Loopin’ The Hub

by Adriel "Ironman" Irons

10/20/09

I should probably be uncomfortable – but I’m not. My yuppie camouflage, consisting of an iridescent blue Macy’s special button down with gold tie to match, made me anything but a standout on Boston’s posh Tremont street. Slightly off the center of downtown, Tremont embodies Boston in a way that no Travel Channel special will ever quite capture. A walk down it will take you past some seriously old shit. I’m talking buildings from the 1700s old. I’m talking “Paul Revere was here” graffiti old. I’m talking Old Money old. Of course, there’s some new thrown in there. Tremont-bordered Boston Common is always filled during the day with young professionals and college kids, sneaking away for a quick break from the stresses of their silver spoon fed lives. You’ve got your bankers out to pick up a mid day snack and a new car if the mood’s right – nothing so ostentatious as a Rolls, but an Audi would do nicely. You can see doctors and lawyers, headed to a tee or tea time, respectively. In short, if there’s anywhere a guy in a double breasted suit was going to blend in, much less my jacketless getup, Tremont would be it.

Stepping off the elevator that took me from Tremont Street to Karmaloop’s 2nd floor office, I’m faced with a dizzying dissonance. Walking into the airy, MacBook and New Era fitted littered central space, I survey the décor and prepare to feel like the nerdy guy at the club who made the unfortunate choice of donning a cardigan. Colorful and subversive designs splash the walls, leaving just enough space for displays of articles and accolades. Twenty somethings and college heroes tap away at keyboards, in the posture of meticulously casual cool I’ve grown used to seeing in SoHo, Adams Morgan, Buckhead, and pretty much anywhere else with a 1 to 10 Starbucks to Gen Y’er ratio. Their clothing is an impressive array of what I’ve come to learn is commonly referred to as “streetwear,” which I can only define as the exact opposite of what I’m wearing. I’m at the reception desk of the home-base for the gatekeepers of a razor’s edge niche culture – and I’m sweating through my button up. The looks I’m receiving aren’t hostile though. Some are mildly curious, but if most of the looks were saying anything, it was a nonchalant “do you.” Not the stuffy, style snobbish vibe I had come to expect from the “jersey matched fitted” crowd I remember from college. This should be interesting.

As the receptionist notifies Greg Selkoe, founder and owner of Karmaloop, that I am here for our interview, I reflect on the difference between the world on the other side of the large windows looking out over the Common and the streetwear mecca that I’ve stepped into. Boston isn’t the last place in the world I would expect to find streetwear and urban fashonistas. While many outside of the “hub” may only think of Larry Bird and the 80s Celtics when Boston is brought up, it is a town of rich cultural diversity. It’s also 200 miles or so from New York City, which is sort of like being a flashlight next to a flood lamp. This makes Karmaloop’s rise over the past nine years even more noteworthy. The surprising thing isn’t that streetwear exists in Boston, but that Karmaloop, the biggest player in the online streetwear game, is based here. Greg makes sure to clarify for me later that Karmaloop is more than just a clothing website.

“We’re a community of style” he proclaims. “We have a lot of other things besides clothing: we have contests, we have the blog, we have the content newsletter, we have Karmaloop TV, we have Karmaswap now, which is like our “E-Bay” product…. We’re working on launching a cable channel. We’re doing a lot of different things, and I’ve always envisioned us as more of a lifestyle brand.”

With the site getting 4 million unique hits a month, and doing 70 million dollars in revenue yearly, it’s clear that Karmaloop is kind of a big deal. It’s far from a “lifestyle company” in the “mom, pop and old dog sleeping behind the register” sense. These guys make bank, and the location and layout of their business office does more than enough to back up that sentiment. So does their 2000 square foot Newbury street retail store in Boston’s famed Back Bay neighborhood. With neighbors like Chanel, Armani and Gucci, they are smack dab in the center of a retail strip known for it’s upscale clientele, both old money and new.

My reverie is broken by the scampering of a small dog in my peripheral vision. Even the dog has got Karmaloop’s brand of laid-back, effortless cool going for it. As I try to figure out what a canine does to be cool, Greg Selkoe emerges from a back room. Dressed in a plain black tee, jeans and black Adidas, I recognize him from his segments on Karmaloop TV alongside artists such as Kid Cudi, Common and Mos Def. He shows me back to his office, where the walls are filled floor to ceiling, either with an expansive view of the Common, or new designs for a soon to be released clothing brand. He’s not fidgety or the shifty sort, but paradoxically gives the impression of constant motion, as he sits back and adopts the posture of relaxed attention I previously observed his staff emulating. He has the predisposition for continuous action that seems to be a hallmark of entrepreneurs. His basic black choice of gear is also making me feel under dressed for some reason. It makes more sense later on when I figure out his Bell and Ross BR watch costs more than my first car. And my second. Combined. You wouldn’t know it from Greg’s laid back demeanor. I’m starting to grasp that the culture of cool that pervades Karmaloop starts right at the top. He could have had one of his street team usher me back to his corner office, or made me wait for hours, but it’s no problem for him to leave his executive meeting and interface promptly and directly. Even so, Greg isn’t one to waste time, and we immediately get down to a conversation on the lifestyle that formed and is Karmaloop.

We start with me giving a brief description of a Corporate Takeover reader – aspirational, savvy, and culturally aware, along with me asking Greg something basic: what does he want the readers to know about not just Karmaloop, but Greg Selkoe the business man. It quickly becomes apparent that Karmaloop isn’t only about the dollars.

“We do a lot of stuff to support causes we believe in – the arts, underground designers, stuff like that. We kind of look at it as a social movement as well as a clothing store.”

The concept of social consciousness and keeping a finger on the pulse of the art that doesn’t just pay you, but that you live and breathe, runs continuously through the interview. When I mention the dangers of being changed by the game as you’re being a game changer, Greg gets straight to the point.

“We try to keep our ears to the ground and stay as real as possible, and listen to people and continue to just live the lifestyle that we live. You can get bigger and make more money and still be relevant if you’re constantly out there innovating and being ‘tapped in.’  It’s when you say ‘fuck it, I’m gonna coast and…I got this, I don’t need to innovate, I don’t need to constantly get better and do new things and help new people and turn people on to new shit,’ that’s when you have a problem.”

It’s not just talk for Greg though. Karmaloop’s Kazbah storefront features smaller brands which would never get the level of exposure they do without a site with the distribution muscle of Karmaloop. Then there’s Greg’s backing of artists, both independent and mainstream (whatever that distinction means these days).

“I think that music is a major part of the culture,” Greg says. “We’re actually trying to do more stuff – we’re doing mix tapes and some other projects, and now we’re doing some more stuff. Almost like creating our own record label. Bad Rabbits is really the first group we’re fuckin’ with hard. We’re really saying this is a group we’re going to help promote and push. Wale…filmed his last video in Boston, and when he came to town, we helped put the whole thing together…”

Then there are the political connects. During the 2008 US Presidential Elections, Karmaloop displayed Obama campaign advertisements on the front page and helped thousands register to vote in partnership with DeclareYourself.com. Greg was unabashedly supportive of the Obama campaign, and was invited to the White House for the swearing in ceremonies. With a huge grin, Greg tells me:

“I was one of 25 entrepreneurs under the age of 35 invited to the White House. I got to go to the inauguration – I was two seats behind Oprah, so that shows you how good the seats were!”
Greg and Karmaloops’ dedication to the community didn’t stop with the inauguration though. A link to Serve.gov, the epicenter for the Obama Administration’s national service initiative is currently displayed on Karmaloop’s front page.

Greg’s passion for Karmaloop and the streetwear culture is obvious. He lights up when he talks about his product:

“What is streetwear is going to constantly change. The type of streetwear that we’re into is very eclectic. There are different types of brands – brands that are more skater influenced, brands that are more hiphop influrenced … Then you’ve got the Tokyo streetwear with a huge Japanese influence that was also influenced by Pharell. Even within the site, there’s lots of different sub genres. We have stuff that’s more contempory, then you’ve got your throwback tight 80s shit.”

Figuring anyone who calls the 80s throwback can’t have been on OG status for too long, I deduce and Greg confirms that he started Karmaloop at the ripe old age of 25. When I wonder aloud how his youth could’ve been a disadvantage starting out, he is candid:

“It hurt me ’cause I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing. I had to learn. Business wasn’t necessarily my thing per se. I had been working as an urban planner for the city, living at home, you know?… I didn’t have any business or retail background or anything… That was a challenge, but in a way that was good, because I didn’t come into it with any preconceived ideas. For the type of culture and the business I do, it’s good ’cause we had to do things differently than people would normally do. There’s a lot of intricacies in terms of the way the brands operate, because the brands are smaller. They tend not to be as corporate. If I came from a totally corporate background, it would’ve been harder for me to understand how things work, rather than easier.”

Yet, with the positivity of one who’s had to believe at all costs, Greg puts a spin on the age situation:

“Being young was good, ’cause I was totally enthusiastic and energetic and I was also willing to take more risks. I was like ‘you know, if this totally fails…’ and I wasn’t gonna let that happen, but you know, I was still young enough to land on my feet cause I risked pretty much…”

He pauses for a second, probably imagining what could have been if he had given in, before continuing:

“I put all the chips in, pretty much. I put every dollar I had in, and borrowed tons of money from people. I put my name on the line. If it all came crashing down, it would’ve been a disaster. When you’re younger though, it’s easier… being young and enthusiastic made a difference. I was totally hyped up doing things and I wasn’t going to quit. “

The stories flow faster, as if Greg is freestyling about the grind to the top. He’s caught up in the cipher, describing the obstacles he had to overcome to get Karmaloop to the place it is today. There’s the piano factory in the South End, where he moved his operations when they outgrew his parents’ basement. He spits a few lines about the winter the roof caved in and ruined the merchandise. There’s a bar or two about the crushing debt that dogged him and his wife (whom he calls saintly) for more than half a decade as he chased his dream. And on the hook is his refrain: I can’t give up.

The conversation begins to move away from the history of Karmaloop and more towards the wealth of knowledge Greg has accumulated about what works and what doesn’t work in building a successful business . He’s quick to share:

” Anyone I met for four years, I tried to get money out of ‘em. Even people that I met on the street…I actually got a dude I met in a store to invest $30,000 in my company… He thought I was crazy, but he was like ‘this kid’s enthusiastic, I’ll talk to him again.’ You’ve gotta be willing to put your balls out there and fuckin’ talk to anyone and say ‘this is the idea I want.’ You’ve gotta go out there, ask for money, and ask for help.”

Persistence clearly plays a huge part in the success of Karmaloop. So does authenticity. “Keeping it real” has become cliché in today’s “ctrl – c” culture, but the knowledge Greg is dropping right now is anything but pasted.

“[Karmaloop] was something I fell into because I really like the culture… I was always into streetwear clothing, but I never thought I would ever do a business or anything like that… It was something I’ve always been into, and I think that one of the reasons why we have been successful, is we came at it from a very authentic place. It’s that I didn’t say ‘hey, I wanna start a business, what’s a good demo to go after?’ but it was more that this is what I loved and cared about …. “

I ask Greg if there is advice he would go back in time to give himself if he could. His critical gaze turns inward as he examines almost a decade’s wild ride he calls “stressful but fun.” He mentions a few things he would change about those he kept close, who probably should have been cut loose a little sooner. The comment “you’ve gotta be loyal to someone - but only if they’re loyal back to you” hints at expensive learning experiences. He moves on to the topic of getting things done.

“A guy gave me this advice. He said business people live in a world where it’s just one problem after another. If you can solve a problem every time and not lose your cool and not make the problem any worse, then you’re going to be successful. But if you get emotional and internalize the problem, then you’re going to cut off your nose to spite your face.”

This segues into a frank discussion on ego. I probably shouldn’t be surprised that the guy at the head of an org with Karma in its name is pretty good about keeping his own on the positive side:

“You want to spend your time doing stuff that’s productive. One thing I did do right was that I did avoid a lot of conflicts. There were some conflicts I should’ve had that I didn’t. But on the flip side of that, I was also very good at smoothing shit over in a lot of situations where it needed to be done …You’ve gotta pick your battles. A lot of people who are entrepreneurs have big egos, myself included. But you’ve gotta learn to keep it in check. The business comes first.”

A phone rings and breaks the flow of the conversation. I realize that the interview is drawing to a close. The phone keeps ringing and it dawns on me that it’s not his assistant buzzing him – it’s my own cellphone. Shit, I must have got too comfortable. Greg is chill about the whole thing. “Is that the Palm Pre?” he says. “Cool phone.” Chuckling and embarrassed, I put it on mute. I get back to the last question I want to run by him before we wrap things up. What advice does he have for our readers who want to do their own thing and build their own businesses?

”Find something you care about” is his response. ”If you don’t like what you’re doing, you’re not going to be happy. Second is that you better be ready to work. We have this issue with some young interns who come in. Like 1 in 10 will be killing it. The other 9 are like, ‘when do I get to go to this party or that event?’ You’ve always got to pay your dues. You’ve always got to work. The people who cultivate this image of life as leisure like Hugh Hefner or Diddy or any of those guys – that’s the image they cultivate and the lifestyle they sell. You better believe to get to where they were they fucking worked their ass off. They didn’t just roll in there and pop champagne and hang out with hot girls. You gotta get to that point. If you come in there and say you’re a baller from day one, you’re gonna have problems. You’re never gonna make it.”

For the finale, he returns to an often repeated point from the conversation.

“The third most important thing is that you’ve gotta be ready to never quit. You can’t give up. You gotta believe in your idea and expect that things are gonna go wrong for a long time. A lot of being successful in business Is just waiting it out. We just kept going, even when other people were going out of business….There’s gonna be a lot of times when it’s just not fun and if you really want it to be successful, you ‘ve just gotta keep going.”

So what’s next for Greg Selkoe? Big things of course.

“Our big project that we’re working on right now is… we’re trying to launch a cable channel. MTV in my opinion was once cutting edge, but now it’s just a teenie bopper thing so it’s not relevant. [Our] cable channel would be licensed content that we believe in, things that we like: movies, shows, whatever. And then we would do original content in-between, but more in an internet format - five, ten, fifteen minute stuff in-between. As it gains a footing, we’re gonna start doing our own independent content as well that are more shows and stuff like that.”

Anyone who’s caught the Kelly Show or any other webisode on Karmaloop TV can attest to the fact that these guys know how to make compelling content. Then, there’s the new Karmaloop original clothing label. That won’t be what it’s called of course…expect some next level shit. Throw in meetings with Russell Simmons crashed by Rev Run, the Bad Rabbits recent work with Travis from Gym Class Heroes and new brands popping up in the Kazbah constantly, and you can understand why Greg doesn’t have to be worried about staying in the loop.

Adriel Irons can be reached at ai at corporatetakeovermag.com

Visit Karmaloop online.

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