In a recent podcast episode of Unsugarcoated with Aalia, Javier Laval connects with his friend of nearly 20 years, host Aalia Lanius, for an interview about his journey building an empire and what he aspires to achieve through it. 

Laval, a creative director and entrepreneur with an impressive background, his client and collaborators list includes names such as Babyface, Usher, Jay Z, Nike, and Kanye West.  He is one of the visionaries behind mens luxury sneakers and founder of Android Homme, which sold over $120 million worth of product while he was at the helm.  

Never wanting to miss an opportunity to address relevant issues and in light of the upcoming election, Lanius engages in questions on topics such as racism and sexism with Laval, whose parents are from Puerto Rico.

“The biggest kind of misconception, at least in this country, is that it belongs to somebody.” Laval says, during the interview.  

Diversity and inclusion were at the root inspiration for Javier’s footwear brand after observing that social establishments and club venues were discriminating against people based on the style of their shoes.  From there, he set out on a mission to create a brand that focused on expanding people’s ability to express themselves in 2008.

“I realized that was just another way to discriminate…there are a lot of really cool people that just wear t-shirts and sneakers and they’re not here to cause a problem,” he says.

However, his story is about more than building a brand and business––it is Laval’s testimony that is likely to inspire another struggling entrepreneur because of his transparency in moments like when he says, “The whole journey is scary, but the difference between us and others is that we just do it anyway.”

With this almost year-long whirlwind, Laval’s drive to create and empower became focused on aiding creatives and businesses grappling with the stress related to COVID-19-imposed restrictions.  His newest endeavor, FUTURESTREAM, a pay-per-view live-streaming platform, allows the ability to monetize live-streaming. “This is about adjusting their worth,” Laval explains.  FUTURESTREAM debuted in July with their opening act, multi-platinum hip hop artist Da Baby.  Artists are attracted to the artist-friendly-revenue-sharing model, which features a 90:10 split in favor of the artist, along with the ability to maintain control of their content. 

While FUTURESTREAM was “birthed out of an idea to really help and support artists during this time,” Laval explains, “it is a platform meant to support all individuals.” Javier’s empathetic nature shines through as he asks the audience to consider, “the girl who does a weekly poetry reading every Sunday and makes a couple hundred bucks [through the platform] and that helps pay for food for her baby. These are the people that I think have been forgotten.” 

This jam packed episode further discusses mental health in relation to building success and finding happiness.  “Don’t replace your health for money or success. You won’t enjoy your money and you truly won’t be successful unless you’re healthy,” Laval prescribes. 

Laval, who doesn’t give many press interviews, when asked about why he chose to join Aalia for this candid discussion answered, “Unsugarcoated is a direct and friendly approach to getting behind the curtain.”

Perhaps Episode 32 of Unsugarcoated with Aalia will inspire some of you to build your own empire or give meditation a try, but at the very least, it will inspire you to be confident, take risks, and stay healthy throughout the process.

CHECK OUT THE FULL EPISODE NOW:

Photo courtesy of Javier Laval.