Damon John

 

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ChatGPT saiThe Rise of Daymond John: Hustler or Learner

Long before Daymond John sat across entrepreneurs in the “Shark Tank” boardroom, he was just a kid from Queens, New York, with a relentless drive and a mother who believed in him.

Growing up in the Hollis neighborhood, Daymond didn't have much—at least not in the way of money. But he had hustle. In high school, he worked as a waiter at Red Lobster and sold everything from pencils to ski hats on the street. What he lacked in resources, he made up for in creativity.

In the early 1990s, hip-hop fashion was booming, and Daymond saw an opportunity. One day, he noticed that a wool ski hat that sold in stores for $20 could be made at home for a fraction of the price. He went to his mother, and together, they sewed about 90 hats. He sold them on the streets for $10 each—and made $800 in a single day.

That was the spark.

Daymond founded FUBU—short for "For Us, By Us"—a clothing line meant to serve the underserved: young people of color who were defining the style and sound of the new era. With his friends as partners and his mother mortgaging their house to fund the venture, they turned their home into a mini factory.

But the real break came when Daymond convinced rapper LL Cool J—a fellow Hollis native—to wear a FUBU hat in a commercial. Suddenly, the brand wasn’t just streetwear—it was culture. FUBU exploded, eventually generating over $6 billion in global sales.

Daymond's savvy didn’t stop there. In 2009, he became a founding investor on the ABC hit show Shark Tank, where he mentored and funded dozens of businesses. Known as the "People’s Shark," he brought street smarts, marketing genius, and a deep respect for the grind to the table.

He also became a best-selling author, a branding guru, and an advocate for financial literacy, especially in underserved communities.

But for all his success, Daymond never forgot where he came from. He still credits his mother’s belief, his community’s influence, and his unrelenting hustle as the pillars of his success.

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