Today we’d like to introduce you to Duke Van Patten.
Hi Duke, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Hi! Sure, thanks for the opportunity to speak on the subject of my passions the first these days being “Valley Mentality” which is a clothing and lifestyle brand I launched with my business partner Tanner Zagarino in July 2022. The idea is to celebrate a place that has been classically overlooked–LA’s San Fernando Valley. Tanner and I are both actors, writers, and entrepreneurs with deep ties to The Valley. Neither of us comes from a background in fashion, but we are passionate about the vision for a clothing brand celebrating The Valley–the underdog of LA.
We launched the brand a year and change ago, starting small with two trucker hats and a hoodie selling directly to consumers online. We loved the process of doing photo shoots, pop-ups, and parties at one of the Valley’s staples The Pineapple Hill Saloon. The brand vision was always really clear to us. We wanted to showcase the history and modern lifestyle of The Valley with beautiful clothing and content, capturing the raw and quirky environment. We use high-end materials for our clothing, and most designs are penned by me. When celebrating The Valley, we try to capture it in a beautiful way, always imploring a passion and a sense of humor.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Bringing a creative vision to life, seeing people wear our product in public, and celebrating something bigger than ourselves has been a beautiful experience, but not without its pitfalls.
In the beginning, I would make clothing with the phrase “Valley Mentality” on them to get a proof of concept–to see how people were responding. I did so very cheaply, with no emphasis on design or materials. But, my dream was to turn it into a high fashion concept that captured the valley in a cool way. I wanted to utilize beautiful photography, stunning clothing and excellent storytelling attributes.
The only problem was I didn’t really know how to do any of those things pertaining to a business, and initially it was tough to find help.
The clothing industry was really confusing at first. There’s a low barrier to entry with brands such as Shopify and Printful available to help get companies started, but jumping into the deep end without crutches takes a lot of knowledge and experience.
Each step has been like pulling teeth to figure out.
The business components of starting a partnership, trademarking and getting a re-selling license were exhausting to begin with. The process of bringing the vision of our clothing to life would prove much more difficult.
We learned it was smart and more cost-effective to find local manufacturers so we could start filling small orders, but finding a cost-efficient design printer also proved difficult.
Then we needed photographers and models for the clothing, which was never easy either. Basically, starting a small business with no experience isn’t for the faint of heart!
In each case, we’ve gotten very lucky and gained knowledge that we will undoubtedly use in the future.
Ultimately, it’s taught us endless life lessons. Being able to bring a vision to life and to see people wear clothing that we designed, is celebrating something bigger than ourselves. The whole thing has been insightful to be a part of.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I was always obsessed with movies. Growing up in LA, I actually got a few opportunities to audition for film, tv, and act as a kid but my parents are actors, and they wanted me to wait until I was an adult to pursue it professionally. I was a competitive surfer as a teen but wanted to broaden my horizons so I did a 180 and went to college at SMU in Dallas. There, I studied history but knew I wanted to be a filmmaker, and I thought acting would be a good place to start. I idolized a lot of British actors like Ralph Fiennes, Hugh Grant, and Jeremy Irons and thought there might be something in the water in England, so I was thrilled when I auditioned and got a place at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School’s one year MFA program. It was a whirlwind experience, and I’m still good friends with many of the people I met there today.
After Bristol, I moved to New York where I got a job teaching acting to kids at David Mamet’s Atlantic Theater School and started auditioning for everything… Eventually I got a Lifetime movie that shot in LA, and decided to stay in LA indefinitely. Since being back here, I delved into writing and comedy. I went through the Upright Citizens Brigade improv program and wrote two half-hour comedy shows that are currently in development. One titled “Drama” is a fictional and exaggerated version of myself going to British drama school. My character is shocked when the classically trained thespians are a lot crazier and more brazen than I could have imagined they would be. The other show is titled “Duke of the Valley” and is about a young actor who moves to LA and lives at his crazy uncle’s building while chasing his dreams and working at a car dealership, which again, was not too far from my actual experience.
I’ve continued working as an actor and had a part in a Netflix series “Pretty Smart” which was penned by some of the writers of “New Girl.”
I also have a podcast (required in LA) called “Hollywood Beginnings” which we are 81 episodes into. The podcast is a weekly chat between Jacob Arbiter (a writer/director friend), and myself. Each week, we talk about our artistic happenings. It’s a creative log for us, It’s fun to do and we hope listeners find it inspiring and helpful while trying to break into Hollywood.
Lastly, I’ve been passionately working on our brand “Valley Mentality” which has already been a massive innovative ride. I’ve had a plethora of day jobs, and success to me means being able to do what I love full-time while also striving to do great work with each of my pursuits.
What’s next?
Currently, considering all of all my creative ventures, “Valley Mentality” is what I feel has the most action day to day. In 2024 we’re coming in hot with more events, pop ups and product drops. We think there is a lot of opportunity here, and we want to make the most out of it. Acting and writing are more exciting for me now that the strikes are over, and I’m pounding the pavement with auditions and meetings. I also plan on delving into stand-up comedy more deeply this year.
As far as hobbies go, I tend to be found on the Pickleball court on the weekends or surfing. I get around!
Contact Info:
- Website: valleymentality.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valley_mentality/, https://www.instagram.com/dukevp/
