Meet Harlan Groves of Modern Hippie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Harlan Groves.

Harlan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started Modern Hippie five years ago when I was 19 years old. I had always been into fashion, especially streetwear because I loved how accessible it was. So I decided to create my own streetwear brand which became Modern Hippie. I really don’t remember how I came up with the name. After about two weeks of creating a concept and a few designs, I released my first shirts and they sold out in a few days. Everything happened so fast that it was hard to comprehend, but I loved that I was able to monetize something I was passionate about. The brand grew mostly through social media and word of mouth and gained a strong following. As time went on I decided that I wanted leave a more meaningful impact through this platform that I had created.

So in 2018, I decided to make community service a core element of Modern Hippie. As a marketing student, I realized that I could tap into younger/millennial audience of Modern Hippie and move them to do positive works in the community if I could speak their language and market community service in a way that was more appealing. After all, community service had somewhat of a stigma attached to it as it was seen as a punishment or an obligation. But after our first community service project launched, we got great feedback and the young people we reached were really excited to give back. So for the past year our team has worked to consistently create impactful service opportunities in Chattanooga, while simultaneously releasing dope clothing with a positive message.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to where Modern Hippie is now has felt like an unpaved dirt road. It’s been pretty tough maneuver. One reason being that I’ve had to learn so many things, from design to project management, that take a lot of time to get the hang of. Another reason is that the pairing of a clothing brand and a community service outlet had never been done before, at least to my knowledge, so I didn’t have a reference point of where to go or what to do. I had to do a lot of trailblazing, to make the work we do understandable and coherent.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Modern Hippie – what should we know?
Modern Hippie has made a name for itself by providing quality clothing and creating fun and interactive service initiatives. Personally, I am most proud of the work we have done for the community. I believe that our involvement in actively working to make our community stronger is what sets us apart from any other clothing brand.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance is key. There will always be those times where you want to give up when the road to success seems too long or difficult. But if you simply persevere, you can almost always work through adversity. Whether it be in school, business, or relationships, persevering through the hardships makes your chances of success exponentially higher, as opposed to just quitting.

Pricing:

• Our products range from $20-50

Contact Info:

• Website: www.modernhippie.us
• Email: contact.modernhippie@gmail.com
• Instagram: @modernhippie.us
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/modernhippie.us/
• Twitter: twitter.com/modernhippieus

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