We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Karl Hibbert a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Karl thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

In 2015, shortly after beginning my self-production in my apartment alongside my heat press and printer – my biggest hurdle was being seen and infiltrating the fashion scene in the city. Without a team or strong base in the urban community I didn’t have an influencer friends or conglomerates to tap into for promo. Working at Finish Line through college I have always been a sneakerhead and attended Shoe Expo’s; I thought why not set up a booth and make some custom tees which match a lot of the popular new releases that year, along with some basic colorway Logo tees. This would be where FLS made it’s first sale, and stamped the name in the city for future events to come. Close to 8 months after my first vending expo, I was hosting and sponsoring the very same events and working as a partner, no longer a vendor.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Fortunate LifeStyle (FLS) was an idea created in 2011 with two classmates while I was in 10th grade. Being born in Brooklyn but my body in Indiana, I aimed to bring a new style and fashion sense to the Midwest through intuitive, creative, and custom detailing and designs. For no reason other than to simply see friends and classmates in the hallway wearing FLS designs is what drove the growth of the brand. Once entering college, getting a job, and having some money to invest – FLS was its own functioning machine, equipped with it’s own equipment, printers, and sourcing.

Fast-forward to 2023, as I finished for my 4th national merchandising tour alongside Atlanta-based artist Young Nudy this past Spring. Reflecting on the time, 12 years, I think to myself “Have I accomplished the (initial) goal?” And to be honest, I started FLS as nothing more than a creative outlet; one which would, at most, bring pleasure through simply seeing my ideas expressed on others through clothing. So to have traveled the country, connect with fashion icons, build a priceless network, and make a living all through clothes – I can’t do much but be grateful for every failure turned lesson, every order & every day.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

In my opinion, society should not only push messages of creative independence but invest in it physically with community-funded studios and warehouses composed of machines, presses, and appropriate equipment, alongside skilled professionals/free lancers and open space for creatives to work on projects themselves, or network with like-minded individuals. Personally, a space such as this would have allowed for me to begin hands-on manufacturing and steps to building a brand early-on before having the money to get my own equipment.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

As mentioned earlier, I tend to lean towards the introvert style of promotion whereby I stay behind the scenes, don’t show my face too much, and allow for the brand to grow legs of it’s own. In order to do this I had to find faces other than my own to represent Fortunate LifeStyle. Through connections I made from my years in New York and a few in Atlanta, I reached out to some influencers, artists, and models from the area(s) and offered to send care packages to them free of charge. This process allowed for me to tackle influencer marketing, brand recognition, product distribution and establish social media presence all in one motion.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thefortunatelifestyle.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortunatelifestyle/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FortunateLifeStyle/