- 2 days ago
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00:00Welcome back to The Lobster Fight, the most listened to podcast in Monaco.
00:05There it is.
00:06Cool.
00:07Very exciting day today.
00:08It is.
00:09Today we have our very first guest on The Lobster Fight.
00:11Yep.
00:12And someone very special to us.
00:13Yep.
00:14I'll do a brief introduction so the man doesn't have to do it himself.
00:17That would be poor guests.
00:19The name is Benjamin Sorni and he's the brand owner of a lovely company that Sean and I
00:27are quite big fans of, I would say.
00:29We highly support.
00:30Which is a clothing apparel brand and we happen to be in the very attire today.
00:36And with those words, I will allow Ben to elaborate a little bit more about himself.
00:41Hello, guys.
00:42Cheerio.
00:43Good to see you.
00:43Good to see you on this side of the microphone.
00:47Yep.
00:47So, Monet is a brand based in, I should say Monet.
00:51Monet, yeah.
00:52Monet Monte Carlo is born in Monaco.
00:54It's a, I wouldn't say menswear, I'd say definitely unisex.
01:00Yeah.
01:00But we'll go with, it's resort wear, it's ready to wear.
01:05Born, I'd say maybe four years ago.
01:08The idea was born four or five years ago.
01:09So, we're in a very different place now than we were back then.
01:13Yeah.
01:15We realized that there wasn't really a huge creative scene here in Monaco.
01:19Yeah.
01:20Because you, you, you born here or you, you moved here at a certain age?
01:23So, I was born in Manchester, the UK.
01:26Moved here when I was five years old.
01:29Grew up here, then went back to the UK, then came back, then went back.
01:32So, kind of, bit of both.
01:33Okay, cool.
01:34Very nice.
01:35So, yeah, as I was saying, there wasn't a huge creative scene here.
01:40Fashion's always something that I've been into.
01:42Yeah.
01:42So, we figured out that there's a gap in the market here.
01:46And there's something that, there's a story that needs to be told.
01:48Cool.
01:48About this area, this region.
01:50Yeah.
01:50Through clothing.
01:51Yeah.
01:52Through fashion.
01:53Not just Monaco, but the whole Côte d'Azur, the whole French Riviera.
01:56Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:57All the way from Italy down to Marseille.
01:59So, there's so many interesting points to talk about.
02:02So, yeah.
02:02We'll try to touch upon, like, some of them.
02:04We'll touch upon a few.
02:05Yeah, yeah, it's true.
02:06And Monet is the name of the brand.
02:09Monet, exactly.
02:10Why is that?
02:11It comes from the word Monégasque, which is somebody from Monaco.
02:15Yeah.
02:16And essentially, we just, we thought that, you know, it's, it is part of the roots of the brand.
02:21Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:22So, it sounded nice.
02:23And here we are.
02:24It's cool.
02:25It's very cool.
02:25It's short.
02:26It's concise.
02:27And everybody always, that I've met at least, are questioning, you know, the name at first.
02:33It's a likable name.
02:35Actually, not a lot of people get it.
02:36No.
02:37Not a lot of people see that it's from Monégasque.
02:39Yeah.
02:39And I think that's something that I have with the brand a lot, is that for me, it's obviously
02:45in my head, it's so obvious.
02:46And then I realized that I have to join the dots for the people.
02:50We'll get onto that a bit later.
02:52Yeah, but I think it's cool.
02:53I think it's a cool thing.
02:53But what first pops into my mind is what this brand means to you.
02:59Like, is it something that obviously you like the products yourself, I would believe, as you make them.
03:05But is it sort of your style that is pictured through this clothing apparel, or is it more just you being inspired by some culture here in the French Riviera a couple of years ago or decades, and then just putting it into a hole in the market?
03:19Or is it also just lots of passion and exactly what you would wear if it wasn't your brand?
03:25I think, I mean, definitely, definitely the reason why it exists is passion.
03:29I definitely design for what I would want to wear.
03:35I mean, I don't think I could ever design something I wouldn't want to wear and then actually put it out.
03:40But kind of in my head, we're designing for the modern Monégasque, but who is inspired by all the vintage references, the golden age, L'Ajdoch, and like, you know, all the way from, there's amazing references all the way from the 1920s and 30s.
03:59All the way through to maybe 80s, 90s.
04:02And then every single era was so different to what it is now, which is obviously what we see in the streets every day.
04:09So it's maybe hard to jump from our ideal outfit or uniform, should we say, from Monégasque to what we see in the streets every day.
04:19So, but definitely I design for what I would want to wear.
04:23I think that's just kind of a natural process.
04:26Also, you know, I should mention that I'm not educated in fashion.
04:30I didn't go to design school, so I'm not as technical as other designers are.
04:35So I just kind of have a vivid idea in my head and I try as hard as I can to get it, you know, A to Z, get it on paper and get it into fabric.
04:44That's such a cool approach because as you don't necessarily go into all the technicalities of making the products, you're trying to, you know, cooperate with people that have knowledge in these areas.
04:55It gives you maybe more space to be creative side of the production.
05:00Absolutely, yeah.
05:00And exactly that, that for me, I, I can see lots of references from like your personality and some of the things like I'm wearing some, some crazy colored shirt today that correct.
05:11Once wearing it, um, I'm just overflowed by compliments and people who are very like intrigued, inspired, like what, what are you wearing?
05:20Like, what is this?
05:21And, um, and I always, you know, explain sort of the short story of what it means to me and the way that when, when I wear this, it's, uh, it's a vibe.
05:30You put on a vibe and I think lots of, uh, brands out there don't manage to create that.
05:36They don't have that, that touch.
05:38They don't create a feeling when, once you wear it.
05:40No, it's true.
05:41It's like all of our summer shenanigans.
05:43Whenever we go anywhere, it's automatically put on the shirt and you're automatically in it.
05:48You're automatically having fun.
05:50You are.
05:50Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's true.
05:51And, uh, I think that's a, such a valuable thing to have because lots of designer brands, you know, they make, they can make a similar fit.
05:57You can make a similar cut, similar fabric, but then do you wear it as, you know, their brand here?
06:04You wear like a story, you wear an age, like you say, the golden age of, of the French Riviera, right?
06:09And how do you think you've managed to, or your team has managed to bring that to the clothing itself?
06:15Because it's, it's a bit of luck, I would decide, but also just being very, like, not niche, but specific about what you want to make and then do it.
06:25But yeah, I think, um, I think the first thing that needs to be said here is that if we, if I wasn't brought up here, if I didn't have all this exposure to the region that we're in and the stories that are around us and, and you know, the architecture here and the climate and the landscapes and everything, I wouldn't have started a brand.
06:46Probably, you know, I started it from the asset, from the angle of, this is an incredible story to tell.
06:53Nobody's really doing it in Monaco.
06:55You know, a lot of brands are pulling inspiration from Monaco.
06:58Obviously you would, because there's so much there.
07:00Um, but if I wasn't based there, I probably wouldn't have started a brand brand.
07:05So, you know, that is, it's, you nailed on the head.
07:07It is, you want to be wearing the whole, you want to be wearing the brand and feeling like you are, you know, it should lift you up.
07:15It should lift you up.
07:16You should feel like, not necessarily a different person, but you should feel like a great version of yourself.
07:20Yeah.
07:21And you know, what, one of the biggest things for me and especially like your guys as friends and people who we know have bought the brand have, there's been so many people who've come up to me at the beginning and said, that's so cool.
07:31But like, I could never wear that.
07:32I can never wear that.
07:33And there's so many of those people who now have bought something or worn it and have had, we've had such good feedback from them just saying that they feel great wearing it.
07:42And, you know, it sounds cliche to say, but it's, it's, uh, you know, you can wear whatever you want.
07:47You, as long as you wear it confidently and you, that's it, you like what you're wearing.
07:51So, yeah, um, definitely we've made some shirts, which are way too out there for some people.
07:58Um, but then other people, you know, want more.
08:00So, um,
08:01Exactly that.
08:02I also find it very interesting that I feel like in certain situations you feel extremely, extremely confident.
08:08And like, it even boosts your confidence or it's amazing or in other situations, I'm like, I don't think this place is ready for it yet.
08:17Like for example, last year, there are a few of those, but I, it's one of those things you feel like you kind of want to push it.
08:24Like for example, last year at Christmas, I was like, I kind of want to wear my money shirt.
08:29Told my mom, she's like, no chance.
08:32Your grandma's going to have a heart attack.
08:34I ended up still wearing it.
08:37Oh yeah.
08:37Everyone loved it afterwards, but it's also one of those things like when you're in the moment, it's fantastic.
08:42Yeah.
08:42Yeah, absolutely.
08:43And you know, the things that we do in some of the things that people do in summer when they come here, not just tourists, but locals as well is, you know, that's the perfect environment where our brand shines, I think.
08:55And, you know, we've had it ourselves, like crazy compliments in beach clubs, in restaurants, nightclubs.
09:01Yeah.
09:01Can definitely vote for that.
09:02You know, and we've spotted a few people in the shirts in beach clubs, which is like, that's the best thing ever.
09:09That was super, super cool.
09:09Because it's being like sort of a niche still.
09:13Totally.
09:13And, you know, meeting other people that you don't know of at all in a public area and just immediately connect, you know, because everyone that knows the brand will know probably the collection out.
09:26Like all of the collection out.
09:27So I remember showing up, coming up to this woman that was wearing one of the shirts that were quite similar to the ones we were wearing this particular day.
09:35You weren't actually with us that day.
09:37No, I wasn't.
09:37And we just go up to this woman and be like, whoa, we have like super shirt.
09:43Yeah, super shirt on.
09:44Super shirt.
09:45Super cool.
09:45And she immediately just, you know, vibe with us.
09:49Like, you know, it's like there's some mutual.
09:54Like it's part of a community.
09:55Exactly.
09:55Part of a club.
09:56Exactly.
09:56Did you explain to her?
09:57Yeah, we didn't even explain that, you know, we didn't need to elaborate anything.
10:03Like she almost elaborated in her own words how she felt when she was wearing the shirt.
10:07Yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:07And then how passionate her daughter was about it.
10:09And then how passionate their sons were about it.
10:11Yeah, true.
10:11That's like, oh, it's only here where you get these awesome shirts, so on and forth.
10:15And that they really wanted to have them Mexico and whatnot.
10:18Yeah.
10:19These things, it's so funny.
10:20I remember sending a picture to you and you were like, that stoked me up.
10:23I remember that, like a long range video zooming in on this.
10:26Exactly.
10:26This lady wearing one of the shirts.
10:28Exactly.
10:28Which is a cool, like it's the best feeling ever.
10:30Must be.
10:31I can only imagine.
10:32I can only imagine.
10:33But it haven't just been normal people wearing your shirts.
10:36You've had quite a few very kind of high publicity people.
10:42Yeah, we've had a few.
10:44We've been definitely lucky with working with like great stylists this year, especially this year.
10:52Great press as well.
10:53You know, we've had some awesome features in press.
10:56Like mainly in the US, but also some in the UK.
11:00We, you know, we had a huge boost when I first started the brand.
11:04And I was just running it out of my bedroom at uni in the UK.
11:08I had like a corner of the room, which was just hats.
11:12And it was just like these baseball caps, black, like brushed cotton baseball caps with just like money, like in white on the front.
11:19Yeah.
11:20I think we ordered a hundred back then.
11:22And back then I was like, that's too many hats.
11:24And so obviously we shifted loads to our friends at the beginning, which has always been like, you know, I'm always so grateful for that, for friends who buy into it, even if, you know, they're going to wear it once and then never again.
11:35But like they're supporting.
11:37So sense.
11:37And then one day we had, I woke up to see pictures of Tom Holland wearing it on some press tour in Japan for the Avengers, one of the Avengers films.
11:48And yeah, like that was the first time where I was like, what is happening?
11:51Like, I don't, I don't understand.
11:53I knew how it happened because, um, I had met a friend of his and, and we got to talking and things like that, but I'd never thought that I would actually see it happen, you know?
12:01Yeah.
12:02See it on a picture.
12:03Yeah.
12:03And you can imagine his fan pages on Instagram and Facebook and everything.
12:08So all these kids were just going crazy and we were receiving orders for like 16 caps and they were like 45 euros at the time, you know?
12:15So it's not cheap.
12:16Not at all.
12:1716 cap orders to Japan.
12:20Christ.
12:21And I'd, I'd have to go and find a box that fits 16 caps in it and send it to Japan from uni.
12:27So that was the first time where I was like, wow, like you feel the power in just like a picture like that.
12:34It's true.
12:34So, um, maybe, yeah.
12:36No, I didn't want to, I didn't want to interrupt.
12:38No, no.
12:38It, it changes your, your outlook on how you should be dealing with or how you should be targeting.
12:45I don't want to say influencers, but people who are influential.
12:48Yeah.
12:49Um, which is, you know, such a logical thing now looking back by the time you, you don't really think to just like knock on the door and give people.
12:56I imagine that you don't, we don't really want to be, you know, someone that just gives out free products in a way you want them to wear it because they actually like it in a way and vibe with it.
13:07You know, you can like putting the shirt on, on everyone might send an interesting picture that not might fit exactly what you want.
13:16But I think you're very lucky in the way that most of the people that end up wearing your things are quite similar to your, like your main customers.
13:24Yeah, absolutely.
13:26And I think, you know, that's partly thanks to stylists because obviously the stylists know exactly what would look good on their clients.
13:34Yeah.
13:34And luckily we get a lot of client, uh, stylists coming to us saying, you know, we'd love this for this client.
13:40And then sometimes it, sometimes it's great.
13:42Sometimes we're like, yeah, no chance.
13:44We don't want this said person wearing our stuff.
13:46So we just say no.
13:47And I think you have, you have to be selective.
13:49Yeah, you do.
13:49You definitely have to be, no matter how big they are.
13:51Because, you know, at the end of the day, you're not guaranteed any return or gain from somebody, some certain person wearing it.
14:00They can have millions and millions of followers and do nothing.
14:04Yeah.
14:04And, you know, you can have some, uh, guy who has 20K followers who makes really, really good content, has a really, really loyal fan base.
14:13True.
14:13And, you know, it can just like blow up.
14:15Yeah.
14:16Your followers, like your sales, just from like one post.
14:19So.
14:19That's it.
14:20It's, uh, it's, it's not kind of, it's not linear at all.
14:22It's not obvious.
14:23So what was your second kind of moment where you're like, oh, wow, this is actually going somewhere.
14:28Uh, I would have to say, uh, our first feature in GQ, when I woke up, woke up in the morning and had a message from, uh, one of the writers there.
14:39And he was like, just sent a link.
14:42Yeah.
14:42And I just went on it and it was like, it was one of the, um, the recommends articles, which was top 15 items to buy this week.
14:49And one of our shirts was in there.
14:50There you go.
14:51And I was like, whoa.
14:52And I was like, so big for us.
14:54So big.
14:55Yeah.
14:55Yeah.
14:55Big for anyone, I would say.
14:57Absolutely.
14:57And like, you know, the, the GQ guys have been so, so good to us.
15:00Um, we've been featured in there like, I think six or seven times now in articles.
15:07That's just awesome.
15:08It's, it's just nice to build a relationship and just to see that these products are appreciated and not just that, but to see the actual like conversions from those articles and to see the return and to see how many clicks are coming from, from GQ on the website.
15:22So it's, um, that was definitely the second biggest moment where I just remember just like being to the boys, like, oh my God, like GQ.
15:31Yeah.
15:31And then something, but then the goalpost moves, right?
15:34Yeah, exactly.
15:34Of course it does.
15:35And then you have something else, which like, I'm sure a day soon I'm going to wake up and be like, oh my God, like this is way bigger than that.
15:41Yeah.
15:42Um, I think that's the way it should be as well.
15:45Yeah.
15:45Have you had another moment like that since then?
15:48Um, probably our, probably the day where we were messaged from a men's fashion director from like a big chain store in the U S who messages are saying like, what's your email?
16:00And I was like, okay.
16:01It would like look to him and was like, okay, this guy's a big deal.
16:04Like, why does he want to speak to us?
16:05Um, fast forward, they, they placed an order with us, so we're going to be in their stores in a few months time.
16:13So that's super, we can get onto that bit later, but that was a huge, amazing business mountain to get through.
16:20But that was definitely, you know, a first order from an account as big as they are.
16:24We would never expect them to come to us and then kind of accept all of our terms.
16:29So like, you know, we're going step by step and I was like, why are they saying yes?
16:32Why are they saying yes?
16:33I was expecting at the last minute them to just be like, no.
16:36Yeah.
16:36And then they paid us and I was like, right, now we've got to make this.
16:40Here we go.
16:40Yeah.
16:41I think one of the questions that I, that pops up then to my mind and you are featuring on the lobster fight is obviously how you won that first fight.
16:49Like, how did you get yourself on this, on this pattern or your team ID get on this pattern of, of making these small incremental moves of winning in your, in your industry, in your niche.
17:00And like, if you can remember a certain time, whether it being before you actually began or beginning, or, you know, if it was further in, uh, that you had this, these wins that we would like to talk about where you felt, okay, now I have momentum.
17:16Yeah.
17:17Now I just need to retain different momentum and with that momentum, you know, it can go anywhere.
17:21Like you, for example, the set with this, with this, um, um, expansion to the U S market as well, which is, which is huge.
17:28And retail sources massive, but I don't know if you can like pick one, one moment in time.
17:33More an experience that, that you can remember that was like, this is where, you know, started from in a way.
17:42I think, I mean, there's been so many small fights, you know, like, you have small fights every day.
17:49True.
17:50Um, at the beginning, I think it's definitely probably a part of it is a confidence game and being like, okay, I've got this idea.
17:57Should I do it?
17:58Should I not do it?
17:59And then just kind of edging more towards like, yeah, let's do it.
18:02And then being like, okay, but is it just going to be a total waste of time or has it got potential or am I going to be all into this?
18:09Because I, if you're not all into it, you know, it's probably not going to succeed as you want it to.
18:14So I think there's a lot of that at the beginning, obviously, like I said, we started it super small.
18:21We made some hats.
18:22And then I think the first win was being like, oh, we've like, we've actually made money on these hats that we made.
18:28And we weren't really expecting anything from it.
18:30It was kind of a trial.
18:31Yeah.
18:31So that's like the first small win.
18:33And then you're like, okay, well, let's do something else.
18:35Like, let's make a different color.
18:36Same happens again.
18:37You're like, okay, like, let's keep going.
18:40Let's see what else we can do.
18:42Made some t-shirts.
18:43You know, they did okay.
18:44We made some more money.
18:45And we were like, okay, well, now we, like, we're kind of on a roll here.
18:48Yeah.
18:49And I'd say probably like when I left uni, I was in a place where I was like, well, I either have to go quite hard into this now and commit to it and put proper effort in and build a proper structure and get in the help that I need.
19:04Because you have to look at yourself as well and be like, okay, I'm not, I'm not bad at this, but I'm not very good at this.
19:09I'm not very good at this.
19:11Somebody is better at this than I am.
19:12Makes sense.
19:13And so for me, personally speaking, it makes more sense to bring somebody in who can do that way better than you can.
19:18Yeah.
19:19And you use them and you work together and you, you know, you, you form a partnership and team spirit and everything.
19:25So for me, that was definitely production side.
19:29It's such a minefield.
19:30And anyone else who's ever tried to make any clothes will definitely agree with me.
19:34Especially when you have absolutely no idea what you're doing.
19:37And you're literally going onto Google and typing in like factories in Portugal.
19:41You know, like there are many, many.
19:44You produce in Portugal, yeah?
19:45We make most, mostly in Portugal.
19:47Yeah.
19:47It's cool.
19:48Very cool.
19:48Mostly in Portugal.
19:49I, I, I just have like one, one memory of, of a class in school, logistics class about, you know, you, right.
19:57Make, you know, one product, choose one product, find your production, find your suppliers, you know.
20:04I remember you coming to me with that.
20:05Yeah.
20:05I'm making it in one country, shipping it to another, distributing from there.
20:09And I was like, Ben, can you, you know, just elaborate how on earth this is possible in real life?
20:15Because for me, just doing that in a class was like, all right, this is a maze that I'm never going to find out how to get out of.
20:21Yeah.
20:21Actually, I mean, the logistics side of it is, I don't want to put you down here, but that's the easy part.
20:26Yeah, imagine.
20:26The hardest part is to find a factory, which is one, good, makes good clothing.
20:31Two, is ethical, you know, like treats their staff well, is as eco-friendly as possible.
20:37You know, a big asterisk there.
20:38One that you can build a relationship with, with the team, one that you can speak to, you know, you can kind of rely on them and have confidence in them to get back to you, tell you when there's problems.
20:52Because that's a huge thing that I've learned over there is that a lot of things go wrong.
20:56Yeah, imagine.
20:56You know, you want to make a t-shirt, it's probably got to go to at least three, four different places in Portugal, which could be different countries.
21:04You know, it just, everything gets outsourced and along each of those steps, there's going to be several problems and nobody's telling anyone, you know, because it's like, oh, we'll fix this before there's actually a big problem.
21:16And, you know, luckily, touch wood, there haven't been any huge mess ups yet.
21:22But like I said, like that, this, all of this needs to happen before you actually have a point where you can be like, here is our logo.
21:30Can you put it on this t-shirt now?
21:31And so the main point from all of that is that, you know, we work, we're lucky to work with a production company in London.
21:40Okay.
21:41A guy called Mike Key, who is excellent, excellent at what he does.
21:44Yeah.
21:45His knowledge is insane.
21:47He worked for this British brand called Liam Hodges.
21:51We met when I took this fashion course when I was at uni and he was one of the mentors there.
21:55Cool.
21:55And I remember we had like two or three phone calls over 10 months, so not a lot.
22:01No, no.
22:01And I remember he was the guy who, when I got on the calls with him, he was like, that is shit.
22:07I hate that.
22:07And he was just like, that's really bad.
22:09And I was like, okay.
22:11And at the time, like, I didn't know it.
22:12We weren't friends.
22:13Whereas now he tells me that every day.
22:14So I'm used to it.
22:16But back then, you know, you spent months making this t-shirt.
22:19And it was a terrible t-shirt.
22:21It was terrible.
22:22Or hoodie or whatever it was.
22:23Yeah, yeah, yeah.
22:23But he was, I just, I remember that.
22:26And then I came across him a few years later and I was like, what are you doing?
22:29He was like, what, like, you know, how are you getting on?
22:31And I was like, actually, I'm struggling big time with these factories.
22:34And he was like, I can make this shirt for you.
22:36We made that.
22:37It was really good.
22:38Then he was like, okay, I can make some more for you.
22:41And then he was like, right, I'm not making any more for you until you, like, become my client.
22:45So I was like, okay, fine.
22:46Let me become a client then.
22:48Yeah, so we work kind of, like, I speak to him almost every day.
22:52Okay.
22:52He handles, he does everything between the kind of design, even though he, you know, has input on the design.
22:58Everything from the design to the factory.
23:03He faces the factory.
23:05So if anything goes wrong, he deals with it.
23:07And a lot of the time doesn't even tell me that something's gone wrong.
23:09That's super cool.
23:10He just handles it.
23:10So, you know, I can trust him 100%.
23:12That's awesome.
23:13Takes a huge weight off my shoulders.
23:14Yeah.
23:15I imagine finding people that you work well with is always key.
23:19Like, if you have to have struggles, you know, trying to communicate about it, it's just a hustle.
23:25You can't let the creative process, you know, take the kind of time and space that it requires, I imagine.
23:32I just also think you can't be good at everything.
23:34No, no, of course not.
23:34You can't do everything, you know.
23:35No, no, no.
23:36So, and you don't have enough time in a day to actually do everything.
23:39Absolutely.
23:40Yeah.
23:40Are you sure about that, Sean?
23:42No, it depends.
23:44Apparently we have three days in a day, so.
23:47Motivational quotes.
23:47I don't know if you have anything in mind that pops up, but I do have quite a few things, because it's an interesting story, and I think we've touched upon it in quite a linear way, and into the point where, personally, I met you.
24:03We got to be friends, Sean and I were friends prior to that, and we all became, I would consider good friends, no?
24:12Extremely good friends.
24:13I think we're friends, yeah.
24:14That's cool.
24:14I don't know.
24:15That's awesome, mate.
24:15Some might say so.
24:16He's letting us down here, guys, but it's all right.
24:19But anyway, I wanted to ask you if you find, like, strength, we've talked a bit about inspiration, so I would rather want to talk about this momentum of you, you know, having this fire on an everyday basis that brings you to where you want to be with the brand.
24:37And where that fire or that energy comes from, because I know from my personal experience, I gain a lot of energy, a lot of, like, positivity, happy days, as I'd like to say, from working out.
24:51And we happen to work out, like, quite a lot at the gym, and that's why I met you, actually, in the gym.
24:57You were working out with another mutual friend of ours now, Emmanuel.
25:00Also a big fire in him as well.
25:01Yeah, huge fire in the guy.
25:02He's really, yeah, fire to dust and stop burning, basically.
25:06And I remember this was me signing up to this gym that we go to, Club 39 in Monaco, shout out.
25:14And I was looking at you and him on a daily basis, working out in the gym, doing lots of, like, different stuff, lots of crossfit, lots of throwing around weights.
25:24And, like, couldn't really find, you know, any heads and tails in the workouts anyway.
25:28But I was really intrigued by how you were just getting after it every day, like getting after it every day.
25:32I was trying my best, you know, coming there, training by myself.
25:36But I was seeing you two just having this great, great dynamic of just pushing each other and, you know, meeting up there.
25:43I was trying to be there kind of like 7 o'clock every morning, every second morning, doing my best.
25:49You guys were always there.
25:50You were always there at 7 on the dot.
25:52You'd go running and I'd be, like, freaking out because I wasn't really good at running at the time being.
25:58And just seeing you guys going out for that run, I felt, like, intrigued in a way that, you know, because I see you were out there pushing it.
26:06You'd come back drenched.
26:07I would have been in the gym for an hour and I'd be like, yeah, I worked out as well.
26:10You know, I'm all right.
26:11And but you really inspired me in the way that you were just getting after it every day.
26:15And fast forward a little bit, you know, we started working out together at the gym, you, me and Emmanuel as well.
26:22And and I felt that that power of, let's say, being in a group of individuals that just brings each other up, that just reinforces positive energy that just, you know, gets the fire burning in each other.
26:36And from that on, from that moment on, that really enhanced my training with also being with you, eventually Sean as well, is the way that that gives me energy in a day.
26:46And I just wanted to ask if if the same applies to you or if you find it elsewhere, I don't know.
26:54I mean, the point about the group is huge, I think it's huge.
26:58And obviously you like we both everybody knows that, you know, if you're doing something, if you're pushing, if you're training, if you're trying to achieve something on your own, it's potentially more difficult than if you're in a group.
27:10And especially like, let's talk fitness for a second.
27:12But, you know, if you're working out, if you're running on your own, it's just easy to stop, isn't it?
27:16It's easy to just be like, well, there's no one here.
27:18Like, it's only me.
27:19Like, oh, I'll just call it a day.
27:20You know, like you need some accountability.
27:23And I think a lot of people that I talk to who see the nonsense that we get up to are like, like, why do you do that?
27:31Like, why, why would you even leave the house to go and do that?
27:34And I don't really have an answer.
27:36Like, it's like, I don't really have, like, we've spoken about this quite a lot.
27:38I don't really have an answer of why you would want to, I would say suffer, but like, it is, you do suffer, but in a good way.
27:45Like, the feeling afterwards is the best reward you can get.
27:48Absolutely.
27:48Yeah.
27:48I agree.
27:49I agree.
27:50But just like I ran the other day.
27:52Yeah, that was tough.
27:54That was terrible.
27:55But just the fact that you are in a group doing something potentially that you wouldn't be doing on your own.
28:02Yeah.
28:02Firstly, it pushes you, like, you are together.
28:05So you have, like, companionship, let's say.
28:08Yeah, true.
28:08And secondly, like, if it gets tough, then you know somebody else is next to you also suffering.
28:13And if they're not suffering, then you're like, well, I can't stop.
28:16I can't stop.
28:17That's exactly how I felt.
28:19That's how you kind of got into it.
28:20Four by four by 48.
28:22Yeah.
28:23I mean, that was still one of the, I feel like that's a great group dynamic that we have is that we do many things in various extremes.
28:32So the way you got me to do the four by 48 was we were out in London having drinks.
28:39We were very much, I think, nine pints in.
28:42We didn't have to say the number of pints, did we?
28:44We were pints in.
28:45We were pints in.
28:47And then you were trying to convince me to do it.
28:48And I was like, yeah, nah.
28:50But we ended up doing it.
28:53And I was looking at you guys.
28:54And you guys weren't even suffering.
28:56And after the second run, I was just sitting there crying more or less that I could barely walk.
29:00Which is normal.
29:01Totally normal.
29:02Completely normal.
29:03But yeah, no, going back to the fire point.
29:05I mean, also a difficult question because I think you can draw a lot of parallels from kind of physical stuff, going into business stuff.
29:16Yep.
29:17And it's the same fire, you know, that burns for both.
29:20Yeah.
29:23And I feel like if you're in that, it goes back to kind of habit, you know, when you have built that habit and when you're used to that.
29:32Feeling of doing something that someone else may not do because it's a bit hard, but you kind of enjoy that.
29:40Yeah.
29:40Once you build that, like, over and over and over and over and over and over again.
29:43Yeah, yeah, yeah.
29:43And maybe, Sean, like, you are a great example of explaining that because yours was quite recent in terms of you getting into this habit.
29:51Like, you went from zero to 100, essentially.
29:53Yeah, it's true.
29:53So as soon as you feel that habit, it does become a habit and you no longer think about it.
29:58You think about it in the other way, like, oh, I've not actually done anything today.
30:00I feel a bit weird.
30:01Yeah.
30:02Well, then it's also, I feel like it's one of those things that when you have friends that do the same thing.
30:06Yeah.
30:07Then it encourages you so much more.
30:09Absolutely.
30:10Absolutely.
30:10You don't need to make a decision because you're like, well, something's happening.
30:13I have to do it.
30:14I'm going to be there at seven.
30:15I don't know what's happening, but something's happening.
30:16Yeah, yeah, yeah.
30:18And, like, people listening are probably going to be like, that's very unhealthy.
30:22That is very unhealthy.
30:23You should have rest days, all this type of stuff.
30:25Could be.
30:25Yeah, you could be.
30:26But I think that you can just, the sheer dopamine release you get when working out in groups or whatever, like, for me, it's something that I bring on.
30:36If I train or do something in the morning, it goes straight into whatever I'm doing after that.
30:40Absolutely.
30:41And I would imagine the same being for you, being in an industry where mostly people, they come up with, this is my personal interpretation of the industry, people coming up with creative ideas from a point of, you know, just being creative with their minds and not allowing their body to be, like, out there.
31:00Yeah, maybe, yeah.
31:01And I think maybe that could be one of your strengths is that you're used to using, like, your whole body and mind at the same time and then going and trying to, you know, grow this business on the side.
31:12Yeah.
31:13Yeah, I think it's a good point.
31:14I think more than that, it's more, it's about energy.
31:19It's about motivation.
31:21It's about momentum.
31:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
31:22You know, if you smash a workout in the morning or a run or something, you know, I get to my desk and I'm wired.
31:28And I'm like, like, you're ready to just do it, like, keep the momentum going and just do as much as you can.
31:33And not just throughout the day, but, you know, throughout the month, throughout the year.
31:39And you just, it's a momentum thing.
31:41And once you get used to that momentum, it's no longer something that you think about.
31:44And you're just kind of cruising because that sounds bad, but, like, you are comfortable there.
31:49Yeah.
31:50Perfectly uncomfortable.
31:51Perfectly uncomfortable is what we should say instead because I don't think comfortable is a good thing.
31:56No.
31:57So, but you're uncomfortable, but in a sense of, you know how to handle it, but you want more.
32:05You know, you want to achieve more and more and more.
32:08And, yeah, I think all of these things kind of mix together and they all connect to each other and they all influence each other positively.
32:17It's an interesting thought.
32:18I think, I don't know if you have.
32:21Go for it.
32:21I was thinking, like, in terms of the brand, that do you then sometimes put yourself in that perfectly uncomfortable situation with being like, okay, I have this idea of a design or have this idea of this new product that I want to wear that, you know, you don't see everywhere.
32:36I don't see it here and now and then.
32:37And just, like, be, okay, if it gives me this little chill about being an uncomfortable, uncertain, you know, choice, but I'm going full on into it, that you have this idea I will be successful about it.
32:48Is that something that you use when you design or when you have these ideas, creative ideas?
32:53Absolutely.
32:54Absolutely.
32:54And, you know, going back to the point of I didn't study fashion, so automatically I am uncomfortable doing all of this technical design stuff, you know, so I think I attack it from a different angle and I'm like, I go from the end goal, I'm like, I know that I want to make something like this, it should be a bit like this, but definitely not this, definitely not that, definitely not this.
33:16And then somehow, obviously working with Mike, the production team, we get to a place where we're like, okay, no, I think that's nice and, you know, that's the process, that's the process, but being uncomfortable is definitely something I've had to get used to in the fashion world and not just design stuff, but, you know, not just the business side, but the crowds, the industry, the people and meeting people.
33:43And it's just, it's such a, an interesting industry and like you meet so many people every day, which is one of the things that I love about it, to be honest.
33:53Yeah.
33:53That is, I think one of the things I look for in life in general is to meet as many people as possible and, you know, just learn from people and just listen and watch them.
34:03And you travel a lot.
34:05Yeah.
34:06Yeah.
34:06Definitely, definitely.
34:07Too much, I would say.
34:08Too much traveling.
34:09Do you use some of that traveling when you.
34:11Do you get inspirations from the different places you go to?
34:15Yes, definitely.
34:16I think, I think less places and more people and situations and not people in the sense of like, oh, he was wearing that.
34:26So I'm going to make one of those.
34:27But like the things that people tell you and the things you, you see how people, different people see the world.
34:32You see how, for us, you know, in our unique situation, our brand is, is based in Monaco.
34:39It's not, you know, we're not 100% Monaco, but we're French Riviera.
34:44And obviously everybody who I speak to about the brand has a comment about Monaco or the Cote d'Azur or whatever.
34:50They always have a picture.
34:51Yeah.
34:51They have their own picture, right?
34:52Yeah.
34:52And that is the most interesting thing for me to hear about.
34:56Like, what do you, what do you, how do you see Monaco?
34:58Yeah, yeah, yeah.
34:58Because there's so many different opinions and it's like, it's a bit Marmite, you know, some people are like, ugh, that place is, you know, shallow, blah, blah, blah, blah.
35:06Other people are like, wow, it's like, it's magical.
35:08It's like, it's beautiful.
35:10It's so interesting.
35:11And, you know, there's, there's two sides to everywhere.
35:14It's vibrant.
35:15It's so interesting to hear about what people think of the place and how people see the brand and how much people are looking, you know, where people are connecting the dots.
35:24Yeah, I imagine.
35:25Straight to Monaco being like, oh, this is a bit like, this is a bit like this brand.
35:28This is a bit like, you know, resorty.
35:30Like, it's just interesting to hear people's opinions and because I'd say it's quite a mysterious place.
35:36Like, not a lot of people actually know a lot about it.
35:40You know, people are like, okay, Grand Prix, casino, cars, great.
35:44Like, that is, that is like, for a lot of people.
35:46True.
35:47You know, especially a lot of our market is in the US.
35:49Yeah.
35:50We hear that a lot.
35:51Yeah.
35:52And that's all people know about it.
35:53So that's when I turn on myself and think, well, now it's your job to explain what you're doing here.
35:59Educate.
36:00Through what you're doing.
36:01Yeah.
36:02And just tell people the story and tell people all of these interesting things that maybe we take for granted because we're surrounded by it.
36:08And, you know, we'll drive past a certain old building and just not blink twice.
36:15But it has such an insane story behind it.
36:17And, you know, what was once happening in there.
36:19And Monaco is a place which has been touched by so many different powers.
36:25You know, it's been Italian, it's been French, it's been German.
36:28And it has so many different cultural influences on it, which you can see clearly.
36:34Yes.
36:35If you dig deep in it.
36:36I imagine.
36:37So.
36:37And it's a small, small place.
36:39And it's a tiny place.
36:40That has all of that.
36:41You can see like the area that you need to dig in.
36:43You know, it's not, it's not too big.
36:45So, but yeah, that's, that's our job to, to find out how to bring the story out through clothes.
36:51I think you're doing a very interesting job with it.
36:53With it also being these different, like, for example, what I am wearing right now, supporting here.
36:58My favorite shirt was the Monte Carlo Grand Prix shirt from, I don't know, 1950.
37:0437, I think.
37:0437?
37:051934.
37:0634.
37:0734, you're right.
37:081934.
37:0934, like Grand Prix going back all the way to then, you know, like, okay, we need to depict this on a shirt.
37:15How do we do that?
37:16Super cool.
37:17And then you have, like, Sean's wearing something here that's a bit of knitwear.
37:21Yeah.
37:21A bit of knitwear.
37:22A bit of knitwear there.
37:23A t-shirt knitwear.
37:24A bit of a winter style.
37:27In a, in a summery attire being a t-shirt, but it's, it's, it's vastly different.
37:32Yet there is a, there is a red line that connects all the dots.
37:35Yeah.
37:35You know, and I think that's, for me, what is super cool is that you don't just do denim or you don't just do, uh, hoodies.
37:42You don't just do this t-shirt caps, like all of these small niche brands do.
37:46You, you really have the courage to go out and, like, do a shirt that looks like this.
37:51And then you will see, like, for me personally, what I saw is, like, half a year, a year ago, a year after, you have brands like Paul Smith.
37:58Um, what's that other one that comes to mind?
38:01Uh, maybe Itro, something like that.
38:04Like big brands that trying to do these fits and I, I will try one on and it just, it won't feel correct.
38:10It won't feel right because I'm, I'm, I'm used to wearing this type of stuff and it's not necessarily just about the fabric.
38:17It's also that there's something about the cut.
38:19There's something about it.
38:20I'm not biased here by any means, but it's just, I have a lot of people that, that would say the same, you know, coming back to the story of people saying, I can't wear that.
38:29Yeah.
38:29And then actually wearing it and feeling great.
38:31Yeah.
38:32Feeling confident about it.
38:33You know, I think it's cool that it, with this brand, you're able to, uh, open people's horizon in the fashionable world and like make them see older stuff or older styles being very cool.
38:47Now, like, for example, I would have never imagined myself a shirt like the one Sean's wearing right now.
38:52And it being like one of my favorite shirts to wear, it's, it's super interesting.
38:57Like I started with a lot of different things that I don't think about.
39:00Does this match?
39:01Does this not match?
39:02Cause I, I just feel great in it.
39:04Yeah.
39:04And I think that's super cool.
39:05I think there's such a, it's a unique, unique thing to have.
39:09And, um, with that, I was thinking, well, any future plans or any future, um, I don't know, endeavors of money that you can maybe elaborate a little bit about or not at all.
39:20I mean, vaguely speaking, broadly speaking, um, widen the Monegasque uniform that we're slowly building.
39:29You know, we, we've released only one pair of trousers so far, which we're working on a 2.0 version, working on a winter version, which is going to be a heavier wool.
39:37Yeah.
39:38Um, with some more old school details, I'll say, rather than modern.
39:43Um, definitely a lot more knitwear, uh, more resort wear, various, you know, basically widen the uniform to all of the different styles that we've ever looked at.
39:56We have some really nice knit vests coming summer, um, playing with different techniques.
40:01You know, we've been doing knitwear for a few seasons now and it's, it's super popular.
40:05So something that we kind of fell into as well, like I don't really, a lot of things happen.
40:10I look back and I'm like, I don't really know why we did that, but we did it and I'm glad we did.
40:14Yeah.
40:14Um, and so this, this has happened several times and we're really pleased with how people are responding to knitwear.
40:22So we're playing with some different techniques now, um, various different factories.
40:26Uh, we have some hand crochet shirts coming as well.
40:31So there's just going to be, there's going to be more interesting and more.
40:42What's the right word?
40:43More dulled down, easy to wear pieces.
40:47Because you have to have both.
40:48You have to have both.
40:49So something more accessible.
40:50More accessible for a consumer who loves the brand, loves the story, but you know, hand
40:57on heart would not wear even a short sleeve shirt.
41:00Like we have friends who, the Italians that are very religious about, you know, being long
41:04sleeved and white socks and white socks, mostly not white socks, but white socks.
41:08You're right.
41:09Yeah.
41:09Not white socks.
41:10Not white socks.
41:10Exactly.
41:11But, uh, that's interesting.
41:14But yes, I mean, you know, we've, we've had our friends be like, yeah, no, I really like
41:17it, but I, I just don't, I do not wear short sleeve shirts.
41:21Yeah.
41:21I'm fine.
41:22Fair enough.
41:22Like, I'm not going to try and convince you that.
41:24No, no, no, it's true.
41:25But for me coming like from Danish culture, like I think the fashion industry around Denmark
41:31or whatever we wear in Denmark, it's, it's really like casually just, I wouldn't say
41:37boring.
41:38It's not very loud though.
41:39It's not loud.
41:39Exactly.
41:40It's not very colorful.
41:41It's not very out there.
41:43Yeah.
41:43And I think, and then you show up and then I show up, you know, in my uniform of the
41:49Monegasque here and people, they love it.
41:51I have lots of, lots of friends in Denmark that, uh, you know, have come up and be like,
41:55I want that.
41:56Yeah.
41:56But you sell quite a bit to Denmark.
41:58I don't know why.
41:59Maybe it's because of you.
41:59Yeah.
42:00Yeah.
42:00You're very welcome.
42:01We'll be on commission soon.
42:02Thanks to everyone that's listening that knew me, that bought a shirt here.
42:05No, but I think it's cool because, you know, these, these fashion, fashionable trends in
42:11the North, mostly like Sweden, Norway, Denmark are not colorful.
42:16You come here and you have people wearing, you know, beautiful dresses like these shirts,
42:22men's shirts with lots of colors, people dressing up to look nice, to feel good.
42:27And I think with this, you're managing actually to, to influence certain markets that are,
42:35maybe a little bit more boring at heart or just more plain, plain, simple.
42:41Yeah.
42:42I think that's, that's super cool, but you're, you're doing anything in the North or you're
42:46going to be there present or is it just, you know, e-commerce that just happened to go
42:50there or.
42:51Yeah.
42:52I mean, our customer base is extremely varied.
42:56Like we sell all around the world, which sounds like a, such a general thing to say,
43:01but you know, I, I couldn't, I would probably be wrong if I guessed, if an order came in,
43:05if I tried to guess the country, I'd probably be wrong.
43:07Awesome.
43:07So that's really interesting to see.
43:09And, um, it's amazing that it's been picked up by so many different places also with different
43:14climates, you know, because it's, we started as a primarily, you know, we were releasing
43:18summer products, um, which is something that we're trying to diverge from now and do more
43:24winter bits and more knitwear, long trousers, winter trousers, that type of thing.
43:28So it's very interesting, very, very interesting.
43:32I'll be excited to wear that.
43:33Now, before we kind of start concluding the entire episode, if you were to start all over
43:38again, now knowing what you've done, what, what mistakes you've made, what not, what would
43:44you do different?
43:47This is the point where you say nothing.
43:50Definitely not that point.
43:52Um, what can I say on this podcast?
43:54Um, what I would say, I think the biggest thing for me, and it's, um, it's something
44:02where, uh, like a really, really good childhood friend of mine, Mike has come on board with
44:06me recently.
44:07He handles PR, um, marketing, a lot of that stuff.
44:10And he's, he's like, I'd say the devil on my shoulder, but in a good way where he's just
44:16like, just do it.
44:17And I'll be like worrying about, I don't know.
44:19I don't know if it's us, but just do it, just do it.
44:21And you know, nine times out of 10, it has worked or it's been good.
44:25And I think that before he came along, I was always second guessing whatever we were doing.
44:31And maybe it's cause I felt like it was like a reflection on me, even though I never wanted
44:37it to be, and I'm careful of it not being, I think I was just always just a bit like,
44:42Ooh, maybe that's not going to be, that's not going to work or that like people are not
44:46going to like that.
44:47And he would just be like, just do it.
44:49And so I'm slowly trying to get into the habit of being, just taking, just kind of taking
44:53a risk and being like, you can't please everyone.
44:55Not every product can sell out.
44:58And so it's like, just do it.
45:00Just take the risk.
45:01As long as you've calculated a lot to get to this decision point, it's probably going
45:06to be fine.
45:07That's cool.
45:08And if it's not, then I'll go and do something else.
45:12Go on then to the next show.
45:13Yeah, it's true.
45:14So, uh, yeah, well let's, uh, let's try and conclude it.
45:17Like how can people follow money if they don't already, like how do people get to know the
45:20brand?
45:21So, uh, on Instagram, which is kind of our most active platform, um, it's money Monte Carlo
45:26altogether.
45:27M O N E Monte Carlo.
45:29Um, same domain for the website, moneymontecarlo.com.
45:34Um, sign up to our mailing list, I'd say, because that's the, the kind of, that's where new
45:40products land.
45:41You'll see it in your content.
45:42That's how you buy it.
45:43Awesome.
45:44Um, and then, yeah, I mean, just, uh, yeah.
45:48Like, thanks for having me guys.
45:49Yeah.
45:49It's been a pleasure, mate.
45:50Absolute pleasure.
45:51Like begun to be honest, like maybe 80% of this, I wasn't aware of, you know, like your
45:56story or thoughts about it, like how you use your energy, how you use your, you know, the
46:01people around you, like how you all, how it all come together to, to create this brand
46:05that, that I like to call one of my, my favorite brands to wear because it's so different.
46:10It's just vastly different.
46:11It's just vastly different.
46:11And I think it's really interesting that how you've managed to make a difference and,
46:16uh, and continue to do it.
46:18So really pleasure from my side.
46:19Absolutely pleasure.
46:20Thank you, boys.
46:21And I have to say, thank you for you two for supporting so much.
46:24I think I have the two, you two are the biggest spending customers, even with discounts.
46:32So, yeah, you know, that means so much.
46:35And, you know, a week ago or so we went out and five out of five of us were wearing it.
46:39Yeah, it is true.
46:40Like we're kind of used to it now, but sometimes I step back and I'm like, that's insane.
46:45Yeah.
46:46They don't have to wear it, but they're wearing it.
46:48I'm doing it.
46:49We have totally really enjoy it.
46:51Today you have to wear it.
46:52Yeah, today I'm feeling, you know, feeling swag over here.
46:56Exactly.
46:56It's a style.
46:57Definitely.
46:57Well, awesome, Eddie.
46:59Nice, guys.
46:59Pleasure.
46:59Thank you very much.
47:00Absolutely.
47:00What a pleasure.
47:04Happy days.
47:05Happy days.
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