30 Life/Work Lessons

Some tips I've picked up along the way.

Yesterday, The Hundreds turned 20.

Everyone was very kind on social media and much of the community started offering favorite memories (read the Comments). It opened the sentimental floodgates and it was hard not to reflect on what’s transpired over my career. Ben texted me earlier in the day and said, “I don’t know if I should be feeling happy or sad,” and that made a lot of sense. This has been a mazelike journey, punctuated by blips of euphoria, decorated with hard work and creativity, and bottomed out by suffering and loss. Although we live the dream, it’s also work. And there are weeks, months, and even some years where it truly feels like it. At the end of the day, The Hundreds chose us and there was nobody better suited for the job. We started this company when we were 23 years old in a time before smartphones and social media. Ben and I were single and without children, married to the craft. Streetwear and sneakers, as defined today, did not exist and nobody could have foreseen how it’d take over the world. Fairfax was a historic Jewish neighborhood in LA leased out by bookstores and Israeli eateries. Kanye had just shattered his jaw, W. was President, and we were still reeling from 9/11. And I daydreamed of becoming a fine artist or working at a creative agency. To be real, I had no idea what I was supposed to do with my future. Thank God for The Hundreds. The Hundreds saved my life.

Just for my paid subscribers, I wanted to impart a list of what I’ve learned over the last two decades. I’ve become a better designer and business owner, but most importantly, The Hundreds and streetwear have helped me grow up. I’ve got a ways to go, but I think I’m much further along now.

30 lessons: