YouSaid · the spoken record

Marc Ecko

lines on the record: 109
first: 2024-06-03
most recent: 2024-06-03
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I guess one of the things that you kind of got into was learning graffiti art. I don't think you were actually going out and vandalizing buildings, or maybe you were, but I think you got into using airbrush tools and painting graffiti style. But you were trying to hone your skill as a graffiti artist, I guess, Whitler.”
2024-06-03 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · ECKO UNLTD and COMPLEX: Marc Ecko · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Culture, dino brand, GT, vans, airwalk. So suddenly, I think it's about the age for most kids growing up that sort of pre-middle school, let's say from fifth to eighth grade, where they start to badge like a little chick born new to the world. They see these signals of like who their cultural mother is or father, right? And it's a part of, I think, how we're hardwired to sort of culturally fit in. So I was drawn to that. And then instead of just drawing Spider-Man, you know, I would draw what we saw in album covers or when I'd go into Queens and see graffiti on the subway cars, I knew that there was a movie called Wild Style because people were talking about it. And there was Beat Street and there were the fat boys. So you were just reacting to what was around you.”
2024-06-03 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · ECKO UNLTD and COMPLEX: Marc Ecko · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Remember being in probably fifth grade art class at Princeton Avenue School and there was this awareness of this emerging cultural trend. I remember some kids that when the buses were pulling up, there was like a group of kids that would be doing literally like backflips and breakdancing, you know, spinning on their back, like in the middle of the lunchroom. And I just was like, that's the coolest thing I've ever seen. But I also was seeing there was a big BMX culture that was happening at that time. Kids started aware all of those kind of like neon acidic colored clothing that was starting to come up through skate.”
2024-06-03 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · ECKO UNLTD and COMPLEX: Marc Ecko · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“What I recall Lakewood for was just its like intense diversity. Growing up there, you're like your product in your environment. So you're in it. It wasn't like that was a conscientious of it. It just was. I went to public school. My neighbors, people that live next door to me, you know, across the street from me was a very mixed race, very mixed multicultural experience.”
2024-06-03 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · ECKO UNLTD and COMPLEX: Marc Ecko · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The brand was in decline, but Mark was really smart about looking for opportunities that could capitalize on youth culture. And the most influential brand he eventually built was Complex, a media company that focused on things that matter to a growing subset of young consumers, sneakers, hip-hop, fashion, sports, and pop culture. Arc Echo was actually born Mark Milakowski. He grew up in New Jersey in a town called Lakewood, along with his twin sister Marcy, who would eventually become his business partner. And even though Lakewood was a sleepy town near the Jersey shore, Mark says it was a really interesting place to grow up.”
2024-06-03 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · ECKO UNLTD and COMPLEX: Marc Ecko · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Starting to get traction in the US, brands like Stucy, Fubu, and Supreme were even showing up in fashion magazines. Eventually, streetwear would kind of take over fashion, even luxury brands like Prada and Gucci and Valenciaga are heavily influenced by streetwear designs. As for Mark Echo, he grew up in the nineteen eighties obsessed with the rise of hip hop and also graffiti culture. By the time he was in college, he was airbrushing designs and fastening rhinestones to denim jackets and then selling those jackets for hundreds of dollars. Eventually, he got his jackets into the hands of rappers and musicians, which led Mark to start the brand. Echo Unlimited and its iconic rhino logo started popping up everywhere. Eventually hitting over a hundred million dollars in sales. Now by the end of the early 2000s,”
2024-06-03 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · ECKO UNLTD and COMPLEX: Marc Ecko · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I am painfully earnest, and there will be people listening to this totally vomiting on the earnestness. But fuck them, because that's real. That's what it was.”
2024-06-03 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · ECKO UNLTD and COMPLEX: Marc Ecko · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“When I wrote a business plan, I wanted to be a lifestyle brand and I write up this story of educating change to heal and overcome.”
2024-06-03 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · ECKO UNLTD and COMPLEX: Marc Ecko · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, one of my favorite parts of traveling is getting a feel for a neighborhood, the way locals do. A few summers ago, I was in Rome and stayed in an apartment I booked on Airbnb. It was tucked in a quiet neighborhood just outside the Roman forum. Every morning I'd walk to the corner cafe, grab an espresso, and just watch the world go by outside. I even managed to chat with the owner about the neighborhood he lived in for nearly forty years. And he got me thinking about my own neighborhood. There are incredible hiking trails and great restaurants and, of course, the beach. And when I'm traveling this summer, listing my own place on Airbnb could be a really smart way to let someone else experience the area the way I do, like a local. Listing your home on Airbnb while you're traveling is a great way to make some extra money. You could put the money toward your next trip. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much”
2024-06-03 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · ECKO UNLTD and COMPLEX: Marc Ecko · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT