QUENTIN THRASH: Barber Turned Celebrity Tailor | EPISODE 5 - The BASIC Show

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
So you work with NFL players and opera singers and
Grammy-winning musicians.

SPEAKER_03 (00:05):
You've made it through 100% of the hard times
that you thought you wouldn'tmake it through.
I'm not an astronaut, but I wantto be able to take people to the
moon.
How much money in onetransaction?
I slept on a couch for fiveyears.

SPEAKER_02 (00:16):
If you never risk, you will never drink champagne.

SPEAKER_03 (00:18):
Drive the traffic, and then that traffic is just
going to funnel back into thebusiness.
You know how many conversationsthat have started just about our
watches, and then it led tobeing able to do business with
people?
The Rebels are always the coolkids.

SPEAKER_00 (00:30):
Welcome to The Basic Show with Victoria Boschetta.

SPEAKER_02 (00:47):
Well, anyway, welcome to The Basic Show.

SPEAKER_03 (00:49):
Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 (00:51):
I'm very excited to have you.
Backstage, we just talked alittle bit about the last time
we worked together.
It was for Basic Magazine almosteight years ago.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (01:01):
I was a young buck back then.

SPEAKER_02 (01:03):
Yes, you were.
You

SPEAKER_03 (01:04):
know, I actually wasn't a designer at that point.

SPEAKER_02 (01:07):
Yes, right?
I wasn't a designer at thatpoint.
Were you a celebrity barber andstylist?

SPEAKER_03 (01:11):
Yeah, I was a barber and stylist.

SPEAKER_02 (01:13):
Yes.
So tell me what has changedsince the last time we did an
article about

SPEAKER_03 (01:18):
you.
Man, a lot has changed.
Yeah, so I started my owncompany, Thrash Bespoke.
So I do custom menswear, customsuiting.
I'm a dad now.
Congratulations.
That's a huge thing.
My son, he's eight years oldnow.

UNKNOWN (01:32):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (01:34):
Man, so much.
I don't know where to begin at.

SPEAKER_02 (01:36):
Yeah, you have an interesting story.
So let's go from the beginning.
I know you came to Los Angeles,right?
some years ago, and that was thefirst time you actually got on
the plane.
Yeah.
So tell us about your firstmonths and your first impression
when you landed in L.A.
I'm pretty sure you had likesome cultural shock.

SPEAKER_03 (01:55):
You know what?
I've always it definitely wasculture shock in a sense of I
hadn't experienced a lot at thattime.
I was young.
I was, I think, 22, almost 23years old and like some from a
small town.
So like I hadn't reallyexperienced a lot.
So that's why when I moved here,that was my first time ever on
an airplane.
But honestly, I've always beenvery open to change.

(02:15):
So when I moved to LA, it wasn'ttoo big of a, it wasn't too hard
of an adjustment for me justbecause I was already open to
just figuring out things andseeing how the city moved and
seeing how things worked.
But yeah, I moved here at theend of 2011, I believe.
And I didn't know anyone.

(02:36):
So the first two guys that I metwere two club promoters in
Hollywood that lived in myapartment complex.
And we started hanging outbecause I started cutting their
hair because they lived a coupleof doors down from me.
And that's kind of how I gotintroduced to Hollywood.
So I was always hanging out inthe clubs with these guys and
hanging around celebrities andgoing to all these like mansion
parties and stuff.

(02:57):
And that's how I was able tostart meeting eating
celebrities, and once they foundout that I was a barber, they
was like, oh, can you come andgive me a cut for this music
video or whatever it may be?
And that's kind of how thingsgot started.
So I kind of got thrown into thefire as soon as I touched down
in LA.
Yeah, that's what a lot ofpeople don't know is like, I

(03:17):
kind of got started prettyquickly.
I think within like my firstmonth, I was cutting like French
Montana's hair.
I was cutting like Travis Porterand Roscoe Dash, all these
people, man.
And it was pretty quick.
But I was like, I'm one of thosepeople where I adapt easily.
So as soon as I see how thingsare going, it's like, okay, I
get it.
You know what I mean?
So I just kind of find where Iget in at.
Do

SPEAKER_02 (03:38):
you think it was the situation where you were in the
right place in the right time oryour personality shined through
and helped you kind of navigatesuch a

SPEAKER_03 (03:47):
change?
I think it was the personalitything.
I think that the two guys thatlived in my apartment complex, I
think they seen something in me.
They were like, this is a guythat we can kind of bring into
this situation and he's notgoing to mess things up or he's
not going to make us look bad.
So I think they noticed thatabout me.
So Yeah, so they immediatelykind of, like I said, threw me
straight into the fire.
So I was like, yo, this is a lotgoing on right now.

(04:08):
But, you know what I'm saying, Iknow how to navigate.
I know how to figure things out.
I know how to just pay attentionto what's going on and not speak
so fast and just, you know whatI'm saying, kind of evaluate the
situation.
And, yeah, it worked for me.

SPEAKER_02 (04:20):
Do you think it's because of your Southern
heritage?
Like you were more friendly and,you know, kind of more open in a
sense?

SPEAKER_03 (04:29):
I'm very open.

UNKNOWN (04:31):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (04:31):
I am friendly, but I'm also very kind of not
standoffish, but I'm just kindof an introvert.
So I really don't speak unlessspoken to.
And like that can help you outin a lot of sense.
Like sometimes people don't likeyou when you take up too much
space in the room.
So me, like I already draw a lotof attention just because of my
stature, the way that I dress.

(04:53):
So I don't have to do a lot.
I don't have to do too much.
So I think that's why they werelike, yo, we can bring this
young cat into the fold and kindof show them

SPEAKER_02 (05:01):
the way.
But I bet it wasn't that easybecause I remember and I know
many people who come to LA, thisworld is so different from any
other place they're coming from.
Just the mentality, the blend ofcultures.
I mean, also the challenges.
Was it that easy for you?
So you came in the first month,you right away smoothing with
celebrities or did you havetough times as well

SPEAKER_03 (05:22):
um no it was a lot of tough times like i slept on
the couch for five years

SPEAKER_02 (05:26):
oh my god

SPEAKER_03 (05:27):
i slept on the couch for five years so just because i
was able to kind of navigatethings pretty easily that was
just kind of my way of um I justknow how to navigate certain
things.
I know how to pay attention andread between the lines.
I'm one of those type of people.
So I can get in and fit inwherever I go.
I'm one of those people.
You can put me in anycircumstances and I'll be able

(05:47):
to figure out how to get myselfout of this.

SPEAKER_02 (05:50):
Which is rare because most of the people like
comfort, right?
I know a lot of people come hereand as soon as they feel a
little bit of discomfort,they're going back to where they
feel comfortable.

SPEAKER_03 (05:59):
So that was kind of the part of the thing.
So before I moved to LA, I wascomfortable in a sense.
I was what?
I left when I was 22, but I hadbeen working in a barbershop for
a while.
So when all my friends that werethe same age as me were still in
college, I was in the real worldworking, making money, doing
things.

(06:19):
So I had been comfortablebefore.
So once I moved to LA, me beinggoing back to the trenches, if
you want to call it, likesleeping on couches and all that
stuff, like it never reallybothered me because I knew what

(06:39):
the goal was moving forward.
And I knew that at the end ofthe day, I can always go back to
doing that.

SPEAKER_02 (06:45):
That's always a backup option.
Yeah, I always know that I havea

SPEAKER_03 (06:48):
backup plan, but I know what my goal is, and I know
that if I put the time in, I putthe effort in, I know that
eventually I'm going to getthere.
No matter if it's two years,five years, ten years, I know
eventually I'm going to getthere.

SPEAKER_02 (07:01):
Did you have your goal very refined in your mind?
Did you know exactly what you'regoing to do?
Not

SPEAKER_03 (07:07):
at

SPEAKER_02 (07:07):
all.
So what was driving you?
What was that purpose that youhad in your mind that you have
to hustle, you have to, youknow, suffer here and there,
just, you know, going for thatultimate goal that you set for
yourself?
Well,

SPEAKER_03 (07:20):
you know, I come from being an athlete.

SPEAKER_02 (07:22):
Okay, so tell me more about that.

SPEAKER_03 (07:23):
Yeah, I come from being an athlete.
So, well, in high school, I wascaptain of the basketball team,
football team.
I was an all-state long jumperin track and field.
And I actually went to collegeon a full football scholarship
out of high school.
So that type of stuff, like I'mvery like results oriented and I

(07:43):
know, I just know how to, muscleit out to get to the bigger and

SPEAKER_02 (07:49):
probably the discipline as well right because
you come from the sports or fromcertain types of athletics right
you already have the disciplinewithin you so you know that you
have to wake up you have tohustle you think that helped you
in the beginning

SPEAKER_03 (08:04):
but like I said that's kind of all because
sports has always been in mylife I've always kind of
operated like that so I've neverreally get to work like even
nowadays if I have a bad patchor something that I'm going
through is like, I never reallytripped.
I remember when COVID happened,everybody else was freaking out.
I was like, you know what?
I realized that this isn't a mething.

(08:26):
This isn't a me issue.
This is a world issue.
So everybody's going throughwhat I'm going through right
now.
So why am I going to pull myhair out crying about something
I have no control over?
I can only control what I cancontrol.
So even during COVID, I neverreally stressed too much.

SPEAKER_02 (08:40):
But how can you be so positive?
It's interesting because a lotof people will just break in and
give in.
Where does it come from?

SPEAKER_03 (08:45):
It's hard for me to give a direct answer because
I've always operated like that.
I've always just been like,whatever it is, So there's this
quote, and it says, you've madeit through 100% of the hard
times that you thought youwouldn't make it through.
And it's a very simple quote,but that really has done it for
me.
So whenever I'm going throughany type of hard times, I think

(09:06):
about it.
It's like, I've been throughharder stuff before, and I'm
still here.

SPEAKER_02 (09:09):
So whatever happens today is still going

SPEAKER_03 (09:14):
to be a past day tomorrow.
It eventually has to pass atsome point.

SPEAKER_02 (09:18):
So that all comes really from your mindset, right?
Do you believe that...
If you really have a thought oran idea, you will find the ways
how to bring that idea to life.

SPEAKER_03 (09:30):
A thousand percent.
I believe that anything that youcan fathom is possible somehow,
whether it just takes time andpersistence or if it just takes
money.
Whatever it is, you just got tofigure out what that is and then
figure out how to get there.
A perfect example, I think aboutElon Musk, right?
I think about...
At that point where you have somuch money to where you can

(09:51):
literally do whatever you wantto do.
So he was like, yo, I'm not anastronaut, but I want to be able
to take people to the moon.
A

SPEAKER_02 (09:59):
lot of people think it's crazy, right?
Exactly.
If you

SPEAKER_03 (10:02):
dream big enough and you got enough money to do it,
it's possible to do it.
So I think about that at everystage.
So no matter what it is, it'slike whatever that goal is that
I'm seeking, there's a way toget there.
I just got to figure out whatthe components are that are
going to help me get there.
But it's never like, can I doit?
It's just like how

SPEAKER_02 (10:20):
much...
It's out of question.

SPEAKER_03 (10:21):
That's never a question.
It's just more like...
Am I willing to put in the timeand effort that it's going to
take to get to whatever that is?

SPEAKER_02 (10:28):
And then down the line, you'll figure out how.
Because I feel a lot of people,they focus on how.
And the more they know, the moreobstacles they have in their
head.
Oh, I've got to do this.
I've got to do that.
I need to find money.
I have to find an investor.
And they end up doing nothing.
But people who achieved actuallysomething, they didn't ask and
didn't create any obstacles.
All they knew, this is what Ineed to do.

(10:49):
This is what I want to do.
And then somehow, step bystep...
Either circumstances will changeor figure out how to get to my
goal.

SPEAKER_03 (10:58):
You know what?
I've seen this funny video onInstagram the other day.
And it was a little kid, mightbe like two or three years old,
right?
Yeah.
And she had a bicycle and it wasa chicken walking around.
And you could see herstruggling.
She was trying to make thechicken ride the bike.
So she kept putting the chicken

SPEAKER_02 (11:16):
on.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
You seen it?
Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_03 (11:17):
And the caption said she was able to achieve this
because there was nobody to tellher that she couldn't.

SPEAKER_02 (11:23):
You

SPEAKER_03 (11:24):
know what I mean?
So like that speaks volumes tokind of like how I think as
well.
It's like no one can tell methat this can't be done because
I've seen other people do it ondifferent levels.
So yeah, it's just a matter ofare you willing to put in the
time and put in the work andeffort to get to whatever the

SPEAKER_02 (11:39):
outcome is.
And I love the idea if it'sbetter to regret that you've
done something than to regret ofthings that you've never even
tried.
Yeah.
And a lot of people I feel arescared.
And you're an amazing examplethat you came here with no
friends no connections nonetworking system and just by
knowing and you know yourpassion maybe you didn't even

(12:00):
know at the time what you wantedto do but you just knew you want
to be successful so what was thepoint you were you were a
celebrity barber right you youwere a model and then
photographers started to ask youto help them to style shoots.
And that kind of brought you tothe world of fashion.
So what was the changing momentwhere you said, you know what?

(12:22):
I actually want to be a tailor.
I actually want to make clothes.

SPEAKER_03 (12:25):
So that's not even actually how it happened.
No?
Okay.
It wasn't a...
So...
I had two friends, Andrew andRodolfo.
They have a brand called PocketSquare Clothing.
And they started doingmade-to-measure suiting.
So they had a store in downtownwhere they sold ties and pocket
squares and things like that.
And they started doingmade-to-measure suiting, right?

(12:46):
And I was like, oh, it'sperfect.
I get the discounted rate to beable to go design my own suits
and make whatever I want towear.
So that's all it was.
I wasn't trying to start abrand.
I wasn't trying to design forother people.
I was just like, yo, I get achance to...
You just happen to be there.
Pick my own fabrics and make myown suits.
And so what happened was I hadthis green double-breasted suit

(13:07):
that I had made, and I waswearing it one day in downtown.
And there's an actor by the nameof Sam Adegoke.
He was on a show called Dynastyon CW.
And I was walking down thestreet, and he stopped me.
He was like, yo, bro, this suitis dope.
He's like, where'd you get itfrom?
I was like, I actually designedit myself.
He was like, where?
He was like, can you design thatsame suit for me for the show?

(13:28):
And I was like...
In my mind, I'm like, I ain'tnever made nothing for nobody
else before.
But I was like, you know what?
I'm talking to myself.
I'm like, I'll figure it out.

SPEAKER_02 (13:38):
See, this is great.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (13:40):
So I told him, yeah.
And then I went back to myhomeboy, Andrew Rodolfo.
And I was like, I just got anorder for a suit.
And I got to figure out how tomake it for somebody else.
And so we went through theprocess and they helped me out
with it.
And I delivered the suit and itwas a hit.
So the show started orderingmore suits for me after that.

(14:01):
So I made a pretty decent amountof money with that transaction.
And I was like, yo, this was alittle...
Not that it was easy, but it waslike...
Easy for you.
It was easy for me.
And I was like, yo, I reallyneed to lock in and really focus
and take this serious.
Because I don't think I'd evermade that much money in one

(14:23):
transaction before at that time.
And I was like, yo, so I got totake this serious.
So that's when I really startedputting in the hours to really
learn how to design and learningfabrics and learning how to take
measurements properly and allthat.
I really started putting in thehours at that point because I
didn't go to fashion school.

SPEAKER_02 (14:40):
So you self-taught yourself.
Yeah, I

SPEAKER_03 (14:42):
self-taught all of this stuff.
Between self-teaching, justhaving the will to want to know
is what I call it, having thewill to want to know.
And then...
not being afraid to ask him forhelp.
Same way I asked Andrew Rodolfo.
I wasn't afraid to ask for help.
Um...
And I think that people,especially other entrepreneurs,
when you find people that arepassionate about the things that

(15:04):
you are, you're a lot morewilling to help people and give
people information compared topeople who just have their hand
out for stuff, right?
So, yeah, I wasn't afraid toask.
I asked a lot of questions.
I used to go thrifting, and Iused to tear clothes apart just
to see how things worked, youknow what I'm saying, from the

(15:24):
inside out.
Dissect.
Yeah, so I really went to theground base to teach myself, you
know saying this, this whole,uh, crap.
And yeah, so that's how Istarted designing out.
And I was like, yo, like, Iactually, I need to turn this
into a business.
So I came up with the brandname.
It was thrash bespoke.
Um, And yeah, I just kind ofwent from there

SPEAKER_02 (15:42):
and started going.
Well, a few things.
Number one, in my mind, you'repretty much a walking business
card, right?
People look at you and they seeyou.
So you represent your style, youknow, your taste, your vision.
And people looking at you say, Iwant to look like that.
And number two, what I wanted tocomment, you said a really
amazing thing that somebodyasked you to do something that

(16:04):
you weren't specialized in thatfield.
You might have...
felt maybe scared a little bitor, you know, hesitant, but you
overcame that.
I said, you know what?
I'm going to do it.
I'm going to find how.
Yeah.
Right.
So you didn't hesitate.
You said yes, confidently.
And you went back and said, wegot an order.
Yeah.
So him.
So

SPEAKER_03 (16:23):
I've talked about it a couple of times over the
years.
And I'm sure he didn't even knowthat I wasn't that confident
about what I was doing at thetime.
But I just knew on the back end,I was going to go figure it out
and find out how to get to getto where the goal was.
But yeah, like I'm like that.
with most things, man.
I feel like one thing that Italk about all the time is just
like being in a place to takeadvantage of opportunities when

(16:47):
they present themselves.
Because sometimes like even now,there's a lot of things that
like opportunities that come myway that I'm able to take
advantage of and I'm able todeliver on them, right?
Because I've put in the hours,I've put in the time.
But if you had to ask me five,six years ago, if you had to
give me that same opportunity, Iwouldn't have known what to do

(17:09):
with it.
So that's made me now more proneto trying to research things and
just know as much as I can aboutthe space that I'm in.
So when an opportunity does cometo me, I know how I can execute
it.
Or what will happen is you'llget these opportunities and then
you'll end up messing up therelationship because you aren't
able to deliver.

SPEAKER_02 (17:30):
So how do you get to the point, let's say you take up
all of these opportunities, andyou might get burnout.
Have you ever experiencedburnout in your career?

SPEAKER_03 (17:41):
Not on a major level as of yet.
One thing about me is I'm verycool, calm, and collected.
So I try not to let myself getoverwhelmed with things.
And if I know that I just don'thave the capacity to do
something, one, I'll say that.
I just don't have the capacityto do it at that point.

(18:01):
Two, as a business mind, I knowhow to outsource.

SPEAKER_02 (18:06):
That's a very good skill, actually.
A lot of creatives are controlfreaks and they're so afraid and
that's actually how they do getto burnout because they want to
do everything themselves andthey have an excuse that, oh,
because I'm a perfectionist or Iwant to do it the right way.
It's my stamp, it's my brand,it's my identity.
But at the same time, if youdon't know how to outsource, you

(18:28):
will never maybe go to the nextlevel because you're going to
just start doing that one thingover and over again.
Have a Have you ever experiencedsituations in life when you felt
completely out of your comfortzone?

SPEAKER_03 (18:42):
All the time.
I feel like everything I do, I'mout of my comfort zone.
I'm just not afraid to face ithead on.
So, yeah, that's a reoccurringthing there.

SPEAKER_02 (18:54):
So you're just going for it.
And I'm sure you failed, right?
How do you approach failure?
Does it bother you?

SPEAKER_03 (19:02):
How do I approach failure?
I'm trying to think of the lastthing I, like, failed at.

SPEAKER_02 (19:06):
Because I

SPEAKER_03 (19:07):
feel like I always find a way to find a solution.
I can tell you one situation,which once again, my client
never knew.
To this day, he doesn't knowthat this happened.
I was dressing Tyler JamesWilliams from Abbott Elementary
and Everybody Hates Chris.
I forget what award show it was.

(19:28):
And I designed this tuxedo forhim.
And because of the way thefabric was made, it had no give
at all, right?
So this suit came backcompletely too small.
Oh, no.
It was like he couldn't even getit on.
But I was like measuring becauseI was like looking at it and I
was like, this don't look likeit's going to fit.

(19:49):
So I had to go back to thefabric store that I bought the
fabric from, hoping that theyhad more fabric.
And...
I couldn't find it.
I'm stressing out.
And this is like days before theevent.
Days before the

SPEAKER_04 (20:03):
event.

SPEAKER_03 (20:04):
And I ended up asking one of the guys that
works there because I knew he'dknow the lay of the land a
little bit better than me.
I was like, yo, I need thisfabric.
I have to have it.
There is no other option.
I have to have it because it wasa very specific fabric.
And he literally turned aroundand was like, there it is right
there.
And I was like, thank you.
So get this fabric.

(20:25):
So in order to make this suitfit, I had to add panels into
the suit.
So the legs were too small.
So instead of this one seam, Ihad to make two seams and make a
whole other panel in order to beable to make the pants wide
enough to be able to fit.
The jacket, I had to do thesame.
Under here, I had to add a panelto be able to make it big

(20:47):
enough, which To this day, myclient knows nothing that that
happened.

SPEAKER_02 (20:52):
So he thought that's a new way, new style.

SPEAKER_03 (20:55):
Because it was executed so well, I don't think
he even knows that it's likethat.
Because it was done, of course,it was done tastefully.
All of my tailors are masters oftheir craft, you know what I
mean?
So it's like the seams, you canbarely see them.
The suit was actually a plaidfabric, so it's so many lines
and things in there that it justkind of blends in.

(21:15):
But yeah, that's one I thought Ihad, because this was a really
big award show.
And it was days before.
I

SPEAKER_02 (21:21):
can't imagine that.
What was going through yourmind?
Did you have any already likecalculating plan B, C, and D?
Or you knew like, I'm going tomake this suit happen no matter
what?

SPEAKER_03 (21:30):
Yeah.
So the only other option that Icould think of would be to go
and like buy something from astore.
Because it was literally daysbefore.
There was no way to make thissuit again.
But I was like...
This has to work.

SPEAKER_02 (21:48):
And it's interesting how life works, right?
Because you, I don't know ifit's, I don't like the word
manifesting, though.
But I feel like because you hadsuch intention in your mind, no
matter what, you're going tomake this happen.
Somehow, you know, situationsworked out the way that you made
it happen.
You know, your team, theavailable fabric.
I don't know if it's calledluck.

(22:09):
Do you consider yourself a luckyperson?
I

SPEAKER_03 (22:12):
really don't use the word luck, to be honest.
I don't use the word luck.
I don't know what I call it.

SPEAKER_02 (22:17):
Because you work hard.
You don't need luck, right?
Yeah, I work

SPEAKER_03 (22:20):
hard.
I work for every single thingthat I do, so I don't think that
it's luck or has to be luck.
I just think that I try to makesure I'm doing the right things
in life, and I make sure I'mdoing well by people, and It
works in my favor.

SPEAKER_02 (22:36):
So you work with NFL players and opera singers and
Grammy-winning musicians.
So which collaboration standsout as particularly memorable to
you and your favoritecollaboration you've ever done?

SPEAKER_03 (22:48):
Oh, man.
I've had so many reallyinteresting moments.
Honestly, speaking of the operathing, so that was a really big
thing for me just because, one,you don't see a lot of black men
in opera.

SPEAKER_02 (23:01):
Yes.
Two,

SPEAKER_03 (23:02):
finding an opera singer that was willing to kind
of push the envelope of howopera singers dress on stage.
And for three, for him to allowme to be that person to kind of
like help him take that step.
So that was really...
That was really big for me.

SPEAKER_02 (23:20):
So how did that collaboration come into
fruition?

SPEAKER_03 (23:23):
He found me on social media.
Um, I'm not sure if someone toldhim about me or if he just kind
of stumbled across me himself,but he found me on social media
and he hit me up and he waslike, yo, um, cause like he
wasn't like a big celebrity oranything like that.
So I had to like, like really domy research to find out who he
was.
Like he didn't have a wholebunch of followers on Instagram.

(23:44):
So, um, I just didn't know who,I didn't know who he was at the
time.
Um, of course I'm not in theopera space, so I wouldn't have
known him.
Um, And then, but yeah, so hereached out to me.
He's like, yo, he's like, Ireally love what you've been
doing.
I've been watching you for awhile.
I got some stuff coming up thatI think I want you to design for
me.
So we met and we talked aboutwhat he was doing.

(24:05):
He's like, yeah, so I'm actuallyan opera singer.
He's like, I'm opening...
What is this?
Othello?
Othello?

SPEAKER_02 (24:13):
Oh, yes, yes.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (24:14):
so he was Othello.
Playing Othello, yes, yes.
Is it Othello or Othello?

SPEAKER_02 (24:18):
I think it's Othello.
Othello.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (24:20):
so he was performing as Othello.
So it's like as soon as I meethim, all of a sudden I start
seeing him on billboards allaround the city and he's on the
bus stops and all of this stuff.
I'm like, that's crazy.
I've never noticed him before,but now that I've met him, I see
him all over the placeeverywhere.

SPEAKER_02 (24:36):
But it's incredible because sometimes a lot of
creatives wait for theopportunity their way their way
but you just been doing youright you've been creating
posting on social media doingwhat you love and then this
opportunities came just becauseand the guy said he's been
following you for a while soit's just Pretty much what kind
of advice you can give, I guess,in that realm to designers who

(24:59):
are just starting out?
I think

SPEAKER_03 (25:00):
the number one thing is kind of something that you
spoke on earlier about being awalking billboard.
So me, no matter where you seeme, whether it's social media or
you see me in person, you'realways going to get thrash at a
high level.
You know what I'm saying?
It's rare to see me come out insweatpants and a t-shirt with
stains.
I'm not going to present myselfthat way because you never know
who you're going to run into.
You never know who sees you fromafar and just may not have said

(25:23):
anything at that moment.
So one, being a walkingbillboard.
Two, utilizing social mediaproperly.
So even though I'm a designer...
I realized that my influence inthe get ready with me space on
social media is what got moreeyes on me.
So now that I have the eyes onme, now that they can see that,

(25:43):
Oh, everything that he wears, heactually makes it.
So he could make this for me.
Um, so, cause I know a lot ofdesigners don't like to be
content creators because ofthat.
They only want to focus on thebrand.
I was like, no, there's a way tobalance both because this one is
going to drive the traffic.
And then that traffic is justgoing to funnel back into the
business.

(26:04):
Um, So yeah, so like those arethe main two key components
right there.
It's like one, always makingsure that when people saw me
that I look like what they wantto look like.

SPEAKER_02 (26:15):
Let me ask you this then.
I know most of the influencersor content creators, they create
this image of themselves andthey might not live that life in
reality.
So what about you?
It seems like to me from, youknow, knowing you at least from
social media and a little bitoutside of it, it seems like
it's your identity.

(26:35):
You live this life.
Do you dress like this in reallife outside of the social
media?

SPEAKER_03 (26:40):
Yeah, I'd be dressed like this today if...
If I wasn't here doing cool shitwith you.
Yeah, I think that everything isabout the lifestyle and not just
how you portray yourself onsocial media, right?
So even if you look at my caroutside, my car feels like what
you would expect thrash to be.
If you go to my apartment, myapartment feels like what you

(27:02):
would expect the thrash world tokind of feel like.
So everything has to make sense.
And I think...
People, especially in the luxuryspace, I think people can see
through when it's not genuine.
So I think when peopleexperienced me, they were like,
yo, like, I like this wholeworld.

(27:23):
Like, you know how many peopleI've influenced to buy classic
cars around me?
I can name quite a few peoplethat they have bought classic
cars because they're like, yo,thrash is right.
Like, the way people react toyou, the way people, the way it
just starts certainconversations, just all these
different types of things.
Even like I'm into watches, likevintage watches and things like

(27:45):
that.
You know how many conversationsthat have started just about our
watches and then it led to beingable to do business with people?
Even Cedric the Entertainer, ourrelationship started over my
car.
His wife saw my car and wasasking me about it and then
said, wanted to show me his carcollection.
That led to me dressing him forwhen he hosted the Emmys.

SPEAKER_02 (28:05):
There you go.
So you are your identity.
And speaking of that, how longdid it take you to really find
your style and find youridentity?
I know you mentioned before insome other interviews that you
mix different cultures, you mixdifferent influencers.
So can you tell me a little bitmore about how would you
describe your style and how didyou refine it to the condition

(28:30):
it is right now?

SPEAKER_03 (28:31):
I think...
The most important thing aboutbeing able to do, to refine
style like that is to remaincurious.
So I'm always curious aboutthings.
So the things that I'minterested in, I try to
understand why I'm attracted tothis.
And then I figure out how doesthis fit into my lifestyle?

(28:52):
And I feel like that's how youcome up with something genuine
is when you find all theseelements that you actually love
and then mix them together, nowyou've created something new
instead of just copyingsomething that you've seen.

SPEAKER_02 (29:07):
So how do you know that you love something?

SPEAKER_03 (29:11):
I don't know.
I think I'm just always curious.
If I see something and I like itor if I see something, even if I
don't like it, even if I belike, yo, I hate that tape
recorder right there.
And it's like, well, why do Ihate it so bad?
And then I dive in deeper tolike, oh, I don't like it
because the shape is odd or Ijust don't, I really don't like
it.
I really don't dislike it.

(29:32):
I just don't like the color.
I dive a little bit deeper tofigure out what it is.
So it's like, so what about thiswould make me like it?
Okay, maybe if it was instead ofthis way, maybe if it was this
way, maybe I like it more.

SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
But you also expose yourself to different things,
right?
Because if you're narrow-minded,you haven't traveled anywhere or
haven't seen different cultures,you probably wouldn't even know
if you like something or not.

SPEAKER_03 (29:55):
Yeah.
And in the earlier ages, beforeI was able to travel, that's
kind of what it was.
It was like me watching TV, melooking at magazines, watching
movies.
and being inspired by things.
And even sometimes it could belike a movie.
It could be a movie characterthat you watch and you're just
like, yo, like I like hisaesthetic or I like his
personality.

(30:16):
Or this person acts like me orhe reacts to things the way that
I would.
And that right there can kind ofhelp you kind of hone in on
like, okay, I'm learning moreabout myself at this point
because now I'm understandingwhy I do certain things or
understanding why I'm attractedto certain things.

SPEAKER_02 (30:32):
So you're very observant in a sense, right?
Yeah, I

SPEAKER_03 (30:35):
observe everything.
If you're ever with me out inpublic, you'll see I know almost
everything that's

SPEAKER_02 (30:41):
going on

SPEAKER_03 (30:42):
around me.
Everything.
I tell you, I don't talk a lotwhen I'm out in public.
But I observe

SPEAKER_02 (30:47):
everything.
You're making notes, huh?
Yeah, I observe everything.
So where does it come from, yourlove for arts, love for fashion?
If you go back to yourchildhood, was it true that you
started drawing Air Forcesneakers?
It wasn't just Air Forces.
It was

SPEAKER_03 (31:04):
like any sneaker that I liked.
So what I did, I drew...
I forget what the first one was,but I draw a sneaker.
Right.
Because I was I was really bigin the drawing and I took it to
my dad and I had my dad makecopies of it.
And I made like basically I mademy own like like sneaker
coloring

SPEAKER_02 (31:22):
coloring book.

SPEAKER_03 (31:23):
And I would go and just color these shoes in
different colorways that didn'texist.
Just what I thought would becool.
And little did I know that thesneaker culture today would be
what it is with all of thesecrazy collaborations and crazy
things like that, because I wasdoing that when I was in eighth
grade.
in ninth grade, I remember Imade a pair of plaid, they were

(31:44):
like color-blocked, Air ForceOnes and the middle of the shoe
behind the Nike check was plaid.

SPEAKER_02 (31:50):
I love that.

SPEAKER_03 (31:51):
I did that when I was like 14 years old.

SPEAKER_02 (31:53):
You should find those sketches and go pitch them
to the brand.

SPEAKER_03 (31:57):
I know that I threw them away because I've always
felt that I'm also not a personthat's very attached to things.
If I lose something or I tearsomething up or I break it, it
is what it is.
I'll get it again or I can makeit again.
Like I said, I'm a very coolcomic collector person.
I don't really stress out.
So I remember when I finishedthat coloring book that I made,

(32:19):
I just threw it out because Iwas done with it.
And I wish I hadn't at thispoint.
Unless

SPEAKER_02 (32:24):
you remember it right now, you can like
replicate it.
You know what?
You should patent the plaidshoe, plaid sneaker.

SPEAKER_03 (32:31):
But I mean, it's been done.
It's been done now.
It's been done now.
It's been done.

SPEAKER_02 (32:35):
Everything is, nothing is new under the sun.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (32:36):
nothing is new.
But like I said, I did it when Iwas 14 years old.
And I remember the Jordan 14, Imade a mule version where like
the heel was out.
Now it's become a thing whereeverybody's making these mule
sneakers now.

SPEAKER_02 (32:50):
Oh my God.

SPEAKER_03 (32:51):
I did.
And I did it not on purpose.
I did it because I was drawingthe shoe and I think I stopped
and didn't finish it.
Yeah.
And I was like, this kind oflook cool.
And I just finished it, drawn itlike that.
And it was like a slide-inJordan 14.
And now it's just crazy to seewhere, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_02 (33:08):
And you have insane videos on Instagram.
I've seen one of the videoswhere you altered the tubby sock
to fit into the Margiela shoes.

SPEAKER_03 (33:17):
Oh, the tabbies.

SPEAKER_02 (33:17):
Tabbies.
I mean, how did you even come upwith that idea?

SPEAKER_03 (33:22):
So I bought the Margiela tabbies and...
I didn't have socks that I couldwear with them because I could
only wear them sockless at thetime because I didn't have any
tabby socks.
And the thing is, you can buytabby socks, but through
Margiela, one, they're just likeoverpriced and they only have
like black and white, right?
And I always have on- I

SPEAKER_02 (33:43):
know, you wanted the red ones.
So

SPEAKER_03 (33:45):
I was like, I wear different color socks every
single day, so I need to haveaccess to all these colors like
I normally wear.
So I just thought through, I waslike, well, how can I make a
tabby sock?
And- Once I thought on it longenough and it made sense to me,
I just went and I snipped it andhad it sewn up again and I put
it on.
I was like,

SPEAKER_02 (34:05):
yo, it works.
Yeah, that looks amazing.
So when you have an idea likethat, do you sit on it for a
long time and kind of likerewind a thing?
Or if you have an idea, justinstantly go and just do

SPEAKER_03 (34:14):
it?
Majority of the time, I just gofor it.
Just go for it.
Majority of the time, I just gofor it.
Like I'm perfectly fine withmessing up.
Because I learned something.
I learned either it works thisway or it doesn't work this way.
Now you've got to think about itfrom a different perspective,
which I love doing that becausenow I have information to pass
on.
Now I have conversation.
Now that even makes me moreinteresting because I can talk

(34:36):
about the failures that I haveor I can talk about the
successes that I had and whatI've been through to get to
those successes.
Because I feel like thesuccesses alone aren't
impressive.
But when I can explain to you,like, I went through this and
this and this and this, and nowthat's how I got to that.
That's the cool part.
But just being like, oh, yeah,I'm cool.

(34:56):
I did this.

SPEAKER_02 (34:57):
Yeah, I've actually had similar conversation with
another guest saying that howmany successful people have you
seen that just success came soeasily to them?
All of them.
Look at John Rowling, who wroteHarry Potter, right?
How many publishing housesrejected her?
You know, look, every singlebillionaire, you know,
self-made.
How many rejections they had toface to really get to the point

(35:17):
where they got them.

SPEAKER_03 (35:19):
Yeah, I've seen this guy on Instagram.
I watch a lot of informationalstuff, especially about wealth
and entrepreneurs and stuff likethat.
It was this one guy, he wassaying in order to be in his
friend group, you had to havebeen sued before, lost
everything and made it back or Iforget what the third, it was

(35:41):
like three things.
And he was like, yeah, if youhaven't been all of those
things, you can't be a part ofmy group because you have to
prove that you can loseeverything and you know how to
make it back again.
And so it wasn't a fluke.

SPEAKER_02 (35:51):
Maybe the third one was go through the divorce.

SPEAKER_03 (35:53):
I was thinking that.
That's what I was thinking in myhead, but I didn't want to say
it and be lying about it.
But I feel like it might havebeen divorced.

SPEAKER_02 (36:01):
Yeah, because I feel like it was a horrible thing
anybody can go through in anyway.

SPEAKER_03 (36:04):
Yeah, man.
But I was like, dang, that'scrazy because I appreciate that
because all the people that Ilike around me...
We enjoy being able to explaineach other why this works, why
this doesn't work.
So, you know what I'm saying?
Of course, we're all going tomake our mistakes, you know what
I'm saying, our own things.
But if you can help me bypasssome mistakes, you know what I'm
saying, I'll gladly take it.

SPEAKER_02 (36:24):
Plus, I feel like hardships make you stronger,
right?
If you just succeed ineverything you do, life is kind
of boring, right?
You don't learn anything new.
And if you stay within your box,you never compromise, you never
take risks, you will never drinkchampagne.
I think that's a Russianexpression.
I don't know if it exists inEnglish.
It's an expression.
Dresden says, if you never risk,you will never drink champagne.

(36:45):
Something like that.
I don't know if it makes sensein English.
But to me, people who take themost risks, they might have
failed more times.
But they also have high chancesto become successful in
comparison with those who arejust always so comfortable.
Everything is so nice and neat.
But they will never go to thatnext level.

SPEAKER_03 (37:04):
Yeah, man.
I enjoy screwing stuff up.
I enjoy it.
I have no problem telling youhow badly I landed on my face.
That's way more interesting thanjust telling you, oh, I got it
right the first time.
It's way more interesting.

SPEAKER_02 (37:19):
So what was the worst thing you went through and
ended up with a smile on yourface?
Man,

SPEAKER_03 (37:27):
I don't know how to think about it, man.
Because like I said, I don'tview them as...
Negative things.
Right.

SPEAKER_02 (37:33):
So it's just experience.
Yeah, it's just experience.
It's

SPEAKER_03 (37:35):
just this is what it took to get to where I was
going.
So I really don't categorizethem as I have to think on
things.
But it's a shit ton of them.

SPEAKER_02 (37:46):
Every day, right?
Yeah.
Especially in the canalaindustry.
Our industry is verychallenging.
It's like you have to wear somany hats.
You have to do marketing.
You have to be a contentcreator.
You have to do designing.
You have to do communications.
You have to do the business partof it, the finances.
And just it might getexhausting.
So what is the least favoritething in your business that you

(38:08):
absolutely hate doing but you'restill doing?

SPEAKER_03 (38:14):
Least favorite.
You want to know what?
To be completely honest withyou?
Yeah.
Content creation.

SPEAKER_01 (38:21):
Really?
I

SPEAKER_03 (38:22):
don't enjoy it.
I just understand how importantit is.
I don't enjoy it, though.

SPEAKER_02 (38:27):
You just want to live and create and let somebody
do

SPEAKER_03 (38:29):
it.
Because this is genuinely who Iam.
And this is just me beingthrash.
But me having to show the worldthis.
Oftentimes...
I don't know if you evernoticed, but I don't really post
a lot on my stories, right?

SPEAKER_04 (38:48):
And

SPEAKER_03 (38:48):
that's because when I'm out and about, I'm in the
moment.
I'm not the person with my phoneout filming everything that I'm
doing, trying to document,trying to show you where I'm
eating at, show you where I'mstaying at.

SPEAKER_02 (39:00):
I notice the same thing.
People who post more, it meansthey didn't have a great time at
the party.
And those who didn't postanything, they probably had a
blast.

SPEAKER_03 (39:07):
Yeah, exactly.
I don't need to prove how cool Iam to people.
Like, this is genuinely my life.
And if you don't believe me,that's fine with me.

SPEAKER_02 (39:19):
So speaking of that, you do look really cool.
And speaking of men's fashion,some looks, let's say, that you
wear, I cannot imagine otherguys wear.
So what would be your advice formen?
What kind of elements you thinkshould be a must in every man's
closet to be at least a littlebit more fashionable than they

(39:40):
are?

SPEAKER_03 (39:41):
I think most guys can look good in a lot of
things.
The main thing is making surethings fit you properly.
You'll be surprised.
That's why people oftentimes sayto me, they was like, bro, I
could never wear that, but itlooks good on you.
And that's just because it'sliterally how everything fits on
me.
Because even if you look at,imagine if you look at my outfit

(40:03):
and you turn the lights off oneverything and everything was
just black and white.
I'm very traditional.
I don't wear things that arevery avant-garde or crazy out of
the box.
It's just the way that I putthings together and the way
things fit on me makes them seemmore consumable.
But people don't view it thatway.
They're just like, oh, this justlooks so crazy.
I'm like, bro, I'm wearing thesame thing that you're wearing.

(40:26):
You know what

SPEAKER_04 (40:27):
I mean?

SPEAKER_03 (40:27):
It's just mine fits me well, so it translates well.
And I carry myself a certainway, right?
It's that je ne sais quoi, asthey say.
It's just like...
It's just, I can have on a whitet-shirt and black jeans, and I'm
still going to get complimentedon how well I'm dressed.
That's literally how my lifegoes.
And it has nothing to do withthe clothes all the time.
It's literally how my vibe iswhen I walk in the room.

(40:50):
And that's something that youcan't really pay for.
So that's why some people don't,they just don't have that
confidence to feel comfortablein the things that they want to
wear.

SPEAKER_02 (40:58):
So number one, to summarize for guys who are
interested, any clothes theybuy, it needs to be fitted.
So they need to bring it to thetailor and make sure the suit is
fitted, the shirt is fitted, andeverything is the right length,
right?

SPEAKER_03 (41:12):
I mean, sometimes it's not even as far as going to
the tailor.
Some people just don't know howto shop correctly for their
size.

SPEAKER_02 (41:18):
Oh, okay.
Have you seen how Europeansdress?
The really tight, tight jeans onguys.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (41:24):
like stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 (41:24):
And every time they come to LA, I'm like, yep,
they're definitely not fromhere.
Too tight.
Too tight, too tight.

SPEAKER_03 (41:30):
Skin tight jeans.

SPEAKER_02 (41:31):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (41:32):
But yeah, man, some people just really don't know
how to shop for themselves.

SPEAKER_02 (41:34):
So let's say if the guy has an interest to dress
fashionably, what are the fewthings he should have in his
wardrobe that he can mix andmatch with the rest of his
wardrobe?
What would that be?
I

SPEAKER_03 (41:48):
think a good pair of...
Like raw denim.

SPEAKER_02 (41:55):
Denim, okay.

SPEAKER_03 (41:56):
A good pair of raw denim because the thing about
raw denim is that the more youwear them, they're going to like
age with you and they just kindof take on a life of themselves.

SPEAKER_02 (42:03):
So what is raw denim?

SPEAKER_03 (42:04):
Like raw denim, like this, like raw denim, like
exactly what I have on.

SPEAKER_02 (42:08):
I see.
So

SPEAKER_03 (42:09):
every pair of denim that you see, no matter what
color it is, starts like this.
So you know how you'll see jeansthat are like faded and they
have like the little

SPEAKER_00 (42:18):
distress marks?
Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_03 (42:20):
Those are made to emulate what can happen to these
if you wear them enough.
So your jeans literally take ona life of how you wear them,
depending on what your lifestyleis.
You see all these wrinkles righthere?
My pants will start todevelop...
like the marks in here becauseof how I sit down, how I, you

(42:41):
know what I'm saying, do certainthings.
I see, they're adjusting to yourlifestyle.
Yeah, they literally like, theytake a like, wherever you wear
your wallet in one pocket,you'll start to see that, you
know what I'm saying, imprint inyour, like all of those things,
your jeans will take on that.
That's why all of these likefashion jeans that you see,
they're to emulate that.

SPEAKER_02 (42:56):
I see.
Wasn't it the story about thefirst jeans that actually were
made, I forgot, like in the farmand for like a, I don't want to
lie.
Do you remember the story aboutthe Levi's?
It's supposed to be for thetractor drivers or something
because of the durability of thematerial.
And they weren't even supposedto be like a fashion or clothing

(43:19):
element.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (43:20):
I know that much.
They weren't supposed to be forfashion.
For fashion, yeah.
But yeah, I feel like it alwayscomes from like some type of
rebellious thing of someone tobe like, yo, I'm going to wear
this for a whole differentpurpose.
And it ends up becoming a thingbecause that person, the rebels
are always the cool kids, right?

SPEAKER_02 (43:35):
Okay, so the denim, the raw denim.

SPEAKER_03 (43:37):
The raw denim.

SPEAKER_02 (43:38):
What else?

SPEAKER_03 (43:39):
I think...
A good suit, like whether it's anavy suit or a gray suit, I
wouldn't say black.
I'd say navy or gray.

SPEAKER_00 (43:48):
Cotton or wool.
Wool.
You

SPEAKER_03 (43:49):
always want to wear natural fibers.

SPEAKER_00 (43:51):
Okay.
So

SPEAKER_03 (43:52):
cotton, wools, silks, things like that because
those are going to be thefabrics that stand the test of
time.

SPEAKER_04 (43:57):
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (43:58):
So once you start wearing like polyesters and
stuff like that, those fabricsaren't going to last as long,
right?
And they're not going to wear inand break in, right?
So that's why you want to wearnatural fibers.

SPEAKER_04 (44:07):
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (44:07):
So wool suits.
And then wool sounds...
aggressive, but there'sdifferent weights of all
fabrics.
So you have lightweight wools,you have heavyweight

SPEAKER_02 (44:17):
wools.
I see, like different density,yeah?
Yeah.
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (44:20):
So like this is wool, you know what I mean?
So typically people think oflike a coat coat.

SPEAKER_02 (44:24):
Yeah, I would never think this is wool.

SPEAKER_03 (44:26):
Yeah, this is wool.

SPEAKER_02 (44:27):
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (44:28):
So nice suit, make sure it's well tailored.

SPEAKER_02 (44:31):
Yeah, it's well

SPEAKER_03 (44:32):
tailored.
And I think accessories goaround.
If you're trying to be stylish,accessories play a big role.
So whether it's Having a nicewatch.
It doesn't mean it has to be anexpensive watch.
It just needs to be a nicewatch.
It can't be some big gaudywatch.

SPEAKER_02 (44:48):
So what is a nice watch?

SPEAKER_03 (44:49):
A watch that actually fits the proportions of
your body, of your wrist.
Things like that.

SPEAKER_01 (44:54):
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (44:55):
Because some people wear like these big gaudy
watches because they want to be.
It's like that's not what it'sabout.
It's about things being liketasteful.
What else?
What

SPEAKER_02 (45:06):
about like leather jackets, stuff like that?
I

SPEAKER_03 (45:09):
don't think, I think leather jackets are kind of like
another stage of cool.

SPEAKER_02 (45:15):
Is it?

SPEAKER_03 (45:15):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (45:16):
It's still in fashion?
Yeah, yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (45:18):
yeah.
I mean, yeah.
I mean, a leather jacket isalways going to be cool, but
I've said like.

SPEAKER_02 (45:22):
Oh, it's a next, we're talking about the basics.
It's another

SPEAKER_03 (45:23):
level of like, it's a little bit above

SPEAKER_02 (45:26):
the basics.
Above the basics.
It's above the basics.
Okay.
So the suit, the raw denim.
What about belts?

SPEAKER_03 (45:32):
Or

SPEAKER_02 (45:32):
don't you

SPEAKER_03 (45:33):
have

SPEAKER_02 (45:33):
to?
Because the belts don't reallyfit.

SPEAKER_03 (45:35):
Not really, because I don't only wear belts when I
wear jeans.
So my suits don't have beltloops because they're tailored
and designed to fit meperfectly.

SPEAKER_04 (45:47):
So

SPEAKER_03 (45:47):
I don't wear belts.
So I wouldn't say belts are animportant part.
I think a good pair of dressshoes, a good pair of leather
sole dress shoes.

SPEAKER_02 (45:57):
Leather sole.

SPEAKER_03 (45:57):
Yeah, because cheap shoes, people can tell from a
mile away.
People can tell from a mileaway.

SPEAKER_02 (46:02):
That's what the girls always look at, right, at
the day.
They say, always look at thewatch and the shoes.
I don't do that.

SPEAKER_03 (46:06):
Yeah, yeah,

SPEAKER_02 (46:07):
yeah.
But I've heard.

SPEAKER_03 (46:08):
So you say.
So you say.

SPEAKER_02 (46:11):
No, I don't.
I honestly don't.

SPEAKER_03 (46:13):
But, yeah, so a good pair of, like, leather-soled
shoes.
Because, like, the cheaper shoesyou buy, like, you can just tell
from a mile away that it's acheap shoe.
And, like I say, it doesn'tnecessarily have to be
expensive, but if you're buyingthe right things, it can appear
to be expensive.

SPEAKER_02 (46:28):
So if you're talking about expensive, not expensive,
what is, like, Can you give me afew brands that not like
designer luxury brands that guyscan go and get some decent
clothes from?

SPEAKER_03 (46:38):
So my daily wear penny loafers are a brand called
GH Bass and they're like thequintessential penny loafer
brand.
Bass and Sabego.
So they're like affordablepriced.
Like, they've been around forforever.
Those are the candy loafers thatpeople have been wearing for

(46:58):
hundreds of years.
You know what

SPEAKER_04 (47:00):
I mean?
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (47:01):
What's another good brand of...

SPEAKER_02 (47:04):
All those shoes are just clothes.

SPEAKER_03 (47:06):
Oh, just clothes in general.

SPEAKER_02 (47:07):
Clothes in general,

SPEAKER_03 (47:07):
yeah.

UNKNOWN (47:08):
Oh.

SPEAKER_02 (47:09):
Because I know a lot of guys just like, oh, we want
Zara, you know, or

SPEAKER_03 (47:13):
whatever.

SPEAKER_02 (47:14):
But it's like either Zara or it's like 24.
Is there like some brands inbetween?

SPEAKER_03 (47:18):
Yeah, like mid-range brands.

SPEAKER_02 (47:20):
Mid-range

SPEAKER_03 (47:21):
brands.
Yeah, you know what, that'sactually a hard

SPEAKER_02 (47:24):
question.
Because

SPEAKER_01 (47:25):
my fashion is difficult.

SPEAKER_03 (47:26):
Yeah, that's a hard question for me because I'm not
much of a consumer.

SPEAKER_01 (47:31):
Ah, okay.
I may get rid

SPEAKER_03 (47:32):
of it.

SPEAKER_01 (47:32):
And I

SPEAKER_03 (47:33):
have been for a while

SPEAKER_01 (47:34):
now.
That's right, because you'redisgusting.

SPEAKER_03 (47:37):
Yeah, and before I was designing clothes, I was too
broke to buy clothes.
So I was buying, I wasthrifting.
So I really wasn't focusing onwhat brands that I wanted

SPEAKER_01 (47:48):
to

SPEAKER_03 (47:48):
wear.
So I was kind of like gettingwhat I could get from a thrift
store.
And I took that major jump toonly wearing expensive suits.
But I've always been a big fanof Ralph Lauren.
The thing about Ralph Lauren,I'll always say, is because
Ralph has something for any andeveryone.

(48:09):
So you can have jeans and at-shirt from Ralph Lauren, or
you can have a$5,000 suit fromRalph Lauren.
And you can find anything at anyprice range there.
And also, don't be afraid toshop on clearance racks.

SPEAKER_00 (48:25):
Of where?

SPEAKER_03 (48:26):
Clearance racks.

SPEAKER_00 (48:27):
Clearance

SPEAKER_03 (48:28):
racks.

SPEAKER_00 (48:28):
What's that?

SPEAKER_03 (48:29):
Clearance.
It's

SPEAKER_00 (48:30):
like a sale.
Oh, okay.
Yeah, clearance rights, salesrights.
Oh, I see.

SPEAKER_03 (48:33):
Yeah, like not being afraid to shop on sales rights
because Ralph Lauren designstimeless things, so they're
never going to go out of style.
So even if they get on clearancerights, it's not going to be
like something that like, oh,people are going to notice that
this is some old stuff.
It's like, no, this is...

SPEAKER_02 (48:47):
But guys are different, right?
They just can't get one item andwear it for 20 years.

SPEAKER_03 (48:51):
Not if you want to be considered a style.

SPEAKER_01 (48:56):
Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_03 (48:57):
But I mean, I also don't think that you need to
have a lot of stuff, though.
Like, I could survive wearingT-shirts and jeans for a long
time.
I could if I wanted to.

SPEAKER_02 (49:06):
So speaking of that, say, what do you think is an
affordable number, I mean, goodnumber for guys to spend a month
on clothes for men?
Like, yeah, what is, like,average if thing is a good
number?

SPEAKER_03 (49:20):
That's a hard question, just because everyone
has, like, different needs andwants for what they're buying,
right?
Zero?
Like...

SPEAKER_01 (49:26):
No, no.

SPEAKER_03 (49:28):
Five years?

UNKNOWN (49:30):
No.

SPEAKER_03 (49:30):
I think that This is the thing, you don't have to buy
a lot of clothes often, right?
I think if you buy the rightthings, they can last.
So if you buy a good pair ofdenim, so I think if you buy a
good pair of...
Yeah, so say you

SPEAKER_02 (49:45):
buy clothes

SPEAKER_03 (49:45):
for about five

SPEAKER_02 (49:46):
years.
Yeah, you can.
You

SPEAKER_03 (49:48):
can, right?

SPEAKER_02 (49:49):
But if you buy, let's say, three, four pairs of
the same exact

SPEAKER_03 (49:53):
jeans.
See, I own one pair of almosteverything, right?
I have one pair of dark indigojeans, I have one pair of black
jeans, one pair of light black.
That's all I need.
I don't need five pair of blackjeans.
I don't need, you know what Imean?
Yeah.
So that's kind

SPEAKER_01 (50:11):
of high.

SPEAKER_03 (50:12):
Okay.
Um, t-shirts, I buy, I buy mywhite t-shirts that fit really
well.
I buy them from Uniqlo for 10bucks.

SPEAKER_01 (50:20):
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (50:21):
Um, And just make sure those fit well.
Then you find a good pair ofshoes that you can wear often.
And the thing about going also,when I said buying leather-soled
shoes, now you can also re-solethose shoes when you wear them
out.
So that's the thing aboutinvesting in things that aren't
just throwaways.
That's

SPEAKER_02 (50:40):
the true sustainability for you, right?
Even though they say leather isnot sustainable, but actually,
in fact, it is because it laststhrough, I mean, not
generations, right?

SPEAKER_03 (50:49):
Yeah, like once it'll last, but even if it does
get out on you, you can replaceunlike brother.

SPEAKER_04 (50:55):
You know

SPEAKER_03 (50:55):
what I mean?
So, yeah, maybe buy a good pairof pantyhose for$150 maybe.
These aren't bad.
Maybe buy a good pair ofpantyhose for like$150.
And like I said, you canliterally wear it for forever
and just get the soles swappedout.
Just go to a cobbler and havethe soles swapped out.

SPEAKER_02 (51:11):
So what do you guys can get in spirit?
I know back in the day it waslike GQ and Esquire, but I think
nowadays it's very likecommercialized.
What do you think guys...
could get ideas on how to dressin general?

SPEAKER_03 (51:25):
I mean, you'd be surprised just like how good
social media has made things todo research.
Just like looking up men's stylehashtags on Instagram or TikTok.
Like, you'll find, yeah, you'llgo down, I mean, you'll find it.
And you'll just go down therabbit hole just seeing people

(51:45):
who are doing things, like,doing cool stuff and, like,
doing things that you may beinterested in.
Like, I even startedexperimenting with different
silhouettes of clothes that Itypically had because of things
I was like, yo, like, this iskind of cool.
Like, I never thought about, youknow what I'm saying, what to
look like on me.
So I may try it out to see howit goes.
Some of y'all be like, yo, thisworks.
Or maybe like...

SPEAKER_02 (52:06):
Well, now you made me think.
Do you work out?
Do you go to the gym?
What do you work to eat?

SPEAKER_03 (52:12):
So, no, I actually don't.
You don't?
So, I'll tell you, I was anathlete growing up.
So, when I was in college, Italked about football.
So, I was probably like 30pounds bigger, like the muscle I
was in right now.
And luckily, I just have thegenetics that where my body...

SPEAKER_02 (52:28):
Lucky people.

SPEAKER_03 (52:29):
Yeah, I am.
I can't argue with you.
I can't argue with you.
My body just rests where I'm atright now.
And I look like I work out every

SPEAKER_02 (52:38):
day,

SPEAKER_03 (52:38):
but I haven't worked out since I was Did

SPEAKER_02 (52:41):
you play tennis or climbing?
Nothing.
Well,

SPEAKER_03 (52:45):
I actually just got into indoor rock climbing.
I just got into that recently,but I still haven't done it a
handful of times.

SPEAKER_01 (52:52):
I can't imagine me wearing a three-piece

SPEAKER_03 (52:56):
suit.
Nah, but yeah, I got into that.
I don't do it often, but I'mjust an athletic person, so I
was...
Pretty decent at it when I first

SPEAKER_04 (53:10):
started.

SPEAKER_03 (53:10):
But other than that, as far as actually working out
in the gym, I haven'tconsistently worked out in the
gym since I was in college.

SPEAKER_02 (53:15):
Wow, lucky you.

SPEAKER_03 (53:16):
I mean, you've

SPEAKER_02 (53:18):
come a little bit, you know, at some point.
But the

SPEAKER_03 (53:20):
thing is, I still, whenever I need to do like
strenuous things, I still havethe abilities.
I'm still very strong.
I still have the ability.
I can still run.
I still have, you know what I'msaying, the capabilities of
doing

SPEAKER_02 (53:32):
everything.
But that's a certain age.
Like that is just going to dropall of a sudden.
Until

SPEAKER_03 (53:38):
that happens.

SPEAKER_02 (53:38):
So you're going to wait until

SPEAKER_00 (53:40):
the very last moment.

UNKNOWN (53:41):
And that's the thing.
When it does happen or when I dostart to see changes in my body,
I know how to fix it.

SPEAKER_02 (53:47):
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (53:47):
But as of right now, it's like...

SPEAKER_02 (53:49):
I can tell you're a very positive person.
I mean, it's very rare.
Very few people are verypositive, which is a good thing,
right?
Nothing can really put you offcourse.
So a few last things.
So let's say if a guy is goingon a date, what he should wear
to impress a woman if we put thepersonality aside.

SPEAKER_03 (54:08):
What's the

SPEAKER_02 (54:09):
good thing to wear for a first date?

SPEAKER_03 (54:14):
First date, I think it depends on where the date

SPEAKER_01 (54:18):
is at.

SPEAKER_03 (54:18):
I think that plays a big role.
But for me, I would go withmaybe it depends on the guy.
Maybe go jeans and like a poloshirt.

SPEAKER_01 (54:31):
Jeans and a polo

SPEAKER_03 (54:32):
shirt.
Jeans and a polo shirt becauseit's like casual but it still
shows that like you put fortheffort.

SPEAKER_01 (54:37):
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (54:38):
But it's still kind of casual to where like even if
you're doing something a littlebit more active, you know what
I'm saying, you're okay.
And then I always layer whetherit's like a sweater or something
like that or a jacket.

SPEAKER_01 (54:49):
Over your shoulder

SPEAKER_03 (54:50):
or on top.
Either wearing it or over yourshoulders or even a jacket.
But I say this because you runinto a situation where your day
gets cold You want to be ableto...
See?

SPEAKER_01 (54:59):
Like, little stuff like that.
Okay, that's a good point.
You

SPEAKER_03 (55:01):
know what I'm saying?
She just thought she was being astylist.
You were thinking

SPEAKER_02 (55:04):
of her.
That's good.
Guys, make notes.

SPEAKER_03 (55:07):
Okay.
Yeah, my baby course comingsoon.

SPEAKER_02 (55:10):
Yeah, no, it should because sometimes it feels
like...
But at the same time, it's adangerous ground because I would
be suspicious of the guy whodresses way better than a woman.

SPEAKER_03 (55:19):
Which I've been told.

SPEAKER_02 (55:20):
Yeah.
You know what the baby is?

UNKNOWN (55:22):
It's...

SPEAKER_03 (55:22):
I've had a lot of women who are self-conscious
about going out with me becauseworried about how they need to
dress.

SPEAKER_00 (55:29):
Oh, I see.
And

SPEAKER_03 (55:30):
I'm like, I'm not even thinking deep into it
because I don't take long to

SPEAKER_04 (55:35):
get

SPEAKER_03 (55:36):
dressed.
I'm so in my zone of style towhere it's like, I only have
things in my wardrobe that Ilove.
So I can just grab this and grabthat, and I know what's going to
work because I've built mywardrobe that way.
So I'm not like the person that,oh, what am I going to

SPEAKER_01 (55:52):
wear?
Five hours in front of themirror.
Yeah, what we're

SPEAKER_03 (55:53):
thinking is doing all that stuff.
I get compliments on my skin allthe time.
I'm like, I have no skin.
Skin, the regiment.
I'm

SPEAKER_01 (56:02):
like, I'm a dude, dude.
Yeah, like,

SPEAKER_03 (56:04):
I'm a dude, dude.
I was just like, I still takecare of myself, but it's not to
the extent of what people thinkit is to have something to make
after

SPEAKER_02 (56:11):
me.
Did you see that morningroutine?

SPEAKER_03 (56:14):
Oh, yeah, when he was, like, doing the ice thing.
I'm like, yeah, that's crazy.
Would you do that?
No, never.
Not a chance, and no.
But, yeah, man, but...
But, yeah, I don't overthinkthings when it comes to being
dressed.

SPEAKER_02 (56:26):
But I guess...
On the girl's part, it'sprobably some of the inner
insecurities on their part,right?
They may think they're not goodenough to be next to you, and
you look so great, and they justneed to be up there, you know,
with you.
That also might be the thing.

SPEAKER_03 (56:40):
You know what, though?
I honestly don't require anoverly stylish woman.

SPEAKER_01 (56:49):
Really?
I

SPEAKER_03 (56:50):
don't require it.
I mean, it's cool to have her.

SPEAKER_01 (56:52):
She's not wearing slippers and shirts and
t-shirts.
I mean, not.
I mean...
That's what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_03 (56:57):
Yeah, that's a little aggressive, but I think
that women can get away withjust being elegant.

SPEAKER_01 (57:05):
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (57:05):
You don't have to try to overdo things.

SPEAKER_01 (57:09):
So what is elegant?

SPEAKER_03 (57:10):
Just have class.

SPEAKER_01 (57:12):
What is class?

SPEAKER_03 (57:13):
So I think that just dressing for your body style.
Just finding the things thatwork for you, whether it's,
like, I actually find myself alot more attracted to women who
don't necessarily need to wearmakeup all the

SPEAKER_04 (57:28):
time.

SPEAKER_03 (57:29):
Like, if you wear makeup, great, right?
But, like, you're also just ascomfortable in your own skin
without makeup as you are withmakeup.

SPEAKER_02 (57:35):
That's a tough one.
I know.
It's so much pressure, you know,like, to look great and your
natural makeup also takes a longtime for women.
I mean, some women are luckywhen they don't have to use
makeup, but nowadays...
I know, but

SPEAKER_03 (57:46):
somehow I've noticed that I naturally kind of attract
to the women that like don'tfeel the need to always do that
but like you said the way theycarry

SPEAKER_01 (57:55):
themselves

SPEAKER_03 (57:56):
yeah they still look yeah they still look perfectly
fine And

SPEAKER_02 (57:59):
maybe you're attracted to confidence.

SPEAKER_03 (58:01):
That's a thousand percent.

SPEAKER_02 (58:02):
Because if you're not looking perfect, not wearing
makeup, but you're comfortablein your own skin, it means
you're comfortable enough withyourself just to go out,
especially on a date.

SPEAKER_03 (58:11):
And I think, who isn't attracted to comfort?
I meant comfort, but toconfidence.

SPEAKER_02 (58:16):
Yeah, exactly.
But it's a tough one.
It's a lot of work, you know,work on yourself, right?
And just being like, you know, Ionly get one body in this
lifespan, this lifetime.
That's all I have, so I eitherlove it or Or, you know, I can't
live hating it.
But I mean, going

SPEAKER_03 (58:32):
back to what I was saying, it's just like the...
It doesn't, you don'tnecessarily have to do a lot
always to look your best.

SPEAKER_01 (58:43):
Okay.

SPEAKER_03 (58:43):
Because some women can

SPEAKER_01 (58:45):
overdo it.
You know

SPEAKER_03 (58:46):
what I mean?
It's like, yo, like, just go tothe movies.
Like, why take five hours to doit?
Like, that isn't necessarily thecase.
But, like, if you have that onelittle black dress that always
works and you got a nice pairof, you know what I'm saying,
heels or whatever that you mightwant to wear with it.
And, like, you don't have to tryto be...
and a wingtour every time youwalk by the house.

(59:07):
Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 (59:08):
Or they're overly dressed to look overly sexy.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (59:11):
or you can have on jeans and a t-shirt.
If you just wear things that fityou well, then that's perfectly
fine.

SPEAKER_02 (59:18):
And that's another thing, probably a hard thing for
women to find...
pieces of clothes that fit youperfectly.
Not a short dress will fiteverybody.
Or an oversized blazer alsodoesn't look on everybody.
I love the movies of the 90s.
I love the clothing from back inthe day.

(59:40):
Women could just throw a whiteshirt with a pair of jeans and
they would just have thisnatural flowy hair just like
this beautiful school ofclothes.
She just looks so African.
Just wearing a white shirt Andnowadays, there's so much excess
of

SPEAKER_03 (59:54):
these things.
Yeah, especially, I feel like,yeah, definitely, like, 90s, for
sure.
Like, I feel like women werejust, like, yeah, like, the,
like, what word am I lookingfor?
I'm just talking about, like,natural beauty in the

SPEAKER_02 (01:00:10):
90s.
But I feel like it's good thatyou mentioned that, because I
feel like back in the day, andmaybe it was just me, there was
so many, like...
imperfect faces.
I feel like we spoil so muchwith the faces that look the
same.

SPEAKER_04 (01:00:24):
And

SPEAKER_02 (01:00:25):
you're like, yeah, they have a little crooked
teeth, but that's fine.
You know, they have a littleimperfect skin.
That's fine.
The hair's not like superperfect, but it's fine.
It's real, right?

SPEAKER_03 (01:00:33):
And that's what you end up enjoying about people,
right?
I enjoy the uniqueness of thisperson, right?
Because that's what I'm...
I mean, I'm not going to say I'mnot attracted to it because, I
mean, we're all attracted tothings that...
Like, there's like aquintessential good-looking
person, right?
But then the people that I'mreally attracted to is like the

(01:00:55):
one that I can spot from a mileaway.
It's like, oh, because she hasthis thing about her.
She does this type of thing.
Like, that's wild.
But if she looks like, there's alot of women out here.
Like, I've had women that getupset with me.
It's like, oh, you didn'trecognize me?
I'm like, you look like everyother chick, you know what I'm
saying, that walked throughhere.
Like, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 (01:01:15):
Yes.

SPEAKER_03 (01:01:15):
You look like every other Instagram chick on
Instagram.
I'm sorry about

SPEAKER_02 (01:01:19):
that.
Trying to chase that perfectpicture, which they think men
like.
But at the end of the day, menapparently don't like that
perfect picture.
They just want a natural womanwho's confident, right?
And that's what we need from youguys to encourage and let us
know it's fine not to wearmakeup.
It's okay to, you know, have alittle messy hair.
You don't have to look perfectall the time.
And that will give usconfidence.

(01:01:40):
Because I feel like there's somuch pressure on women to look
perfect that they freethemselves to look the way they
are.
Like, I can't imagine.
I remember one time I did putmakeup one day and I called my
sister.
I'm in a grocery store.
I have no makeup.
She's like, congratulations.

SPEAKER_03 (01:01:59):
I'm

SPEAKER_02 (01:02:00):
like, thank you.
I did it.

SPEAKER_03 (01:02:02):
You know what?
Even, like, speaking aboutmyself now, the...
that's kind of part of my styleas well.
It's like the balance of likenot everything has to be
perfect, right?
So that's like, even though likemy style is very kind of put
together, there's still like thereason why I have free form
locks and I don't have likethese like perfect pristine
locks and things like that.
Or the Italians have this termcalled sprezzatura, right?

SPEAKER_00 (01:02:26):
The

SPEAKER_03 (01:02:27):
what?
Sprezzatura.
Sprezzatura.
Yeah, sprezzatura.
I'm not, don't get me trying tospell it without writing it
down.
But basically what it means islike the art of, I'm trying to
figure out how to say it rightwithout making it too hard.
It's like the art of lookingcool without making it look too
hard.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So this is a part of howeveryone thinks that, oh, one,

(01:02:50):
the other.
Yeah, that's what I'm asking.
Yeah, it's like, no, that's thewhole spiritual thing.
Not even having it tucked behindyour tie, just kind of letting
it live.
It's like you have to be freeand live instead of having to be
so prim and proper all the time.
So that's kind of a part of mostof my lifestyle.
I was like, I don't want to beperfect.
That's

SPEAKER_02 (01:03:06):
what comes, again, back to what we're talking
about, about the confidence,right?
If you're confident, what youwear, even if it's imperfect, is
going to look cool because youown it, right?
And I think that's what isimportant for everybody to
realize.
Just love the way you are,accept yourself, which is a hard
thing to do, but that's how youdevelop the confidence.

(01:03:26):
Well, anyway, I know we're alittle bit over time and I could
talk to you for another twohours.
I have some questions I didn'task you.
You know, and maybe just to wrapit up, would you have or share
with our audience an advice forsomebody who still didn't find
themselves, who are searchingthemselves?

(01:03:46):
What is the first thing or firststep you would recommend them to
take to get closer to theirgoals or their purpose or find
that one thing that they want todo for the rest of their lives?

SPEAKER_03 (01:04:01):
I think it's something that we've already
spoken on, and it's to, one,stay curious and not be afraid
to try things in order to get tothe goal of where you want to
be.
Like, I didn't get to where I'mat now by being perfect.
I've worn a lot of stuff that Ihated wearing.
But once I put those things on,I realized why they didn't work.

(01:04:24):
And then now I was able to kindof reverse engineer that and
figure out, okay, now I know howto make this work.
So once being curious and notbeing afraid to try things and
then figuring out why thosethings work or don't work.
Yeah, I feel like that's kind ofthe best thing.

SPEAKER_02 (01:04:41):
Well, on that beautiful, wise note, I would
like to end this very curious,exciting conversation with you.
Thank you so much for coming onThe Basic Show.
Stay fly.
Stay positive.
Bring the light.
Share your knowledge.
And I wish you good luck inParis when you're going to
Paris, Italy.

SPEAKER_03 (01:05:01):
Well, I'm going to Italy.
Paris is potential.

SPEAKER_01 (01:05:04):
Well, cross fingers for you.
Well, thank you so much.

UNKNOWN (01:05:09):
so

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QUENTIN THRASH: Barber Turned Celebrity Tailor | EPISODE 5

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}QUENTIN THRASH: Barber Turned Celebrity Tailor | EPISODE 5