Today we’d like to introduce you to Fiona Tran.
Hi Fiona, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As soon as I was ready to wrap up my last semester of college, I was filled with so much hope and excitement until the news broke- everything was shutting down. I was devastated in a multitude of ways. Not only did I not get to have goodbyes to my friends, but I also didn’t get to experience my last semester of college. On top of that, finding a full-time job to start my life just got 10x harder. In a period of depression, lack of hope, and pure chaos, I decided what better time to start a business than now? Did I know anything about running a business or starting a clothing line? Absolutely not. I dove head first into learning how to start a clothing line from drawing mockups to how to source fabric, and then FT The Label was born. I didn’t start this clothing line because I knew this was my end-all business, but I figured I had to start somewhere in order to find out what my niche was. During the pandemic, I picked up surfing which changed my life and saved my soul.
At the beginning of 2022, I realized I was stumped on how I wanted to scale my clothing line and where I saw it going. Honestly- I knew I wasn’t passionate enough about it deep down to scale it because I didn’t know what problem I was solving. During a trip to Tahoe, (filled with Chick Fil A nuggets) my friend, Ian, leaned in on my strengths from starting my clothing line and gave me the idea to make wetsuits- but better. With pure excitement and flushed with inspiration, I immediately started doing research even though it was 1 AM after a long drive and had an early morning of snowboarding ahead of me. From there, I let my obsessive personality thrive and started researching neoprenes, what was already out in the market, who my main competitors were, and learning anything and everything that I needed to know. At this moment I realized, “Holy sh*t. This is the niche I’ve been looking for.”
Whenever I surfed, I realized there weren’t many avenues for self-expression. I noticed a lot of wetsuits were just plain black and lacked performance durability, longevity, and warranties. Not to mention, on a busy day in the lineup, it’s nearly impossible to spot your friends. My goal was essentially to reverse engineer all of that with improved Yamamoto neoprene which is made of limestone, and originated from Japan. Not only will this fabric help improve warmth, but it will improve the performance aspect since it is much lighter and feels like a second skin.
Bonus- it also dries faster! I’m excited to step out of my comfort zone with this project by integrating new colors and prints to mix up what’s available in the wetsuit market, but most importantly to remind surfers to have fun with it.
Right now, I’m hoping to have LOCO Wetsuits launch sometime in 2023, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No journey is complete without its fair share of troubles. Fast forward to early October 2022, I received my first prototype. You could say I was BEYOND ecstatic to see this crazy idea I had in mind come to life and turn out better than I could have even imagined. You can watch my reaction video here- https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjBsJmHMbr4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link. There were over 200+ hours of development and research that went into this project while working full-time simultaneously. It’s also safe to say, there were a lot of moments when I wanted to scrap the entire project and kick it to the curb. This project really tested my persistence and tenacity to push through the moments of frustration. Not to mention, this project was a MASSIVE financial investment for me. Working full-time paid the bills, barely, and living at home has made a huge difference. To be frank, I’ve never learned good spending habits up until recently (#adulting), so there were moments where I was like “how the heck am I going to afford this invoice?” I quite literally spent all of my savings and money on this project while also trying to make sure that I was allocating funds strategically, unlike my clothing line where I felt like I wasted money by making rushed decisions.
As I’m answering this interview, the company has just undergone its 3rd re-branding, and it’s been incredibly stressful. I’m constantly thinking if I’m going to have to change it again, having to re-design all this merchandise and find an entirely new brand identity that will age well. I’m also learning a lot about trademarks and copyrights which is a whole other rollercoaster on its own. It’s safe to say there were a lot of learnings from my clothing line that has saved me a ton of pain points going into this project, but it’s also equally been a challenge, if not more challenging because I think the stakes are higher.
Alright, what should we know about your work? What are you most proud of? What do you specialize in and what sets you apart from others?
My background starts with my time at UC Berkeley, where I was a Political Science major who had no intention of becoming a lawyer or politician. People constantly ask me why did I choose P.S as my major and to this day I could not tell you why. To build my career experience, I specialized in marketing and retail working with some really cool brands such as Abercrombie, Under Armour, etc. During my weekdays, I do hold a full-time job working as a Data Analyst in retail which has definitely challenged my time management, but it’s worked out well so far! Sometimes, things happen so fast that you forget to stop and look at how much you’ve accomplished in such a short period of time. I am incredibly proud of the businesses I’ve built and seeing my ideas flourish.
I’m also very proud of how I’ve been able to do so much and balance it all at once with what I hope is grace. It makes me really excited about cheering on my progress and also about what’s to come. I think the biggest thing that sets me apart from most people is when I get an idea, I will execute it no matter what. Whether it’s something simple as going on a spontaneous trip, approaching someone, or bringing a LOCO idea to life ( ;), see what I did there), I’ll do it. I’m extremely ambitious and tenacious on that front, and I hope it takes me far in life. Until then, I’m excited to see how things unfold and what’s in store for the future of LOCO Wetsuits.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
We will be looking for local artists and talented surfers across the country to be core contributors to our brand. If you’re interested in collaborating or would like to support our journey, please follow + DM us on Instagram LOCO. We would be ecstatic to have you as part of our community!
Pricing:
- Wetsuits will most likely start around $400
- Merch will start at $35
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/locowetsuits
Image Credits
@meilirestani
