Today we’d like to introduce you to Bo Thai
Hi Bo, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I came to the US when I was 13 from Thailand. The lawyer scammed my case leaving me without status. At the time, I wasn’t sure how higher education and work would be possible since I lack the documentation to move forward. I immersed myself in activism work and found a pathway to higher education. In UC Irvine, I became very outspoken about immigrants rights traveling nationally and protesting at Washington DC while publishing op ed on the hill to push for immigrant rights. During my sophomore year, I was in White House Initiative on AAPIs program doing workshops around issues including immigration within the AAPIs community. I started an undocumented art collective, a space where art, healing, and advocacy can blend seamlessly throwing art shows/open mic quarterly during the school year. I took art and activism work and blended it up and shared with my peers. Eventually, I started selling painting and then clothing. When I graduated UC Irvine, I went on a bike tour 1800 miles from the Canada border to Mexico border to advocate for immigrants rights. After that, I landed a job as an organizer in Chicago. There, I would start tapping into the underground art scene and learn how to screen print on thrifted clothes and sell them at shows. From there, I moved back to LA and worked as an entrepreneurship fellow for Immigrants Rising while doing my own workshop for other immigrants to navigate higher ed and entrepreneurship, launching illegal drip, and living life. Years went on and I learned a lot, threw multiple shows, made countless drops, and refined my branding. Currently, my brand goal is for people to live well while acknowledging that we are on stolen land while pushing for more access for immigrants and POC.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were a lot of challenges. Mentally, financially, and professionally. Mentally, it is hard to work on something when you are constantly in survival mode and do not feel safe or stable in a country. It is hard at times to find a reason to keep on going. Financially, I couldn’t get a job traditionally so it was hard to fund the business and I felt like I needed to get up there and make money with this with no funding to survive each day. Also, the lack of professional experience made it hard where I needed to learn everything on the go for the first time from selling, marketing, production, and so on.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m know for storytelling and conveying my emotion and story as a Thai immigrant entrepreneur into what I do. My design, poetry, workshop, and multi media work all talks about my journey while advocating for immigrants rights. I specialized in creating a space of solidarity where people feel seen. I’ve known for being a connector and an outspoken person. I think I am most proud of prioritizing my wellness and promoting that culture within immigrant space. What set me apart is my authenticity and truthfulness.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Finding a mentor was difficult. It was hard for me to find someone who did the same thing that look like me. At times, I found people I felt compromised in terms of their values and the way they worked. I had work with another fashion brand who cheated me on my payment even though I got the experience. Other times, I allowed myself to be use for pro bono work with no credits. I found a mentor in another immigrant who had similar life experience as me. He is not in fashion or is an entrepreneur, but he understood discipline and the hustle. He challenged me to grow in those aspect and to work on myself physically and mentally which transformed into benefitting me professionally as well. He introduced me to meditation which really became the remedy and tool I used for all of my struggles. My advice is that mentorship is all aspect of life and it is holistic.
Pricing:
- Stoeln LAnd hat $40
- Crop top $20
Contact Info:
- Website: https://illegal-drip.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/illegal_drip/?hl=en
