Unlabel (CD Audiobook) - 9781480538788

In UNLABEL Marc Ecko recounts his unlikely journey from spray painting t-shirts in his parents’ garage, to being a graffiti artist in residence at hip-hop shows in NYC, to using his student loans to bankroll his dream of selling his shirts in Macy's, to eventually turning the Ecko brand into one of the biggest names in urban youth culture and a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. With his wonderfully sardonic and genuine voice, Ecko recounts his many innovations and misadventures, as well as his very public stunts as a media provocateur (including transforming his office into a vision of Andy Warhol’s Factory, spray painting his signature rhino onto a fake Air Force One, and buying the controversial Barry Bonds baseball and asking the public if it should be blasted into space), which led him to take his eye off his business and brought him to the edge of bankruptcy. But this is very much a success story; Ecko was able to turn the business around by shedding the pieces of the company and initiatives that were just for show such as his Times Square flagship store and his marketing budget for partying with celebrities and models. His brand, which extends to hip-hop, skate culture, MMA, high end fashion, and even Star Wars, is now in 5,000 retail stores, in 80 countries, and his street and fashion savvy magazine Complex has a circulation of 350,000 and millions more views online.UNLABEL is not just an inspirational underdog business story: the framework for the book grew from a talk Ecko gave on his formula for being authentic (Unique Voice = [Action – Fear] / Self), and each chapter is structured around his additional formulas for entrepreneurial success and building your authentic personal brand. Ecko’s brash, inspiring message—embrace pain, take risks, be yourself—has broad appeal beyond just advice for being a better salesperson (though that is here). Ecko explains that, like it or not, you already have a brand and have been branded hundreds of times over, and it is up to you to gain back control and create a true image that is authentic for you. Ecko’s UNLABEL is a groundbreaking guide to channeling your creativity, having the courage to not follow convention, and the confidence to act so you can be competitive in any environment.