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

Alright, Marley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I’ve taken is merely just betting on myself. Being a freshmen in college & wanting to start my own business I knew i had to execute something I’ve never done before. Creating logos for my clothing brand with my friend and then up & coming global graphic designer we came up with 10 different logos to start. From there I created shirts, shorts, hats, backpacks, etc. I used my entire student refund check to fund my clothing business. Once the collection was completed the next step was to sell the merchandise which I created a few pop up shops to do so. After an instant sell out I knew I was onto something. I did it twice again with the same results. Knowing i had something special on hand I started to wholesale my brand through a popular brick and mortar clothing shop in the city. After I sold out there as well, I knew it was time to get my own shop which I did. Opening my own shop was the smartest thing I ever did for my business, it was risky with all the overhead i had to handle. Having my own shop and still in school full time was the biggest risk of all but I was happy i could manage both well, I was determined to succeed and I did.

Marley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Around 2010 – 2012 streetwear brands were making a lot of noise, my friends and I would wear the latest Huf, DGK, The Hundreds, Supreme, etc. One day I suggested we should just create our own brand. We all had a great sense of style when we bought clothing so I knew it would be nothing to create our own clothing brand from scratch. Nobody wanted to really go in on the brand but my brother who saw my vision however we still took our friends suggestions and kept them fairly close knit to the brand because we basically started it around our crew which is why it was called “Young & Filthy”. We were all ranging from 15-19 years of age super young and creative kids. After the brand took off locally I knew it was time to take it coast to coast. A friend of mine created music with the artist “TINK” a Chicago based musician. We went to their music video for pure support. Tink saw what I had on took a liking to my brand, after telling her what it was she wanted to be apart of it as well. I figured since she was on the come up as a rnb star it would be smart to create something special with her so we held a photoshoot and created her very own Young & Filthy collection weeks after. Literally in every music video or performance appearance she had she was head to toe in Young & Filthy which gave us the notoriety we needed to branch out from the midwest to global stature. Every year for the past 13 years we’ve been able to take the brand from clothing to a full on brand creating electronics, accessories, etc. Every year it’s something new and innovative coming from the YF brand. I think thats what I’m most proud about because I always had the vision on our brand being more than just clothing. I wanted it to be like every other brand we saw and admired but better. Giving our customers an experience they could feel not just on their bodies but in their hearts.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Collaborating or doing things in groups/teams. When starting I always felt like I had do everything on my own because that was the best route to go. Which i later learned in life is that when you wanna go further in whatever you choose to do, do it in numbers. Even though you can always count on yourself build structure with others you can count on as well.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

City/State grants. One of the most difficult things we face as creatives is resourcing & financials. As creatives our ideas may not always match our pockets which is why grants play a heavy role. There are grants out there for small business owners/entrepreneurs you’d never know about until you do your research. Each city and state vary but for the most part each one has their own variation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.youngnfilthyco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youngnfilthyco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StayYoungStayFilthy
• Linkedin: N/A
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/youngnfilthyco
• Youtube: N/A
• Yelp: N/A
• Soundcloud: N/A
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fmgmarley100

Image Credits

– Elite Visions
– Dawsy
– Parker George