The Best Of The Circle Of Trust Year Two: 373 - Bobby Kim

The Best Of The Circle Of Trust Year Two: 02/20
AID 390

If you want someone to listen you have to grab their attention. If you want to keep that attention you need to have something worth saying. Everyday each of us are endlessly marketed to and Bobby Kim of The Hundreds found his own way to cut through the white noise and speak directly to the world from his early blog posts to his current seat at the head of the streetwear industry where he now uses the attention he earned to continue fighting for a better world. The Hundreds was the first platform Bobby used to gain our attention yet there is so much more to this politically charged, socially introspective, feminist father who applies his mind to his own impact on the community around him. Far from an out of touch and jaded who's who in the fashion world, Bobby has pioneered what a brand can do and how they fit into the marketplace from the small doors to mall doors. So listen up because Bobby has something to say and its definitely worth your attention.

Talking Points

  • How wanting to be involved with your interests and hobbies transfers over when you run your own business.
  • The early signs of streetwear and why it is so difficult to put your finger on the beginning of something.
  • The importance in labeling a movement so it can be marketed.
  • The initial goals of The Hundreds and how they distinguished themselves as more than just another shirt based brand.
  • Blogging before using a computer was cool.
  • Finding the avenues available to express yourself when the obvious ones are closed off.
  • How social media has changed the ability to find and engage with mentors.
  • How being DIY pushes you to be better at what you're doing and the benefit of having an adversary.
  • What to do as a parent when your kids have no obstacles to overcome.
  • Bobby the Lawyer and how he found his true calling
  • Leaning on IP for recognition from fans and how to properly use a flip to actually say something.
  • Bobby shares a cryptic legal outlook shared by Tim Doyle
  • Focusing on yourself and not being concerned with what others are doing.
  • The lack of sustainability in a company with nothing to say.
  • Bracing yourself for the eventual backlash of expressing your opinion in an overly sensitive public spectrum.
  • Is opening a location with high visibility and even higher rent a fiscally beneficial move?
  • The secondary aspect of a brand that also acts as an ad agency be leveraging credibility within their fanbase.
  • Telling a story within a collaboration to give it impact and meaning for both parties involved.
  • The true fate of Boba Fett.
  • Turning consumers into eventual paychecks over time.
  • The pros and cons of going from Fairfax to Mall Doors and how controlling distribution can protect and limit your brand.
  • Two Walt disciples geek out over Disneyland and what is was like for Bobby to own a piece of it for five hours.
  • How to impress the 15 year old inside of you.
  • Leaving breadcrumbs for anyone interested enough to follow you.
  • The joy in connecting with other people
  • The pressure of defining what is next and staying as funky as your last cut.
  • Handling the responsibility of representing a company that has employees counting on it and people depending on it to maintain its credibility.