Joe Fresh Goods: Journey from T-Shirt Sales to Brand Success

Joe Fresh Goods transformed his passion for storytelling and community into a thriving brand rooted in Chicago's culture.

### The Journey of Joe Fresh Goods: From T-Shirt Printing to Iconic Brand
* 👕 In 2001, Joe Robinson, known as **Joe Fresh Goods**, began his journey by screen printing t-shirts to **express his creativity** and **connect with his community**.
* 🏙 Growing up in Chicago's West Side, Joe recognized the unique cultural differences within the city's neighborhoods, noting that "**each neighborhood feels like its own little pocket of the world**."
* 👨 Inspired by his hardworking parents, Joe aimed to **balance work and life differently**, which fueled his ambition to become an **entrepreneur** rather than work for someone else.
* 👟 His passion for fashion was ignited by memorable experiences, such as wearing the **iconic Jordan 11s**, which made him feel **confident** and sparked his love for clothing.
* 💡 Joe started selling t-shirts in high school by creatively leveraging pop culture moments, such as printing **mug shots of NBA players**, which resonated with his peers and generated interest.
* 🛒 He gained valuable retail experience at Leaders, a significant Chicago institution, where he learned the **importance of networking and building relationships** in the industry.
* 📈 After years of trial and error, including receiving **multiple cease and desist notices** from major brands, Joe honed his business acumen and began to see his creative endeavors as a **legitimate career**.
* 🎉 The turning point in his career came with the success of his **Obama collection**, which not only provided **financial stability** but also solidified his identity as a **storyteller and designer** in the fashion world.

### Building a Brand: The Journey of Community, Storytelling, and Growth
* 👕 The speaker shares personal anecdotes about their creative process, including using **phone numbers as meaningful references** and exploring **historical locations tied to their art**.
* 🎶 They emphasize the importance of storytelling in their work, noting that their t-shirts reflect **moments from their life**, particularly in the **house music scene**.
* 🏬 In their early career, they participated in wholesale, reaching a peak of **11 stores**, but later realized they could earn more by selling directly through **pop-up shops**.
* 💰 A memorable pop-up event at a friend's tattoo shop in Chicago generated **$15,000 in sales**, showcasing the **power of community engagement and word-of-mouth marketing**.
* 🌟 The speaker acknowledges influences from other creatives like Virgil Abloh, who inspired them to **incorporate storytelling into their designs**, despite feeling that their approach was **unique in the marketplace**.
* 📈 They discuss the importance of **maintaining authenticity and connection** with their customer base as their brand matures, avoiding the trap of **alienating early supporters**.
* 🤝 The speaker reflects on the evolution of their brand, including collaborations with larger companies like New Balance, which have helped to **elevate their profile** while remaining **grounded in their community roots**.
* 🌍 They conclude by highlighting their commitment to community building through initiatives like their nonprofit, Community Goods, emphasizing the **significance of giving back and fostering connections** within their local environment.

the check could be good. You can hit everything that I want on this contract, but it's just like, okay, cool. How are we showing up for the community now? In 2001, a 14-year-old from Chicago's West Side with a knack for wordplay and visual storytelling had an idea. Looking to augment his own wardrobe and inspired by current events, Joe Robinson, later known to the world as Joe Fresh Goods, began screen printing his own t-shirts. His creations were a hit with his classmates, and over the next 20 years, Joe would nurture a story-driven brand voice encompassing apparel and some of the most coveted sneakers of the past 5 years. And it all started with one idea. [Music] I'm curious, as a non-Chicago native, can you explain sort of what are the differences between Southside, the West Side, the North Side? In listening to you talk about coming up, that locality seemed incredibly important when it comes to Chicago. I just, it's really diverse, but each neighborhood feels like

its own little pocket of like the world, you know. And I didn't realize how much on the west side was growing up, but I didn't really travel on the south side like that. I used to visit my dad, um, parents on the south side, but uh, it's just two different worlds. It's this joke about everybody on the West Side just stand on a corner, and there's no grass on the south side. It's all about um, it's more historic South, so I'm like I love history, um, doing a great migration when people came from the south. They used to come to the south side first. They went from like Mississippi, Alabama, and when you came to Chicago, the south side was way more developed than the west side. West side came L after um, so south side has a lot more historic landmarks than the west side. But I think for me, I just love putting the west side on my back 'cause just like it's not too many of us that's like public figures.

for some reason, um, the West Side feels like how it feels like when I'm in Harlem. So, I think if people know what Harlem is, that reminds me of my side of town with Chicago, more flashy, uh, just, I ain't GNA say the South Side don't have a good time, but just everything's about good time, and everybody in Chicago tell you that on the West Side, they party, you know. So, maybe that influence like the music and like the dance and culture too. My biggest advantage as a creative and entrepreneur is the city of Chicago and how I grew up influences my whole lifestyle and my storytelling, and it feels good to have a whole city holds me down. How did your parents' professional lives inform your ambition as a whole? I just seen my parents work hard, and they made a way to make everything happen for us. I just, um, I think they worked so hard. I can't remember when my mom or dad ever took a vacation. I try to take two, three vacations a year. I don't think my

parents ever took vacations. It was just like, you know, Mom and Dad just worked. So, I think as a whole, being an entrepreneur, I just wanted to make sure that I can, like, you know, balance work-life a little bit better than my parents probably did because it's all work, work, work. They had to do that. What kind of opened up the realm of possibilities of being an entrepreneur and then also being a creative entrepreneur on top of that. I mean, obviously, as a young adult and teenager, I had, like, little jobs, but early on, I just realized I never want to work for nobody. Didn't really know if it was going to be fashion or open a restaurant or something. It was just I knew that I had good ideas. So, I think that kind of struck this whole entrepreneur thing in my head. Do you remember the first pair of shoes or piece of apparel that really connected with you in an emotional way? The first time I felt like, Oh, I actually love getting dressed. I love

clothes. I this might have been like 95 96. I think the uh Jordan 11s was the Concord. Whatever. I had a cooie sweater on and some Jordan Els. And I just like I felt like the man. And I just was like this feels unbelievable. I know I look good. People at school was telling me I look good. Um so I was just like boom light bul moment is as far as just like fashion as far as something that inspired me. I tell this story all the time. It's just that era where Cameron started wearing pink. That's kind of like a lot of my storytelling and things come from that moment. Cuz I couldn't find any pink uh t-shirts or like hats in the marketplace. So I had to make my own stuff. My ideas come from everything I done before the age 14. The most important idea I ever had was I started making t-shirts. I don't really believe in bad ideas. I think the most important thing in life is to just do it. So all ideas

are good just do [Music]. It so how did you get into selling T-shirts in high school? I started wearing things that I like. This was the uh time in life where you can buy like the uh transfer paper from like an Office Max, Home Depot, whatever um. I was just um buying uh printer paper, searching these internet moments um. I think my first t-shirt, which I wish I could find this stuff, was um. It was a point in time where a lot of NBA players were getting arrested, so I like put all the players' mug shots on t-shirts. In the middle of it said I love this game. And it was, I didn't realize what I was doing, but it was like these pop culture moments. I would like, it would happen and I would like search online the internet and print it out. So that was one of my first T's. There was the every in town where everybody was wearing the Biggie t-shirts. It was a t-shirt with Biggie t-shirt, Biggie and in a box, you know. So it just, that's kind

of how it started. It was me wearing it, and then people wanted to buy it. So, I think I was selling like $20 a piece back in high school. Not selling that many, but enough to have a good little lunch money. How did you even figure out how to start printing them? You buy paper, go online, you search, you know, Cameron wearing that printed out. And I would just be in the kitchen, just ironing t-shirts, um, on the t-shirt, and then go to school, sell it. That's crazy. And how were you financing all of this? Oh man, the first few times, honestly, I don't even know if I ever said this out loud. The first few, it was just so easy to steal paper, uh, because it was like, you know, so I mean, it didn't cost that much. I think a pack of five sheets were like $11. So, I mean, you know, at times I would have that $11, but if I didn't have that, I would just still steal the paper. And your sort of strategy behind making

these was just watching for viral moments and things that were sort of like creating discourse in the culture and then seizing on them. I wouldn't even say it was that deep when I when I was younger. This keep in mind this was like 13, 14, maybe 14, 15, so it was like obviously. And to be honest, it wasn't like I had the money to go buy newae or sha John. It was like my parents could afford one thing, but I would um dress that up with a shirt I [Music] made. You mentioned working at leaders. Yeah, leaders is an incredibly important institution within Chicago. Um, can you tell me a little bit about how you landed that job and also what you learned that stays with you too? Uh, shout out to leader, shout out to Cory gki, that's Legend. Um, leaders was a staple in Chicago, still a staple in Chicago. Um, I remember being at a family function, this is like before I, you know, this was like I would say like 17, and my uncle, he

came in U this uh the party were like wearing a a t-shirt. It's a type of t-shirt I've never seen before perspective. It was just like a monopoly T-shirt with like black characters, but I just never see anything like that before. And he told me he got it from the store called leaders, and I was like never heard of it. As a young Westside kid, I just never heard of leaders. You know, that's just not my area in town. I, you know, went from that part part of town um, but I started doing my research um, you know, first my first introduction to like Chicago retail. I worked for this brand called fashion geek um, legendary Chicago brand, and then um, worked at leaders um, you know, typical story yo, you know, walking the store yo, can I sweep the floors, can I clean the toilets, can I just beat here. Everybody's so cool, everybody got on G-Shocks, everybody just like camed out with tattoos. Like I started off being an intern um, and then one day one of the employees my big

brother didn't show up to work that day, and uh Corey called me and was like, Yo, was your turn? And I, from there, I just got hired, and I was a part of a very iconic period in Chicago. The New York Street Wear scene was particularly in the '90s, the notoriously clickish MH. Um, I'm curious, was Chicago a more inviting environment, very clickish, um, very clickish, and I think that's what made stuff kind of cool back in the day. Now it's like, you know, positivity and like, Oh, let's all hang out together, but like, no, it was like the SA AFA kids, the leaders' kids, the Juggernaut kids. I think the younger generation of people that work there, we actually hung out with each other. What was the key to sort of, you know, I hate the word networking, but creating those relationships and, you know, sort of, uh, inculcating yourself within it? I think, uh, a big part of like the brand and just like my story was like back in the

day just meeting people, being nice, you know, a large, I really say a large part of my successes is I'm a good dude, you know. Um, I will hope that when I leave a room and my name comes up, it's like, Oh yeah, we work with Joe. I don't really care if you don't like my clothes or my design. L is just like, You're going to, it's going to resonate and stick with you. And at the same time, me and my friends was throwing parties, so like, uh, we were building a whole community kind of without knowing we doing that. If I can have a thousand kids outside in line for a party, then the math of that in my head was like, Well, if I dropped the T-shirt, if I can get 200 of those kids to buy a T-shirt, then we good. And you know, when did you start thinking about this as a more long-term pursuit? I think it's stages, right? Because I think U, it's moments that happen throughout my 20s that's like

okay, it's still a hobby. I sold a lot of t-shirts. It's still a hobby. I still need another job. Oh, it was still a hobby. It was a moment in time where I made a real viral hat, and I got a caral Lo place to order for like $10,000. I thought I was rich. This was like 24, I think. The moment where I realized, like, oh, this is like my actual real job forever, like this is my life, was I was a brand ambassador for Adidas. So, I used to have to just go to different stores in Chicago, like different Mall accounts, and just see how Adidas was selling or just tell employees about new product. After a while, my brand was doing so well, I wasn't really showing up to work like that, and I got a call from my manager at the time. Yeah, you keep clocking hours, but we, you clearly not at work. And I was like, my bad. And it was like, you're done. And it was just like, I remember hanging up the phone like, oh.

My life is over now. This is not my life is over, but like this is when I actually take this serious, and this is like my thing. Hung up the phone, I would say it for a couple of minutes, and roll a blunt, and I was good time. Let's get it determined to be his own boss. Joe said about building his brand off clever storytelling and a quick-to-market manufacturing approach. A viral hit paying tribute to a local hero would bolt his name to new heights, but his initial naive with larger brands would threaten his potential for category expansion. How were you gaining sort of the education around how to build the business on like a real sort of fundamental like start the LLC and, you know, getting an accountant and filing, you know, whatever tax stuff you have to. I don't really come from a background of financial literacy, and in that sense, I think I'm very happy that, you know, we made it this far, but it's been a lot of growing pains and just like learning.

learned lessons early on because I was like the king of cease and desist. You know, my early stages of my brand, I got a text from one of my friends at the time. He owned a brand with a similar name, and he was like, Yo, Joe, you can't do this. You know, and I ignored him, and um, as one does, right? Um, and you know, I had the, it was a lot. I got a cease and desist from Champion. I got a cease and desist from Kanye. I got a cease and desist from Rihanna. This is like early on, so I just learned the game as far as how to be structured, like legally. Um, when you first got that first cease and desist, did you panic? Were you, Oh, for sure, yeah, because it's like, Oh man, what is this? Am I in jail? But when I learned the, and also that era, that was the time in Street where everybody's putting their cease and desist on t-shirts. It was like actually a badge of honor, like, Yo, Champion is a

big global brand, but they just sent the cease and desist to this dude in Chicago. So, I never was afraid after that first one because it was something I got to post online. Nine times out of ten, if it's a cease and desist that's more favorable to the artist or creator, they just want you to take it offline. They're not asking how many you sold. So, most of these cease and desist, I like, I made all my money, and it was just like, okay, they reached out, I just stopped. How did your sort of philosophy around design start to evolve as you're, you know, starting to do more and more drops and building an audience? I was starting to get built a buzz off just like trading merch off viral moments. I built such a cool scene in Chicago where I would come up, come up with an idea on Monday, send it to my printer Monday night, and then it'll be done Tuesday night. You know, 12 years ago was just like, yo, this just happened on TV yesterday. How is it a shirt already?

ready for uh to sell the next day and this is you in Photoshop and Illustrator early days um I was working with a graphic designer that was like one of my good friends and I was doing some of that stuff myself so um that's why a lot of my work from back in the day it's like all hea words or just like uh the Last Supper when they loving the crew everything was very like for for for that time but I just built a B I got a buzz off just cating these viral t-shirts um I did a way better job when I was a younger person as far seeding it and giving it away to people now I'd be too cool like I ain't giving that person my stuff but like back in the day it was just like I remember I remember chasing walk a Flocka bus I was just like I was on it every South by Southwest every like I was broke um that's you know um it was easier to be broke when you was young cuz you could sleep on floors and

your back don't hurt and all that, uh, but yeah, I just traveled around. Not the world; I traveled to New York and LA, some of those black cities that people don't really visit that much to, to, you know, to like network. But I was just going to the US. That's back when Spirit Airlines came out, those $60 flights, and I was just like, just travel and meet people. Um, and that's kind of that sense of like community and just creating like these viral t-shirts, and it just, I would say like every 3-4 months, I had like a viral moment. I think luck has played 25% a role in my life, but being at the right place at the right time is more so it. When did you sort of shift your thinking about what you wanted to do from, Okay, I'm seizing on these viral moments as they happen, to having a more sort of holistic vision for what Joe Freshgoods represents? At the time, I had this roommate, uh, he's a really great and big photographer now, but Trash Hand. Um, he

was my roommate. This is R at the same time Instagram popped off. I had a roommate that was like becoming one of the best photographers in the world, and I was just still, you know, making my clothes. But I think I started to understand, like, how to story tell through, like, visuals. So, I made this jacket that was, like, made in Chicago Hood, and he was going to Paris. And I was remember he bought my ticket, man. I love you, trash. He bought my ticket to Paris, and I shot this very viral picture. When I say viral in terms of Chicago, I don't know if it went viral to the world, but flying back home was like, Yo, this dude from the west side, like, have this article clothing next to Eiffel towel. But I think my visuals got better, you know, and that made me take this a little bit more serious. And then the big thing, honestly, is my Obama collection. I did which I think thankful every day I didn't get a season to s for his ter was.

over and it was a collection just saying thank you. A lot of things were bubbling in Chicago. I had like 10 different lives, but I was managing a rapper named Lucky. Chance was blowing up. My clothes were doing cool, but it was just like I had my daughter, so I'm like all over the place. That was the first time where I started to really dive into this whole storytelling process where it's just like this is six pieces of Pero all. Let me make one t-shirt that just says Malia. You can smoke weed at the bottom. One t-shirt I did with Michelle Obama that was based off the high school she went to. So it was like each piece was speaking to a different family member, and that changed my life. Chance had just won a Grammy. He came into the store. He was like, Bro, I love this stuff. Let me just model it, and we could figure out numbers later. I like what he ended up wearing, this Obama collection, and we

dropped a lookbook for it, keeping at chance hot as Fish Grease, and that the money I made off this Obama collection was like the investor I always needed. I never really believed in having taken on an investor and stuff like that, not saying at that time people was like trying to throw me money, but I'm the type of person where you give me, you give a person like me 10 grand, and I'm going to make that stretch. The money we made off that collection, I was like, um, that was like the moment I was looking for. What was the kind of volume that you moved? It was a point in time where I made like $20,000 every hour just checking my phone every time I ref first like, damn. It was my first time learning about taxes. It's my first time learning about like Proper Cuts between like somebody you work with, yep. You know, it's the first time I learned about fulfillment like that. So, that was a dream come true because I

learned so many lessons within this drop. I think sometimes what happens with people in our community and people that don't really come from money. I didn't come from money. It's like we get our first big chunk of money and just like, All right, cool. Let me go buy my Lambo. Let me go do this and that. And it just like, my whole thing was like, This was a great feeling. Now let me figure out how to scale. Let me try to do this a couple, you know, different times. So are you basically leading up to that just roll holding the money's over print some, sell some, reinvest, and keep going? Yep, really. And again, the reason why we create something called doy doorboy magic was like, you know, back in the day before I started going with my namesake to show Fresh Goods, I wanted to, the brand started off, I would say, in 2000. Let's just say it because I say I started different times, but I would say like fresh out of high school. I wanted

to like do a concept cuz I my first early videos like got to find this footage. I used to record videos and put it on like that's back when uh Facebook you can like upload MacBook Pro videos directly to Facebook. So I that was my first early commercials and it was just like let me take this t-shirt, let me make 12 t-shirts, let me package it up like dope U. I'm I'm communicating with the consumer that these shirts cost me $12 but I'm going to sell it to you guys for 25 and that's how I was like that started minute AG you know before the Obama stuff but it was just I was very um transparent with consumers like this cost me this much. I'm showing you the process, I'm showing you showing that I'm sub screening it, now I'm about to sell it for this much and we're going to keep running it over. So it's I've always been about that. I think one of the most important things that um you know I often think

about is like not really rushing into like full-scale cutting, so I think sometimes you alienate your customer and your consumer if you just like change too fast. So, you know, one thing that I always appreciate is like the art of the t-shirts. That's always been my canvas. Um, so you know, I think, you know, these are a couple examples of just like whether it be a release date for something big, whether it be like sneaking in my kids' middle name or putting in my Grandma's birthday and the phone number. It's like a lot of the things I do is like all meaningful, you know. I think with this shirt right here in particular, um, it was super cool. This is for BS that we had dropping. I, you know, with the style of picture we picked, I kind of wanted to pay homage to that DC NTI culture, you know what I'm saying. Um, so that was that, and then like, uh, desan photography. Desan is my middle name, you know what I'm saying. So, I wanted to come

up with something very like man little abstract name like let me just use my own name. And then oftentimes with the phone numbers that I put on my tees, that's always like somebody close to me's birthday. And it's another example too, you know, it's gotten older. I started to become like a history nerd. So um, I often like to Google addresses and figure out places where things used to be. This particular t-shirt is a part of my house music collection. So I like wanted to start to Google and do a little deep diving into like, well, what would merch look like at a fictional spot? And oh shoot, this actually, so this address we have for this spot was actually a name, uh, the address of a big disco spot that was on the west side back in the day. So you know, you know, it's very important for me to just like not give people the full story but just like little moments of my life and spread it throughout the art. And have you ever sold um wholesale? I did. I did wholesale. That's another

great question. Um, because it was a, I didn't realize I had so many errors in my life. There was a point in time where the big thing in streetwear was like, Yo, stockist. Oh, look at me. I'm in 40 stores. Um, which still is big to some people, but yes, at my height, I was in 11 stores. That was like the height of my career in that space. I probably started to this wholesale because when I started to look at pure numbers, if it cost me $9 to make this t-shirt, but then I'm selling it to a retailer for at that time, I think $15, $16. That's, you know, 'cause that's back when t-shirt was like $40. Yeah, that's a high price t-shirt worth $40. I just realized that I can make way more money, set it on my own platform, and do my pop-up shops. These numbers sound funny now, but um, I remember doing a pop-up at my homie Nick's tattoo shop in Chicago. He let me just take over the basement. Um

and I did like 15K, you know what I'm saying. I was just like, okay, we cooking a fashion show nowadays. It might cost us half a million dollars to put on a really good fashion show, but back in the day, it was just like Word of Mouth. Let's link up in the street, and it was just like everything was just like easy when you know. So, yeah, you mentioned, you know, sort of gaining an appreciation for storytelling and figuring out how to insert that into the stuff that you were making, and I'm curious, what were the competitive Brands, designers, people either in the space or adjacent spaces that you were looking at and being inspired by from a storytelling perspective. I can honestly say I didn't see too much like. I think some of the things we doing now, it's not saying I'm Reinventing the wheel, but like I didn't see storytelling like that. I didn't see it. That's why I wanted to create what we doing, 'cause I didn't really.

see it in the marketplace in Virgil. I would be remiss by saying that, but I think 'cause we were around. I was. I seen the rise before it became an international superstar. Him being in Chicago, doing what he doing. He had a party called Super Fun Party. I saw that. So, I think how he told stories and how he was able to connect different worlds. I think that he's a big influence to a lot of stuff that we [Music] do. A lot of your contemporaries or peers in the space, you know, they'll come out and enjoy some success and very quickly fall down the rabbit hole of cut and sew and trying to make things of a very, very, you know, obviously ambitious and high quality, but it creates challenges for them. And I've noticed that although you obviously have higher-end pieces within your lines, stuck to sort of the basics and the staples in a very sort of earnest way. Was that purposeful? Did you feel pressure? Great that you said that 'cause I

I see that too where I feel like you get that level of success and you, I want to say, turn your back on the group of people or your customer base, but I've been paying attention to that for a long time, so I didn't want to make sure I never fell into that trap. I just never wanted to change things up too far from what I have going on, you know, while at the same time just scaling and making sure I don't. So, I never got comfortable. It's just I wanted to make sure that I was growing slowly. So, as I was getting older, obviously saw my pieces and my tees and my space maturing, but I didn't want to go to left field and just alienate everybody that's been with me from the start. At what point did the Blue Chip brand start, you know, knocking on the door talking about collaborations and those kinds of, you know, larger partnerships? I've been lucky, I would say, because I've been in collabs for a

long time. I think the deals and the money I get has changed, but I think a part of my success is, you know, people have, you can't even if you can't Google it, you, everybody in Chicago, if you know, you know, you watched me. I ran you up at leaders. I probably ran you up at Nike Town. I'm still outside, you know. It's like you can touch the success, and because you've been there too. If you come to Chicago, there is no shots to no other creatives. Even back in the day, for the most part, you were coming to come like to me, you know, and that was just early on as your brand is starting to really start to bubble. Complex has complex Chicago, which I know you know, you were essentially the mayor of, yeah, and I'm curious how did that event and the spotlight that it put on you and your brand. Well, you got to go back to tell the complex con story, right? Because when complex con was first announced, I don't know why I was such

so offended that I wasn't a brand that was like on the flyer. This is on the Long Beach. Yeah, I was like, you know, why didn't I get a phone call? And obviously, it was really big, deserved brands to be on, but I was like typical streetwear boss dude. I was like, yo fans, go spam ComplexCon. And um, I just told my whole network of people to like spam the ComplexCon like DMs and like um, comments and think I got a Complex. You got a DM from ComplexCon like, yo chill, we see you, you know. And that was kind of the start. I love the team at ComplexCon, but I think um, me getting left off, you know, uh, or not even being in the know that this was happening, I was like a little offended. And I think I end up going to that first ComplexCon. I end up remember like Virgil helped me get in 'cause I didn't, I didn't buy a ticket. I just bought a plane ticket to pull up outside and

expect that somebody just let us in um but it's an interesting Journey because the the first complex kind I had to like sneak in with Virgil and then the second complex kind I was like you know what let me do let me do a popup ACR the street from complex kind so I did that and then after that we kind of I got locked in with complex kind it was just like you know and I just I don't know man I would say like I don't think I've ever had like a big brand behind me but like my booth was always kind of just popping and I built the natural good relationship with compes Conan they always took care of me and and so when it came to Chicago I just I was like oh this is like a finesse yeah I remember my feet hurting at the end of that weekend but I made so much money yeah and was that the same years as the allstar uh came to show yeah comc was 2019 in Chicago um and

then Allstar Weekend was uh 2020 okay Y. What did I learn from my biggest mistake? I like to think that my biggest mistake was actually one of my greatest come UPS cuz I got to learn from the mistake, and it helped me out. How did the complex Town experience set you up? Yeah, when everybody else came to town, you know, 6 months later, you know what's funny? At that time in my life, I was signed with another brand um I wasn't really that happy about like what was going on, and I think that taught me a valuable lesson too. That's why I'm so big on like talking to my peers about like sneaker deals because it's just like it's not a book for sneaker deals. Obviously, a lot of us, we won our first shoe, and sometime we might sign that deal that we might not be happy at, but because we want to get oursel in the door. So, I think I essentially did that, but I remember signing my first deal with this brand without a lawyer or

anything. It was just like they met us. They met like me in a hot lobby of a hotel. I sounded it, and it was like, Cool, let's go. So, for Complex Con in Chicago, one of my employees was like, Yo, 'cause my store was open at the same time as Complex Con was going on. One of my employees was like, Yo, New Balance is at the shop. They wanted to just learn more about you. And I was like, New Balance? I wear New Balance. But I was open because of my situation. So, I think if you came to Complex Con in 2019, you just knew who owned the streets. It wasn't no doubt about it. You know, sometimes you can't really tell 'cause everybody's like the big man on the internet. I think if you was a brand and you wanted to just do some market research for All-Star Weekend happening in six months, you can't accomplish KH. You was like, Oh, this is his city. So, New Balance was like, They wanted to make a big splash at

Allstar Weekend. I don't think at that time. I've never really seen New Balance have their place at an Allstar Weekend. So um, they just knew was coming to Chicago. You got to tap in with the mayor. So they tapped in with the mayor. Coming off back-to-back winds in his hometown, Joe jelled with a new Footwear partner, releasing a series of beloved sneakers that helped revitalize that brand. Meanwhile, as Joe's own brand has continued to grow, his sights are increasingly set on ways to leverage his talent for community building and a greater good. I'm sure young creatives and designers who are interested in the sneaker space just want to know, sort of in broad strokes, what do those kind of collab deals look like. Great question. I'm going give you two different deals, and I want to ask you which deal would you take. Okay, let's just say you popping, you at the height right now, so you don't need to see a collab. It'll boost your brand's

portfolio, but you don't need it, so you still got a little leverage. So, deal number one is $250,000 as your design fee. All right, you have 50 free shoes, right? So, for a million dollars, you have 50 free shoes to do whatever you want to do with it, and you can sell those, or you could sell them for, I mean, you can sell it, but you're not encouraged to. And let's just say you got a $60k marketing budget so that you can do a pop-up shop, you can do a billboard, you could do a video, you know, commercial. So again, that's a $60k marketing budget. You can do whatever you can hide it and tuck it. You can spend $30 on whatever and whatever, $250k design fee and 50 shoes to do whatever, right? So, that's deal number one. Deal number two is no design fee, $150k marketing budget, okay? But with deal number two, you have to buy your shoes at

wholesale and sell them retail. You might have a cou. You might have terms. You might not have to front that whole bill up front, but it's a little bit more hard work. Which deal are you taking? Dinner with Jay-Z? Um, all right. It always leads back to that. Um, I'm G. Take number two. But why you? Because if my brand is popping and I feel like I can move the merchandise, there's a ton more money plus more exposure for. And so if you can, and particularly if you are moving and creating product in adjacent space faes like apparel y, then you can package sneakers with high margin goods like t-shirts and sweatpants and stuff like that. Um, and use that $150,000 in marketing to sort of double dip. At least that's how I would. How would you think about it? Well, I didn't know I had to learn, you know, and I. I'mma let people decide which deal they think I took, you know what I'm saying. But the thing about deal number two is it's more hard work.

because let's just say you got to understand, but are you mad? Anybody that takes deal number one? No. I mean, 'cause deal number one is easy: $200,000 and $250,000 guaranteed. You know, a burden in the hand, there's a lot of things that can go wrong. Exactly. And particularly in the moment that we're talking about, there could be, for example, a global pandemic that happens. That's one thing I didn't say is with the difference of the deals, is with deal number one, the brand controls the allocation. Okay, so it's like you don't, you can't control what stores that go in. You just got your $250k and you just boom, you had Disney World. What deal number two? You get the control with your allocation 'cause you're buying more products. So, but again, I see both sides of it, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, I'm curious. Yeah, would you say that taking deal number one first can sort of set you up to take deal number two and with more confidence? For sure, you know, because

I everybody like your first shoe was like your debut album. So, if your first shoe is like a platinum hit, yep, that puts more pressure on your second shoe to be amazing. That's what happened to me, and my life changed because my debut album was insane, and then my sophomore album was insane. So, it's just like, Oh, he's in it for real. This shoe, this was the first shoe I did with New Balance, the 992. And, you know, ultimately, when I thought about what New Balance was to me back at that time, it was just like great shoes. So, my whole goal with this shoe was just like come from the heart, and that led me to a deep circle and path of just like what was a shoe look like with hard colors. So, the goal was just to make something really wild that'll stand out. It was very important for me to make something that you go see if somebody had on, you could see from like a mile away, and I feel like we accomplished that with this.

shoe, and then what was cool and exciting and scary was that sophomore album, you know, because what happens when your first album is dope? It's that second time around. He's a one-hit wonder, right? Here, the 990 V3 represented what it would be like outside, you know. You got to think this time period. It was the pandemic. The world was shut down, and it was just like, I actually missed outside. So, this whole shoe kind of started that story of just like this chronological order of my life. So, this represented being outside in the early 90s, coming home, street lights, smell like outside, and then hopping into my next shoe again, keeping that energy like your first shoe dope, your second shoe dope. I wanted to knock it out the park. This is the first time that I introduced a silhouette, the 960, one of the biggest shoes in the last 5 years from New Balance, and this was called Inside Voices. So, it's just like this is

one of the first times I wanted to make that like U that double album you know you have outside clo and inside voices and the whole concept of this was just like what it would be like playet to Grandma house you know what I'm saying what do the bed she's look like each shoe I start to feel way more comfortable about my storytelling you know so this whole uh story about my life and and Footwear I'm just excited that people got to you know learn my journey through my Footwear we I just mentioned the pandemic and I'm curious you have these meteoric inflection points back to back in 2019 and then the world goes into total chaos as a small business person how did that affect you and you know both emotionally and financially uh the the loss of life and just like where we were as as an economy and just like what was going on and just like systematically it was a lot I actually enjoyed the time off um you know like I needed that reset.

as a brand, um, I needed that reset as a person. So, I think for me, it was just a great reset. I think for me, it was just like life before sneakers was great, but then it's like life after sneakers and during sneakers. I'm like, I was able to kind of grow this business and like take on my product. My first set of pairs were 800 pairs, and then my second pair after the pandemic, we, they was like 7,000 pairs. Wow. So, I was like, that's just growth during this time. You also go from being, you know, a one-man army to building a team around yourself and truly becoming a creative director with, you know, many hands working on all the product. What was that evolution like to go from touching everything to being able to, you know, let go of some things and also learn how to manage people, which I'm still like dealing with struggles like that now. But it all goes down to deal number two because what's deal number two? Deal number two is you.

just need to scale, you know, as my business is growing. I've liked to find ways to save money. So if it's just like, yeah, we're paying this fulfillment center an extra $3 to ship these shoes, and that $3 ends up coming out to like $180,000 that I could have saved, let me figure out a way to do that ourselves so we can kind of take that money ourselves. So I think, um, naturally, I've just gotten smarter, and it just made me learn how to scale better. I think also the biggest thing about being a boss, whatever you want to call this owner, is just like making sure you feel slot with appropriate people. What do you look for? Trust and vision. Like, you know, can you handle things without me having to be there? You know, I've been having this baby, this dream since I was 14. So it's just like, you know, as I get bigger, I think that sometimes I'm like, especially like newer employees that like get lazy or just like slack. I'm just like, it took a, you know, it took

me so long to get here, and you know everybody don't have that same passion because this is not their passion. They work for you. This might not be what they want to do. I think the cool thing about my life, I'm very transparent. I'm becoming a better boss and a better leader in real time. I think sometimes we're quick to say, I'm a boss. You're not a boss just because you got people that you pay. Being a boss and just being a leader, it just makes you, you have to make sure that you understand and listen to your employees and just like understand growth. I think I went from like before the pandemic, probably had like maybe two employees, and I got almost close to 20, you know what I'm saying? So, you know, I just, just a testament to just like scaling and just like, you know, we, we, if we do good, I look at that like how can I grow my business instead of how can I buy.

like you know Porsches and Lambos. What our unconventional ways I connect with my community. Every brand check I get, every deal I get, I make sure I hire within the community in my city. What is the next deal that you're looking for? You know, um, I have this imaginary checklist in my head of things that I've always wanted to do. You know, um, design a, you know, festival merch for La La Palooza, check. Do a activation at the Olympics, check. Uh, design a shoe, check. Open up a store, check. Um, design a jersey for the Bears, check. Um, buy a home, check. Buy my dream car, check. Kids are good. Um, you know, um, I've hit a lot of check marks, you know, so I think for me, I think the next level of this is not really like a deal, but it's more so a partnership in real life, beside like product looks like, you know. I think that me and my team, we've kind of lightly then turned into a agency, so you know, I think um, I'm very proud of some of the

stuff that's coming out this year, stuff that's coming out next year, but I think the world is going to start to see, like Joe for goods behind the lens a little bit more. You know, I think storytelling and just like visuals, it's becoming our strong points. You talk about doing this agency work, and it strikes me that both, you know, what you bring to the table and is probably among the most valuable assets for any brand, which is community, and it's the hardest thing for a brand to cultivate. Yeah, what do you think is the key to doing that? The pandemic is when I launched my nonprofit, so Community Goods. It started off illegally. I was like, Yo, I'm going to make this t-shirt, and all the proceeds are going to go to these five black businesses. And I was doing that a lot, so it started off from that. And it was just like, I kind of started to feel guilty selling stuff, and I still do sometimes. I feel like if I can have a thousand kids lined up for a shoe, how can I use this?

power for good. I've always been about community, but that was from a party point of view. Like, I can have people lined up for stuff. I think as I've gotten older, especially like the last five, six years, it's just been all about community. It's all about been like a lot of the grammar and high school kids in Chicago. And you know, when you're working with me as a brand, that's like one of the first things I bring up now. It's like the check could be good. You can hit everything that I want on this contract, but it's just like, all right, okay, cool. How are we showing up for the community now? This is part of the brand's DNA now. It's just like all about community and storytelling and how we give back to people. [Music] w [Music]

How Joe Freshgoods Turned Viral T-Shirts Into a Global Brand

Bloomberg Originals offers bold takes for curious minds on today’s biggest topics. Hosted by experts covering stories you haven’t seen and viewpoints you haven’t heard, you’ll discover cinematic, data-led shows that investigate the intersection of business and culture. Exploring every angle of climate change, technology, finance, sports and beyond, Bloomberg Originals is business as you’ve never seen it.


Bloomberg Originals

Joe Fresh Goods: From T-Shirt Printing to Influential Brand

Joe Robinson, known as Joe Fresh Goods, started screen printing t-shirts at 14, inspired by his Chicago neighborhood and current events.

The West Side and South Side of Chicago have distinct cultures and histories, influencing Joe's storytelling and entrepreneurial journey.

Joe's early experiences and unique ideas, such as using NBA players' mug shots for t-shirts, laid the foundation for his successful brand over the next 20 years.

From High School T-Shirts to a Successful Brand

The journey started with selling printed t-shirts for $20 in high school, using stolen paper for printing.

Working at Leaders, a key Chicago retail store, provided valuable experience and connections in the streetwear scene.

The brand's success grew through viral moments, community building, and eventually becoming a full-time pursuit after a lucrative order and a brand ambassador role with Adidas.

Joe Freshgoods: From Struggles to Success

Joe Freshgoods took his business seriously after a turning point in his life, using clever storytelling and quick manufacturing to build his brand.

He faced numerous cease and desist orders from bigger brands, which ultimately taught him valuable legal lessons and helped him thrive.

Through viral t-shirt drops and networking, he created a buzz in Chicago, eventually shifting his focus to a more holistic vision for his brand, with impactful storytelling through visuals.

The entrepreneur managed a rapper, juggled multiple projects, and used storytelling through t-shirts to connect with family.

Chance the Rapper's endorsement and the success of an Obama-themed collection provided the much-needed investment.

The entrepreneur's approach to transparency, meaningful designs, and reinvesting profits has been key to their growth and success in the fashion industry.

The speaker reflects on their career in streetwear, starting with 11 store placements and realizing the potential for greater profit through their own platform and pop-up shops.

They were inspired by Virgil Abloh's storytelling and success in Chicago, aiming to stay true to their customer base while gradually scaling their business.

The speaker's determination to be involved in collaborations and their proactive approach to gaining visibility led to a successful partnership with ComplexCon.

Navigating the Sneaker Industry: A Personal Journey

The speaker shares their experience of sneaking into Complex Con and building a relationship with the brand, ultimately leading to a successful weekend in Chicago.

They reflect on the lessons learned from signing a brand deal without a lawyer and the importance of leveraging their talent for community building.

The speaker discusses two different collaboration deals and emphasizes the value of hard work and exposure in the sneaker industry.

The speaker discusses the differences between two business deals, highlighting the control and allocation of products.

They share their personal journey in creating impactful shoes for New Balance, using their first and second releases to build confidence and storytelling.

The pandemic provided a reset for the speaker, leading to significant growth and the evolution of their role from a solo entrepreneur to a creative director with a team.

The speaker has focused on saving money and scaling their business by taking on tasks themselves and hiring the right people.

They emphasize the importance of being a transparent and understanding leader, while also prioritizing community engagement and giving back.

The speaker's journey has involved checking off significant milestones and now aims to strengthen their agency's role in storytelling and community impact.