey, I want to.
Yeah, like I'm going to go repyour brand for you to pay me.

George (35:40):
X amount.
They're doing it because theygenuinely like it.

Robby (35:43):
It's like a whole different level of human.
It's like when you get in anybusiness I believe this is the
case like you get clients wholike the client's paying you 50
grand and they like don't callme, here's the money, it's been
transferred, Don't call me.
It's insane.

Rochelle (36:00):
There are like a lot of amazing influencers in
Australia that do respect thatand generally want to do things
because they, you know, love it.
So it exists for sure, but Ifeel like we don't want to help
as much.
As you know, when I was in LA,all the opportunities and
everyone wanting to help inLondon and stuff like that.
I think there's a bit more of athing here.

Robby (36:23):
Yeah, Like if it's food off my back if you eat.

Rochelle (36:28):
Yeah, like it's all calculated, it's all strategic.
It's a bit fake.
There's a bit of a fakeness,you know, in certain groups and
everything.
Just in some areas there's alsopeople here that also generally
want to help too.
I just found through myexperience just the differences.

Robby (36:48):
Yeah, working in both countries, yeah, and I think
there is the aspect of like Ihaven't been to the US, we're
going very shortly and a lot ofpeople say, when you go to the
US, everyone's like oh, you won,yeah, whereas here it's kind of
like they celebrate wins, don'tsay how much money you made,
yeah, don't let them.
You know what I mean.
Keep it hush, because peoplestart to frown.

(37:11):
It's very Jealousy, yeah.

George (37:13):
You know what I mean.
I use this analogy a bit andI'm keen to do it.
I'm, I do it.
It's like if I rock up to sitein a Lambo, okay, what do you
think?
Imagine your builder, thebuilder on the job, rocks up to
site and he's in a half milliondollar car million dollar car,
like all the tradies will lookat you differently.
Probably the owners will lookat you differently, going oh man
, you must be making a killingon my job.

(37:33):
If you're driving a Lamboaround, you're obviously ripping
me off the judgment straightaway.
Where so many other people, likeyou say, in the States, there's
like, oh well done, man.
Like what did you do to getthat and how can I do it?
Yeah, exactly, like whatlessons could I learn?
You're obviously reallysuccessful.
How do we celebrate that?
Not how do we bring it down,because I'm not that.

Rochelle (37:50):
That's exactly what I've been trying to say.
Literally, I've said it the wayI wanted to.
Yeah, my words, but you nailedit.

Robby (37:59):
The state.
I think we forget how muchpeople are in the states as well
, or how many people.

George (38:03):
Yeah, it's a much bigger demographic.

Rochelle (38:04):
It's just the mentality, like yeah.

George (38:08):
What do you have aspirations to get into?
Like a David Jones or a Meyer,like a bulk retailer to sell
your product?
Is that aligned with your brand?
Or are you like selling yoursoul when you do that sort of
stuff?

Rochelle (38:22):
That's a good question .
I think for now it's like justfocusing on those high-end
boutiques.
You know who your brand issitting next to is also you know
.

George (38:33):
So are your clothes in shops today.
So if I go to a shop atChadstone, could I find your
jacket.
A shop at Chadstone, could Ifind your jacket?

Rochelle (38:41):
So we are just looking .
So we are looking intowholesaling right now, so I'm
probably in under 10 stores.
My prime focus is online.
So, I was always trying to dotoo much.
You know the PR, the this, thethat, the this, so we've pulled
it right back.
Also, I'm in a completelydifferent headspace.

(39:02):
You know, being 13 months off,alcohol, Like my whole world's
changed.
So now I feel like my mindsetis like a million dollar mindset
.

George (39:10):
So it stopped alcohol for 13 months.
Yeah, fantastic.
Have you had a urge to drinkagain?
Not once.
Awesome, why'd?

Rochelle (39:18):
you stop.
I think it was just fuelingthis.
You know there was a lot ofunresolved like trauma and pain
within me and you know, when Idrank it would come out, you
know, and get aggressive or likedo things, or like it just
didn't, it didn't align with whoI wanted to be.
You know, as I kind of healedand got better, so did the

(39:40):
drinking, but you just neverknew like what could trigger me
to kind of go back to something.

George (39:44):
So was it a matter of not like you'd have a couple of
drinks or you'd have 13 drinks?
It could be anything, yeah.

Rochelle (39:50):
I wasn't your typical alcoholic.
I wouldn't drink every night.
It was just when I did, youknow?

George (39:54):
something bad.
It was just got out of control.

Rochelle (39:55):
Yeah, something bad could happen.
Um, but yeah, I just feel likemy mind is in.
You know, I've learned,especially when before I spoke
about like failing or fucking up, like I think everything's just
clicked now and I think, fromtrying to do too much, we've
pulled it back and we're like,okay, let's work with what's
good.
My ranges have changed, changed, everything's kind of changed,

(40:19):
and now we're kind of lookingwhere we want to sit.
So we're working with you knowpeople that are aligning with
you, know our growth, and nowI'm starting to get into
high-end boutiques aroundAustralia.
So, yeah, I'm not too fussedabout that, more online at the
moment, but yeah, I think DavidJones and places like that, I

(40:42):
don't know.

Robby (40:43):
It's probably not ideal.

Rochelle (40:45):
Yeah, because there's a lot of other factors that go
into it as well.
You know, like they have morecontrol on what sale and I don't
know.
I think there's a lot of morelogistics.
I don't think I'm ready to dothat yet.

Robby (40:56):
Yeah, absolutely.
Is that the goal, though, likeat some point or never?

Rochelle (41:00):
Yeah, Growth definitely.
I just have to be very mindfulof where I want to sit.

George (41:08):
I mean, I don't know much about this brand, but my
wife wears a Ning Bing, yep, andit's like you don't know a Ning
Bing.
Everyone knows a Ning Bing.
She loves it.

Robby (41:17):
What is it?

George (41:18):
I mean, it's a brand, oh , it's a brand.
What is that?
It's a brand, oh, it's a brand.
Okay, there's no leopard range.

Rochelle (41:22):
That's probably why you don't know they do have a
sort of animal on the front,though they do these eagle teeth
.

George (41:26):
Yeah, but no leopards, so you wouldn't know.
A-ning-bing, a-neen, a-neen,a-neen.

Rochelle (41:31):
Like Janine, without the J.

George (41:43):
Just like that.
It and then that brand wentinto David Jones or Meyer or
wherever it was, and then she'slike, oh, I don't really like
this anymore, because it lostthat exclusivity that you know
it was like everyone's wearingthis now, whereas before it was
just the select few, and nowit's like everyone's got it.
The t-shirts went from $300 at-shirt to 80 bucks a t-shirt,
and it's like it just becameanother brand.

Rochelle (42:02):
I feel like you should answer all my questions because
I like exactly what Ash wasmeant to say.
I think the brand is a littlebit more niche.
Yeah like level of exclusivity,yeah like you're not going to
go out and like with a namebeing like a lot of people are
wearing her t-shirt down thestreet.

George (42:23):
Which is totally fine.
Totally fine.
I'm just saying it's adifferent clientele If that's
where you want to be.

Robby (42:28):
That's right, absolutely Like it becomes a numbers game.

George (42:31):
After that, you know, okay, you've gone from selling,
you know, 50 units to 50,000units.
Yeah, yeah, so it's a differentgame.

Robby (42:39):
Yeah.
So I guess, to reframe yourquestion, what's the ultimate
goal, like, where do you want tosee it go?

Rochelle (42:44):
I want to go global.
I have had my fun there.
I came back to focus onAustralia.
Australia is doing really well,so I want to expand now.
Yeah, overseas.
I mean the brand is veryoverseas, it's very LA, it's
very London, it's like that rockstar chic vibes.
So it does really well here.
But I kind of neglectedAustralia.

George (43:06):
Yeah.

Rochelle (43:06):
So, now that you know we are really focused here and
kind of nailing this aspect,that will be, you know, five to
10 year goal.

George (43:17):
So, cause, you were in that place, bali, bali yeah, for
a little while.
Yes, that place, bali, bali,yeah, for a little while.
Yes, that place.
You've been there before, baliOnce, Once before.
So you've been there.
You were there for a few yearsliving there, yeah, so what was
the logic?
Did you go there for workpurposes, like, was that a I'm
going to go to Bali because thisis good for the brand and the
business and all that sort ofstuff?

Rochelle (43:38):
Yeah, so I kind of I manufacture there Still, yep,
still.
So Is that from a cost?

George (43:46):
perspective.

Rochelle (43:47):
No, it's more expensive, is it really?
I find that really surprising.

George (43:50):
Yeah, I find that really surprising.
I thought it would be cheaperthere than what it is here,
compared to what here.

Rochelle (43:56):
Oh, no, no, sorry, compared to here.
Well, no, no, no, I'm talkingabout like China.
Oh okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

George (44:01):
Because we've got a friend.
I've got a friend that he's gota brand which I might tell you
about another time.
But they've just taken off likehuge, huge, huge, huge, and
they manufacture everything inChina.
Yeah, everything, yeah, andit's good quality stuff, but he
just does it all there.

Rochelle (44:23):
They does it all there .
They don't make anything here.
It's just way too expensive.
Like their profits just areshredded.
Yeah, no, to manufacture hereis just you know.

Robby (44:26):
Yeah, it's not.
We're not.
Australia is not a production.

Rochelle (44:29):
No, but then what happened was because I was
living over there, manufacturingthere.
I became really close with myteam and now it's like my second
family.
So, yeah, I think I'm verycomfortable there for now.
You know, the quality is great.
I'm happy with everything.
And why I moved there?
Yeah, for work and also there'sa kind of healing.

(44:53):
You know, a lot of lost peoplego there and try and find
themselves and I did a lot ofretreats over there.
I probably just got backrecently.

George (45:00):
Yeah, christmas it was a .

Robby (45:02):
Christmas break Right now , and you saw my red shoes, your
red shoes.

George (45:06):
Did you have you, had you heard of that one that he
went to?

Rochelle (45:09):
No, yeah, I was like in the bush, doing like not
ayahuasca, but like I was doinglike.

George (45:18):
I don't even know what that is yeah For.

Robby (45:19):
I don't even know what that is For everyone listening.
She held her hands up a bit, ohsorry.

Rochelle (45:22):
I thought you could see me I was doing emotional
healing.
No, we can It'll be on YouTube.
You'll see it and yoga and youknow all that kind of.

George (45:30):
But you did a bit of that too whilst you were there.

Robby (45:32):
Ayahuasca no.

George (45:33):
No yoga and shit.

Robby (45:36):
Of course, yeah, yeah in Bali.

Rochelle (45:38):
That's all you do in Bali I think it was a balance
for me of, you know, prosperingthat kind of design element, and
also there was a lot of healinggoing on as well.
So it served its purpose, butno longer does so.
Now I'm purely based inMelbourne, oh, so no more Bali.
No, okay, we're looking at,yeah, no, but still

(45:58):
manufacturing.
Yeah, still manufacturing.
How long did you live there for, on and off since the brand?
Maybe eight years on and off.
But I did stints, like I hadthe store in Melbourne and I was
in LA for like four months.
I was in London for a bit likejust kind of chasing the
business, just doing whatever Ineeded to do.
So it wasn't like I was stuckon the island, like I never

(46:18):
stayed there more than one ortwo months at a time, and if I
did I would go crazy.
Yeah, you need that cityelement, you know.
Yeah, it's very different place.

George (46:30):
I've been for a very long time.

Robby (46:32):
So I wouldn't even tell you.
So you've been in business fornine years now.
Yeah, what's your um, what is?
If you could talk to yourselfwhen you first started this
whole journey, what's the onething you'd tell yourself, like,
what's the one thing whereyou're like, you know, my
biggest worry was this or I wishI did this at the start, or I
wish I.
I wish I knew what.

Rochelle (46:55):
I wish I honestly got on top of my mental health
earlier, of my mental healthearlier.
I think that drove this kind ofyou know, because I was solely
running the business and everyaspect of it.
When I wasn't good, the brandwasn't good.
So it was kind of like this upand down roller coaster of
hitting huge success but thenhitting rock bottom because I

(47:16):
mentally was not okay.
So I think if I'd caught on tothat earlier.

Robby (47:21):
but then again, it was my journey.
Yeah, it was my journey.
So what is it that allowed youto get to the point Like was
there a particular thing, likethe straw that broke the camel's
back?
Was there a moment, an event, athing that occurred where
you're like this is that you cantalk about?
Obviously, yeah, this is itenough, enough's enough.

(47:43):
You know what I mean.
Like was there something thatoccurred that you wish had
occurred earlier?

Rochelle (47:47):
I think just fucking up that much over and over again
.

Robby (47:51):
So just like a compounding effect of all the
events over and over, and thenyou're like you know what I'm
fucking over this.

Rochelle (47:57):
Yeah, until I looked at myself.
I remember hitting all thissuccess right.
I remember sitting next toMohammed and I was looking at
all the people that watch in hislife when he went like this, he
was talking about this amazingdesigner talking me up, I go.
It was a surreal moment and allthese famous names were
watching me and I just rememberthat night being like what's

(48:17):
next?
Like you know, I was chasingsuccess, but it wasn't making me
feel good.
You know that that was thatlasted that time being.
And then I was like, okay, youknow, what are you going to do
next?
So it was like I remember beinglike you'll never be happy if
you don't fix what's within,because you can keep chasing
success and making all thismoney at Fred Siegel and God, I

(48:40):
was doing whatever I wanted butI wasn't happy.
So it's kind of like you knowwhen you talk about I'll be
happy when, or like you knowwhen I don't know I get that car
, when I make that money.
It was kind of like that justhappened and I was like, all
right, you need to fix all thisstuff, otherwise, no matter what
you do, for work will ever,ever purely make you happy.

George (49:01):
Yeah, without a doubt.
I think that's very well said,and it's also a lonely.
It's a lonely journey up thetop.
You know you have no one elseto go to.
It's like you're the brandsuccessful, it's you, the
brand's not successful it's you.
You can't go home and speak toyour parents and go oh, you know
, had a shit month, yeah, andwhat advice are they going to
give you?

(49:21):
Again, like you, look at whoyou're going to for your advice.
They can't necessarily help you, and that's good that you were
able to reach out to certainmentors or people or do things
that then brought you that innerpeace and balance that you
needed in your life.

Rochelle (49:35):
What's that quote?
It's like the wolf climbing thehill is never.
No, the wolf on top of the hillis never as hungry as the wolf
climbing the hill.

Robby (49:47):
Yeah, it's like.
I've heard that one.

George (49:49):
I don't think I have either.
It's a good one.
It's a good one.
There's another one.
It's like there's a.
It's about a wolf.
A wolf that's.
There are two wolves inside ofyou.
Oh yeah, a wolf that's yeah.

Robby (50:08):
The Japanese.
Yeah, that one.

George (50:10):
And it's like the bad wolf the good wolf.
Yeah, it's like the fear.
There's the wolf that has thefear and then there's the wolf
that has the courage.
It's like which wolf wins.

Rochelle (50:18):
Yeah, which one do you feed?
It's like whichever one youfeed.
Yeah, I don't know the exactquote now I want to find it.
Yeah, I've heard that.
Yeah, that would.
That would definitely be kindof you know, or or maybe working
for a company before I mean, Ijust went straight into it like
in the deep end, maybe kind oflearning you know all the things

(50:38):
.

George (50:39):
I don't know, that can also hinder you too.

Rochelle (50:42):
Yeah.

George (50:42):
Because it's like this is how you do it to be
successful, and that's it.
And then you go out and try andreplicate what a hugely
successful company has done, andthen it fails.

Rochelle (50:52):
Yeah.

George (50:52):
Whereas when you do it, you've done it your own way.
And yeah, look, arguably itcould have taken you longer
doing it your own way, A hundredpercent.
But also it adds that uniquetwist to it as well.
Yeah.

Robby (51:00):
Yeah, creative elements, I think your own way.
Yeah, but I think there'd besome business fundamentals that
you probably learned the hardway, yeah, and then you're like
I wish someone showed me this.
Yeah, yeah, like I could.
I said the same thing becausewe had a.

Rochelle (51:23):
We spoke about this on the podcast a few weeks back
and I to know about what I'mgoing to do and then go do it.
Yeah, when it comes topersonality, I don't think I
could have like I'm very set onlike doing things Like I can't.
I had someone reach out to meif I could mentor them or help
them and I was like I don'tactually know if I could teach
what I do, like it's so out ofthe book on how I work.
People would be like you'recrazy, like I don't, I don't do

(51:45):
things the way that normalpeople would do them.

Robby (51:48):
Yeah, but that's not to say you can't teach someone how
to do it.
But I don't know what I'm doing.
But you know, the highest levelof mastery is teaching.
Yeah.
So if you had to, if you wereforced to show someone how to do
, it, you need to understandwhat you do better.
So if you're forced to showsomeone how to do it, you need
to understand what you do better.
Yeah, so you'll actually getbetter at what you do, because
you kind of have to.

Rochelle (52:06):
Okay, maybe I'll write a book.

Robby (52:10):
Maybe you'll write a book , maybe you'll make us a jacket.

Rochelle (52:12):
Yeah.

Robby (52:13):
Maybe Smocking.

George (52:16):
Smocking, I'm going to smock her jacket.

Robby (52:17):
Hand smock, hand smock, that's right.
What?

Rochelle (52:19):
would you guys tell your younger self, did you
answer that question just?

Robby (52:26):
now, that's what I.
We were talking about ourjourneys at that time.
That's what I said.
I said, if I could redo thisagain, I would go sit down with
someone and learn a lot of thefundamental stuff that I learned
over a longer period of time.
Yeah right.
It's all about timing yeah,yeah, yeah, that was my thing.

George (52:44):
I would be.
When I first got into theindustry because I worked for
the big companies or all thesecompanies that I work for I was
very arrogant in the sense thatI was like, nah, I'm just going
to be really good atconstruction and learn nothing
else, I don't need to learnabout anything else.

Rochelle (52:57):
Yeah.

George (52:57):
And I would go back and say no, like learn about just
read books.
Like read more books, learnabout business, learn, think
outside the box.
Like just because everyone isdoing it this way, it doesn't
mean you have to do it this way,you can do it other ways.
Yeah, and I reckon, had I hadthat mindset when I first
started my business, or justbetter educated, I think I would
have gotten to my goals sooner.

Rochelle (53:18):
Yeah.

George (53:19):
Or achieved my goals sooner.

Rochelle (53:20):
I remember hearing something about oh my God, I've
gone blank the inventor of theiPhone.

Robby (53:26):
Steve Jobs, there we go.

Rochelle (53:29):
And then, you know, he talks about kind of like using
two ideas and putting themtogether.
I think it's like syntheticimagination.
So it's like, for example, hedid a phone, an iPod and an iPad
and just put them together.
So they were existing ideas,but no one had done them before.
So that's kind of like where Iwas with the jacket, the jacket

(53:53):
that kind of all the celebs want.
You know, there was the iconicbiker jacket that was created
back in I don't know whatever40s, 50s, yeah, and I created
that with a hand carvingtechnique, which was already
done in Indonesia and which theydo, and I put that together and

(54:14):
that's when the jacket went soviral, because people hadn't
seen it before.
So it's just about also, youknow, putting other people's,
you know ideas and creatingsomething that no one's done
before.

Robby (54:26):
And that's where you're in now.

George (54:27):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah cool, so is that where youlook to get your inspiration
from as far as yeah, bikers.

Rochelle (54:33):
No, my inspiration comes from my inner world, like
what's going on at the time.
Like you, never, know there'sso much going on.

Robby (54:41):
I find this interesting because I'm like the least
creative person that.

Rochelle (54:47):
I know.

Robby (54:48):
Like I am just so zero.
One like binary logic no, nodesign, yeah, zero.
When I say I have 37 blackt-shirts, I'm not kidding,
that's your thing.

Rochelle (55:02):
You own the black t-shirt.
I'm not kidding, that's yourthing, you own the black T-shirt
.

Robby (55:06):
That's your thing.

Rochelle (55:07):
That's my creative deal by looking at see, this is
probably my strength and this,like my brain, like if you said
design a collection just offthis, like already my brain
started Do it, do it Already,we'll buy it.
Do it.
We'll buy it One picture likethe line work, the lights, like
my brain just goes, and that'smy strength.
So when it comes to design,that's fine.

(55:27):
It's about learning thebusiness side that I've had to
kind of jump into.

Robby (55:35):
So that's why there should be.
You know, that would be a cooljacket.
By the way, it'd be a sickjacket.
We'll give one away To me.
So if someone wanted to buy ajacket, where could they get one
Online?
Yeah, give us a bit moredetails, can?

George (55:52):
I just guess, just work it out, just figure it out the
smocking jacket, the smockingjacket, so online Buy that
Aussie chick that lived in Balifor a while.

Rochelle (56:00):
No, not anymore.
I'm very Melbourne based.
Wwwrockyrafaelacom.
Spell Rafaela for everyone.
R-a-f-a-e-l-a.

George (56:12):
Very cool, very cool, yeah, that's brilliant.
Dom, just go back 15 seconds onthe podcast and sort it out.
Hey, just on that.
Yes, so it's random.
So, sideways, I was listeningto this podcast the other day.
Yes, why else would you not?
What else would you listen to?
So I was listening to this.

(56:33):
And then, as I was listening tothe podcast, I said through the
mic, because I asked Siri aquestion, and I was like, hey,
siri, what's the capital ofAustralia, you know?
Yeah, so it came through thespeakers Shut up, seriously,
northern Territory.
So that happened right.
And as I said that through thespeakers of my car, then Siri

(56:55):
connected and answered thequestion again because I do, you
get what I'm saying?
Yeah, so it would connect tothe phone.
And then I'm like, no, shut up,and then it would go back into
the podcast.
But before that point, Becauseit goes back to the 15 seconds
prior, and then it would say itagain, hey, siri.
And then it would go through itagain and it would just keep

(57:15):
looping.

Rochelle (57:16):
Was this on your recording?

George (57:18):
No, no, because it was coming through the speakers in
my car and my phone was in thecar.
So every time I would say, hey,Siri, then my phone would go
off, then it would connect tothe Bluetooth, and it was just a
vicious cycle.
For like 15 minutes I had toturn my Bluetooth off, throw my
phone out the window.

Rochelle (57:30):
Oh, what a nightmare.

George (57:33):
It was full on.

Rochelle (57:34):
Sideways.
Thanks for sharing that, nothanks.

George (57:38):
Thanks for listening, so that's really cool.
If people want to find you onsocials, where do they go for
that?

Rochelle (57:45):
Rocky Raffaella, yeah, r-o-c-k-y-r-a-f-a-l-a.

Robby (57:51):
That's the company.
Do you do any personal brandstuff?
Not really.

George (57:54):
Personal yeah, do you do personal brand as well as your
company brand?
Yeah, do you think that'simportant in your space that
people see the face behind thebrand?

Rochelle (58:02):
Yeah, I share a lot more behind the scenes there and
I can talk about things a bitmore openly where I keep the
brand.
I share some things becauseI've also got two different
followers on both.
But yeah, I think Rochelle atRocky Raffaella.
No, not at Rochelle underscoreRocky Raff is where I kind of
show the nitty-gritty stuff ofthe design.

George (58:20):
Yeah, at Rochelle, underscore Rocky Ralph is where
I kind of show the nitty grittystuff of the design.
I think that's important.
I think every I don't think Ithink any business you're in,
you should have a professionalbrand.
It's like a portfolio yeah,without a doubt.

Rochelle (58:31):
Yeah.

George (58:32):
Yeah, without a doubt, that's awesome.

Robby (58:33):
One last question.
Go on, why Rocky Raffaella?

Rochelle (58:38):
Oh, good one to end.

Robby (58:40):
Robbie, I was just thinking about it.
Then I was like I thought itwas your name for ages.

Rochelle (58:44):
No.
Until I remember that it wasn'tFirst name Rocky, last name
Raffaella I think 15 minutes ago.

Robby (58:49):
I'm pretty sure Probably 15 seconds.

Rochelle (58:53):
So Rocky was my nickname since birth, since
birth.
Since birth, yeah, since birth.
My parents asked my brotherwhat do you want to call your
sister?
He's four years older.
We had a grandpa who was aboxer died from a brain tumor.
He liked boxing, so he saidRocky.

(59:13):
So since birth that was Rocky,and then the Raffaella Raffaella
.
I heard it in a church one dayand I looked up the meaning
because I just really loved it.
And in Hebrew, so random, itmeant God to heal.
So the Rocky and the Raffaellais very yin and yang.
So the Rocky is like thatunstoppable force, that

(59:35):
masculine energy.
Raffaella is like the God toheal, the creative side, the
artistic approach, and that'show I design with both kind of
soft and hard elements.

George (59:45):
Very, very cool.
That's very cool.
I like the meaning.
I like the logic behind thebrand and the name.
That's really cool.

Rochelle (59:51):
It rings well too, Rocky Raffaella.

George (59:52):
Yeah, it does.

Robby (59:53):
Yeah, it's actually got a very cool flow to it.
Absolutely Well, guys, makesure you follow the journey.
And Well guys, make sure youfollow the journey and buy a
jacket before Robbie does.
And you can't, because by thetime this comes out, that's
right, he would have boughtthree.
Give her a follow and make sureyou send her a DM and say make
a million dollar day jacket.
Let's put the pressure on.

(01:00:14):
Put the pressure on.

George (01:00:16):
And the only way you can do that is if you subscribe to
this podcast, Because if you dothat, then that's how we can all
put pressure on on Rochelle tomake us million dollar day
jackets.

Robby (01:00:26):
I might start calling you Rocky for now.

Rochelle (01:00:28):
People do, it's not weird.

Robby (01:00:30):
It's no, it's fun, you heard it here first Thank you
guys for having me on here.

Rochelle (01:00:35):
You're both very smart guys.
Always love a chat with youboth.

George (01:00:38):
Who's smarter?
Well, you both.
Who's?

Rochelle (01:00:39):
smarter.
Well, I'm going to have to sayGeorge, and I'll tell you why,
because I know him more andwe've had more one-on-one
conversations, it makes a lotmore sense.
That might change, could itwon't.

Robby (01:00:50):
It will, it will.
Nah, that's fair.
I'll give you that one.
You can have it.

George (01:00:57):
You're older than me as well.
I am.
I'm 40.
Over the hill.
You've got to give me some winsevery now and then.

Rochelle (01:01:00):
Not over the hill.
50 is over the hill.

George (01:01:02):
Nah, I might go out and buy some red shoes tomorrow.

Robby (01:01:05):
They might work for you.
Does it work that way?
That's not how it works.
I'll race you.
We'll see who's quicker InVegas.
In Vegas, done You're on.

George (01:01:16):
Awesome.
Thank you so much, guys.
Thanks, rochelle, for joiningus and we cannot wait to have
you back here next week and, asalways, I hope you have a
millionth of a day.

Robby (01:01:27):
Thanks guys, bye everybody.