what you want, or else you won’t get anything. But I put out what I wanted, and it finally caught up with me. “…I bet on myself” How were you able to build a business with just $20 in your pocket? The way my business operates, I do custom; I don’t spend any money until the money is made. So I have to get at least half of the order amount up front. So I could have $20 in my pocket and sell $2000 in suits. I don’t have to sell a physical thing. In San Diego, I was selling custom suits before I even made any for myself. I didn’t even have anything to show anybody. I just knew how to talk. And when I would make a little bit of money, I would take half of that and make some more stuff to reinvest in myself; because I needed something for the ‘Gram. No matter what I put up on Instagram, if it’s dope, it could facilitate another sale. I would put up a pair of pants on the ‘Gram, and someone would hit me up to order a suit. I did that while in the shelter. I didn’t just keep the money; I bet on myself. And it didn’t hit all the time, but it hit enough; and I was able to get out of my situation. What does fashion mean to your mental health? I was one of those emo[tional] kids, because I didn’t think life was worth living; I was such a f*****g reject and it sucked. I hated life. I was a cool dude and couldn’t figure out why does life suck so bad. Then I figured out why and I figured out how to fix it; and it kept me from f*****g killing myself—or killing somebody. Fashion did that. It kept me from settling in life. It made me overly confident. It turned an insecure 13 year old into an over confident 15 year old. And I had braces! But I was still confident as f*** because I was fresh. At that point, I realized I didn’t want to be an architect. I wanted to do something that moves me; and the only thing that moves me in life is fashion. Fresh said classmates used to call him Ralph and Tommy, because those were the brands he always wore. But despite his focus on fashion, he could move the needle on the grade charts, too. Fresh managed to land a 33 on the ACT, resulting in several scholarship offers landmark universities. However, seeing that most college students went on to work boring corporate jobs, he wasn’t interested. After trying 2 semesters at University of Memphis, Fresh dropped out and decided to become a tailor. He started by doing alterations for dry cleaners, before opening up his own shop with the same service. Who’s your favorite celebrity you’ve worked with? I can’t say just one, because I have a lot. But Lena Waithe is definitely one of my favorite f****ng humans beings on earth… I’m really having fun with The Weeknd; he’s just a cool dude to work with. I’ve really been working with the whole camp; Belly is who I first started doing the custom s**t with… Demarcus cousins is definitely one of my favorite basketball players to work with because he’s so animated. I get excited about my stuff, but it’s good when a client has the same level of excitement. I recently did Lionel Richie, and he’s so much fun; he’s so into the process. John Legend, Kevin Hart— like I got some legendary clients that are just so dope. If they’re on my [Instagram] page, I love them. Who do you want to make ‘Fresh’? The Obamas, Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, Tyler Perry, Will Packer, I wish I would have worked with Nipsey. I met up with him twice. I was doing a fitting for YG when they were shooting the video for “Last Time That I Checc’d”. The URBAN EXPERIENCE | 2021 29
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