The brand was established in Los Angeles but how long has the idea of Face The World been in your head?

It definitely started back in Dallas. Prior, it was called another name. It was actually called Contrabandz back in 2015. It was called Contrabandz and the idea of Face The World came from this song “Face the World” by Nipsey Hussle. I was on my way to actually get my first ever T-shirts printed and that song came on. He said, “Regardless of what you’re into, regardless of what you’ve been through, I feel like I got to tell you you got something to contribute.” That’s what made me name it Face The World. It was so dope. It stuck with me. After that, years went by and in 2018, when I went to trademark Contrabandz, I couldn’t do it because somebody else already had it. Just a rookie mistake, you know. [Laughs] I was like, “Yo what am I going to name it? I don’t know what I’m going to name my brand.” I remember asking my brother, “Yo Face the World sounds cool, right?” He’s like, “Yeah that’s cool.” At the time, my father had a stroke. That was this major tragic thing that was happening and it was only right. Face The World meant something and so I remember getting my first actual piece printed up and it gave me the strength to keep going with everything that’s going on with my dad.

Is that what you would say your definition of “Face The World” is?

Yeah, I usually don’t put my slogan out there but the slogan for the brand is: Ignite the creative power within. That comes from that whole scenario, finding that power to continue to keep going even though things are rough, even though things might not turn the way you want it to. Find whatever it is inside you to keep going and make it happen.

The last time we spoke, we talked a little about using color theory when you design. How did that start and how did you go about implementing that in your garments?

I always tell people whenever we’re talking, whatever job you’re in, whether it be McDonald’s or whatever, always learn something because you never know where it’s going to take you down the line. I started working at this store where I sold suits in the mall. When I first started working there, I would always wear grey and black, like H&M fits. [Laughs] My manager, he’s from Europe, he sat me down and he gave me this little color wheel. He was like, “Okay these are your earth tones,” and showed me. “This color matches with this and I don’t ever want to see you come in here looking like you don’t have color on you.” Literally from that point on, I became so fascinated with colors. I was like, “okay I can put this with this and that with this.” That’s how this all came about, it’s kind of a feeling so whatever color I’m feeling it kind of comes out. I didn’t know that all these colors matched until I made everything. I was like “oh shit, they all go together!” That’s how it all originated. It’s something that I feel like stands out and is unique.

Now that you’ve matched everything, is this something that you will continue to do in future colorways and collections?

It doesn’t necessarily have to match but knowing how my creativity flows, it’s probably going to. It goes off how I dress personally. I’ve always said, even since I was younger when it comes to fashion, it’s all about your confidence. It’s not about what you wear, it’s how you wear it. If you make it flow then it flows. That’s kind of how I go about it. So many people with the cream [sweat set] it’s like, “yo I don’t know if I could wear the cream.”

You could wear the cream! [Laughs]

Yeah! You could wear it! It’s just a confidence thing because I’m telling you, when you wear it, people are going to look and be like, “yo that looks good on you.” It’s a confidence builder.

2020 was tough for a lot of creators but you had the upper hand being in the business of comfort. When did you realize you could probably navigate through this?

2020 was crazy. It’s crazy we’re even having this interview right now because this time last year, I signed the lease for my first office. Nothing in here. All I had was this desk and that little tabletop. It was definitely different, my whole plan and idea was to add cut-and-sew pieces and jeans or whatever. When we shut down, I was like, “yo we’re going to be in the house for a minute, let me stick to this comfort but yet you can still go to the grocery and still feel like you had some clothes on.” Something nice, you know? That was the direction that I saw it going and it just ended up turning into more than that. That was kind of the thing where I feel like 2020 worked for a lot of smaller brands. It was easier for us to think quicker because we don’t have the money to put full production, years in advance of planning. You kind of make it as you have the money to do it. It kind of all worked out.

I tell Megan this a lot, you just have to be prepared and ready for that opportunity whenever it comes. It’s not about “okay whenever the opportunity comes then I’m going to get ready.” No, be ready for it before because you never know when it’s going to be your time and honestly, it just happened to be our time.

Can we talk a little about the campaign you’re working on, Face The World TV? What’s the idea behind it?

The campaign has been more of empowerment, just really feeling good about yourself. Really seeing yourself knock down all of the obstacles in front of you and looking good while doing it. That’s what we’ve been channeling our focus on from the colors in the scene, to the way the set looks, just giving that feeling of, “I can do this.” I think it’s so dope how, as we’re building on it each and every time, there are fans that will hit us up like, “yo I love this, I love what you’re doing. Do you have any tips on this?” We haven’t even put the full campaign out yet and people are already seeing that. It’s dope to see that as the campaign unfolds.

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