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Bombing the system: the king of eclectic cool, Marc Ecko, jaws with me on the art of the "hustle" and maintaining your passion

Men's Fitness, June-July, 2005 by Neal Boulton

CLOTHIER MARC ECKO, 32, IS THE MASTER of individualistic authenticity. He founded his now global brand, Ecko Unlimited, in '93, which in 2001 purchased giant action sports brand Zoo York. A proven entrepreneur, Marc has also teamed up and developed lines with such luminaries as Eve and 50 Cent. He also founded Complex magazine. And in what he calls his biggest move ever, he's just launched a new Atari video game called Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. Although Marc started out as an urban airbrush artist, his clothes are neither urban nor preppy, elitist nor slumming. Put frankly, he makes stuff a guy can finally just wear without looking all "metro" or "off-the-rack." For that, we thank you, Marc.

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When I caught up with him in his six-floor empire in Manhattan, I simply had to ask, "Marc, who the hell are you, man?"

"I'm a marketer, man. And the clothes, the magazine, the video games, Ecko Unlimited, it's all part of the hustle of hip-hop culture--getting noticed in a very mischievous way. I've been doin' it since I was 14. I'm an insider now, but I got an outsider's eye."

On trusting his instincts. "What I do is like the swagger of goin' up and bombing a wall or stepping into a freestyle session--things that still influence my business decisions today. And I study everything, cuz I'm not too stuffy to keep learning--or make a mistake. I think on a global scale: Apple, Virgin Records, Disney. I'm thinking about it all--and where I can take it. Maintainin' my creativity and success is like this weird Jedi-Zen shit--I'm just trusting my instincts and keeping that passion alive by balancing my maturity end my youth."

On maturity. "See, it's cool to be young, but you gotta keep emotion out of the office and maturity at the forefront. Lose sight of maturity and you will lose your passion. In the end, I'm inspired by the people around me--like the people I work with."

On what's next. "I'm still expressing myself first and making money second; and as for the latter, I use that other side of my brain, the business side, not so much just 'for that fuckin paper,' but more to provide for my family. I'm a guy--providin's in my DNA. I got a wife, two children, and we want more children. Ultimately, for me, anything is possible. So what's next is just goin' to be what's next. Ecko--truly unlimited."

Bombing the system: the king of eclectic cool, Marc Ecko, jaws with me on the art of the "hustle" and maintaining your passion

Men's Fitness, June-July, 2005 by Neal Boulton

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