Lessons in World-Building: How Emily Oberg Created Sporty & Rich

Summary

The Business of Fashion Podcast: Lessons in World-Building: How Emily Oberg Created Sporty & Rich

Release Date: June 6, 2025

In this engaging episode of The Business of Fashion Podcast, host Imran Ahmed sits down with Emily Oberg, the visionary founder and CEO behind the multi-million dollar cult brand Sporty & Rich. From her humble beginnings in Calgary, Canada, to establishing a globally recognized lifestyle brand, Emily shares invaluable insights into the art of world-building, strategic business growth, and maintaining authenticity in the fashion industry.

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1. Early Life and Inspirations

Emily Oberg's journey into the fashion world began far from the bustling hubs of style and trendsetting. Growing up in Calgary, Canada, Emily described her hometown as “the Texas of Canada,” highlighting its focus on the oil industry and a lack of creative outlets (02:14). Despite the limited creative scene, Emily's passion for fashion was ignited early on by her family. Her aunt, a long-time buyer for Club Monaco, served as a significant inspiration. "I wanted to be around fashion," Emily reflected (03:18).

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2. Transition to New York and Complex

Determined to pursue her passion, Emily moved to New York City at 18 to attend a basic fashion program in Vancouver and eventually secured a role at Complex. Her tenure at Complex was transformative, allowing her to immerse herself in the burgeoning streetwear scene. Emily reminisced about her initial struggles in sales due to her shy nature but quickly adapted by moving to stock roles and later excelling in content creation (06:12).

Emily Oberg: “I remember the first drop we ever did. We did like $40,000 in three weeks, which was insane for me. That’s when I knew we have something.” (25:27)

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3. Founding Sporty & Rich: From Mood Board to Multi-Million Dollar Brand

While at Complex, Emily nurtured her side project, Sporty & Rich, which began as a simple Instagram mood board. This creative outlet allowed her to experiment with fashion concepts without the pressures of a full-fledged business. The brand's official launch involved selling basic merchandise like T-shirts and hoodies through a pre-order model, which proved highly successful, generating $40,000 in three weeks (25:27).

As Sporty & Rich gained traction, Emily leveraged her network, including her relationship with Ronnie from Kith, to scale the brand internationally. By implementing effective pre-order strategies and securing partnerships with major retailers like Selfridges, Sporty & Rich expanded its reach globally (26:19).

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4. Navigating Challenges During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for Sporty & Rich, leading to unexpected spikes in pre-orders that strained production capabilities. Emily detailed the logistical nightmares faced during this period, including factory shutdowns and shipping delays. However, the brand's resilience shone through as Emily and her team swiftly adapted by overhauling their production processes and implementing new software solutions to manage the increased demand (28:53).

Emily Oberg: “This is like make or break it. We either figure it out and we grow and we become a real brand or we don't and this brand stops now.” (29:02)

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5. World-Building and Brand Philosophy

A cornerstone of Sporty & Rich's success is its meticulously crafted world that blends luxury with casual sportswear. Emily emphasized the importance of creating an aspirational lifestyle, where products symbolize a broader narrative rather than just their functional use. The integration of elements like country club aesthetics, vintage accessories, and sporty casual wear creates a cohesive and desirable universe for consumers (34:41).

Emily Oberg: “Our sweatshirts are not like they're $150. It's not like we're selling a $10,000 handbag. But I think what that T-shirt represents is the lifestyle and the world that we have built.” (35:28)

This approach resonates deeply with consumers, offering them a tangible piece of the brand's envisioned lifestyle. The high-low aesthetic—combining luxury items with everyday wear—further cements Sporty & Rich as a brand that appeals to a broad audience by bridging disparate fashion worlds (37:14).

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6. Category Expansion and Diversification

Beyond clothing, Emily has strategically expanded Sporty & Rich into various categories to enhance the brand’s universe. This includes:

• Eyewear and Accessories: Introducing products that complement the main apparel lines.
• Sexual Wellness: Launching a separate brand, Sensual Sport, focused on stylish and non-stigmatized sexual wellness products (42:22).

Emily draws parallels between her approach and that of Supreme, emphasizing the power of branding over the intrinsic value of products. By maintaining a strong, relatable brand image, Sporty & Rich ensures that each new category aligns organically with its established identity (43:29).

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7. Building and Managing a Growing Team

With Sporty & Rich revenue surpassing $30 million a year, Emily underscores the importance of surrounding herself with experts in areas where she lacks expertise. By delegating responsibilities like finance, logistics, and customer service to a dedicated team, she ensures the business operates smoothly without overextending herself (49:09).

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8. Personal Insights and Finding One’s Why

Towards the end of the conversation, Emily offers profound advice on finding one's "why"—the intrinsic motivations that drive personal and professional fulfillment. She stresses the significance of aligning one's career with personal passions rather than external expectations, advocating for a life where daily activities bring genuine happiness and purpose (52:25).

Emily Oberg: “What would make you happy to wake up every single day and do, forget about the money, forget about what anyone would think about it.” (52:30)

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9. Future Aspirations

Looking ahead, Emily aims to scale Sporty & Rich from $30 million to $300 million in annual revenue. She expresses a willingness to bring on investors who can help propel the brand to new heights while maintaining its core values and aesthetic integrity. Additionally, she continues to nurture Sensual Sport as a complementary venture, further expanding the Sporty & Rich ecosystem (56:11).

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Conclusion

Emily Oberg's journey with Sporty & Rich is a testament to the power of authentic world-building and strategic growth in the fashion industry. Her ability to blend personal passion with business acumen has created a brand that not only thrives financially but also resonates deeply with its community. For aspiring fashion entrepreneurs, Emily's story offers valuable lessons on resilience, innovation, and the importance of staying true to one's vision.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Emily Oberg (03:18): “I wanted to be around fashion.”
• Emily Oberg (25:27): “We did like $40,000 in three weeks, which was insane for me. That’s when I knew we have something.”
• Emily Oberg (29:02): “This is like make or break it. We either figure it out and we grow and we become a real brand or we don't and this brand stops now.”
• Emily Oberg (35:28): “Our sweatshirts are not like they're $150. It's not like we're selling a $10,000 handbag. But I think what that T-shirt represents is the lifestyle and the world that we have built.”
• Emily Oberg (43:29): “That's the power of brand is so interesting to me.”
• Emily Oberg (52:30): “What would make you happy to wake up every single day and do, forget about the money, forget about what anyone would think about it.”

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Timestamps Reference

<a id="timestamp1"></a>[02:14] Emily discusses Calgary’s environment.

<a id="timestamp2"></a>[03:18] Emily talks about her early passion for fashion.

<a id="timestamp3"></a>[06:12] Emily describes her initial role at Complex.

<a id="timestamp4"></a>[25:27] Emily shares the success of Sporty & Rich’s first drop.

<a id="timestamp5"></a>[25:27] Continuation of the first drop success story.

<a id="timestamp6"></a>[26:19] Emily on securing partnerships with retailers.

<a id="timestamp7"></a>[28:53] Challenges faced during COVID-19.

<a id="timestamp8"></a>[29:02] Emily emphasizes the make-or-break moment during the pandemic.

<a id="timestamp9"></a>[34:41] Emily elaborates on Sporty & Rich’s brand philosophy.

<a id="timestamp10"></a>[35:28] Emily explains the significance of their T-shirts.

<a id="timestamp11"></a>[37:14] Discussion on high-low aesthetics in fashion.

<a id="timestamp12"></a>[42:22] Introduction of Sensual Sport.

<a id="timestamp13"></a>[43:29] Emily on the power of branding.

<a id="timestamp14"></a>[49:09] Managing a growing team at Sporty & Rich.

<a id="timestamp15"></a>[52:25] Emily offers advice on finding one’s why.

<a id="timestamp16"></a>[52:30] Further insights on personal fulfillment.

<a id="timestamp17"></a>[56:11] Emily outlines her future plans for Sporty & Rich.

Transcript

[Imran Ahmed]

Foreign. Hi, this is Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the Business of Fashion. Welcome to the BoF Podcast. It's Friday, June 6th. Emily Oberg has turned her early passion for fashion and streetwear into a thriving cult brand called Sporty and Rich. She grew up far away from the fashion world in Calgary, Canada. After moving to New York for a role at the media company Complex, Emily quickly built her profile as a tastemaker in the streetwear scene. But eventually, she got the entrepreneurial itch and leveraged her experience to turn Sporty and Rich, which had started as a mood board on Instagram, into a multi million dollar brand with a dedicated community following.

[Emily Oberg]

I think anything that's aspirational, people want to be part of that. You know, our sweatshirts are not like they're $150. It's not like we're selling a $10,000 handbag. But I think what that T shirt represents, the lifestyle and the world that we have built.

[Imran Ahmed]

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to sit down with Emily to reflect on her unconventional path into fashion, how she made strategic business choices to grow her business, and the significance of world building in creating an aspirational lifestyle brand. Here's Emily oberg on the BoF podcast. Emily Oberg, welcome to the BoF podcast.

[Emily Oberg]

Hi.

[Imran Ahmed]

We are in Los Angeles, but this is a long way from home. It's not ever happened before that I talk to someone who's also from Calgary.

[Emily Oberg]

That's crazy. I've not met, like, anyone else from Calgary.

[Imran Ahmed]

In la.

[Emily Oberg]

In la?

[Imran Ahmed]

Wow. Well, I've never interviewed anyone on this podcast who's from Calgary. So it's a distinct pleasure because this has never happened before. So usually when I'm asking people about where they grew up, I'm hearing about a place that I know.

[Emily Oberg]

You have no idea.

[Imran Ahmed]

I don't know anything. But that's not the case this time. So tell me about growing up in Calgary. What was that like for you?

[Emily Oberg]

I mean, as you know, I feel like anytime I say Calgary, people are like, what is that? It's cold. And it's kind of like the Texas of Canada is how I describe it to people who don't know what it is. It's an oil town. It's like mostly service industry, very boring, nothing creative going on, very small.

[Imran Ahmed]

Is it still like that? Because, you know, it was kind of like that. I'm older than you, so when I was a kid growing up in Calgary, that was the 1980s.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

Do you feel like it's still like that, Yes.

[Emily Oberg]

I mean, there's obviously a small creative scene anywhere, but it's not huge and definitely nothing in fashion really going on. So it was quite isolating because I felt like my interests didn't really align with anyone that I knew or hung out with, and I wanted to leave as soon as I could, really.

[Imran Ahmed]

Well, what. What were your interests?

[Emily Oberg]

Growing up in Calgary, I was always into fashion. I always wanted to do something with clothes and brand.

[Imran Ahmed]

From the beginning.

[Emily Oberg]

From the beginning. So when I was growing up, my dad, who's from the Philippines, moved there when he was about 5 with his parents and siblings, and his sister was a buyer for Club Monaco for many years.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yes, Go Club Monaco.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, and I don't know, I was really close with them, with my aunts, and I just remember her telling me about her job and what she did, and she was, like, always very stylish and into fashion and labels and that kind of stuff. So I think that's what really inspired me from a young age. And so at first I was like, oh, I want to be a buyer like her. But now I'm like, that's the worst job ever. I can't do math to save my life. So, no, forget that. But yeah, I just. I wanted to, like, be around fashion.

[Imran Ahmed]

What was. What was it about fashion that drew you into it? You know, growing up in Calgary, fashion was obviously. Yeah, for me, it was also really, really far away. And I had this show called Fashionphile, which was hosted by this guy named Tim Blanks.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I remember that.

[Imran Ahmed]

He was like my fashion hero. He now works for BoF, which is kind of a very interesting full circle moment. But that was my window into fashion. You grew up in Calgary much after I did. Like, what was it that drew you in? Who were the brands or people that you were following?

[Emily Oberg]

I mean, it was definitely. My aunt was a big part of it. My dad was also always into. He was, like, always a sneaker head, and he was always into streetwear. He was like a skater when he was in high school, and he still collects sneakers and was always into, like, Stussy and Nike and, you know, all the streetwear brands. So I think I just grew up around people who had really good taste, number one, and who just already liked that kind of stuff and, like, shopping and clothes and all that. But that was pretty much it. I mean, I guess it wasn't until I was maybe like 15, 16 that I started to. That's when the blogs all started, like, Sartorialist, Hypebeast, complex, High snobiety all of those blogs. And it was just like this subculture that I feel it had such a moment and that was like the peak of it. Now it's not really the same anymore. No one really cares about, I don't know, streetwear blogs in the same way. And the whole industry I think has changed. But yeah, at that point it was like you religiously followed these websites and checked them every single day and wanted to know what was going on at all times with all these brands.

[Imran Ahmed]

So how did you start to take steps? You said you knew you wanted to leave Calgary. Like how did you start to take steps to get closer to this world? That was so kind of mesmerizing for you.

[Emily Oberg]

So I started working when I was quite young. I think my first job I was 13 or 14. I lied about my age because you're not allowed to work when you're that young. But I worked for this store called.

[Imran Ahmed]

Aritzia, of course, the Canadian store. Yeah, it's doing so well now.

[Emily Oberg]

It's doing so well. Yeah, it's incredible. So I worked in the store. I was a salesperson. I was so bad at it because I'm very shy into myself and to go up to people I don't know is like, gives me so much anxiety. So I was terrible and I always got in trouble for it. My sales were always horrible. And then eventually I was like, I want to be in the back room, I want to do stock. Like I want to be unpacking boxes and I don't want to see anyone. I don't want to be like forward facing at all. So I started doing stock and then there was this program in Vancouver which was like kind of like a basic fashion program, like an introduction to every kind of facet called Blanche. McDonald was a school in Vancouver. So I moved to Vancouver when I was 18 and I went to that school for a year. I stayed for another year. I worked at Holt Renfrew and I was just saving up and I was like, my dream was to one day move to New York. I didn't know how I was going to get there, but I would do like little photo shoots with my friends and style them and just like try to build up some sort of resume, I guess. And then that's when Complex found me and reached out to me and offered me the job to like be the face of their. Yeah, I guess their sneaker channel.

[Imran Ahmed]

How did they find you?

[Emily Oberg]

So I was styling some shoots for like some local brands.

[Imran Ahmed]

In Vancouver?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, in Vancouver. And I think they had seen one of the shoots that I did just by covering it or something. And so, yeah, one of the editors at Complex emailed me, and I thought it was a joke at first. I was like, this is insane. And they emailed me, and I had, like, a few video calls. And then, like, two weeks later, I moved to New York.

[Imran Ahmed]

Wow.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, it was crazy.

[Imran Ahmed]

I mean, that was literally your dream coming true.

[Emily Oberg]

Yes.

[Imran Ahmed]

And so when you arrived at Complex, I mean, just now you were saying that at that time, those websites, those streetwear websites were just, like, they had this massive cult following. They had, like, a very, very tight hold on the attention of people who were interested in streetwear. And what was it like walking into Complex and working? Sometimes when you see the inside of a place that you've only ever seen from the outside, the two don't add up. Like, what was it like for you?

[Emily Oberg]

It was such a pinch me moment. I still look back on those years as, like, some of the happiest years of my life, because it was more than I expected, like, in a good way, because I didn't have any idea of the inner workings of these websites, and I didn't know. I had no idea about journalism or media or writing or video or any of that. So I was just so excited and just so happy to be there and to be given that opportunity. Like, people always say I have a horseshoe up my butt because I'm so lucky. And I always get these amazing opportunities. But I think part of it is believing that it will happen for yourself. And obviously, there's the hard work and the skill and the talent that takes you far. But I was so happy. Like, I remember every single day for those three years just waking up and being like, I'm so lucky. I'm so excited to go to work today. It's just, like, the best feeling ever. And then I met my best friends there, too, so that was also so fun.

[Imran Ahmed]

So few people can say that about their first job, you know?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I know.

[Imran Ahmed]

So what was your job there?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, this was when, like, the whole YouTube and video component of websites had just started. So they were launching their video platform. And it was similar to, I guess, MTV News back in the day. It was called Complex News, and we would essentially just report on news stories about sneakers, sports, culture. Like, I was primarily focused on, like, the sneaker in the apparel world. So, yeah, I would just report on different stories every day. We did, like, three to four videos a day, but they're quite short. They're about two to three minutes long. And then I started doing the Supreme Lineup videos, and that became, like, a big thing for Complex. And, I mean, I still see those clips pop up all the time because they're so iconic.

[Imran Ahmed]

So were you doing everything, like, writing the scripts, thinking about the story ideas, you know, editing the videos?

[Emily Oberg]

So I would. I would sit with editors and I'd be like, we want this asset. I want it to be like this. Cut this out, blah, blah. But, yeah, I was writing it. I was on camera. And, like, the ideas were mine as well. And.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah, how did you, you know, without any training? Yeah, how did you know what to do?

[Emily Oberg]

I was very bad when I first started, and I got. I remember my old editor being like, you need to get better and figure this out. Otherwise, like, you're not going to have a job. And I was like, okay, let's fucking go. And from that moment, I was like, I'm just gonna figure it out. I'm gonna learn from everyone that I work with. I'm gonna write as much as possible, just get as much experience. And just, like, I think in those situations where it's like, literally survival, you just figure it out, you make it happen.

[Imran Ahmed]

So what did you learn about what it takes to create a really successful short video that works on the Internet?

[Emily Oberg]

I mean, so much of it was, like, clickbaity stuff, which I didn't love, because, you know, I don't necessarily care about, like, celebrity news or these things. And that's a lot of what we would cover. But I think it's just, like, you need a good headline. The more you can say in the less words, the better. Just to make it very, like, precise and succinct and. Yeah, I don't know. I think with the Supreme Videos, those always went viral because it was just entertaining. It's like you always got some kid to say something outrageous and hilarious, and I think it was just. I don't know, you want to, like, capture people's attention. And I think. I think the Supreme Videos was a big part of that, and that was, like, the most successful thing that we did.

[Imran Ahmed]

So for those of us who don't know, what were those supreme videos? The lineup videos?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah. So, I mean, supreme launched a collection every Thursday. I think it was back then. I don't know if it's changed, but we would go out early in the morning because those people would be lining up all night. They probably start at, like, 2, 3am so we would go early. We would go and talk to everyone in the line. We would ask them why they were There, what they were buying, what they did for a living, how they could afford to spend thousands of dollars without having a job because they obviously didn't have anywhere to be. And, yeah, it was just so much fun. Like, we met these characters. We saw some of the same people every week. I mean, the supreme lineups, and just supreme in general at that time was such, like, a monster. And I think it was fascinating for people who didn't really understand it, and the people who did understand it, they loved it because it was, like, everything they wanted. Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

I love how you still use the word lineup, which I think is only a Canadian thing.

[Emily Oberg]

Is it queue or something?

[Imran Ahmed]

Well, we say queue in the uk, but in the US they say get online or get in line. But in Canada, we say lineups. You retain that. Okay. So you've got. You're in this job three years in. It's your dream. You love the people you work with. You're having kind of like everything that you had imagined for yourself.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

Why would you leave?

[Emily Oberg]

Well, even though I loved the job, I never wanted to be a journalist or be in media. I wanted to be on the fashion side of things. So I knew in taking that job, it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do long term, but I knew that it would open every single door for me, and I knew it would get me to where I wanted to be. So, yeah, I think after three years, I was like, at that point, I would have been 23. Yeah, 23, 24. And I was like, okay, I need to start figuring out what I want to do long term. I think I kind of did my time there, and it just felt like, okay, I need to move on now and, like, start to build my life and my career in something that I really wanted to be in. So I remember at the time I met Ronnie from who owns Kith, just through Complex. You know, we always covered Kith everything, and we had a good relationship. And I had mentioned to him that I was thinking about leaving and I wanted to work on the brand side of things.

[Imran Ahmed]

And were you pitching yourself for a job?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I was, but I didn't think anything would come of it. I was just like, okay, let's see.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah, just dropping it in there.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, why not? And then he offered me the role of creative director of the women's brand, which at the time had kind of just started to launch. It wasn't. It wasn't as big as the men's brand yet. And so I took it, and I did that for a year. I Had done Sporting Rich on the side this whole time though, even while I was at Complex. That's when I started it. And then so after a year I was just kind of like, I don't really want to build someone else's dream. I wanted to really do my own thing. And I figured out that's what I really wanted to do. So, yeah, I moved to la. I was also done with New York. I was like, I'm exhausted by the city.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah, well, let's get to that in a minute because I read, I read on the recent substack that you published, you wrote something like this. You said. I remember putting up two photos beside my desk when I worked at Complex. One was of Michael Jordan and one was of a Celine Phoebe era campaign. To me, the combination of the two photos was the perfect juxtaposition and had the feeling of exactly what I wanted to create a merger of sport. So you had this whole thing, this like, intersection between sports and luxury or like streetwear and luxury. It was like it's been there for a while and it was kind of incubating while you were at Complex and kith. So talk to us a little bit about that side hustle. So you're working these jobs and in your spare time you're just publishing this blog? I guess.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I was doing a lot. So I started the inst. Sporting Rich started as an Instagram.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay.

[Emily Oberg]

Just posting like mood board photos. It was kind of like the end of Tumblr. So I started using Instagram as Tumblr. Just posting old photos. I would find reference photos. Just anything I saw on Instagram.

[Imran Ahmed]

It was like a mood board.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, it was a mood board.

[Imran Ahmed]

And was there any strategy like you just published something when. When you came across an image, you just kind of stored it?

[Emily Oberg]

Yes.

[Imran Ahmed]

On Instagram.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah. Just randomly would post. Sometimes I post like 10 photos at once, 20 photos at once. It was just like so freestyle. And then I wanted to. So I really wanted to work on the print side of media and Complex. Our print was very like, it was very small, like the web. And the video was the main focus, the main driver. So that wasn't really an opportunity for me. And I was like, I want to do my own print magazine. So I turned Sporting Rich into a print magazine.

[Imran Ahmed]

While you were working?

[Emily Oberg]

While I was at Complex, yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

And they didn't care?

[Emily Oberg]

No. I spoke to them about it and got their blessing because obviously it's a little bit of a conflict. But they were supportive and it wasn't really anything that they were doing. It was quite a different concept. So they were like, yeah, sure, whatever, and I did on my free time, so it didn't interfere with work or anything. I was also DJing at the same time. I was doing, like, a lot of things, but that's just what it is when you live in New York, you can never do enough. So, yeah, I did the print magazine. I did four issues, and I released some clothes randomly. I would, like, go to models and buy, like, Russell Blanks and get them embroidered at this place in Chinatown and sell them and, like, ship them out myself. And, yeah, I did that for a little bit, and then I kind of didn't really have time anymore. When I started Kith, you were, in.

[Imran Ahmed]

A way, doing what, in today's parlance, they call world building.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

You know, you're, like, creating this universe and you're experimenting with different things, and you probably. Maybe you didn't realize it then, but you were kind of laying the groundwork.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

For something that could eventually become a business. But you're testing things. So you're testing products, you're testing the print, you're putting out all this imagery. Like, what was the response that you were getting? Like, how did you get feedback from the market and from customers to kind of help you navigate? Because the best thing about having a community like the one that you've been building now is all the feedback you can get. Right.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah. I mean, people loved the mood board aspect of it, and they loved the magazine. That was something that I wasn't really expecting, but it always sold out. And, yeah, it was something that I love to do. And I still. I was looking at them the other day for, like, the first time in years, and I'm like, these were so good. Like, it was actually such, like, a moment.

[Imran Ahmed]

What was good about them?

[Emily Oberg]

I did so many cool interviews. Like, I interviewed Sade's guitarist. I interviewed Basquiat's ex girlfriend. I talked to her about, like, how mental illness correlates to creativity. And I talked to this guy, Chi Modu, who's now passed, who shot, like, all of the most iconic images of Dr. Dre and Tupac and Ice Cube and NWA and all these amazing rappers. I had these, like, anime illustrations done by this really good artist of girls wearing, like, my favorite sneakers. And it was just like, everything that I loved, I kind of. I created it and I put it into this.

[Imran Ahmed]

And you were doing it all by yourself.

[Emily Oberg]

I was doing it all by myself.

[Imran Ahmed]

And you say you weren't interested in media, but everything that you just described is what an editor at a media publication does, like sourcing interesting interviews, coming up with interesting visual concepts. So you kind of were doing that?

[Emily Oberg]

I think I got more into it when I was at Complex.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah.

[Emily Oberg]

But I felt that was still more on like the fashion side because I was making it more of a fashion magazine. But yeah, I think that was like a passion project for me. It wasn't necessarily something that I saw long term.

[Imran Ahmed]

Right. Okay, so when did it go from passion project to this is going to be my full time focus? Like, you're at kith. You're doing kind of what you said you wanted to do is work on the fashion side. Like, what. What happened that you decided that that wasn't right for you?

[Emily Oberg]

I think it was just I kind of started to get that entrepreneurial spirit of like, okay, I want to build my thing and I want to be in control of my future and control of whatever it is that I'm building. And that's hard to do when you're just like an employee and sporting rich. I. It was always like in the back of my mind of something that I felt had legs. So I was like, I need to like, it's kind of now or never. I need to like, give this a shot and I can't wait much longer. And that it was also part of me wanting to move to LA and be done with New York.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah. Earlier you alluded to the fact that you were actually not in a good headspace either, like, living in New York anymore. What was, what was going on for you personally?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I think I became really sad after leaving Complex because I never had a college experience and I feel the way people bond in college and have that those kind of formative years, like, Complex was that for me. And I, you know, I'm still best friends with some of those people that I met. It was such like a family. And I think going from that to a place where I didn't know anyone, you know, I was like, I was the new kid was quite difficult and I really missed them and I missed the job. And I think I had just felt that like my time was done there. Like, I had done everything I wanted to accomplish in New York.

[Imran Ahmed]

And what was it about Los Angeles? How did you decide that this was the place?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I had never really been interested in LA before. I'd gone there for work for some Complex shoots sometimes, but every time I came, we were like in traffic the whole time. And I just kind of saw a side of LA where I felt wasn't that nice or beautiful or pleasant. And so it never appealed to me. And then I remember after leaving Complex, I came out here for a week to visit a friend of mine, Nick, who has a brand called Antisocial Club. We were good friends at the time, so I came to visit him. And I just fell in love with la. It was like we drove around Mulholland and we went to Sugarfish and, like, all, like, the cliche, LA things. I remember the Weeknd star boy came out, like, around that time, that album, and we just listened to it the whole time, and I was like, I am in love with la. Like, I need to live here.

[Imran Ahmed]

That was the soundtrack.

[Emily Oberg]

That was it. Yeah. And from that moment, I was like, I'm moving. I'm gonna quit my job and I'm gonna move.

[Imran Ahmed]

Did it feel risky?

[Emily Oberg]

In a way, but I think I like Risk because where I feel most people, it scares them. It kind of excites me, and it makes me, like, that feeling of being uncomfortable. I really like that feeling. And so I was more excited. And I have, like, a trust in myself that I'll always figure it out. So I think when you have that, you know that you'll be okay and there's, like, nothing to really worry about.

[Imran Ahmed]

But you didn't have a job when you came here, right?

[Emily Oberg]

I didn't have a job.

[Imran Ahmed]

Not only were you changing cities, you kind of made this decision that you were going to try to focus on Sporty and Rich.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

I mean, this is not an inexpensive place, you know, and you needed to make a living, and you're also in a new city and there's a lot of unknowns, so you, like, lean into that kind of discomfort.

[Emily Oberg]

Well, so when I moved here, I got a roommate, which made it more affordable, and I had saved up a bit of money, and I was doing a bit of, like, Instagram jobs. Like social.

[Imran Ahmed]

Like influencer jobs.

[Emily Oberg]

Like influencer stuff. Yeah, I was doing a bit of that. And I was also consulting for some people, like, helping them with their campaigns and marketing.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay.

[Emily Oberg]

So I did a bit of that, which was decent money. It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't bad. It was enough to live. And then I think after a few months, I was like, okay, I really need to now try with a brand and just see how it goes.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay, so give us a sense of, like, where Sporty and Rich was at that stage in terms of reach, in terms of business model, in terms of, like, you know, the overall setup and then what you had to build in order to start really turning it into a company.

[Emily Oberg]

So the magazine was done, I'd done the last issue and I decided I wasn't going to do anymore. It was too much work and it was too expensive. And the clothing, I probably released a few sweatshirts once a year, but very small. So I wouldn't even say it was a brand at that point. It was still just the mood board was like the main thing.

[Imran Ahmed]

Got it.

[Emily Oberg]

And then like around six months after I moved to la, I met my ex boyfriend who's my CEO.

[Imran Ahmed]

Still?

[Emily Oberg]

No, still.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay, yeah.

[Emily Oberg]

And he had a brand. He was from Paris, he was living in Paris, he still lives there. So he had a brand, he had experience with brands and that was all he ever did. So he, you know, wholesale logistics, back end finance, those kinds of things he knew, which I didn't. And so when we met, he started helping me a little bit, just like as a favor, being nice. And then eventually we decided like, okay, let's really pursue this and let's really build this brand. And so we used some of his team that he had for his brand for Sporting Rich.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay, and was there a strategy that you had in mind about how you were going to scale it?

[Emily Oberg]

We did pre order for the first year on all products.

[Imran Ahmed]

What kind of products were you selling?

[Emily Oberg]

It was just like T shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, hats, very basic, just merch.

[Imran Ahmed]

Merch. And it just says sporty and rich, aren't you? And what was the response?

[Emily Oberg]

So I remember the first drop we ever did. We did like $40,000 in like three weeks, which was insane for me. I was like, that's more money than I've ever seen. Like, this is crazy. So that's when I knew, I was like, okay, we have something, we need to just keep going with this and pursue it. And we kept doing the pre orders. I think it was probably every like three months we did a launch. I was doing the campaigns and the photo shoots myself. I was pretty much doing everything except wholesale, which we did start soon after.

[Imran Ahmed]

And who, who bought into it?

[Emily Oberg]

One of our first was Selfridges. Okay, yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

So you'd reached the UK already in the first.

[Emily Oberg]

Well, I think because the brand was on Instagram, we already had an international reach just off the bat. And so yeah, we had Selfridges. And then we started getting some other really good accounts, a couple in the us, some in Asia. I remember the magazine was carried by Colette in Paris. And yeah, his team, he had like a really good sales team. So they focused on that and then it was Covid.

[Imran Ahmed]

Oh.

[Emily Oberg]

And that's when everything changed.

[Imran Ahmed]

What changed?

[Emily Oberg]

So I thought that the brand wouldn't survive. I was like, people aren't working, they're not making money. There's no way anyone is going to be shopping right now. I didn't understand the basics of think.

[Imran Ahmed]

That's what a lot of the economy works. But a lot of people thought that. Right, Right. And then it turned out that people were gorging on just non stop.

[Emily Oberg]

It's all anyone was doing.

[Imran Ahmed]

Especially the kind of products that you were selling. Right?

[Emily Oberg]

Exactly. Yeah. It was like the perfect storm. And I remember a lot of good girls were wearing it, like Hailey Bieber, Rosie Huntington, Elsa Hosk Em Radha. Like all these girls were loving the brand.

[Imran Ahmed]

How did they get it? Did you send it to them or.

[Emily Oberg]

I think some of their stylists would buy it.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah.

[Emily Oberg]

Cause we were gifting, but I didn't have contacts for these people, so I wasn't really doing that at that point.

[Imran Ahmed]

Or maybe you guys were gifting it to their stylist.

[Emily Oberg]

I don't even think we knew her. The stylists were. We were like so small at that point because I. We didn't have a team doing that. It was just me.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay.

[Emily Oberg]

So I would send it to like cool girls I would see on Instagram. But yeah, when these girls were, I don't know, maybe they somehow they got it.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah.

[Emily Oberg]

But they were wearing it and it was online. And I remember we did a drop during COVID This was still pre order. So we went from doing like $40,000 per drop, whatever, in one day. We did like $600,000 in pre orders. And I was like, holy shit. I, I can't do this. Like, we're not set up for this.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah.

[Emily Oberg]

There was issues with production. People couldn't go to work. Our stuff was made in la. It still is. People couldn't go to the factories because it was Covid. Like, it was like everyone had to stay home. So there was that. We had an issue with production, we had issues with our labels, we had logistical issues. You know, it was like the shipping nightmare which all brands faced. It was just like a total backlog of packages. It was a nightmare.

[Imran Ahmed]

How did you navigate that?

[Emily Oberg]

So we were not set up as a real brand. We had Shopify. That was it. We had Shopify, which is very basic.

[Imran Ahmed]

But lots of big brands are run on Shopify.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, but there's also like backbone, other kind of technologies. Like we used something called NetSuite, which you, you kind of need to, you know, connect the wholesalers to the back end, the production to the back end. Just like everything needs to kind of like live on this backbone. We didn't have that. So we set that up immediately. I remember I was on calls like every day of the week for two weeks. They were like three hour calls. They were telling us about the software and I didn't know what it was like, they were speaking Chinese. I was like, I have no fucking idea what they're saying. But I was figuring it out and we implemented it and we made it work and we changed all of our production over to another factory and we got a customer service person. We got things together very quickly and we figured it out. But that was a moment that I knew. I was like, this is like make or break it. We either figure it out and we grow and we become a real brand or we don't and this brand stops now.

[Imran Ahmed]

It also seems to me like one of the keys to the success here is the pre order bit. Because you didn't have to take any financial risk on producing stuff that you didn't know people necessarily would buy or not buy. Yeah, right. But when people pay $600,000 in advance and then you have to go produce it, it helps from a cash flow perspective.

[Emily Oberg]

Totally.

[Imran Ahmed]

Which is what a lot of people who are starting a small business don't really understand how, especially in fashion, you know, the cash flow part of the business is like really, really tricky to navigate.

[Emily Oberg]

It's tough. Yeah. We didn't have any money to start the brand. Like I said we did. I did everything myself, my partner helped. And yeah, if we didn't do pre order, we couldn't have run a business. I didn't have money to buy, you know, stock and quantity and have that stuff sitting on the website. So it was great until it wasn't. You can do pre order up until a certain point and then it's just not sustainable.

[Imran Ahmed]

So what happened that you had to change direction with that?

[Emily Oberg]

It was that Covid order. It was that our factory was used to, you know, maybe 100 pieces a month. And then we had this order and they were like, yeah, this is going to take six weeks. And our lead time, we promised like three to four week delivery to the customers. Yeah. After they placed the order.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay. So you had to tell them it was going to be late.

[Emily Oberg]

We made it work. We pushed, we pressured them. We got a lot of orders out, but we got a lot of like return, like not returns, I guess, refunds. People canceling their order because it was taking so long and, you know, there was just major delays. But we did get a lot of those orders out. And then we change our factory and then we didn't do pre order, and that kind of saved us.

[Imran Ahmed]

It's a good thing for when you're starting a business if you don't have any cash to help finance the production in advance. But obviously from a customer experience perspective, it's much better if someone places an order and they get the product quickly. Right. Okay, so take us to, like, where you were by the time all the lockdown started lifting and Covid was kind of ending, like, what was the state of the business then?

[Emily Oberg]

The business grew. It was just at a crazy pace. We got so many new wholesale accounts. Everyone wanted to carry the brand. Everyone, Everyone, everyone. Stores that I was like, you know, just fans of and stores that, like, I would go and be like, wow, this is an amazing store. And I couldn't even believe they were asking to carry my brand. So wholesale blew up online, got so much bigger, and eventually my brand became so big and so much bigger than my CEO's brand that he stopped that brand entirely and everyone was now a sporty and rich employee. So everyone in Paris.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay, so you have this kind of really established set of relationships with all these stores, and then you decided to open your own store. Right. And so that's a whole other ball game in terms of building a business because there's upfront capex on fitting out the store. There's a deposit for the rent, and then there's filling that store with product. And we talked a few moments ago about world building. Like opening a store and taking the world that you've built digitally and making that come alive in a physical space. How did you think about that?

[Emily Oberg]

That was the most fun for me. I still love it. It's still my favorite part. So, yeah, we opened New York about two years ago, but that was also a risk because again, the capex is extremely high. You don't know if it's going to work. We were an Instagram brand, you know, we were online. It was based on. Yeah, online shopping. You don't know how that's going to translate to real life. It's like, is anyone going to come to your store? There's no way of telling. So in building that store, I really wanted it to reflect the world, as you mentioned. I want people to come in and, like, feel what Sporting Rich is beyond just shopping, you know. So we have the cafe, we have a spa in the back which has facials And I just wanted to bring the sporting rich world to life as much as possible. So we did that. And then the store's done really well. It's doing so well that we just want to keep opening them. Like a store a year would be my goal.

[Imran Ahmed]

But, you know, talk to us a little bit more in detail about the world of sporty and rich, because as you said, it was an Instagram brand. It was a mood board, you know, as Phoebe, Filo, Celine and Michael Jordan. Right. So, like, it's when you now you're describing the brand and the world that you're trying to build, like, talk to us about that world. What is that world? Who do you see in that world?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

And why is that world appealing to people in today's culture?

[Emily Oberg]

I think the world is the combination of luxury and kind of casual sports wear. But beyond that, it's this aspirational world of country clubs and this country club aesthetic and tennis and going on holidays in the south of France or in Italy and, you know, wearing like a vintage watch or an Hermes bag with some vintage sneakers or like a sweatshirt. Like, that's the whole vibe of the brand. And I think it's really apparent when you look at it. I think it's something that people, they get right away.

[Imran Ahmed]

Why do people want to be part of that world, though?

[Emily Oberg]

I want to be part of that world because for me, I always dreamed to be successful and to just be able to have the freedom to do what I wanted to go places, to like, live life in this full way. And it's not necessarily about, like the monetary things and money and the rich lifestyle that's a part of it, but I think it's this greater sense of living like a full life. And I think anything that's aspirational, people want to be part of that. You know, our sweatshirts are not like they're $1,150. It's not like we're selling a $10,000 handbag. But I think what that T shirt represents the lifestyle and the world that we have built.

[Imran Ahmed]

So interesting, because I was just thinking as you were talking there that there's certain people who'll never be able to afford that $10,000 handbag. But because you've created this world where the $150 sweatshirt sits alongside the jet set trips to the south of France. In a way, that sweatshirt is part of that world. And by buying that sweatshirt, it's like your way of or someone's way of getting a little piece of that world that's the first thing. The second thing is for a long time now, people have been talking about high, low aesthetics. Once upon a time there was a universe of brands that sat at the top and then there's a universe of brands that sat at the bottom. And the two never met. They didn't mix together. But now the way a lot of people live is they go to Uniqlo for their T shirts and they go, I don't know, Celine for their jeans. You know, so in a way it's that kind of high, low lifestyle as well.

[Emily Oberg]

Totally. It's like the combination, I think the combination is what's so nice. Like, I think if you see someone in like a head to toe Runway look, it looks ridiculous. But you know, someone with style who combines that with like a $5 Hanes T shirt or like a vintage pair of denim or like a basic pair of sneakers and just like elevates like and adds a Chanel jacket or something. It's, it's so much more interesting.

[Imran Ahmed]

I think it's the ultimate form of taste really. We'll be right back with more on the BoF podcast.

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[Imran Ahmed]

So you launch the brand, it blows up during COVID you open a store, the business is growing. And now you have to think about category expansion. If you really want to build a world, it can't just be about clothes. If you want to have a store that feels interesting, it can't just be about merch, to use your word. How do you think about which categories to go into and to kind of almost earn the right to move into new categories?

[Emily Oberg]

For me, I think about what makes sense for the brand and what it's so personal to me. It's so like, it's who I am. So I make things one, that I want and that I love and two, that I feel if I were a consumer from the outside looking in, would I feel that this makes sense or is it kind of like a money grab? And I think everything for us feels very organic and feels like something like the sporting rich girl. What would she wear and want? That's what I always think.

[Imran Ahmed]

So the sporty and rich girl, what would she wear and want beyond clothes? What was your first category and then how did you kind of layer on things from there?

[Emily Oberg]

I'm obsessed with working out and tennis and pilates and fitness and health and all that. So for me, the natural progression was just like sportswear, true sportswear, activewear, tennis skirts, stuff you wear on the court, stuff you wear to the gym. That just made sense and was something that I wanted for myself. And so that's a big part of our business. And then it just became more and more like, okay, in winter, what do you want? You want a cashmere set, you want a nice puffer jacket, you want a nice cashmere coat. And I think all these little things, they just slowly we've introduced them and kind of tested them. We still test a lot of things.

[Imran Ahmed]

And we see what works and what's working.

[Emily Oberg]

Everything. No, everything's working. The biggest part of our business is still the fleece and the merch. So I want to get away from that. And we've done really well with the knitwear and the outerwear, but I think it's just about exposing people to it more. We just started all that stuff about, like, maybe two, three years ago. So every season we do it a little bit more, A little bit more, A little bit more, and just like, slowly build that up.

[Imran Ahmed]

But you've also done stuff outside of clothing. Right. So you. I know recently you moved into sexual wellness.

[Emily Oberg]

That's a different brand.

[Imran Ahmed]

Which is Complete. Well, it's a different brand, but it's still.

[Emily Oberg]

It's still me.

[Imran Ahmed]

It's still you. And is it available in the store? No, it's not.

[Emily Oberg]

It's totally separate.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

Well, we'll talk about that in a minute. But are there other things that you launched under the sporty and rich brand that aren't clothes?

[Emily Oberg]

I mean, we have, like, eyewear, accessories. We have some bags. We did leather goods and just little accessories. But I think it's kind of all merch in my mind. And my goal is to kind of create what supreme did, which I think what they did best was people just want it because it says Supreme. They don't necessarily care what it is. I mean, they literally made a brick that had supreme embossed, and people wanted it because it says Supreme. And that's just the power of a brand. It's even Chanel is this way. They make paddleboards and, like, tennis balls that are $1,000. But people want it because it's nothing special. There's nothing different between a Chanel tennis ball and a Wilson tennis ball.

[Imran Ahmed]

Except the branding.

[Emily Oberg]

Exactly. And that's like, the power of brand is so interesting to me.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay, so then let's talk about the non sporty and rich categories, like supplements and sexual wellness. I was reading some stuff about you earlier, and someone kind of compared you to Gwyneth Paltrow.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

And, you know, how do you feel about that comparison? And the goop thing is that. Cause she's, you know, Gwyneth's built a world as well, and she's moved into the wellness space as well. Also sexual wellness. Like, she's done it all kind of under goop. Like, you've decided. You've decided to launch them as different brands.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I don't Mind that comparison. I mean, she's an icon. She's a legend. She's great. I really admire her and what she's done. I feel what I'm doing is a little bit more.

[Imran Ahmed]

More.

[Emily Oberg]

I guess I would say more in the fashion space, and she's more in the wellness space, though. I love wellness. That's kind of like the messaging of the brand. It's not necessarily like, in the products that we are making. I chose to separate Sporting Rich from my new business, which is Central Sport, because I just thought it would be a good idea to diversify and to just have different things. And it's not really the same identity. It's similar, but they're different.

[Imran Ahmed]

Is it the same customer, do you think?

[Emily Oberg]

Sporting Rich has a lot of male customers, and Sensual Sport, to me, is for, like, the cool woman.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay.

[Emily Oberg]

Less about the streetwear kind of hypebeast men, which is a big part of our customer for Sporty.

[Imran Ahmed]

Got it. And so when you're moving into these different categories, it's completely outside your realm of expertise. Right. Like wellness. Sexual wellness in particular. Like, how do you get smart on these kinds of categories and do something that can stand beside competitors in those markets that are probably experts at it?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I mean, it's just about educating yourself on the products and the landscape, I think is a big part of it. And also trying things yourself, like being a guinea pig for your own products, which I have always been since the beginning of Sporty. But again, I think that it's more about the brand and kind of the positioning of Sensual Sport and the images and the visual identity. To me, that's the more interesting part. The products are great, and I'm interested in that too, but it's much more interesting of, like, okay, how do we stand apart from these competitors? It's all about image. It has nothing to do with a product.

[Imran Ahmed]

Okay, so it's, in a way, Is it an adjacent world to Sporty?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

And how would you. You just told me about the sport. Sporty and Rich world. Like, how do you. How do you describe the Central sport world?

[Emily Oberg]

Central Sport, I mean, I just think it's like, there's no cool, beautiful sex brand that I feel is not tacky or cheesy. I feel they all kind of have, like, a stigma, and they're all, you know, it's like, lots of pink and purple and kind of, like, cliche. And I wanted Central Sport to be like, what is, like, a cool girl gonna buy if she wants to go buy a sex toy? Like, where is she gonna go? None of these brands appeal to that girl or guy. And, yeah, it's more just about, like, what would they be excited to buy? What would they not be maybe ashamed to buy? And what would they want on their nightstand that, like, looks cool with all of their nice jewelry and handbags and whatever it is.

[Imran Ahmed]

It's interesting because I think there's also a role for education around a category like sex toys or sexual wellness, because, one, there's the stigma you mentioned, but two, because of that stigma, a lot of people just don't know very much about that world. So in a way, you need to be able to introduce customers to a category that maybe they weren't drawn to before, didn't feel comfortable exploring before.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, education is a big part. I have a newsletter for Central Sport which is focused on this, I think, educating people on their own sexuality, on sex in general. Like, how we think of it, the ideas around it, obviously using sex toys and how to even do that. But, yeah, I think it's so odd to me that, like, in our society, it's like, sex sells and sex is everywhere you look. But to, like, go and actually buy a sex toy for a lot of people feels like, ew, I would never do that.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's like the most powerful marketing tool. Yeah, definitely a marketing tool that's used in fashion and beauty.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

So in a way, sex toy is a natural thing to be sold that way. So are you thinking about that in the way you market the products as well?

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I want to kind of market them in a way that feels like it's. You're buying, like, a luxury skincare product or accessory brand. That's kind of how I view it. And so, you know, the campaign and imagery and the identity, that's all more kind of editorial and feels a little bit more fashion and stylized than just focusing on, like, naked girls and, like, just not being so literal, I think, with it.

[Imran Ahmed]

Right. Okay. So what's the state of the overall business? So you're kind of running two brands now.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

Like, how are you juggling all of that? And what kind of team and support do you have in place to do everything that's required? Because I read that your business is doing more than $30 million a year in revenue. Like, that's a sizable thing.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah. So for Sporty, we have about 40 people, and they're all based in Paris. I'm the only one here, which makes it a little difficult sometimes.

[Imran Ahmed]

Lots of early morning phone calls, but.

[Emily Oberg]

I Have a really good team with that. The biggest thing I've learned is, like, you have to know what you don't know, and you just need to surround yourself with people who are the best at what you're not good at. So I'm not trying to do everything. I'm not trying to run finance. I'm not trying to be involved in logistics or the warehouse or in shipping or the online experience. It's like, I do what I know I'm good at, and then I hire people who are really good at those other elements, and I think that really helps, and that's the best way to run a brand. And I just. I work smart, not hard, so I don't necessarily spend a lot of hours. But when I do work, it's very efficient, and I get things done very easily and quickly, I think. So I'm able. It doesn't feel like I'm working crazy. It's actually very manageable. And Central Sport is still so small. It's just me and one other person right now. So that's like a passion side project. And let's see what.

[Imran Ahmed]

So it's your own side hustle from your main hustle?

[Emily Oberg]

Yes.

[Imran Ahmed]

It seems like you always want to have something that kind of you're doing for, like, the creative outlet and the thing that's new.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah, I think, you know, I love Sporting Rich, and it's really my baby, and I'm so attached to it and so involved, but I've always felt this way. And it's like once you start making money from the thing that you love and once it starts to turn into, like, a job, you don't love it the same way anymore. And you kind of look at it differently. Not that I look at it in a negative way, but I just want something that's, for me, like, that's what the magazine was. It was just like, it was totally selfish and for myself. And not something that. Where there's, like, pressure to sell or goals or targets or a team that you need. You need to worry about sustaining and supporting. And it's more just like, I'm doing this because I love it, and then we'll see if it turns into something.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah, I mean, I think that's a really wonderful sentiment because if you can have that outlet doing something just because you're excited about it without the pressure of having to meet any goals or targets or pay 40 employees, then you're in a way, creating an environment to incubate something and learn from something without pressure of everything that Comes with running a business.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah. I think the why is so important about why you do things. And with Sporting Rich, it was like, it wasn't because I wanted to build a successful brand or make a lot of money or any of that. It was more just like I wanted to do what I love, and I wanted to wake up every day and have that feeling of being excited and feeling fulfilled and having a purpose and just feeling passionate about it and being like, I'm proud of this and I love what I'm doing. I think that feeling is so. It's such a big part of, like, just feeling happy and feeling good in your own life and being content and being fulfilled. And I think a lot of people are missing that, and I feel, like, so lucky that I found that.

[Imran Ahmed]

So for someone who's looking for their why but doesn't know where to start.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

What do you advise? Because I meet so many people who are. They know they're not happy in their current situation, but they're not sure how they can transform their job, their environment, where they live, or whatever it is that's, you know, not contributing to the happiness they're looking for. Like, what advice do you have for people who are looking to find their why?

[Emily Oberg]

I think where people go wrong is they're so caught up in what does my family want me to do, what do my friends want me to do? What should I be doing? What do I want people to see me doing? And it's so external, where it's such an internal, personal. It should be such an internal, personal thing where it's like, who are you? Without these outside opinions, without all of these outside influences. You know, people see people with a brand and someone making millions and flying on private jets and having these crazy watches and fancy cars, and it's like, okay, you want that life, but do you actually want to have a brand? Like, is that actually something that would make you happy and you want to do? And I think most of the time they don't want that. They want the things that come with what it is that is responsible for those things. So I think it's more about, like, what would make you happy to wake up every single day and do forget about the money, forget about what anyone would think about it. And I think the happiest people have that. Like, my dad, I think, is by far one of the happiest people I know. And he's a mailman, and he loves it. And he's built his life in a way that's just like, he gets to do everything he loves. He mountain bikes, he fly fishes, he goes to the mountains every weekend. Like, he just loves what he does and he plays hockey. And I think there's. It's so important to just, like, build your life in a way that you want to wake up and just be excited to live it and not be like, ugh, I have to do this. Like, we don't have to do anything. So I think it's just about just. Yeah. What is it that you love?

[Imran Ahmed]

It's true. It's like also the trappings of success, the things you mentioned.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

The material things, the luxury goods, the fancy holidays. You know, there's a lot of people who have all of those things, and they don't have happiness either because they also don't have their why.

[Emily Oberg]

Exactly.

[Imran Ahmed]

And so finding that thing that for everyone it's different, you know, building the life that is right for you and the things that bring you joy and things that kind of speak to your inner purpose.

[Emily Oberg]

Yeah.

[Imran Ahmed]

Finding that is the key.

[Emily Oberg]

It's the key and it's not easy. So I do, you know, have a heart for people who are struggling with that. I think I found I was so lucky to find it quite young. But, yeah, I think, as you mentioned, some of the most successful people who have everything on the outside are some of the loneliest and unhappiest. And I think all those external factors kind of just add more noise and then it's harder to get out of it. Because I think if you're someone who makes millions and you have this lifestyle, you have the mansion, you have the cars, the vacations, like, you kind of feel you need to keep that up. So to give that all up and to find what you love, maybe it's being a plumber, you're not going to make the same salary, but maybe you'll be the happiest person that. You know.

[Imran Ahmed]

I think they call it the golden cage or something.

[Emily Oberg]

Right.

[Imran Ahmed]

Because you have everything that that's supposed to bring you happiness, but it doesn't. So looking ahead, you know, you've built this company from nothing. You're building another company. You're only. How old are you? 30?

[Emily Oberg]

31.

[Imran Ahmed]

31, yeah. You have a long life ahead of you. I mean, as you look to the future, what are you looking for?

[Emily Oberg]

I am very happy with everything that I've built, and I think I want to be challenged more. I definitely know the brand has potential to become bigger than it is. I mean, it's still quite small in my mind. There's still so Many people who have never heard of it, who don't know what it is. I think I would like to. You know, we've never raised money, we're self funded, we've never taken on any investors. And I think it might be time for that because you can only grow up to a certain point on your own. You know, we put the money back into the company and we, we do as much as we can with what we have. But if we want to expand retail and, you know, just get a new audience and grow online and all of that stuff costs money. And so I think that's what I would want to do in the next year is probably bring on an investor who could help take it to like a $300 million a year brand. And yeah, I think that would be a challenge for me because I know how to go from 0 to 30, but 30 to 300 is a different thing and it's a different beast. And so I would like to work with someone who knows how to do that and who could, yeah, help take us there.

[Imran Ahmed]

Well, I wish you the best of luck.

[Emily Oberg]

Thank you.

[Imran Ahmed]

It's always nice to meet a fellow Canadian I know and a fellow Calgarian. And in spite of some of the things that we mentioned at the beginning, I don't know about you, but I'm still really grateful for growing up in Calgary because it kept me.

[Emily Oberg]

Me too.

[Imran Ahmed]

I don't know, I just. I think it just really shaped me in ways that I think are really important to who I am today. So for any Calgarians listening out there, I still love Calgary.

[Emily Oberg]

It's beautiful. I love it. And it did give me a good perspective.

[Imran Ahmed]

Yeah. All right. Thank you, Amy.

[Emily Oberg]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Imran Ahmed]

The BoF podcast is edited and produced by Olivia Davies and Eric Brea.

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