An Untold Narrative

Girls and Boys, welcome back! On todays podcast we host a footwear designer who has worked with all our favorite athletes - from Lebron, Jason Kidd, or Serena Williams. But we don't just talk about his work. We extract the tangible things he has found success in and how you can apply it to your creative lives! Check out Aarons work: https://www.instagram.com/aaron.ac.cooper/?hl=en

Welcome back beautiful people! Michael Tanzillo is a 3D creator, animator and leader from some of your favorite films such as Ice Age or Spies in Disguise. In this episode we talk about his growth through curiosity, becoming a leader, and building a community full of builders. Check out Michaels work: https://www.instagram.com/michaeltanzillo/ https://www.michaeltanzillo.com/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx0syBLmndvoJJYL0MN5o3w

Welcome back girls and boys, this weeks podcast features the incredible story of Kibbee Miller. Kibbee is a digital marketer within the footwear industry, but has incredible balance with her other passions: DJing and Ceramics. In this episode we talk about her influences, how she manages her time and energy, and has learned to be incredibly patient during her creative pursuits. Learn more about Kibbee: https://www.instagram.com/kibsta/

Girls and boys, we are back with another incredible deep dive into the footwear industry. Morgan Weekes of Morprime Industries is an incredible creative. From graphics, photography, storyteller and sneaker archivist, Morgan does it all for the love of shoes. This weeks episode is not through the lens of a designer, but from a unique angle in the shoe world where Morgan has built events, elevated community, and launched his own business through sneakers. Check out Morgans work: https://www.morprime.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/morprime/

Girls and boys, we are back with a stellar episode this week, hosting Joe Amoruso of The Paper Plane Workshop. The PPW is a design and development studio out of Italy, that's worked with the likes of your favorite brands - including Mark Wahlberg's Municipal. This conversation brings us through the highs and lows of business, what it takes to persevere, and how to build a foundational, strong culture in a small team. Check out more of Joe and The PPW: http://www.the-ppw.com/https://www.instagram.com/the_ppw/

Welcome back beautiful people, in Episode 118 we return to the podcast with a solo episode by your host - David Filar (me). This week marks the 10 year anniversary since I entered the footwear industry as a designer. I wanted to spend a few minutes talking about some key thoughts and learnings over the past decade. Some of those include: taking risks, doing nice things for people, saying yes, and a lot more. Would mean the world for anyone to like, comment, share, subscribe if this brought you value!

Che Anderson is not your typical creator. He is much more. While his work title is Assistant Vice Chancellor for City and Community, he finds himself sitting at the intersection of politics, sneakers, company boards, and artist communities.  In this podcast Che talks about being tired, while maintaining perspective on your happiness. He gives an extremely valuable take on the sneaker industry and its current state, but also what he's focused on for the future of his work.  Che's work has been seen in the Boston Globe, he has been voted Person of the Year, and continues to motivate and inspire people around the globe. https://www.instagram.com/vivaelche/

Welcome back beautiful people. Todays episode features former Converse & Reebok VP of Design, cofounder of Meg/Bryan agency, and all around great human, Bryan Cioffi. This episode boasts conversation around leadership, finding personal happiness, and all around good design principles. It was an absolute pleasure to have this conversation with Bryan. Find out more: https://www.megbryan.com/ https://www.instagram.com/bctoys1/

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are back with the incredible Q4 Sports founder, footwear designer, creative astronaut, and professor at SCAD - Quintin Williams. Q has done a lot in his career, but he's still hungry. In this episode he brings us through his personal process of staying the course of your vision and goals, being in service of others, and how to not compare yourself to others. Check out his work: https://q4sports.com/ https://www.instagram.com/q_designs/

Welcome back beautiful people! On this weeks show we deep dive into the creative mind of designer and entrepreneur Kevin Bethune. Kevin has amassed success not only through his world class design skills, but by taking his career learnings and applying them to reach a global audience. His speaking engagements range from universities to Ted, and his best selling book is applicable for not only designers, but creatives across industries. Find out more about Kevin Bethune here: https://www.kevinbethune.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kevinbethune/

Welcome back beautiful people! This weeks guest has incredible experiences from living in Asia, managing multiple brands, to now consulting and working for herself. Janey Park, or Jumpstart Janey, is at a new phase in her life. Through her fashion, blog, and content creation journey - Janey has found balance, ways to ask the right questions, and consistently supporting others. Learn more about Janey here: https://www.instagram.com/jumpstartjaney/ https://thedigitalrunway.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Welcome back beautiful people. Todays episode features Maclin - an incredible creator who has touched just about every art form. From painting, rapping, photography, videography, poetry, and more, Maclin takes us on a journey of how he is building a life of trade. In this episode we talk about trading your skills for something in return, what its like to self publish a book, and how to get opportunities to come your way - like a painting for Machine Gun Kelly in Maclin's example. Find out more about Maclin: https://www.instagram.com/maclin/ https://maclin.art/

In this weeks show, we sit down with return guest Ann Duskus, who was previously was on episode 051. But this time we see a different side of Ann. This time she opens up with true vulnerability around her current state of feeling, how allowing herself to be an artist is bringing her joy, and how being selfish can be beneficial if done correctly. Ann is a true artist, designer, storyteller, and collaborator who has worked with anyone from Nike to MSCHF to PF Flyers. She has been featured in the NY Times and many other publications. Check out her work : https://www.studioduskus.com/

In episode 110, we host founder, CEO, world traveler, and incredible thinker - Kenny Hanson. Kenny takes us on his incredible journey of learnings through starting his business, surrounding yourself with the right people, and how mentorship saved his life. For anyone interested, would highly recommend checking out his business, MentorPass, a platform to connect you to professionals with expertise in areas that you need help in. Find out more : https://www.instagram.com/kenny_hanson_/ https://www.mentorpass.co/

We're back with episode 109 with good friend, creator, material specialist, and incredible human - Vaughan Lewis Carman. Vaughan opens up in this episode talking about both the highs of having dinner with Virgil Abloh and the lows of moments where he needs to figure out life for himself. Two key themes Vaughan talks about throughout the episode are to not avoid the work and to build community. Find out more about Vaughan here: https://www.instagram.com/vaughan_carman/ https://www.vaughanlewiscarman.com/

Welcome back beautiful people, episode 108 is live with the incredible Whitney Holbourn. Whitney is a globally recognized muralist, artist and creative. In this episode, we discuss having undeniable self belief, surrounding yourself with community to help elevate you, and how to maximize opportunities when they come your way. As always to our friends: likes, comments, subscriptions are all free and they mean the world. Whitney's work can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/whitneyholbourn/ https://whitneyholbourn.com/

Bryce is one of the greatest multi-hyphenate creatives we will probably ever feature on this podcast. He is most known for his work at Nike and Nike SB, but continues to push his own boundaries through paintings, prints, tattooing, skateboarding, jui jitsu, and hot dog bongs.  In this conversation you'll hear Bryce contemplate the question ‘what If I left design forever', focused thoughts on diversifying hobbies and how to enjoy life. One of my favorite parts was hearing our guest chat about how to fill your creative cup. Hopefully any and all creatives take something out of this conversation, because I know I did.  Find out more about Bryce here:  https://www.instagram.com/bbbrycewong/ https://www.therealbrycewong.com/shop  Or his wife Mariah's creative outlet:  https://www.instagram.com/dumbglass/ Thanks for listening. Please subscribe, like, comment - it means more than you know. 

Kicking off the New Year, we host international artist, muralist, graphic and product designer, Dave Persue. In this conversation we not only deeply discuss his elaborate creative career, but his tough childhood, ADHD, and his struggles with depression. Persue has created not only art and graphics around the world, but built a 23 year old IP that is BunnyKitty. He has launched two BunnyKitty books and was the head artist for DesignerCon with BunnyKitty all over billboards and merchandise. In this episode he shares beautiful stories around these characters. Check out more of Persue's work: https://www.instagram.com/persue1/ https://www.bunnykitty.com/

This weeks episode is a recap conversation with my good friend Kevin Freyer. Kevin and I both ran 144 miles in 12 days, to raise money to purchase toys for Connecticut Childrens Medical Center. This podcast was recorded to give some insights on what it took physically, mentally, and logistically to pull this off. Hope you enjoy! Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas

In todays episode, we have dear friend KJ, Katherine Johnsen, BeachyKJ, or even known as the carry-on-queen, on the podcast. Katherine built her career in the tech startup space, but has found ways to blend her love of sneakers, marketing and storytelling all together. Today she is the CEO of CommonAce, partner at CounterCulture, manages multiple influencers, and a content creator herself. We deep dive into some of her highs and lows of being publicly facing, what she's building with CommonAce, and a lot more. Check out KJ's pages: https://www.instagram.com/beachykj/ Commonace.com

On this weeks show, we welcome Michael Esiobu - former NFL prospect, Marketing CEO, Clothing brand entrepreneur, professional boxer, and co-host of Crash Dummies Podcast. If you think thats a lot, its because it is. Michael was an absolute gem of an interviewee. We discussed men's mental health, making commitments to yourself, and how getting fired set him on the path of entrepreneurship. Make sure to like and subscribe if this brought you any value! Check out Michael's page here: https://www.instagram.com/mike.esiobu/

Wally Vu is a brand builder, collaborator, business owner and creative. In this episode you'll not only hear about how Wally's agency business has done well over the years, but how he transformed his life from bad habits to great ones. We talk about his physical transformation through running, and how he completed a 200 mile month - which is as wild as it sounds. Check out Wally's work here: https://www.instagram.com/whatsupwally/ https://www.instagram.com/thecurative.co/

Ladies and gentlemen - creator, curator, and story teller, Julia Lebosse. Todays episode is incredibly special because we had the opportunity to sit down with someone who is at the infancy of their meteoric rise within their career. Only being 21 years old, Julia has been featured in magazines and publications all over the footwear industry due to her work with Sneakers By Women - an online platform that highlights women around the world within the footwear industry. Julia now hosts a show with Nike, called Carte Blanche, and continues to evolve as creator. Check out Julias work here: https://www.instagram.com/julialebosse/https://www.instagram.com/sneakersbywomen/

David Mawdsley is not only one of my best friends, but one of the best footwear designers out there. This episode highlights the sacrifices he and the people around him had to make for his pursuit of his childhood dream - to design for Nike and move to the United States. In the conversation, Dave talks about the loss of his father due to lung cancer, his pursuit of 'pinch me' moments, and building better relationships with the people around him. Discover more about David here: https://www.instagram.com/thefootwearcomposer/

We made it beautiful humans! We have officially made it to tripple digits on the podcast. Well, sort of (episodes 100,101, and 102 are already recorded at this point in time). In this short episode, Dave reflects back on the past episodes, talks about a couple main things that have stood out in the 99 previous episodes, and at the end - we get a guest who asks Dave what it feels like to reach 100. Make sure to subscribe if you watch the pod! Thanks for rocking with us - cheers to the next 100.

David Raysee is a designer, creative, and cofounder of Los Angeles footwear company BrandBlack. David has held design positions at Fila, Adidas, Sketchers and built some of the most captivating design silhouettes in footwear over the past 11 years with his own label. In this episode we talk about David's passion for design, the struggles of building a brand, what it takes to make it in design, and how finding meditation and spirituality has helped him find balance. Would highly recommend all listeners to check out Davids work: https://www.instagram.com/draysse/ brandblack.com

In Episode 0097, we host Colin Ridgway, a NYC based creative that shares stories on brand building, photography, and how he has been falling out of love with New York. Colin brings an amazing perspective on how he makes decisions and what he is not willing to sacrifice in life. Make sure to check out Colin's work: https://www.instagram.com/colin_ridgway/ https://www.colinridgway.com/

Episode 0096 features Crocpaints, a muralist and commissioned artist that has a brilliant outlook about balance. In this episode we chat about how we really enjoys his 9-5, manages time for commissioned work, his recent solo show, and what the future holds. Find Croc's work here: https://www.instagram.com/crocpaints/ https://www.crocpaints.com/

If you love hearing entrepreneurial stories - this weeks podcast is for you! Terrance Diggs of D17 Clothing joins us to talk about his brands mission, how giving for free has changed his business, and how he isn't scared to do cold outreach. He is our first guest to join the podcast who sent a message asking to be on! You can find more about Terrance and his brand here: https://www.d17terrance.com/ https://www.instagram.com/d17clothing/

Titi Finlay is an artist, designer, and creative director. In this episode, you'll hear about her struggles with crippling anxiety working a full time job but also how she has found happiness through freelancing. She is most known for being a massive voice for women in sneakers, with posts on Instagram going viral during the pandemic. Titi's story is a really beautiful one. If you enjoyed this please give her a follow and also make sure to subscribe! Titi's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ttfinlay/ Titi's Website: https://www.tttttttttthings.com/shop

Luis Velez is a name you might not know, but a name you'll fall in love with after this episode. Luis is the founder and creative genius behind the brand Guillermo Bravo - a fashion forward footwear and apparel brand out of Seattle. In this episode he guides us through how we started the brand, the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, and what makes him excited towards the future. Find Luis at: https://www.instagram.com/guillermo_bravo_/ https://www.instagram.com/luis_g_velez/

Defne Yalkut is a technical footwear and sole designer. We actually overlapped employment while at Vibram many years ago. Today, Defne runs her own design studio out of Milan. This episode emphasizes taking risks, betting on yourself, and understanding who you are as a person - more specifically, that Defne is not a workaholic and finds happiness in balance. Check out Defne's work here: https://www.instagram.com/dydesign.it/ https://www.instagram.com/defnush/

An incredibly inspiring story of perseverance, timing, and trusting the process. In episode 0091, we host footwear designer and creative Dann Forrester. Dan's authentic self is boldly transparent in the way he speaks about not only his career, but those who have helped him along the way. Make sure to subscribe if you enjoyed this, but also share it with your friends. To follow Dann's journey, check out his pages: https://www.instagram.com/dann_forrester/ https://www.instagram.com/forresterfootwear/

In Episode 0090 of An Untold Narrative, we feature the multi talented Jane Park. Jane's creative career comes from the textile industry but has woven its way through apparel design, hand made apparel pieces, and textile sculptural art. In the show, we discuss how balance is a myth and rather focusing on how to find steadiness in your work - - amongst many other deep subject matters. To find out more about Jane, check out her pages: https://www.instagram.com/janeparkjanepark/ https://www.instagram.com/textilegeneralstore/ https://www.instagram.com/iin_studio/

Todays guest, Zac Smit, has an incredibly beautiful story of becoming the person he is today. From being struggling with depression, being laid off, to going full time into his art career, Zac shows you its possible to still be positive and goofy even when youre going through the struggles in life. Check out Zac's work: https://www.instagram.com/z_smit/ https://www.zacsmit.com/ Make sure to like & subscribe if this brought you value!

Every so often, we host a guest who blows all expectations out of the water - and this weeks guest did just that. Coral Garvey, a multi-faceted creative took the podcast by storm this week. From winning awards at Cannes Film Festival to doing creative direction for Adidas & Calvin Klein, she always seems to keep leveling up her career. Most recently, she submitted a pilot for a film that highlights 'Chinatown' culture around the United States. Check out all her work: https://www.instagram.com/coral.garvey/ https://coralgarvey.com/

From selling zero works of art to a sold out collection in two days, Alyssa Stevens no longer lives a traditional life. She's gone all in on herself as an artist. From being featured on Opensea's front page to Gary Vaynerchuk owning one of her artworks, she is just getting started. In this episode we talk about everything from death, art, and the process in between. Make sure to show Alyssa love on her socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyssastevensart/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/alyssastevens_ Website: https://www.alyssastevens.com/

Episode 0086 is live with Francis Almeda. Francis and I had a chance to meet at Veecon and immediately clicked. He's not only an amazing creative for Veefriends, but manages multiple side businesses and projects. This episode deep dives beautifully into how to manage time, be around the right people, and how to be present with your family. Make sure to check out Francis's pages and businesses: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/francis.almeda/ Reppin Pins - https://www.instagram.com/reppinpins/

This is going live on the day I celebrate my 1 year anniversary since joining a start up - Endstate. The podcast highlights the 12 things I've learned over the past 12 months. Hope you enjoy. Check out the written version here: https://davidfilar.substack.com/p/12-things-i-learned-in-12-months --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot

In Episode 0085, Daniel Cocking shares unexpected stories of working on the first 3D printed midsole shoe in the market for Adidas to the WHY behind building Laceless Design and Laceless Talent. With over 10 years of experience at Adidas from China to Germany, and now residing in Scottland, Daniel highlights a truly beautiful life full of purpose. Check out his journey: https://www.instagram.com/danielcocking/https://www.instagram.com/lacelessdesign/ --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot

In episode 0084, we host an entrepreneur with a story that twists and turns through struggle, trying new things, to figuring it out as he goes. Jairus Morris explains how SUPLMNT, his water bottle company, targets underserved communities to highlight how important hydration is. A ton of learnings in here from from taking what you learn in the corporate world and applying it to yourself, finding your niche, and the trials and errors of entrepreneurship. Show SUPLMNT some love: https://www.instagram.com/suplmnt/ https://suplmnt.com/ --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot

In Episode 0083, we have return guest, founder & ceo, Sarah Sukumaran of Lilith.NYC rejoin us on the show. This episode is PACKED with learnings from the past year and a half of being in business. From why the data shows that the male consumer were more supportive of her brand than females, to how to bootstrap a budget, Sarah offered a ton of transparent advice. Make sure to check out Lilith: https://www.instagram.com/lilith.nyc/ https://www.instagram.com/sarahsuku/ Lilith.NYC --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.ioProduced By White Hot

Kicking off Season 12 (!) - we have an absolute gem this week featuring the lovely Solene Roure to not only celebrate her journey, but also International Women's Month. Solene is a french footwear designer who has had a seriously beautiful yet challenging journey throughout her 20+ year footwear career. From being the FIRST sneaker designer for Louis Vuitton to currently Co-Founding Circle Sportswear - she continues to challenge herself, her creativity, and her mindset. Check out her work here: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/solene_roure/ Circle Sportswear - https://en.circlesportswear.com/ Make sure to like, subscribe and comment - it means the world!

In episode 0081, we host two individuals who come together to create a platform called Kickstory. From interviewing legends like Jeff Staple, to going to Nike's Headquarters, to supporting 'sneaker culture' in their native country of Brazil - - this episode is incredibly unique. Not to mention Thais and Ian are two of the nicest humans you'll meet! Find out more : https://www.instagram.com/_kickstory/?hl=en --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot

In episode 0080, we welcome back good friend Izzy Lugo. For those who have been with us a while, Izzy is our second return guest, and recently featured on episode 0065. I've asked him to come back on the show because of how much has changed in his life. I wanted his perspective on that change, what drives him, and how he is finding peace in the chaos. Learn more about Izzy: https://www.instagram.com/itsizzylugo/?hl=en --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot

From tearing his achilles and drawing sneakers everyday to working with J.Cole - this episode is not one to miss! Jeremy Sallee joins us in episode 0079 to talk family life, entrepreneurship, writing a book, and heading up Puma Hoops and Apparel. This episode is so jam packed with the blueprint on how to 'make it' in footwear. Make sure to show Jeremy some love: https://www.instagram.com/jeremy.sallee/ --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.ioProduced By White Hot

We found another Polish footwear design brother! On a very serious note, there are not that many Polish born footwear designers and even less that have had an amazing career thus far like Kuba Blimel has. On this weeks episode, Kuba talks about his upbringing and support his parents gave him, to working on amazing products at ECCO, but ultimately feeling unfulfilled as his passion has always been performance product. Definitely look up his story and his follow along. Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/kuba.blimel/ --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot

One of the most interesting guests this podcast has hosted, someone with more self belief and conviction than most people on this planet - - Austin Pietrobono In episode 0077, Austin talks about taking early roles at Hasbro and IBM, to taking the leap to work for a Chinese based phone company and moving 8,000 miles away in Shenzen, China. This is one of my favorite episodes to date. Make sure to check out Austins journey here: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/snaustinthebear/ Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/snaustin --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.ioProduced By White Hot

Ladies and gentlemen - we have a BEAUTIFUL conversation on our hands today with the legendary designer, creative, maker, and recent entrepreneur Omar Bailey. In this podcast we cover everything from his time at Yeezy to starting up a footwear innovation company called FCTRY LAB. Make sure to check out Omars Journey here: IG - https://www.instagram.com/theomarbailey/ Fctry Lab - https://www.instagram.com/fctrylab/ --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By White Hot

In episode 0075, we highlight our three-quarter century mark of episodes with our Host (me), David Filar, to talk about the 5 things I've learned from recording so many episodes. Those include: 1. Media is permissionless 2. Podcasts are both Selfish and Selfless 3. Fuck the blue check mark 4. Your voice is our most powerful tool 5. Thank you Lets keep going to 100. Like, subscribe and comment pls! --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.ioProduced By White Hot

We have a living sneaker legend on the show today, Sean "Paper Chasr" Williams. Sean is probably someone you haven't heard of, but has had massive impacts within sneakers, culture and education over the years. His precise messaging is powerful throughout this episode. We discussed incredible stories from his education platform Solecial Studies and what he thinks is the future of sneakers & education. Follow along his journey here: https://www.instagram.com/osd_paperchasr/ --- Beat Provided By https://freebeats.ioProduced By White Hot