In a sea filled with creatives, Joe Freshgoods managed to change current streetwear with his very own unique ideas. Growing up in Chicago meant he was surrounded by crazily driven creatives, but this never hindered him or his ideas. Though it feels like Joe Freshgoods became namely as of recent, his success is a result of years and years of diligence. Most notably, he has spent years using his platform to send a message. You've probably heard it before, but "it's [finally] cool to be yourself". It's undeniably what's hot right now; major props to Gen Z. We found that when you maneuver through life being yourself and live with intention, success will just follow. In the streetwear world, Joe Freshgoods reached a great deal of success by gifting us the space to be ourselves.
Being yourself means accepting all parts of you, and that includes being proud of where you're from. Community means absolutely everything these days. Many streetwear creatives today are based out of LA or New York, but the cool thing about Joe is that he continues to work out of Chicago. He values giving back to his community, particularly the youth. As previously established, the youth knows what's best.
I remember one of my first Tarsoles paychecks was a free pair of JFG x Vans Vault maybe a year ago now. I was so excited at the time, not even knowing how our stories would align. Funny enough, the vans project is actually his favorite. Similarly, Joe and I are both writers. He's actually been named "a poet that makes merch". Joe's dream of being a writer lives through streetwear because his work always tells a story. He's "really just attacking things like [he's] a poet", like he told Notre in 2020. As for me, I've been working alongside my best friends and doing what I love. Life has come full circle, and now I'm nothing but excited to meet Joe Freshgoods this upcoming week at Sneaker Fever CDMX. Guess what this cost me? Just being myself.