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Like many people reading this, I’m currently spending more time in front of screens than I’d like to. While most of the stuff isn’t really that great, something that stood out for me is the new ESPN docuseries The Last Dance, which is showing on Dutch Netflix. The series is about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls at their peak. It’s a show about passion, competitiveness, sportsmanship, media, and above all: collaboration.
When Michael Jordan was told that there is no “I” in “Team”, he replied that there is one in “win.” Iconic answer of course, but what The Last Dance shows us is that however great Michael Jordan was, he could have never done it all by himself. Without goodwill, teamwork, talent, and a little bit of luck, things might have not gone the right way for the 90s Bulls.
As I’m relating a lot of current events and things I see in media with my own personal life it made me reflect on my own team. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past few years, it’s that creating and managing a team is one of the hardest parts of being an entrepreneur. Not only is finding the right person a challenge at times, but finding the right group of different people to work in a unified team can be even trickier. It’s one thing to be good at what you do, but how do you translate that to other people?
That’s another thing Jordan was good at. Motivating everyone to be on the same page. We don’t have a Dennis Rodman in our team (luckily, perhaps), but everyone is truly unique, with their own beliefs, talents, and motivations. How can I ensure that the team can consistently focus on the same goals and objectives that I have for the brand? How can we function as a singular entity as we’re growing every season?
I believe the answer to that question is twofold. First, you have to let them know your mission, vision, and values. If you don’t believe in your own motivation, no one else will. Your goal has to be clear, and you need your team to understand how it’s going to be met. Secondly, it’s important to let them know that you trust them. That there is a reason why you asked them to be a part of the team in the first place.
It took me a while to figure this out, and The Last Dance shows that not everyone can always be shoulder to shoulder with each other. But that’s okay. As long as you trust each other in doing what’s right. In our design team, we have some of the most talented people I’ve met. Our store team can literally help anyone anytime with finding the right fit, and they do it with a kindness that is unmatched. The people in our back-end office are definitely the hardest and most diligent workers I know. We work with so many different talented creatives (both freelance and full-time) that strive to help us reach our goals. Aside from them, my business partner helps me personally with the aspects of business I’m not as familiar with. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are, and I’m thankful for each and every day I get to work with them.
This definitely isn’t our last dance. I hope we will have many seasons after this. As long as we got each other, it’ll be alright.
Olaf.
29 Nov 2021
“In terms of knowing what I wanted to pursue in my career, it was from being at fashion events and afterparties. I wanted to do more than just be a guest. I knew I’d love to be part of it, do nights, program nights, DJ, and everything else. But my actual start in music was just from being around musicians in general and having a community of musicians that gave us the opportunity to DJ for them, produce for them, and get immersed in their own careers."
“We were signed to the same agency when we first started modeling. I was 19 and Ashton was 16. Going to Milan, Paris, all these shows in Europe and America, we just created this bromance from traveling, living, eating, and working out together. Being like-minded individuals, we decided to join forces to create something."
Photography by Travis Gumbs.
With Ashton.
“Whether it’s business, creative, or financial, we both do the same stuff. In terms of role and character, I’d say Ashton is the good cop and I’m the bad cop."
“We were doing a lot of radio shows in London, both commercial and underground, NTS, Rinse FM, Capital XTRA and BBC Radio 1Xtra. We had these small residency series off the back of DJs that were already on those shows and what we wanted to do is to create a show within those spaces but realized very quickly that we had no creative freedom. So, we decided to just make it ourselves and do something that feels a bit more us. Be in a position to pick the guests and tailor it to our own interests. We just wanted to give people inspiring, insightful conversations from people that kind of look like us and speak like us."
“Not really. I just want to keep carrying on with the broadcast and keep creating spaces for me to breathe in when it comes to fashion, music, and lifestyle. Everything else is just up to destiny. I'm just happy with where I'm at now."
“Easily sport. Music is something I listen to every single day. Fashion is something that I have to think about in order to get ready. Sport is something that I do when I have the off time, it's a bit of a hobby, and I'm definitely not making any money from sport haha."
Fashion is something that I have to think about in order to get ready.
Self care.
“Worst advice is probably somebody telling me somewhere along the line of ‘this is impossible, and you can't do this’. The best advice was ‘move towards it’. It wasn't even advice; I was speaking to one of my mentors at the beginning of the year and saying how much juice and energy I have at the moment and how much I wanted to create. His response was actually just ‘move towards it’ and it made me realize that even a step forward is better than a step back, even if it's a tiny step forward. "
“Prada. I loved Prada since I was a child. From the age of 12 to 15, I wore Prada to school. I didn’t go to an affluent school where people had unlimited pools of money, I saved up so much money to buy it. So, it was one of those full circle moments working with them. It wasn't something I did for the paycheck, I'm proud to wear the stuff because of the child in me that just loved to wear them in school."
Working with Prada.
“My staple item would probably be jewelry because we change clothes. So, I would say somewhere between my Cartier bracelet and my Rolex."
“At the moment:"
“Greenwich, probably. I grew up there and it’s so different anywhere else in London. It’s not super fancy and it's not super hood, it's just normal. It’s so diverse, it’s got both historic and new monuments, and the O2 arena. It’s a good balance."
“Berlin. We love Germany. We haven't been able to go back for a while, but we’ve been fortunate to play a few things in Berlin. It's not like there is a massive hip hop presence but the kind of people there just love the music and are there to have a good time."
“The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. I’ve never been there but I’m dying to go. It's incredible, from the layout of it, to the chairs, the light, acoustics, the whole thing. The design and architecture make it the best venue in my opinion."
“Person. That’s a hard one. Can I say God? I’ll say God."
“A place that inspires me is London. Naturally. London has so many success stories whether it's football, music, fashion, community lifestyle, culture, business. So many people have made it here."
“In terms of a thing that inspires me, I would probably say, it’s an idea. The idea of achieving everything. Knowing that you could possibly achieve what you put your mind to. Even if you haven’t achieved everything that you want to achieve or know how to exactly, it keeps you going, getting to one hurdle, conquering it, then another. Then you realize everything can be done. I think that is so inspiring."