A Luxury Lifestyle Brand for the Urban Intellectual
The Educated Hoodlums Brand
The Educated Educated Hoodlums Brand is a luxury lifestyle brand for the urban intellectual.
We offer apparel, merchandise, literature, publishing and events for individuals who enjoy intellectual stimulation and urban recreation.
The Educated Hoodlums Brand started as a podcast in 2019, with the goal of creating a platform that would specifically discuss issues primarily impacting the Black community. The podcast features 4 millenial intellectuals: Stephan "Cashual" Burgess, Gia Claybrooks, Taurean "TJ" Jones and ShaRika "Rika Pesos" Comfort.
Branding a Lifestyle
The Educated Hoodlums Podcast quickly gained popularity and a consistent listening audience as the quartet spoke candidly, humorously and, at times, brashly about real issues. The group found a unique way to both entertain and educate listeners as they began to intertwine real data, statistics and resources into conversations concerning controversial subjects such as therapy, abortion and Black Parenting.
The group realized that they had tapped into an often overlooked audience - Black educated millenials from urban or low income backgrounds. "We realized that we weren't anamolies. There was a whole graden of roses growing from concrete and we just put a name to it. We didn't build a brand, we just branded a lifestlye" (Rika Pesos).
In 2020, amidst a global pandemic, the Educated Hoodlums Brand was launched to include merchandise and apparel. The clothing was both fashionable and high quality, performing well in sales across the East Coast. The apparel was dubbed "smart merch" thanks to a concept curated by Rika Pesos to include QR tags on the sleeves of all the apparel. The tags, called "cheat codes," would take users to a hidden content portal on the group's site; thus, turning their apparel into a "members' only" pass.
What's Next?:
Mission & Vision
So what's next for the Educated Hoodlums Brand? The vision for the Educated Hoodlums Brand is to maintain status as a luxury lifestyle brand for the urban intellectual.
The brand plans to continue to grow as a full-service lifestyle brand. While they will continue to release apparel, including their signature hoodie collection "Hoodie Season," the brand will also expand to incorporate all components of an Educated Hoodlum's lifestlye. This includes adding hair care products, publishings/literature, events, travel accessories, media and even beverages to their repertoire.
"The ultimate goal is to create a space for the individuals who understand how to navigate the boardroom and the block party, comfortably. We are not only acknowledging but also celebrating both sides of that coin. Like, I can appreciate Toni Morrison and Trap Music. We want Black people, especially, to feel good about having the ability to do both; it's a superpower." - Rika Pesos
