GREATEST: Kacey Lynch

It's been a gift and a curse. We've been able to benefit for the most unfortunate reasons. We lost Ahmaud Aubery and George Floyd. We had things go global and the Black Lives Matter movement really took over—it’s still taking over now. In the heat of the moment, all you saw on social media was Black Lives Matter, Black-owned businesses and white people saying, “I want to support Black creatives and Black entrepreneurs.” I think to a certain extent, I was able to kind of capitalize on that moment and not in a way where I wanted to—it was just natural. 

I'm Black and we’re from South Central, but what I didn't want to do was put it on a t-shirt to go along with the BLM movement. I've [already] been pushing community culture [through Bricks & Wood and] we’ve been known as a Black-owned business. For me, it was a situation where I made myself available and took the window of opportunity for what it was. In this industry and just being Black in America, we don't get the same equal opportunity, which is something that we've always preached. When we don't get the same opportunity to do what we do, we create our own. That's where the culture comes from. 

Exactly. We didn't want it to happen with this unfortunate situation, but we'll take it for what it is. We'll make lemonade out of lemons. 

It separates the real creators from others. Put us in any environment and we're going to adapt. 

Exactly. It was disheartening. Usually, if I was really passionate and I stand behind it, nothing could change my mind. I didn’t need to act like I'm secondary to this, but I also had to be realistic. I was like, ‘Let me create something that is truly defined by me and that’s always going to be organic.’

No matter how far down the line you hear the name [Bricks & Wood], when you see these products, it still touches a foundational space. In 2016, I jotted down brand names in my phone and one was ‘Bricks & Wood.’ At the time I had no definition for it. It sounded good, but my whole thing is—even to this day—I refuse to put out any type of product, any type of storyline, anything that references Bricks & Wood if I can't tell a story about it. 

I always tell people, I know my process is different, but I still consider us streetwear. It’s the root of where the inspiration comes from and how I got into this game. I always pay homage to streetwear. I never try to make myself seem above it. It's not coming from a place of trendiness or what's popular on social media, it’s really coming from a lifestyle. These are things that I've really experienced, whether it's putting my grandmother or my dad in lookbooks or shooting where I grew up. 

That's why I think we stand out, because no one can tell my story better than I can. Same for you, no one can tell the Crenshaw Skate Club’s story better than you. As long as you're telling that true story, you're always going to be different no matter if the colorways are similar or you use the same blanks, the same photographer or same location. How you got to this space is different from how somebody else got there. I feel like as long as we're always telling that true narrative to who we are, to what our brand is for, we'll always have a uniqueness to us because we're not following the general concept of what's cool and what's not cool. 

I didn't have the full support of my family up front. I think I can honestly say that. It took dollars for it to make sense, which is understandable. That's a natural protection thing—a condition thing—that they have experienced and went through in their own lives. They think that a certain amount of money has to define success or happiness or nourishment. I don't technically agree with that.

My goal with Bricks & Wood was, ‘How do I get you to understand and proved you wrong. By proving that I can stay down and true to these elements [of where I came from] and that I'm making money, that would then make you understand it and now you support it. 

I was making things that were  pushing the envelope, because I knew if I didn't try with these different opportunities I would be stuck creating the same generational [wealth], conditional heritage that my family had. One of the biggest curses in the Black community is that we don't build much that creates opportunity for not just us, but like our grandkids’ grandkids’ grandkids.

Community-wise, I think for me, I was always inspired by the things that were missing. Even with South Central, that's why I pushed the South Central narrative so hard through the brand: to try and create a different element because I wanted to look and feel different. I wanted people to be like, ‘Oh, wait, that's what South Central is like? For me it was important to change the narrative to my family, to my culture. 

Beats by Dre was the biggest one that happened, this year for February Black History Month. The video was emotional itself. The content was good. The storyline was dope. It was Black History Month. So, of course it’s a celebration for the culture. My grandmother cried when she saw the video, my grandpa was hyped. I think when these moments happen, they’re priceless. It just keeps pushing me to keep going harder every day.