Give the Praise (with Jason Mayden)

On this episode of Professional Troublemaker, host Luvvie Ajayi Jones is talking to legendary shoe-designer and President of Fear of God Athletics, Jason Mayden. In this episode, they discuss Jason’s journey from designing girl’s names in bubble letters to designing shoes for Nike at 21. 

Jason describes his design strategy as “looking for the narrative”. Instead of looking at other products for inspiration, he sees products as artifacts that tell a story. And when it comes to presenting these ideas, he has had to kill impostor syndrome and advocate for himself. They converse about the urge to give in to impostor syndrome, the process of recognizing mediocrity, and the realization of belonging in a room. 

Jason describes Professional Troublemaking as being an accomplice--not an ally---and believes the world needs Professional Troublemakers in order to take risks and say the inconvenient thing at the inconvenient time. Kick back in your favorite kicks and enjoy this episode of Professional Troublemaker with iconic Chicagoan, Jason Mayden. 

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