In the same tradition as Madonna, Prince, and Sting, the owner of Jinxed stores is known by a single, autonomous, name: Mike. Mike knows what it takes to be a hustler. For the past nine years he’s been building and expanding his brand. Today, Mike is the owner of three stores in Philadelphia that sell art based t-shirts, books, toys, and vintage furniture. Mike’s been hustling since 1995 when he went from a kid selling T-shirts in a punk shop on South Street to, buying the t-shirt company, and opening his own store front in 2004.Dakota Lupo knows how to hustle too. Dakota has been living in LA for the past four years trying to make a name for him self on the silver screen, but acting is a risky business, where rejection is par for the course. Dakota has managed to stay a float, while juggling several other jobs, and recently got a big break when casted as a supporting actor in Inherent Vice staring A-list actors, like Joaquin Phoenix, Owen Wilson, and Reese Witherspoon.I spoke with the two to learn a little about what makes an everyday hustler today.What’s the key to making it in the entertainment industry, an industry that is notorious for rejection?
Dakota Lupo: The business has changed. You have to be multifaceted to get somewhere. Sacrifice sleep and always be working on or towards something. The real name of the game is being non-stop. I’m never off. It’s not about whether people succeed or not in this industry; people just end up leaving and quitting. And it’s not a matter of rejection or failure. If making it looks like what I’m doing now, than I’m not making it as much some months as I am in other months, and I’m not satisfied with that. I’ll feel like I’ve really made it when there is nothing left to figure out in this industry.VICE: What do you tell people who are looking to become a hustler like you?
MIke: It’s like that Young Jeezy song says, “scared money doesn’t make money.” That’s pretty much it. You have to literally bet heavy and roll all the dice at once. Sometimes it doesn’t always pay off, but all of the big chances I’ve taken have paid off because 99% of the time it’s about trusting your gut. There is no formula. When it comes to buying vintage furniture for Jinxed, there is no, “oh well, everyone moving here from Williamsburg likes mid century furniture so that’s what I’ll buy,” I don’t care about that, if I see a piece of mid-century furniture that I think is awesome and that I can sell for a fair price, then yeah I’m going to grab that, but I’m not going to inflate it to match the cool factor. The fact that it is here makes it cool, that’s what we do and that’s our brand.I worked outside of the law for a while in…sales. What I learned from that experience is that you have to be really honest and you can’t rip people off because you get shot. You can’t expect return customers if you’re being shady with people. I take those principles and apply them to running a business.What do you do to double your chances of snagging a gig outside of the casting room?
Dakota: Part of my hustle is planting seeds with people. I see every social interaction as an opportunity. There is never a point where I’m just going to a birthday party or just going to grab a drink at a bar. The worst thing I would want to feel is “oh, shit I should have done that,” whether that’s not having a script available for some big time studio executive or missing out on meeting people because I’m too tired for drinks at 10:30pm. It’s like I said, you have to be on all the time and that doesn’t mean being an asshole either. Sometimes you have to choose between leaving a good impression and hope that it pays off later, or being that guy who shoves his card in everyone’s face at the end of the night.What are some rookie mistakes you see other people in your business make?
Mike: I’ve seen people who can’t get out of the gate because they are so hung up on logistics. Who the fuck cares? The customer doesn’t care about your corporate structure. Having your i’s dotted and your t’s crossed is important but it’s low on the priority list. This is America, do what you want until someone stops you. But when they stop you better be ready for it. You better have that money you owe in taxes sitting around, or they’ll come take everything you worked for.Crave more hustle? Watch director David Russell’s latest film American Hustle, now in theaters, and find out more about the director and his future films at www.davidorussell.com.
Advertisement
Dakota Lupo: The business has changed. You have to be multifaceted to get somewhere. Sacrifice sleep and always be working on or towards something. The real name of the game is being non-stop. I’m never off. It’s not about whether people succeed or not in this industry; people just end up leaving and quitting. And it’s not a matter of rejection or failure. If making it looks like what I’m doing now, than I’m not making it as much some months as I am in other months, and I’m not satisfied with that. I’ll feel like I’ve really made it when there is nothing left to figure out in this industry.VICE: What do you tell people who are looking to become a hustler like you?
MIke: It’s like that Young Jeezy song says, “scared money doesn’t make money.” That’s pretty much it. You have to literally bet heavy and roll all the dice at once. Sometimes it doesn’t always pay off, but all of the big chances I’ve taken have paid off because 99% of the time it’s about trusting your gut. There is no formula. When it comes to buying vintage furniture for Jinxed, there is no, “oh well, everyone moving here from Williamsburg likes mid century furniture so that’s what I’ll buy,” I don’t care about that, if I see a piece of mid-century furniture that I think is awesome and that I can sell for a fair price, then yeah I’m going to grab that, but I’m not going to inflate it to match the cool factor. The fact that it is here makes it cool, that’s what we do and that’s our brand.I worked outside of the law for a while in…sales. What I learned from that experience is that you have to be really honest and you can’t rip people off because you get shot. You can’t expect return customers if you’re being shady with people. I take those principles and apply them to running a business.What do you do to double your chances of snagging a gig outside of the casting room?
Dakota: Part of my hustle is planting seeds with people. I see every social interaction as an opportunity. There is never a point where I’m just going to a birthday party or just going to grab a drink at a bar. The worst thing I would want to feel is “oh, shit I should have done that,” whether that’s not having a script available for some big time studio executive or missing out on meeting people because I’m too tired for drinks at 10:30pm. It’s like I said, you have to be on all the time and that doesn’t mean being an asshole either. Sometimes you have to choose between leaving a good impression and hope that it pays off later, or being that guy who shoves his card in everyone’s face at the end of the night.What are some rookie mistakes you see other people in your business make?
Mike: I’ve seen people who can’t get out of the gate because they are so hung up on logistics. Who the fuck cares? The customer doesn’t care about your corporate structure. Having your i’s dotted and your t’s crossed is important but it’s low on the priority list. This is America, do what you want until someone stops you. But when they stop you better be ready for it. You better have that money you owe in taxes sitting around, or they’ll come take everything you worked for.Crave more hustle? Watch director David Russell’s latest film American Hustle, now in theaters, and find out more about the director and his future films at www.davidorussell.com.