HW Talks To Common and Daymond John at the Apollo

March 5, 2011

HW’s Media Strategists Jamie Hodges and Olympia Shakespeare attended AT&T’s speaker series 28 Days which honors history makers and innovators in Black History at the Apollo Theatre. They caught up with Daymond John (DJ), founder of the clothing line FUBU, and rapper, actor, and activist Common for a short interview.HW: How did you get started in the fashion industry?

DJ: I got started ironically by selling caps on 125th Street right outside of the Apollo Theater. I had stayed up all night at home and sewed my logo on these caps to bring uptown to sell.

HW: What are your rules of success?

DJ: I follow Five Rules of Entrepreneurship that I call SHARK.

S: Set Goals

H: Homework; do your homework and research your business.

A: Amore (Spanish for love); love what you do.

R: Remember your brand (stay true to your audience and what they would want)

K: Keep Trying and never give up.

HW: What message do you want to send to the youth who have dreams of owning their own business?

DJ: My message to them is that it takes the same amount of energy to think small as it does to think big. Always think big and follow SHARK.

HW: Being a supporter of Animal Rights and a voice on HIV/AIDS awareness would you say that your activism is more global than national?

Common: At the moment my activism is mainly on a national level although many of the issues are global. I aim to bring awareness to HIV/AIDS almost everywhere I speak or perform, nationally or internationally. Iā€™m blessed with having the platform to reach the youth and educate them on these issues especially in Chicago.


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Harlem World Magazine, 2521 1/2 west 42nd street, Los Angeles, CA, 90008, https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
We're your source for local coverage, we count on your support. SPONSOR US!
Your support is crucial in maintaining a healthy democracy and quality journalism. With your contribution, we can continue to provide engaging news and free access to all.
accepted credit cards

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles