A N OT E T O M Y Y OU N G E R S E L F
H U S S L E & M O T I VA T E R o m m e l Ve g a , f o u n d e r a n d C E O o f Ho l o Fo o t w e a r, reflects on a career journey of one-way tickets, roadblocks, side hustles, breakthroughs and entrepreneurial success. big break is coming soon. You just have to Hussle & Motivate. In the HOLA ROMMEL, I’m writing to you from the future! It’s 2022. meantime, Fossil will teach you important manufacturing processes You just launched your own company, Holo Footwear! Can you believe that will take you a long way in the future. it?! Probably not, since I know a lot of things don’t make sense to That future begins with a call from Jesse Daniels, a category you right now. But, like the Nipsey Hussle song, you’ve got to always designer at Puma and former college classmate. He informs you Hussle & Motivate. It will eventually all come together. Over the next about an opening and that he can, at least, get your portfolio in front 20 years, you’ll experience an amazing life journey—one that kicks off of the right person. It’s a good thing you took that part-time job at with a one-way plane ticket from Miami to Detroit. that Puma outlet store—a side hustle to your Fossil gig. You brush up It’s the summer of 2002. It’s 3:45 a.m. You’re getting ready to jump your portfolio for that all-important interview. This is you’re Eminem on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit. (Heads-up: Northwest is moment: Lose Yourself becomes your anthem. You listen to it on repeat now called Delta Airlines). It’s the biggest decision in your life so on your trip to Boston. far. You’re racing with emotions—excited, afraid, not sure what will Congratulations! Your “one opportunity to seize everything you ever come of leaving a very traditional Latino home to pursue your design wanted” is finally captured! You start out by designing running shoes, dreams at the College for Creative Studies. This is only the second reporting to Dave Dombrow, who later time you’ve ever been on a plane! (The moves on to Under Armour and then first was when your family emigrated launches Speedland. Your entire world from Nicaragua to the U.S.) It’s the opens up. You travel to Germany, Vietnam first time you’ve ever been away from and elsewhere with a team of talented home! You don’t have any room for coworkers. And while that team will soon error. Mom and dad are sacrificing a lot break apart like NSYNC, don’t worry for you to chase your dream. The good because your foot is now in the door to this news is Jose, Andre and Alfred—your incredible industry. You’ll go on to design closet friends in high school—will be for DC Shoes, Columbia Sportswear, Keen your roommates. You’re not alone! and Merrell. You’ll relocate to the West (Spoiler alert: These guys all gone on Coast, residing in Portland, OR. No, you to successful design careers.) won’t work for that company, but you’ll Lesson one of college: Accept failure. soon launch your own outdoor lifestyle Freshmen year flies by. You meet many brand nearby. incredibly talented people, some of It’s called Holo, named after the (curwhom become prominent designers in Designers in the making: Rommel Vega (front and center) rent) Holocene epoch. It’s a brand recipe and his College for Creative Studies crew, circa mid ’00s. the automotive industry. Sophomore of sustainable design, attainable pricing year, however, is one of the most difand inclusivity. It’s a reflection of your unique career journey and all the ficult and disappointing times in your life. This is where I implore key ingredients that you’ve felt have been missing. Your path and puryou to Hussle & Motivate! Don’t let the “NO” keep you down—like pose have always been different. Lots of people tell you, “No, that can’t when you rip open that letter from Nike only to learn that you didn’t be done. You, especially, can’t do that.” (Read between the lines on that get that summer internship with Jordan Brand you so desperately last statement.) Still, you persist and persevere. Overcoming obstacles wanted. You’ll also get turned down by Reebok, Adidas and Puma. builds the thick skin you’ll need to launch Holo. It looks to be a cruel summer. All your friends will be interning at On that note, so far, so good! Holo is rapidly gaining traction. We’re cool companies. Meanwhile, you’ve been accepted for an internship now sold at Nordstrom, REI, Macy’s and many leading specialty stores. at Moen, designing faucets in North Olmstead, OH. But don’t be a We’re living the dream! drip. Take that internship. Moen will teach you to never take faucet Parting advice: Enjoy the journey, despite its unexpected downs, twists design for granted. and turns. You’ll even learn to love the thorns that prick you along this Next stop: Dallas—on another one-way ticket. Congratulations, you path. They are the scars of a survivor—someone who is always willing graduated college! Mom and dad are so proud! Be happy, even though to Hussle & Motivate. That’s your personal anthem! you’re bummed that your senior showcase failed to generate job offers from Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok or any footwear company, for that Always, matter. Just be happy you received an offer from Fossil to design women’s Rommel watches. It may not be the footwear job you so crave, but it’s a job. Also, go easy on yourself because—another spoiler alert—you’re going to have P.S. Buy some Bitcoin. It’s only worth one cent a piece in 2009! a very successful footwear design career. You don’t see it now, but your
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