The REBEL8 Podcast

How I built REBEL8 from the ground up and the trick to becoming successful.

In this episode, I speak about why we don't have frequent REBEL8 sales and the importance of not training your customer to wait for a sale, avoiding the trap of racing to the bottom and why we left Zumiez and dropped wholesale in general, the reason why REBEL8 increased prices, my goal of doing REBEL8 forever and my respect for other heritage brands as a consumer, our collaboration with Slayer and the power of their logo, how life happens for us not to us, the timeline from private school to public to starting HiFiArt and eventually starting REBEL8, the ease of being yourself versus pretending to be someone else, the fear of meeting Travis Barker, the night DJAM, Too $hort, Paul Wall and Skinhead Rob performed in San Francisco, being nervous meeting REBEL8 customers, moving into 2020 using today's technology, the mental game of owning your own business, using physical perspective to get mental perspective.

This episode is an audio clip from a meeting with the REBEL8 Marketing and Customer Service team on December 17, 2019. To give context, nearly every order placed online or on the app receives a handwritten thank you note. This is the conversation about the value of handwritten notes and how we can apply that same level of service to other brand touch points. Additionally, I speak on creating content specific to the platform and going to where our customers are versus making them come to us.

In this episode I talk about starting over again and one accomplishment just leads to the next goal we're going after, bringing production back to the United States, going where other brands are afraid to chase us, continually finding more points of differentiation for the brand, the subjectivity of our graphics, the true cost of REBEL8, why other products have increased in price and yet clothing has remained virtually the same, the unsustainable future of cheap clothing, spending zero time on trying to convince anyone of the value of REBEL8, designing new sustainable products using recycled materials, design driven versus sales driven, sourcing domestic factories and why we are using real leather instead of vegan or Made in China "leather", the pursuit to create products that will last forever, quality over quantity, and the real reason of why I started The REBEL8 Podcast.

In this episode I discuss wearing multiple hats and doing multiple jobs, not beating yourself up over the past, embracing your fears, using hate to excel and rise above, the importance of consistency, focusing on doing the most now, building brand versus selling, time management and using a go-to-market calendar, working remotely and my first manual labor job.

In this episode I share a very raw, real and uncut audio clip from a recent conversation with a factory owner and his employees at a new spot we are using in Downtown LA. I think you'll find a ton of value in what I say and get a much clearer picture of what motivates me and why we are in business. Thanks for listening.

In this episode I talk about how stress is all mental and at the same time, all relative. I explain that being stressed out is wasted time and doesn't change reality. I go into detail of how I navigate stressful times and give a how to live almost stress free that will work for you too.

In this episode, I sit down with The Sneaker Lab as a guest on their podcast. I discuss life before REBEL8. I talk about growing up in San Francisco on TV dinners, living in a studio apartment with my mom. I speak on being grateful for what you have instead of focusing on what you don't. I talk about the mental struggles of running an independent streetwear brand and not comparing your life to anyone else's. I also run down the history of the brand in regards to flipping my money hundreds of times over and still hating to fail. I explain why REBEL8 is my hobby and how I've always hated school. I give my two-cents on college and why it's not for everyone. I answer questions on the REBEL8 wholesale business including Zumiez and how we've moved completely to D2C. I also go into detail about how an entire country stopped carrying our products because of what I did at a tradeshow. I talk about the REBEL8 x Vans collaboration and how personal that project was to me. I bring up Travis Barker, the relationship we've had with Famous and all the opportunities that came with it. I reveal why I decided to move REBEL8 from SF to LA. I end the interview with a bunch of sound business advice and how my OCD makes me go all in with whatever I'm passionate about.

In this episode I explain the origins of the name REBEL8 and give an accurate timeline of the years prior to launch. I also discuss the lack of importance of a brand name.

In this episode I go into depth on how to build your wholesale business from the bottom to the top. I give a blueprint on how to grow from a single mom & pop boutique to having retail partners around the world and millions of dollars in sales. Everything I've learned over 15 years of wholesale business is now available to you for free. If you are about to launch your own brand or already running a successful or struggling business, you should listen to this episode.