Photo Courtesy Of CNN
Business mogul and TV personality Daymond John, a panelist on ABC’s hit show, Shark Tank, revealed how his mother became the first investor of his iconic clothing brand, FUBU.
In a recent interview with sports analyst and former football player Shannon Sharpe for his CLUB SHAY SHAY podcast, Daymond discussed Margot John’s initial investment in the Black-owned label.
“I go to my mother and tell her I got turned down from 27 banks, and she [said], ‘Daymond, you’ve been trying to contribute to this house since you were a kid,” the 53-year-old recalled. “‘I wouldn’t do this if you didn’t have the money. Let’s take all of the money we can [get] out of the house. You manufacture and deliver the clothes and put the money back into the house.’ And that’s how she gave me the money.”
He said that his mom got a $100,000 loan on his house, but he didn’t know how she did it.
“My mother went out and got a $100,000 loan on my house, and I have no idea how because the houses were $75,000. [‘Til] this day, I haven’t asked her what she did for the rest of the money, but shout out to moms.”
Daymond then added that he turned the Queens, N.Y. home into a factory for FUBU. There, he and his friends-turned-business partners slept next to machines in sleeping bags. He also rented out the top floor of his house to keep up with mortgage payments while he worked on his brand and at Red Lobster simultaneously.
“I was risking losing my mother’s most valuable possession,” he told Shannon. “It wasn’t that I was spending [money] on lavish things. I [just] didn’t know how money worked…so it really got bad.”
However, he managed to succeed as his mother and community supported his business endeavors. He even said that he may be turning his old house and factory into a museum.
Daymond, originally from Hollis, Queens, founded FUBU in 1992. The clothing brand became a huge hit, as it became synonymous with hip-hop culture and was worn by numerous legendary rap artists such as LL Cool J. The label’s founders even dropped a compilation album in 2001, featuring several popular artists at the time, including LL, Ludacris, Nate Dogg, and Mr. Cheeks of The Lost Boyz.
Recently, FUBU was resurrected for the new generation of fashion enthusiasts and hip-hop culture lovers via official releases including a collaboration with fast-fashion retailer, Forever 21. The collection, including sweatsuits, jerseys, jumpers, bucket hats, and more, has been for sale via the store’s website. Additionally, more items have been available on FUBU’s website.