Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikos Phantom.
Nikos, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My care for what I wore and my love for clothing/streetwear started when I was 15. After coming across some brands that were far from Nike, and Adidas, brands that had cool graphics and influencers I knew wearing them, I fell in love. My favorite brand at the time was Worldwide Youth, it wasn’t long until I found out the owner was (at the time) 17. To me this was mind-blowing that someone that young was capable of something so big.
With my combined love for clothing and my passion for entrepreneurship, I knew it was time. Following a long process of finding a name, I began… but I was broke. I sold an Instagram that I had grown to 67,000+ followers to Worldwide Youth’s designer for ten designs, and my good friend Anthony paid for my first logo. I had the opportunity to visit Lyrical Lemonade’s HQ the day after finishing my logo, after showing the team & my idol, Cole Bennett himself the logo & getting words of encouragement, it was life-changing to say the least. That day was almost two years ago, and I haven’t looked back since.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road, but it’s only as hard as you make it. Some struggles I’ve faced were getting my brand out there, getting sales to start, finding my style with it, and having the confidence to be proud of it while it was small. There’s going to be problems and issues with whatever you do. You can’t choose what happens to you, but you choose how you react. Ask what the problem is teaching you rather than wondering why it’s happening to you.
As you know, we’re big fans of Phantom Global. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I own my brand Phantom Global, it’s considered a streetwear brand. To explain everything an owner does would take a while, so it’s easier to explain what I don’t do, I have a team of designers who are skilled with Photoshop who bring ideas to life. I also have a manufacturer outside Los Angeles who prints and fulfills my clothes. I handle everything in between. My brand has been on influencers and artists such as DC The Don, YSN Flow, Cole Bennett, YNW BSlime, Pouya, and many more. I’m most proud of the fact that people want to order my clothes. For me, it’s more than just an order or a sale. It’s a crazy thought of how an individual liked my brand so much that they wanted to pay for it, still blows my mind.
What matters most to you?
What matters to me is community. Interacting back with the people interacting with your work, building more of a community feel than a following, and make people and their ideas be heard and appreciated.
Contact Info:
- Email: nikos@phantomglobalshop.com
- Website: phantomglobalshop.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/phantom.global?utm_medium=copy_link
