Interview with Zac(@zacftp) of KcufThePopulation.
Could you introduce yourself to everyone & give a little back ground information about you(age,city etc)?
My name is Zachary Clark better known as the owner of FTP. I’m 17 years old and live is Los Angeles, California with my step-dad, step-brother, and mom. I am just like the average 17 year old, I go to school everyday, hang out with friends on the weekend, all that stuff. The only thing is I own a clothing company.
Who are the members of your team?
Maurice, Yamen, Skyler, and Justin
What was your first design?
this is funny, I used to go to goodwill and steal sweaters with skyler. I would take em to the t-shirt warehouse and get a simple $6 iron on lettering which read kcuFthePopulation and kcuF on the upper back. I actually lost money because I gave these out for free, or sold them for $5 dollars. I will pay goodwill back one day.
What influenced your first design?
The first design had really no meaning behind it except to get the name out there.
How did you guys start designing?
When we first started I just stole images from google, threw them on a shirt , and put kcuFthePopulation in the bottom of the pic.
From there we upgraded to a program called picasa which we no longer use to make our very first designs.
We have upgraded to photoshop and illustrator which currently use now.
How long have you guys been around?
We have been around for about 1 year now and are rapidly growing.
How would you describe your area’s fashion scene?
I would say my areas fashion scene revolves around hype. Los Angeles is filled with a lot of generic people that dress the same as everyone else, polo,snapback, jordans, fake gucci
backpack, TISA, etc. I used to be that kid wearing polo, a snapback and some jordans. I no longer try to impress anyone.
how has that impacted your brand’s style?
This impacted my brands style because we are tottally against what the fashion scene is doing, we do what we think is cool, not what everyone else thinks is cool. If we like the design we are going to use it.
kcuFthePopulation is a unique name is there a meaning behind it?Yes there is a very deep meaning behind it, yes we are a clothing company, but we are much more than that. The meaning behind is to provide clothing without anyone telling us what we can and cannot make. FTP is uncensored creativity. The brand stands for rebelling, not caring about authority, doing what you want and not letting anyone get in the way of that. The kcuF is just Fuck spelled backwards, and the population we are talking about is the negativity, so if you break it down it is fuck everything negative and all the negative people.How would you describe your brand?What do you have in store for FTP? anything big?
There is so much in store for FTP. We have a couple minor skate shop store deals coming up, and a couple of major ones which aren’t coming until Summer of 2012.
We don’t have any collabs, which I am happy to say. I think brand should only collab if the message is relevant. , which is why I want to collab with DTA one day.
What keeps you humble?
I just try to focus on my self mainly and not really what anyone else is doing.
Do you feel as if you are growing daily with your brand?
Yes I know this because at least once a day a different person asks me if I am the “FTP kid”.
I try to promote everyday which ever way I can but I am not a social person, so yamen, maurice, and skyler are a big help.
How did you come up with the concept for your brand?
The concept of my brand just came from all the negative people in my life, people calling me ugly, all types of stuff. One day I just said fuck the population
I don’t remember how I came up with those exact words or why it’s even spelled backwards, but I know that it means a lot now.
How is FTP different from other brands?
Our age. Also no other brand has as strong a message as we do, this is a movement and a clothing brand, not alot of brands have that.
What is the message that you would like to be sending?
The main message we are sending is not to fit into society, do not fall into their standards. Be yourself. Don’t let negativity bring you down.
What was the most difficult obstacle you faced, in establishing your brand?
This would have to be the name. It is hard to promote sometimes because there is profanity in the brand name, and a middle finger as the logo. This has restricted us from being sold in certain
stores.
What is the most rewarding aspect of running your brand?
Meeting people, I have met so many people because of FTP it is crazy. At least one random person and day, and that makes me feel good knowing that people that I don’t know respect and like
what I am doing.
Who are some of the people that have shown love to your brand?
Mainly just my friends, family, and the fan base of FTP, also Joon from Overdoz likes the brand and has a shirt.
What brands and designers do you look up to?
Scott Sasso the owner of 10 deep. I have seen so many interviews and even spoken to him on twitter. He started out just like FTP making designs and giving them to friends. I can relate so much to some of the stuff he says in his interviews. Also Kobi from thebrandwithnoname. I have alot of respect for him and his brand, they inspire alot of what FTP does.
Do you have any words of Inspiration for the young aspiring designers out there?
I would just say keep doing you. Promote your brand everyday, meet a new person everyday, tell them about your brand, blog, etc. Give out free stuff, the little things like that count.
Never give up what you love, don’t ever doubt yourself. if you have a clothing brand, don’t try and collab with every brand that’s out there, focus on your brand. Be original.
How do you feel about the whole RAUTTENCULTURE movement?
The Rautten Culture movement is very creative and I have much love for the whole movement. Shanell puts so much time and work into the movement,blog, etc that she will be on top in no time.
Thank you guys for all the love and support.
Any last words or shoutouts?
Shoutout to Lynell, Skyler, Jade, Jahnae, Maurice, Yamen, My brother Nate, Natalie, Justin Hundred, Ryan Rigsby, Lunden, Lauren, Premium Content, Colin Sharpies, Justin Ewelll, TBWNN, Meagan, Morgan and Hayden.
and also Top Flight Clothing for being the first teenage clothing company that I had seen at the time. -kcuF You
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[…] $6 iron on lettering which read kcuFthePopulation and kcuF on the upper back. I actually lost money because I gave these out for free, or sold them for $5 dollars. I will pay goodwill back one […]
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