Screen Shot: Haunted

City Based: Queens, NY

What inspired the brand name?

The name haunted was inspired partly because I have a huge love for horror movies and all things scary but it also has a deeper meaning in that everyone has something that haunts them whether it's big or small we're all haunted by something in our lives constantly.

At what moment did you realize you wanted to start a brand?

I grew a passion for the streetwear scene and bought myself a bunch of stuff throughout high school and then I had a moment at like 17 or 18 that I could also make clothes and give that good feeling I get when buying clothes to someone else. My mom also worked as a seamstress so I took on her dream of wanting to make clothes in my own way.

What helps you get over creative blocks?

A lot of the times I have to remind myself that you won't always have 100 new ideas everyday and so I will either talk to the people i'm close to and see what we can come up with or most of the time I like to just listen to music with my eyes closed or watch old nostalgic videos or even modern shows and stuff can help with giving some inspiration. I wish I was the type to go for a walk or look at nature because that seems the purest way to get motivated but i'm kinda lazy as hell. lol

What is the biggest mistake you have made?

I think my biggest mistake is not starting this earlier because not only is there way more (talented) people to compete with but it also takes so much time to learn everything and really get the hang of everything. Some of the biggest companies still make mistakes because they don't know what to do in certain situations and they have teams of people working on stuff so imagine how hard it is for the one person doing it all by themselves in a garage or something.

What is the biggest success you have had?

I personally hate looking at numbers even though I do admit I find a fair bit of satisfaction reaching certain follower goals or likes/comments on a post but I think my biggest success was making a change of heart tapestry sweater that someone reposted on twitter and it got thousands of likes and it gave a lot of traction to my page and the best part of it all was how many literal strangers were telling me the stuff I make is cool and how I should keep going. Since I struggle with feeling like i'm not good enough in the stuff I do that really means the world when someone says the stuff I do is amazing and it literally never gets old.

A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION PEOPLE MAY FIND WEIRD?

I find weird inspiration in a lot of things like maybe color combos from certain foods like yellow and red for strawberry and banana but I think one that might be weird is I always get crazy inspired when I see people with no followers that are getting no sales all of a sudden blow up and be doing numbers. Especially when it's someone I personally speak to it really gives me a drive to wanna get to that point too and I wouldn't say that's weird but I think the amount of motivation it gives me could be looked at as a little weird.

Favorite color to use?

Purple is my favorite color but brown and pink is the best color combo. I feel like I would typically gravitate towards black for clothes though. Why do I have such complicated answers for every simple question?

ARE THERE ANY RETAIL SHOPS YOU WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU BRAND IN?

If my friends ever opened a shop that would be really cool but besides having my own shop it would be sick to be in resell stores like round two or just random skate shops.

ANOTHER BRAND THAT INSPIRES YOU AND WHY?

Oh man this question could be talked about for so long so i'll try to keep it as short as possible. I have so many brands that inspire me because all it really takes for me to look up to you is for me to see you're a person who actually cares about the brand as a passion not just the money. Anytime I see a brand pumping out cool shit consistently or working through hard times or just simply talking to their followers on a chill level I instantly look up to them and all the people I look up to in that sense I also gain inspiration from their work most of the time. Shoutout to people like xaciddrop, tyrant.ri, gilfgavin, insomnia, chaotixstudios, _youre_dreaming_, vandythepink, illxnessco, revenge, section8 and ryderstudios. I definitly forgot a bunch but I already put way too much anyway.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AND THE BRAND IN 1 YEAR AND 5 YEARS?

I honestly don't know because the future is really unknown and anything could happen but i'm just hoping to have been able to collaborate with some of the people that inspire me, reach certain milestones in things like followers, be happier and mainly healthier, be able to do this full time, work with the artists I listen to on some merch and possibly (hopefully) go on tour with them and I guess overall just be in a happy satisfied state of mind with the people I hold close to me cause I want all my friends and I to be winning together.

IN 5 WORDS OR LESS DESCRIBE YOUR BRAND?

Mega, Swag, Go, Buy, Something