Episode 081: Barney Waters - Kswiss & The Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

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What'S going on, everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome to the Rise of the Young podcast today. I'm super excited about this podcast because we have Barney Waters with us here today. He is the president at K Swiss and I know that we've been going back and forth for the last month now, Barney. So I definitely appreciate your time to come on the podcast.

Yeah, great to be here. Thanks for. Thanks for inviting me.

Absolutely. So I want to kind of kick things off because I know when it comes to K Swiss and the brand in general, we'll get into your involvement with it. But just the, the entire, I would say, brand strategy of inspiring and outfitting the next generation of entrepreneurs. I really want you to just touch on that and kind of the mission behind what K Swiss is doing when it comes to the rebranding route that's currently taking place with the Gary Vee sneakers and everything you guys are doing there. But I'd love for you to just kind of touch on what K Swiss is to you before we kind of get into your story.

Yeah, well, I mean, K Swiss is a, you know, 50 year old sneaker brand and it was founded in California in 1966 and it's known for, you know, classic white leather sort of tennis sneakers. And it got big in the past, you know, twice in its history. Case was added $100 million of revenue in one year.

Yeah.

So it's had spikes, you know, in, in its 50 year history, but most recently it kind of lost relevance. And the Nikes and Adidas and Pumas of the world and Converse and Vans and all these other brands have had the strength and K Swiss won a bit by the wayside. So my job taking over a couple years ago is to try and bring an old brand back to relevance. And I think one of the first things I realized was that we weren't going to win by taking on our biggest competitors at their own game. You know, like, if I was going to try and be a brand for athletes or sneakers that make you run fast, I had no chance against all those other guys. So, you know, Nike really owns that position of athletes. I think Adidas has done a nice job recently of saying, hey, look, in order to get themselves back in to the number one spot, let's move to sort of celebrities or the cool kids. And you know, they made, they made Nike's athlete positioning look a little old fashioned and they stole a lot of attention. Well, I also knew I couldn't beat Adidas if I tried to sign a rapper. You know, I'm too small.

And.

But at the same time, there was this movement toward entrepreneurship as like an aspiration of young people. And I think we recognized this was happening and said, look, there's a movement amongst.

Oh, you there? One moment. I think I lost you on my end. Not sure if you can hear me right now. One moment.

Hey.

Hey. I'm not sure why my connection dropped. Sorry about that.

Yeah, no worries. No, I was in the middle of a great speech.

I know, Sorry. Sorry. We can jump right back into it. Perfect. We can just jump right into it. Yes. I lost you pretty much when you were just talking about you were touching on Adidas.

Oh, can you hear me say that again?

I lost you when you were touching on Adidas. And then it right cut out there and I'll be able to chop this up perfectly.

Okay, let me, let me just jump in. I think Adidas has done a nice job of switching from athletics as the inspirational heroes of culture to celebrities, rappers, you know, But I knew that case was also couldn't compete by trying to sign a rapper to outdo Adidas.

We're too small.

So there's this movement of entrepreneurship that's happening and it was an open lane for us. So I think that's the reason we went there. And A, it was happening, it's true. And B, gave us a nice open lane. And you know, like people like yourself, I mean, look at you at your age. You're running a business, you're talking about entrepreneurship. I mean, that just didn't really happen 10 years ago. So, you know, no one's, you know, why would I be talking to you about, let me make you run a faster mile or dunk a basketball. That's not relevant to you. Whereas if I said to you, hey, how can I provide a sneaker for you that can, you know, be versatile for a meeting with an investor or hanging out with your friends after work. And then it's also easy on off for your business trips, going through TSA.

Yep.

Okay, now you're speaking.

Yeah, 100%. That's amazing.

So it's an exercise in really about brand positioning and differentiation, but also it's about kind of recognizing a cultural shift that was happening and trying to jump on that wave. So that's what's led us to this modern position. So K Swiss is really a authentic Heritage sneaker brand, California based, 1966, with a modern mission of inspiring this young entrepreneur.

I love that. And it's funny that you say that because like, like we were talking about before where it's like, I'm 18 now and kind of within the last year and a half, especially with the launch of the Gary V's and all that stuff that you guys are doing there, like, it's very much caught my attention of what, what K. Swiss is doing. And I know that's why I reached out to you to kind of know, understand who you are as an individual in your story. But then also more about the case with his mission because I do think it's cool because me being 18, I do a lot. I've interviewed a lot of amazing individuals and I have a lot of young individuals that are following me between the ages of literally like nine years old and I would say like 19 or 20. Right. And a lot of these people tend to be entrepreneurs that are trying to do more, trying to start a business, trying to tap into this social media world to then see, oh, what Gary Vee is doing and what he's talking about. And it's millions of people now of young creators that are actually like, stepping into this, I would say, culture shift. And it's super cool to kind of see what you guys are doing to kind of captivate that audience.

Yeah. You know, I think it's a mindset, you know, like even if you're like you said, a nine year old who might be, you know, on the lemonade stand, you know, it's like, what makes that person say, I'm not going to watch, sit inside and watch tv, I'm going to go outside and see if I can make some money selling lemonade. Like, I'm going to stand in the sun, in the heat, y and I'm going to engage people driving past. That's a mentality or a drive that is, you know, you can't see it from the outside.

Yep.

Now that's inside people. And so it's that mindset that we're really trying to appeal to. And I think it's growing and growing and growing, and it's not about athletics.

Totally.

You know, saying so. Yeah, I think that thing now. Now the. Where it got really interesting was when I was sort of thinking, well, who's our Jordan? You know, who can bring this to life and grab attention? And all roads pointed to Gary V. Like you said, you know. Yeah, man. This is the dude that's out there really talking this language and getting everybody's attention. You know, I call him the godfather of the movement.

Totally. And.

And. And people are looking at me sideways, like, really? You know, that dude's like 40 years old from New Jersey, and he doesn't look like what's supposed to be a sneaker, a face of a sneaker brand, you know, And I was like, you know, I hear you, and it. But it just kept coming back to him and saying, he is that guy. And so I felt like it was a bit of a gamble to go with Gary and. But I think when you. When you start new brands and you're. Or you're a challenger and, I mean, a lot of people listening will probably have. Either they're in startup mode or they're. They've got big competition or markets they're trying to penetrate is. I really feel there's more risk in not going out on a limb and trying something crazy. There's more risk than not. You know what I'm saying? You just try and blend in and do what everybody else is doing. That's a risk.

Yeah. Yeah.

You know, so you've got to try and disrupt some things and do some things differently. So the Gary thing actually worked out. I think even Gary will tell you that he didn't know what was gonna happen with a sneaker. He's like, you know me, my own sneaker. I mean, he wanted to do it, but I think he kind of hedged on it and would often said, like, hey, if it doesn't work, it'll be a good, funny story to tell my friends.

Totally.

You know, so he left himself with an out, but it worked.

Totally.

We're now on to. We're working on Gary VO4s coming out later this year, and it's been. It's been really transforming for us as a brand. I can imagine helped him too. You know, I think it's helped him be a little bit more, you know, delve a bit more with credibility into Youth culture by Totally Sneaker game. He loves the sneak.

No. 100%. So it's funny too, because when I. When it comes to the whole. The first launch of the Gary V001, it's. I actually, his team reached out to me. They sent me a pair, and they do all, like, the influencer stuff when it comes to getting people, like, taking pictures in it of them and doing the video. So they. They sent me a pair. And this was like, October of last year or right when they launched. And that's when I was literally walking into high school because I graduated this June. I was walking to high school wearing the shoes, and I did a little selfie video. I was like, yo, Gary, I'm rocking the oh ones in the school. And then literally, that's when Gary hits me up. And long story short, we end up setting up a meeting in New York in, like, February. And that was like, my really big push to start the podcast because he was always talking about podcasting and podcasting. So I really launched it super hard in December, and now I'm over half a million downloads on the podcast. And I was ranked, like, top seven business podcasts just from, like, this major swing. But Gary kind of like with the shoe. That was the shoe sort of like, was the gateway to. To end up getting Gary on the podcast. And everything. So it was super cool.

That's very cool. I love to hear those stories. And, you know, that's when you're going to be more loyal to K Swiss is because there was an emotional connection made that beyond just being a sneaker, you know, I think, you know, we just recently launched the Clouds and Dirt sneaker.

Yep. I got them right over here.

Yeah. The Garyvee 03. And I was thinking, man, I can't wait to see someone wearing those in the wild, you know? Yeah. And I ended up seeing someone when I was speaking at an event in Boston recently. But, you know, their stories always come back with, someone was wearing the clouds and dirt, the 003s, and they saw someone else on the street wearing them and said, yo, you got the Gary Vee's on the K Swiss. And they end up talking for an hour.

Yep. Yep. Because they both tend to be entrepreneurs with that mindset.

Exactly. Because you could see, hey, if that person's wearing the Gary VK Swiss, I know, I know who they are. You know, I know what they're about. In the same way that if you see someone wearing supreme at the airport, walk through the airport, you're like, okay, I know that person, I know what they're into, you know, and I think when you get. When you can tell a little bit about someone just by the brand they're wearing, that means that that brand stands for something. And that's, to me, as a brand builder is, you know, is a real sign of progress. I mean, we have a long way to go, don't get me wrong. But when I hear things like that, I'm like, wow, that's fantastic. Because that means we're getting through on a level beyond just selling you a sneaker.

Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing.

You've got to do more than just put product out there. You've got to stand for something. You've got to have some values on the table. You've got to make, you know, you've got a. There's this thing I like saying, you've got to be, you know, have a conversation with people. Don't advertise to them.

Yep. No, absolutely.

That's true. These days, you know, and. And look at the biggest competitor in our market. Nike has just put out such a big statement with their Colin Kaepernick effort. That, man, if they can put their real values on their sleeve, then. Then there's no excuse for anyone to not.

Yep.

Be a bit more transparent about who you are and what you stand for.

That's amazing. It's super interesting for me, too, because I know, like, you're bringing up the sort of, like, when it comes to your biggest competitors, Nike, like, me as a young person, like, Nike was always the dominant, but now it's like my head is, like, super involved with K Swiss because of, like, my story of becoming an entrepreneur and trying to dive into this whole business sector. I just think it's super cool. And I want to ask you a question. Just when it comes to the thought process, before I would say, like, the big relaunch toward entrepreneurship, was there a lot of. Not was there a lot of. Because I know there was. But, like, how long was the thought process to pivot and, like, tackle this entrepreneur market? Because just seeing that, I'm sure a lot of other brands may have seen that or noticed the market of entrepreneurship, but what made you guys act on it? I would say, to the point of being there first before anyone else?

Yeah, Well, I think it comes from, you know, to me, it was like a bit of a survival instinct, you know, and when I took over, Casos was really in trouble, you know, and it was not doing well. And I just, you know, I remember speaking to one of the Investors who owns the company and saying, like, how long do I have? And they kind of whispered in my ear, about a year. In other words, like, you got a year to do something.

Yeah.

Before. To show what you can do. And so that was, you know, nerve wracking, but was probably the best thing anyone ever did for me because it made me go immediately into hyperaction. You know, it wasn't like, I'm going to ease into this or let me try something and see if it's. It builds. It was like, pull the. I pulled the, like, emergency fire alarm on day one and was like, I got to go all in on this because the clock's ticking to do something. So I think I had a sense of urgency. And what took time, to be really honest with you, what took time was getting my own team to believe in the vision.

Yeah.

You know, it was getting a whole company, and we're still a small company, but it was getting everyone to kind of like, change their normal behavior to do something different. Everyone kind of nods at you and goes, oh, yeah, that's a good idea. Yeah, I really like that. And then they go back to their desk and keep doing what they did before. You know, it just took a long time before people really saw it. And I think the lesson I learned in there was that I should have showed people something tangible early. You know, I think I was talking about it a lot, but talk is cheap. You know, you've got. I think the mistake I made was not trying to execute something that they could believe in in, like, the first 30 days. By the time we did our first event and we did a Gary Vee launch event at Shoe palace on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, and, like, I mean, 500 people were standing outside when we arrived. It was crazy.

Yeah, my buddy was there, actually.

Your buddy was there?

Yeah, I had a bunch of friends there. Yeah.

And I think all of my team were there and company and, you know, people showed up and. And they were like, wow, they couldn't believe it, you know, and the day after that event, like, literally everyone came to the office the next day with a different approach. Like, you can see in people's eyes, they believe now.

Yeah.

Sort of with their own eyes. And so I think I learned a lot from that, which is like, hey, that's on me. In that if I was to do this again, I would do something tangible. The people, you know, you can't ask people to believe in you off of just ideas. You've got to give them something to believe in. But that's what took the time, you know, is really getting the whole machine to kind of buy into this and now we're rolling.

Yeah, that's amazing. And I kind of want to touch on that because I remember I wasn't able to make it to the launch on Melrose at Shoe palace, but I had a lot of friends there and it was, it was super cool because I know that when they were talking about it it was like, obviously they all follow Gary Vee, they see what he's doing. But then when he came out with a sneaker, it kind of like made everyone sort of think for a second like, alright, he's not some athlete, he's someone that's running a business. He's. But he's this huge aspirational figure that people respect, look up to and want to meet and actually ask questions to. And I just think it's super cool as someone that has been following Gary previously before the sneaker launch, that when he did that I think it very much elevated just like what he was doing and like gave him that credibility like you brought up in the previous statement. Just because it's never been done before in a sense. And I think my question to you is when it comes to just the mission behind K Swiss and what you guys are doing in the entrepreneur scene, just when it comes to the, the moving forward of you said the 04s are coming out soon. Where do you think there's gonna be a point where you guys will maybe have to go a different route of alright, is it giving Gary Vee forever and he's always going to be there or is it going to be you guys experimenting with different aspirational figures in the entrepreneur market?

Yeah, I mean, I think ultimately I'd like to have a whole squad, you know, I think, I think Gary is the man as long as totally. We're both enjoying the work and we, you know, we are and he's happy, we're happy, you know, and it's just been transformative for us. He's so, absolutely, he's so committed and you know, I've done a lot of celebrity deals in my past. I've been in marketing and sneakers for a long time and I've done deals with rappers and all sorts of people and no one delivers like Gary does. In terms of giving you extra, giving you commitment, passion, it's just second to none. I mean it's genuine, very genuine. So he is that, he is our, he is our guy, but like a team, you know, I think in the same way that if you go to a nike.com you're going to see a roster of athletes. I want you to come to kswiss.com and see a roster of entrepreneurs. And if they're launching a new shoe, you're going to see the running back with it on. On their, on their Instagram.

Yeah.

So when we launch a new shoe, I want. You'll see an entrepreneur with it.

Yep. So.

So that's, you know, that's the idea. And you know, the idea of making a signature sneaker for an entrepreneur was a little tongue in cheek when we first came up with it. And that was, in fact, the pitch I gave to Gary through email was like, hey, do you want to make the first signature sneaker for an entrepreneur? And it was like, you know, it was a bit of a. Yeah, it was playing off of the Nike or the Kobe. And that's what sort of was the original kernel of an idea of like.

That was so cool.

People like, go, wait, what?

Yeah, yeah.

You know, you've got to make some noise if you're a challenger. No one's listening to you unless you say something interesting.

Totally. That's amazing. I want to know more about your background too, because I know that you said like 25 years in the marketing sector of things. Correct.

Yeah.

So. So when it comes to everything, case with obviously what you've been working on and that's where your head is, but what kind of led to the development of you being the president of K Swiss. And number one is where did this entire, I would say passion for marketing and building brands start when it comes to your entrepreneur journey as this guy that's now embodying entrepreneurship?

Well, I think I like marketing because I'm a kind of a creative person and always have been. So it's a matter. It lines up with my expertise, I would say not my expertise. It's marries up more with my personality is the creativity of marketing. And also like, I like strategy. I like sort of sitting down with a blank piece of paper and figuring out problems like how am I going to reach these people with this message and give me a puzzle and let me put the pieces together and then sort of come up with a creative execution of how to deliver that message. So that's always been, I think, what I'm into. And I've also grown up in London or in the London area as a kid was into sneakers and fashion and style and music and all that stuff. And all my friends were. So that's kind of, you know, I know that it's always been in me, you know, so when I started out, I was in. I was in. When I was your age, actually, I was nowhere near as successful as you. I was doing sales. I was on the phone cold calling people, trying to. Thinking I wanted to be a salesman. So, okay, I was earning, you know, I think I was earning $8,000 a year. And I ended up going to work at a software company. So I was not in sneakers all the time, but I. But I did end up in marketing. And I was just really lucky to get into the sneaker business by somebody I knew. It sort of got my foot in the door at Puma.

Yep.

And I was a marketing. I was kind of an expert at marketing in the software business and was able to transition into the sneaker industry. That's really when things connected for me, was when I married my passion of what I really was into, what professionally I was kind of good at. And that was, that was my beginning in the sneaker industry. And then to really get over to running a brand was. I think you just have to. I guess my best piece of advice is not to wait to be asked for the next job. Just start doing it.

Yeah.

And then people don't. People just see you as the obvious choice. I think a lot of people either wait for someone to tap them on the shoulder and say, hey, I think you're ready to be the vp.

Yeah, yeah.

That never happens. You've got to become the VP and then someone will give you the job, you know, okay, if somebody walks in my office and says, hey, when am I going to become the vice president? I say, you tell me.

I love that.

You, you, you. You know, when you start acting like it is, when you're ready, you know.

Yeah. That's super cool insight.

That's. That's how I've always operated. And it's. It's served me pretty well, I guess.

That's super cool. So how. What's been the time frame of when you sort of got involved with Caseless? Was it right before this entire rebranding strategy?

Yeah, I was actually working in the company though. They had bought a old French boot brand called Palladium Boots. And so I actually came to originally to rebuild the Palladium Boots brand and I did that for four, four and a half years within the case was building, so I was a sub brand, you know, a downstairs office in the case with building. And we grew that business from, you know, just under 20 million to over 100 in about four years. And we did some Amazing things, you know, with Pharrell. Actually had Pharrell on that, on that squad. We made a. We made. We actually went out and made documentary films about exploring and we took Johnny Knoxville to Detroit. Made a film about Detroit. We took Pharrell to Tokyo and some, probably some of my best work as a marketer was done there. So I was already in the building for a long time and eventually they, they sort of brought some of us from Palladium upstairs say, hey, why don't you guys come up to the parent company and see what you do. Could do. So I was, I was doing some marketing for K Swiss for a while before I actually got the top job, as it were. Yeah, I've been doing this for about two and a half years, something like that.

Okay, super cool. Super. So what was. Been your transition of becoming now this, this huge role as the president of K Swiss? How has that sort of been different from the previous job you were at mentally in your daily routine and everything that you got going on?

Well, I think, you know, first and foremost is I didn't know what I was doing. Love it before I was, you know, it was easy. I knew I could do it with my eyes closed. And I think that was what was really great about it was I was learning again. You know, I really, looking back these past couple years, I've learned so much because I was uncomfortable again. You know, I was put into a position where I had to study and read books and ask questions and try, fail and try things. And I felt like when you were in it, when you're working, you want it to be a two way street. It can't just be you giving all the time you want to get something back from what you're doing. And I feel like it's been a two way street, which has been really sort of satisfying, I guess. Personally, I give a lot. I'm 100. But when I work in a company or on a brand, I'm 100% in blood, sweat and tears, you know, and I've been able. This job has given me a ton of experience and opportunities and learning. And I think that's been the biggest difference is that. Which I've really enjoyed totally. And I'm not, you know, I've still got tons to do. I've read books, I still read books. I'm reading books now to study. I read. When I read them, I read with a highlighter pen and I go through the highlighter. When I finish, I go back through my notes and I write just the highlighted sections into kind of like a one page book report so that, you know, I'm not acting here like I know everything and I'm the expert. I'm open to still at this point learning new things. So I think you got to keep it humble and keep open and keep progressing.

Yeah, absolutely. What's one of your favorite marketing books or books when it comes from a story perspective that you've read or recently in a sense?

Well, I'm reading one now just. And I wouldn't reckon necessarily recommend it because I haven't really got into it, but it's called Contagion. It's really just about, you know, how to make things contagious. Which, okay, is a big one. The, the other one I've read recently is called Radical Candor and it's about. Radical Candor is about just being really truthful with people even. And the sort of principle of the book is if you're really honest with people but they don't think you care about them, you're kind of doesn't come off well. But if people know you care about them and then you're honest, then it can be taken the right way. And I think one of the big things I've probably noticed about myself is I'm not, I probably don't, I'm not honest enough with people on my team because I want everyone to be happy, you know, it's like I don't want people to, you know, like, oh, don't tell them the truth. They get fed up and want to leave, you know, whereas you're not really helping anyone by doing that. So I'm trying to be more honest about people and giving really direct feedback but ensuring that those people know it's coming from a place of like, hey, look, I love you, I respect you, I want you to be here, you know, ride or die, don't get me wrong. And knowing that, let me tell you pretty directly what I think you could work on and then people are open to it. So that's one of the things that books I've read recently, I guess where I've tried to put those things into practice.

Super cool. And I'm also curious when it comes to your, I would say you knowing who Gary Vee is, all these social media guys that are building these brands, how long was it that you were watching Gary or knew Gary before you guys decided to do something with him? Or was it something where it was more gradual?

I, you know, it's going back a long time now. If you, if you, when I First reached out to him was probably, you know, three or some years ago. I know that when I reached out to him, he had 600,000 Instagram.

Okay. Oh, yes. That was pretty while ago.

Yeah. Now I think he's at 4 million or something like that. So I was. I was on him early.

That's. That's super cool.

The earliest. But. And I think, you know, that that benefits me somewhat because Gary knows that I believed in him before a lot of people knew who he was, you know. You know, I think he appreciates that I believed in him and saw what he was able to do. And his before, it was just about numbers.

Yeah.

The number of followers.

So.

But I definitely had followed him for a couple months at least. And I just kept, you know, I just kept seeing his stuff. And so when I was, you know, looking at entrepreneurship and the culture and.

Yeah.

Learning about it, it just all roads pointed to him.

That's amazing.

In the celebrity world, I could really think of, I was racking my brain. I mean, the. The only guy I really think that is legitimately a business mind and an entrepreneurial mind is probably Pharrell. And you know, and I had a. And I knew him from the work I'd done with Palladium, but he. And I talked to him about K Swiss at one point, but he. He was locked up with Adidas.

Okay, makes sense.

He's done a hell of a job there and that.

And.

And that's been super successful for both sides. So, you know, I can't be mad at that.

Yeah, that's amazing.

Would think could have fit, you know.

Yeah, yeah, totally. That's super cool.

Smart guy, thought, thoughtful. You know, really a legit businessman mind and a creative mind and a philosophical mind. So. And. And with style and the whole package of celebrities.

Yeah, totally, totally. And it gets me curious. So when it comes to. I would say like you're talking about supreme and all these brands that the younger generation. And I know in your LinkedIn bio, it's like you're, you know, culture. And I totally get that from our conversation. 1. 1 Would you say is like the. The culture shift of. When it comes to the marketing. With your marketing experience of media. Social. Social media in general, obviously following Gary on Instagram and everything culturally in social media. Now, when was your sort of pivot point of, let's say, how Gary was taking social media serious and still is. When was your experience in the marketing department to kind of say, hey, like, social media is the way that we know the attentions there for someone like yourself, that has amazing amount of experience. And this is somewhat of a.

How come you're so old and.

No, no, no, just explain experience wise, you know what I'm saying?

Well, look, you know, I would say, you know, we probably jumped in later than we should, but we jumped in, which is the most important thing. You know, I would say our acceptance of digital as a, you know, is sort of embarrassingly late to the party, is the truth of it. But we're all in at this point, so it's what it is, you know, and I think we had our hands full just being in survival mode and turnaround mode for a. A while.

Yep.

Where whereas only really now are we starting to kind of be more proactive about. Let's get our message out there. So, for example, we built a podcast studio in our office. We turned all that into a studio, permanent, you know, fully equipped, you know, foam on the walls kind of deal.

Yep.

And we have. We have a podcast ourselves where sneakers, where we interview young entrepreneurs and it's me interviewing them and it's my marketing, Patrick Buchanan interviewing. And it's like, let's just do it. Let's live it. Yeah, yeah, we got that from Gary as well. Like you did.

Yep.

You know, and I just sort of thought, why not us? Why should. Why should we always go, well, that we shouldn't. No, we should do that. People. It's about conversation versus advertising, like I said earlier. So. And then most recently I said, look, we're. I was actually. We went to see the Ghost to go Ghostbusters at the Sony Pictures lot because we're talking about doing a collaboration with Ghostbusters. And I'm standing at the Ghostbusters studio and there's the outside of their office is the ecto one or whatever it's called, the sort of station wagon from the movie.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

And I'm thinking, man, this is so cool. And we were just at a work meeting, but other people think, oh, you went to the Ghostbusters lot and you saw their Ghostbusters car?

Like, yeah, yeah.

It's like, that's just what we do for a living. And I'm like, people would be really into this. We are in the thick of a entrepreneurial turnaround of an old sneaker brand. This is pretty interesting stuff. So we created a weekly show that we run on our Facebook and YouTube called Inside K Swiss, where we make it. Make a little documentary about the stuff we're working on and who we are as people.

And.

And I've been surprised by the viewership of that, you know. So we, we're on about episode eight now.

Cool. Yeah, I've been tuning in. It's super cool to see what you guys are doing there. Yeah, yeah.

I mean, we're tinkering all the time with the format, but I don't know, it's like that's how brands got to communicate these days.

Yeah.

Like I said, should we have done this kind of thing two years ago and been at the forefront? Probably should. Yes. But we're at least we're doing it now.

Totally. No, that's super cool. No, when I, when you guys, when you guys launched the podcast. Podcast, I started tuning in cuz it's super cool. Because I know like when Gary talks about like how every brand should have a podcast, like a lot of brands still aren't doing it, you know, so it's still where a lot of other brands are still behind. But it's super cool. You guys sort of jumped up, but actually got the equipment, got the entire thing. And it's super cool to kind of see like, like someone in your shoes that's super busy to take the time to do a podcast and do the show and hop on my podcast. But it's super cool. And the way the culture is. I know that you get it and it's just super cool to see how everything is changing from a brand perspective. Super cool. So how long have the podcast been launched? Oh, sorry to cut you off though.

No, I was saying, like, this is the new way of brand communication. You know that. That's the thing. I think I've never been stuck in my ways. I've been doing this a long time, like you said, but I've always. You've got to move with what young people are doing. It's not up to me to decide what the way it should be or this is what it used to be like and it was better or worse. It's like it is what it is and it's moving really fast. So you either keep up or get the hell out of the way. So I've just always chosen to like read, read what's happening and adapt. And so that is the new way of brands communicating is like mats like this, you know, so you reach an audience. If I put an ad on a something, kid's gonna see it and just ignore it. It's not. They don't like stuff. They think you're tricking them.

Yeah, totally. No, that's super cool. Because then it's like we have, let's say we have 10,000, 15,000 people listen to this. The first month I drop it, it's like, now they're. They're hearing the story. They know who you are. They're probably go check you out and check out the podcast. And it's just a whole different way to communicate along storytelling way, you know, and it's genuine.

You know, it's like, look, it is what it is that you know who I am, good, bad, and ugly. You can see my Instagram, the truth of what I'm doing. You know, there's pictures of my kids. Kids. And I'm obviously going to show you the best parts on Instagram. You know, I'm not trying to make out I'm something I'm not. And that's the way you got to be these days. I think that sometimes people are like. And obviously you haven't. You're the opposite of this. But people don't want to speak out and be heard because they're like, well, it's not really my place. And it's like, well, why not? You know?

Yeah.

What the difference between the people who are doing it and the people on is just that they're doing it. They're not smarter than you. They're not more experienced than you, better than you. They just said, I'm gonna have that confidence to put my neck. My voice out there. And so many smart people who are hiding back and going, like, it's not for me. No, it is, like, have an opinion and get it out there.

And if people were interested, yeah, 100%. The reason why I just. Me, I really just love what you guys are doing at K Swiss. Because my entire story of kind of how I got into this whole space was when I was 15, playing football, I got diagnosed with this thing called inner spinous ligament damage. So I was in his neck brace for, like, 25 weeks. And it was during that time where I saw, like, different videos on YouTube, just searching random stuff, where Gary popped up, right? And then he was talking about personal branding and social media. And I've always been on social media as a passive user, but never an active voice that's trying to get my message out. And I just love it because Gary's been like, the prominent guy since day one. Since that I've really been following. And I remember I was. I was in my neck brace, and I picked up Crush it by Gary, and I just started reading about building a brand and everything social. And that's when I really pivoted where I think at the time I had like 400 followers, sophomore in high school. And that was my major pivot point to like everything I'm doing when it comes to social. And I think it's also a lot of young people, like, they don't have that guy or they're not in that situation to hear from someone else. So I think really just what you guys are doing by embodying someone like Gary, just super amazing to see because he's been someone that's absolutely changed my life for sure.

Yeah, that's great. And hey, you're gonna change other people's lives. And you're way ahead of me at this point and thank you of how you've done it and I hope we'll catch you up.

Totally, totally. Yeah. One thing I do want to touch on though, because this is big for me and what I'm trying to build with my brand Villager empire, just culture wise, like inside of the. The brand. And when it comes to the team, team building, what do you think at Case west and what you guys are doing, what really keeps the culture aligned and everyone aligned towards that one mission and vision?

Well, I think first of all, success is what is the number one effect, effector of culture, in my opinion.

Yeah.

And I know that because we haven't had success and it's tough. You know that that's the truth. Is like, people want to win. People want to see the results. People want. People want to feel they're part of something that's working. So once results turn, that's when culture can turn. So I say number one is that. And it's hard. All you can do is just try and do the right things to make the brand work. So you can have all the ping pong tables you want. People feel like your brand sucks, then they're not going to be happy. Then I think you just got to get people who are ready to be in this environment. Like, it's not easy to be an underdog, but there are people who want to be underdogs. There's people who operate best as underdogs. You know, there's people who are competitive and loyal and you're looking for those kind of traits because it's easy to go like, you know what? This is a little hard, I think. And someone's offered me another job title with senior in front of it. I'm going to go do that. Cool.

Good luck.

I. I don't need those people. I need passionate people. You know, I recently had a guy called Omar Preswich who I met at one of the Gary Vee events, funnily enough, at the Melrose event. I met him at the Melrose event, the first one, and he'd flown from Utah to come to that event, and he just kept in touch with me on Instagram and he just kept popping up and it's like, man, I love what you guys are doing. And he was a real young entrepreneur. Truck to make it. And he was passionate about Case. I love the mission, I love the brand. And I'm just like, I need, you know, eventually I hired him. He's now our social media community manager and he comes in every day, loves his job, passionate about the mission, happy to be there.

Yeah. He was the guy you talked about on that video, right? On Instagram.

Yes.

Yeah, yeah. Because when you're talking, that's when I reposted on our page because just you're the way you were communicating that. I was like, yeah, a lot of people need to hear. Hear this because like the mission statement. And. And what was his name again?

Yeah, the one I was talking to about that video was Amoir Kara.

Oh, okay. He was a different collab, right?

Yeah.

Okay.

I did a cooperative shoe with him. Omar Press, which is a guy who works for us, is he's. If you tweet at K Swiss or he's. That he's behind that.

Okay.

But it's like that's. You want people like that in your corner who are totally passionate about the mission and you know, just ready for the fight, want to achieve something versus that's like, hey, when. When am I getting a job title increase?

Yeah. Yeah. And so you met him at an event though, the guy that you hired, Gary Vee. That's super cool. Like how that for him, it's like that opportunity, like if you wouldn't have taken that flight to go there and flown out, he wouldn't have met you. And that's. For me, that's like, that's what I love when it comes to the opportunity. Like, there's things like that there where it's like, I've gone to events and met someone and I think that's really. A lot of young people, they don't. They're not. They don't want to take that step off the cliff without knowing what's going to happen prior to that, you know?

Yeah. And he actually came to LA on another trip just to come to our office and hang out and see us and build the relationship.

Totally.

You know, like he was just dedicated to getting a job with us and now he does. So that's all for every person who ever thought, man, I'd love to be part of that and didn't do anything. He really did. And, and he's part of it.

That's.

Yeah, that the, that's the difference these days is everybody's accessible, you know, and you can do anything you want. It's just you gotta go out and do it and reach out and make the commitment and it's all possible.

Yep, absolutely. So I have like two final questions and this is just, this has been amazing. I just love the way that just when it comes to the case was brand, the way that you can carry the image of it and just the statement of what you guys stand for. I think it's super clear to me and I know it's super clear to a lot of other young people. So one thing I do want, just want to touch on and meaning the question is just when it comes to the way you guys look at the young entrepreneur demographic, because I know Gary Vee always touches on this where he's like, he needs to, he needs to be somewhere before everyone looks at it. Right. So what are you guys doing as a brand to then continue to capture the, the younger generation of entrepreneurs? Or is it more of you guys are focusing on the current like the young? Like what's your definition of young? To really be really clear as a brand?

Yeah, I mean you never really want to say young because entrepreneurs are all shape, sizes, colors, genders, nationalities and ages. So there's not, there's no age to it. I think what I mean is that when you put for the face or the image of the brand, you know, you want entrepreneurs who are in interesting industries.

Yep.

I mean it's like, you know, someone might be a great entrepreneur who's programming software in Silicon Valley, but not necessarily. That's not a person that everybody wants to has the cool fact that everybody wants to look like they're definitely living the life. The guy I talked about on that video was Anwar Carrots, who is not only a real entrepreneur because he's founded his own streetwear brand, but he's also like a cool looking guy. And everyone who sees him is like magnetized to him because he's like, they're like, who's that guy? You know, he's got the style swag, the whole thing. So I think that's what I mean is totally in terms. It's the same way that Nike as a basketball brand puts the cool looking great basketball player, not me, at the rec center, you know, heavy breathing, playing Pickup.

Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing.

It's the same thing. But I think the vision of entrepreneurship is, is like, like I've started to say you can't tell who they are from the outside.

Yeah.

Whereas you can tell who an NBA player is from the outside because they've got to be seven foot tall.

Yep. I like that.

Could be anyone, you know, it could be 18, could be in Arizona, you know. So I think that the evolution for us is really starting to align our products, or at least some of our products more around specific builds of product that are for the entrepreneur lifestyle. And that's, that's what we're working on now. So I think you'll see us next year come out with more purpose built sneakers for entrepreneurs.

Okay. That's amazing. I know. I'll have a whole closet full of them at the build your empire house. So I'll definitely have to keep you updated with that. Yeah.

Amazing sneakers down for you guys. If you drop me some sizes and totally let me set some shoes down for you guys. Guys. And you guys can help represent because, you know, look definitely still small, tiny challenger brand trying to make it. So we need all the support.

I would love to for sure. Because yeah, I definitely want to definitely talk to you about Billy Dremire because we're kind of bringing in this whole entrepreneur incubator of like five of me and my buddies that are huge on YouTube in different industries of some are doing coins collecting, some of them are doing car automotive marketing. So we're kind of putting together this entrepreneur incubator down in Arizona. It's got the builder empire house and that that's sort of our sort of hub of entrepreneurship. I'm going to have my podcast studio, the sales team. So I'll definitely have to keep you updated on that.

I've seen the crib. I'm ready to roll through and jump into that.

Hey, well, for sure. We'll make it happen. For sure. We'll definitely. I'll. I'll send you over some stuff because we'd love to rock the shoes. I'll have, I'll have everyone do a promo video for sure.

Go.

Amazing. So last thing to wrap it up because I know this, I have one direct question. Just when it comes to you as an individual, obviously the brand is just so much bigger than you and it stands for so much. But you as an individual, just what do you think has kept you aligned when it comes to your daily routine of things that just keep you going each and every single day? I know some People like Gary, he's not the type of book reader and he's someone that just go, go, go. But for someone like you, what's been your strategy to kind of develop to who you are as a person?

You know, I think I have just. I'm really competitive.

Okay.

I think it's probably what it is. And, you know, not always, you know, I don't always. It's not always a good thing, you know, it's not. It causes stress and it causes, you know, a lot of things. I think I just don't want to lose, you know, so if I take on a project, I want to make it work and I'm like, I get my team like a pit bull with teeth, and I'm not letting go, you know, and so I think that's probably what it is, is I just don't want to fail, you know, and I want it to work. So I'm going to just do everything I can to make it work and I put it all on the line to do that. And, you know, we're definitely far from. From being able to say that I've nailed it with K. Swiss. I think we've got some nice things happening and. But. But I'm a long way from being successful.

I love it.

And so I'm still in it, I'm still grinding at it. And yeah, I think that's probably what underneath is probably what it really is.

Yep, totally. Totally. So, so last thing. What's the best way for people to stay connected with you, but then also kind of updates with K. Swiss as an entire brand moving forward, just so.

We can kind of give people some content on Instagram. Arnie Waters. I'm on there all the time. Or my LinkedIn, which, you know, is a little hot to follow, but I've got some stuff on there. But Instagram's probably the best. And then at K Swiss on all channels is you're gonna, you know, we're all on there looking and. And then, you know, like I said, we've got the inside case Swiss, if you want to know who we are and what we're doing, watch this, watch the show. It's on our Facebook page or on YouTube.

Yep.

Swiss. And our podcast, you can listen to us there. So hopefully perfect stuff that we're not hard to find.

Yep, absolutely. And everyone listening that's following me. I've checked out the podcast. I know. I've been following yourself as well as K. Swiss for a while now, and they're putting out some cool stuff and I know if you're an entrepreneur listening to this, which I know you are, definitely take the time to go check out their podcast. All the links will be down below. And thanks so much, Barney. I know that everyone listening. It's super cool because I know just the. The crowd of people that I've either met in person at events, like just my. I would say the way I look at K Swiss, I just love the brand as an entity and everything you guys stand for. So I know a lot of people listening will definitely take the time to go check it out. So everyone listening. Thank you so much for tuning in, Barney. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day. And if everyone could go follow the podcast, make sure you go screenshot it. Send me a DM once you do, and we'll make sure that Barney is getting some people listening to the podcast from the Rise of the Young show. So thank you so much, Barney. Absolutely.

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