In this edition of Alexus Renée’s Celebrity Myxer™ she hosts Chicago King Dave interview. Chicago King Dave is the CEO and Founder of Fuck Fame Apparel, the hottest urban brand in Chicago and expanding worldwide rapidly.
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It’s been four years since he started his endeavors and Alexus asks the creator what motivated him to start his clothing line brand. He responds, “Basically, what motivated me was all of the violence going on in the city of Chicago. You know I’m from the streets. I’m in tune with a lot of things that’s going on and a lot of the kids think being a killer is the move today.” His approach is to reach the urban youth with something more relatable to them while encouraging to not just chase fame for negative things (fuck fame!) Yet channel that negative energy into something positive such as chasing revenue streams that come from fame.
Renée then asks about Dave’s other business ventures such as him hosting mixes tapes- which circled back to the clothing line’s inception. Chicago King Dave’s initiative was to adopt and revamp a formula by hip hop DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape series. However, once he dropped the FF logo on a T-shirt and hat- fans of his new mixtape series raved and requested clothing instead.
Young Jeezy Wearing Fuck Fame Apparel
Being a savvy businessman and noticing the shift in demand he pivoted his business base. Therefore he gave the people what they wanted. He started supplying hats, shirts, jogging suits, etc. and success quickly brought on notoriety from famous celebrities. Rapper Young Jeezy endorsed Fuck Fame apparel live on stage at a concert- then sales and recognition sky rocketed.
The celebrity interviewer goes on to ask how much capital was required to start his brand. Contrayary to popular believe- Dave did not start with a ton of capital. But merely $300 and a passion. Now he says the brand is producing $10,000 to $15,000 per month within one year.
For the Fellas, the Ladies or Both?
Fuck Fame started out for the fellas but it was the ladies demanding the shirts. He then started creating crop tops, crop hoodies and tank tops for females. Men took notice of the ladies rocking the hot apparel and followed suit. This lead to staying keen to color and shoe trends to making suggestive pairings with the clothing.
“It’s always going to be haters. If you don’t get that, you’re not going to be successful.”
Chicago is known as the City of Haters… meaning there is a severe lack of local support. Dave says he embraces the hate. He says he understands a lot of people have left Chicago in order to make it but he doesn’t feel the same sentiment. He attributes the success of the brand with the synergy of the city.
Furthermore, he explains his marketing growth tactics to be that of an “enforcer”. Meaning, he’s constantly promoting the brand to force his target market to buy after they repeatedly see it everywhere, eventually converting to purchasers and then telling someone about it.
In the TV show with Chicago King Dave interview he attributes some of his best accomplishments to being a father in his children’s lives. There is a constant work and family life balance act but he says he maintains them through proper time management and daily prayer. He’s inspired to reach the stature of FUBU in the 90’s. He also looks up to moguls such as P. Diddy (or briefly Brother Love), Russel Simmons and Irv Gotti. Ultimately he thrives for success and wants to inspire change in the lives of youth- even save lives of youth!
Dave’s upcoming events include a fashion show. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite or at Edward Ark’s store. The Alexus Renée team will be in attendance supporting this fabulous event. Come out and meet us!
