How I turned an Instagram page into a $30 Million Dollar Business

I remember putting two photos up beside my desk when I worked at Complex. One was of Michael Jordan and one was of a Celine (Phoebe era) campaign. To me, the combination of the two photos was the perfect juxtaposition and had the feeling of exactly what I wanted to create— a merger of sport and luxury. I guess this was the birth of Sporty & Rich and the very first unofficial “mood board” for the brand. Let’s rewind a sec to how I got to Complex, it was 2014 and I was living in Vancouver working as a sales person at Holt Renfrew (they now carry Sporty & Rich— ayyy) and I somehow landed a full-time job working at Complex Magazine in NYC as an on-camera host and editor making $55,000 a year (at the time, this was more money that I had ever seen and I thought I was a fucking baller). I guess part of the reason why I got the job was because I had built up a relatively size-able Instagram following by posting a lot of streetwear and sneaker outfit photos. I wouldn’t say I was the first femal

I remember putting two photos up beside my desk when I worked at Complex. One was of Michael Jordan and one was of a Celine (Phoebe era) campaign. To me, the combination of the two photos was the perfect juxtaposition and had the feeling of exactly what I wanted to create— a merger of sport and luxury. I guess this was the birth of Sporty & Rich and the very first unofficial “mood board” for the brand. Let’s rewind a sec to how I got to Complex, it was 2014 and I was living in Vancouver working as a sales person at Holt Renfrew (they now carry Sporty & Rich— ayyy) and I somehow landed a full-t