We recently connected with Rakim Hogan and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Rakim thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
Honestly, I just want my legacy to be based on how many people that I have been able to help, support, and impact through my creativity. When I’m gone I just want people to understand that all the things that I have accomplished on my journey here is that, all things that can be achieved by anyone. I want people to know that I am just like them I’ve felt all of the pains, joys, stress, strife, and strength that comes with pursuing your purpose.. and I am a true testament of “if you can go through it, you can grow through it”. At the end of the day I’d like to be remembered for helping people and providing inspiration for those that come after me. As well as someone who is willing to serve a purpose higher than my own, because that’s all that’ll matter in the end. It won’t be the cars, it won’t be the materials, and it won’t be the gimmicks that we all see today.. It’ll be how many lives you’ve changed, how many people you’ve touched, and how many smiles you’ve created with friends and family. THAT, is what really counts to me. “Legends are built off legacy”- Rakim Hogan
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.
So for those who may not know me my name is Rakim Hogan and I’m an artist and designer, born and bread on Detroit’s Eastside. It’s like I was born into my craft honestly, with my mother being an artist and my father being a DJ I was just surrounded by creative energy. Once I began to tap into my own creative spirit I began to customize shoes in high school due to my love for sneakers and fashion. I believe the thing that sets me apart from others is just humility and understanding I’m no bigger than the next man, and I’m just constantly trying to be better than I was the day before. So far, the biggest accomplishment for me was putting my pop up shop together. When hosting an event I was not aware of the amount of time, discipline, and money it would eventually take to make it happen. Through the grace of God and my amazing support system, I was able to push through it. I want people to understand that my brand is about being mission based, with that mission being— Us, creating a community for like minded creators and individuals across the world, who are looking to push their own boundaries in ways they never thought possible.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I pretty much gained my audience through hand to hand interaction and just cultivating relationship’s. Prior to me owning a business I was extremely introverted and had a hard time talking to people, but once I began my journey in high school I realized that I would have to get comfortable talking to others. Something that I also grew to learn and appreciate while developing a business is the power of “It’s not what you know it’s who you know”. Cultivating relationships was an extremely essential part of my career because there have been so many instances when a person has given me game, ideas, and resources that took me to the next level. Also when you’re able to become true friends with a person they are always more willing to go the extra mile as far as promotion & support. There’s an interview with Daymond John where he states that in business you have to use other people “OPM” other people’s (money, materials, models, etc) and you have to be willing to be a servant and be used in the same token in order to strengthen your relationships and build your community.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
This is such a funny question to me because, for a while Ive been seeking out knowledge and understanding through media and the voices of others, (hence me using the “OPM” reference) and I’m ready to show this side of me to the world. One read for me that was able to change my thinking is “The Game Of Life And How To Play It” by Florence Scovel Shinn and its a book on how to use meta cognitive skills to develop the life that you’re looking to create. Another resource that was eye opening to me was, Earl Nightingales “The Strangest Secret” and in that video he states that “A man’s discontent is often represented by the distance of where he is and where he wants to be”, that gave me the perspective of knowing who and what I am and where I truly want to be. Just learning to measure how far I am from where I want to be, then figuring out a way to shorten the gap. It’s so many other things that I can name that have helped me develop a sense of philosophical fellowship from “Earn your leisure” to “Ted talks” to “Impact theory” it’s all been impactful to me.
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Image Credits
Personal Image Shot by Mekhi Smith @cozykhi on instagram