We recently connected with Erik Fahner and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Erik thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I did a mental health matters hoodie that said “Tell Your Friends You Love Them” on the back and it was a major success for Biig Pluto’s community. I had a customer reach out and say that they lost a friend to suicide recently, and this hoodie spoke to them in amazing ways – she had to have one for her and her husband. Another reached out and said their dad recently lost a friend to suicide. When she was wearing the Tell Your Friends You Love Them hoodie, her dad came up to her and hugged her despite normally not showing a lot of emotion. I think these hoodies did so well because it is so common for people to be struggling and feeling alone. Everyone hits a point where they are feeling these things, so to normalize talking about it and allowing people to realize they are not struggling is an incredible movement that people are willing to be apart of if someone is willing to break the ice and get the conversation going.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I grew up in Omaha Nebraska and have always been into sneakers and fashion, but soccer was always my top priority. When my soccer career was coming to an end I pivoted into a new passion and started working towards my first collection as a designer. I had no approval or credit from anyone, I just had a few ideas in my head that I wanted to bring to life. From then on. I knew I wanted more out of life than an office job, or a job working for anyone really – so this was my chance to explore this avenue and go all out as hard as I could. It really was a challenge that I wanted to put myself through to grow and see what I could make of it. I generally have a very positive outlook on life and I’ve always wanted a platform to share that positivity. I feel fear everyday, but imagine what the world would be missing out on if I let that fear stop me from what I was put on this Earth to do. We are all rare and deserve to create and go after what we desire on a deep personal level!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lot of what has been engrained in me my whole life. Being an athlete you are always aiming for results and outcomes, and being a creative is not so outcome oriented. I had to learn to enjoy the process of creation and not get caught up in the results of how well my art was performing. Fall in love with your ideas and be stoked about them and celebrate them, regardless of who else messes with it.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

As far as books – Chop Wood Carry Water, The Greatest Miracle in the World, and the Dream Giver were life changing for me. My mentor gave me all three of them to develop my mindset to allow me to let myself dream big. Whenever I feel like I am in a rut that I can’t get out of I go back to my notes from these readings and it helps me get out of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.biigpluto.com
• Instagram: biigpluto
• Facebook: biigpluto

Image Credits
me