Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Fairbrother.
Hi Ben, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I first visited San Diego in 2016 I fell in love with the relaxed vibe of the people, the beautiful surrounds, and ideal climate – but mostly it was the feeling I got from being here. I started telling friends and family that I would move there someday, and sure enough I did. Having grown up in New Hampshire, I was ready for a radical change. I spent my college years studying at Franklin University Switzerland and traveling around Europe, and after graduating had the opportunity to travel the US representing my family’s business, Moonlight Meadery. In September 2018, when the opportunity came up to represent our brand in San Diego, I jumped on it. As Moonlight Meadery’s VP of Sales I had been searching for a new distribution partner for San Diego – I found Brown Bag Beverage to be the perfect fit, so when owner Susie Baggs said she would carry our brand if we had a rep in the market, I told her I could be there in three weeks.
Moonlight Meadery is now one of the most awarded meaderies in the world with over 40 international awards, including 12 from the San Diego International Beer Competition. In fact, last year we won the title of Champion Meadery/Cidery at the San Diego International Beer Competition – but this is just the story of how I got here. Upon arriving to San Diego, I found a vibrant local house and techno music scene and a vast community of entrepreneurs, creatives, and artists – many of whom have been featured in these interviews. I spent weekends immersed in the music culture and networking with creatives. Little did I know that in a few months’ time I would start my own creative business.
Leading up to the CRSSD Festival in Fall 2019, my friend Daniel Thomas, an SD native and owner of ROCK’N Athletic Wear at the time, asked if I’d be interested in designing some clothing to wear at the festival. I leapt at the opportunity and created some psychedelic designs using some digital art I had created on my iPad years prior. People loved them and friends asked if they could purchase them, so I started getting the required permits and licenses to make it happen in late 2019. Project Self was born – a lifestyle brand, fusing my passion for writing about personal growth, self-love, and open-mindedness with my abstract and psychedelic artistic style. Project Self had been my blog since 2014 – now it would become my coaching business and clothing brand. I help people build a balanced lifestyle that supports total fitness of the mind, body, and spirit – allowing them to flourish in all areas of life. I use a combination of personal training, nutrition coaching, and spiritual life coaching.
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?
Oh it’s been a bumpy road for sure. Project Self officially launched at the start of 2020, and we all know how that year went. The original intention was to market my clothing at house and techno music festivals, but I only managed to get one in before everything shut down. Shout out to the Afternoon Umbrella Friends, a local music collective that threw amazing events and festivals before COVID and has since gone virtual via Twitch. The shutdown also affected my supply chain, the manufacturer I use for my clothes transitioned to making masks for several months starting in March 2020. This deterred me from marketing my clothing until I could guarantee reasonable ship times. All in all I decided to make a pivot more towards the coaching side of the business, at least for the immediate future. New designs are forthcoming for the clothing, but due to these challenges I opted to expand my knowledge base by becoming a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. In life there are always obstacles, but these are often the best opportunities we have for growth. It’s important to stay flexible so we can adapt and flow with the way things are.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Project Self is all about embracing your individuality and being your authentic self – the real you, underneath the societal constructs and limiting beliefs. This is at the core of the business, but is achieved through two different paths. First, there is the coaching component. My mission is to help as many people as possible build a balanced lifestyle that supports total fitness of the mind, body, and spirit, allowing them to flourish in all areas of life. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, I guide people to their own inner truths and help them create the lifestyle they envision for their best self. As a Spiritual Health Coach, I’m not here to tell anyone what to believe, I focus on helping my clients bring out their own inner wisdom and intuition. The reason is simple: my personal belief is in open-mindedness. I recognize the subtle truth that beliefs are not powerful – the act of believing is. Diversity is incredibly important, biodiversity for instance increases the adaptability of an ecosystem, which is the foundation of life. I believe that philosophical diversity is the foundation of innovation and societal development. So in a grand sense I want to see more philosophical diversity in the world. Regarding the clothing side of things, my art and design style is geared toward grounding people in the present moment, expanding their perspective, and inspiring creativity. I rarely seek to convey a specific recognizable image, most of my art is abstract and psychedelic in nature – I make it with a certain feeling, and I look to convey that feeling to others through my creations. You can think of it like a cross between festival fashion and athleisure or active wear. It’s comfortable and has the performance features you need to be active in the gym or on the trails, while also conveying enough unique style to stand out at a club, rave, or music festival. I use fabric from recycled plastic bottles as much as possible.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Creativity, without a doubt. Creativity in both perspective and action. My writing and coaching abilities stem from my ability to think very abstractly, to see a situation from many possible angles. This perspective switching allows me to learn and grow from every experience, especially adversity. My artistic ability comes from a very similar place, from being grounded in the moment and allowing a certain play between my actions and their results without rigidity or expectation.
Contact Info:
- Email: ben@projectself.io
- Website: www.projectself.io
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benjaminfairbrother/
Image Credits
Robert Blume
