Today we’d like to introduce you to Sebastian La Rosa.
Hi Sebastian, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a 21 years old college senior at Florida Atlantic University and I created wizardfc earlier this year. I’ve always had a passion for art and soccer, and at the time of wizardfc’s inception, I had found myself at a point in my life where I wanted to put some of my creations out there. Originally, wizardfc was meant to be a niche apparel store with a few items, but a lot of my friends kept requesting different pieces so I ended up expanding the store to over twenty pieces from just five. I built a small online community from scratch and didn’t do any marketing, I just made the designs and put it on clothes and that made me happy. Seeing people wear my designs in public still catches me off guard because it means a lot to me that they found something within wizardfc that really resonated with them. My first and only collections sold out within six months and I began turning wizardfc into a community, a football club that doesn’t necessarily play any matches, but a community to share art and talk about soccer. I don’t like to categorize what wizardfc is because it can be anything it wants to be. It’s a living, breathing animal so we’re not really a brand, and we’re not really a club either, and I have been experimenting with how I can shape wizardfc into something beautiful. We launched in January 2021 and I’m just having fun with it. Today, I am deeply invested in this fall semester at school. I get my bachelor’s degree in business management soon then I’ll begin an MBA program in sport management so I have put wizardfc to the side until my next collection in 2022 which is already completed.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Wizardfc has never been about making money or becoming a fashion designer. I have made it pretty clear that I have no interest in either of those paths because I want wizardfc to be a warm place to create. And because of this, the road has been far from smooth. Running a brand can get expensive even if you sell out your inventory, and having to abruptly stop because of school or because I’m facing an artistic block can hurt the momentum that this club was gaining. There have been a few moments that made me want to quit altogether because I had seen most of my objectives come to life, but whenever I get back into my designing bag, I get so excited and I end up doing like ten designs in one night. But without a doubt, the biggest challenge has been the constant need to create content. It is very draining to try to keep a community engaged on Instagram when it’s just you and your phone. Lately, I simply have been too busy to create new posts or to research fresh content that isn’t recycled, so I take mental health breaks pretty often.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a college senior, I near a point in my life that combines my passionate aspirations with my professional ambitions. There are few things I will ever budge on, and my happiness/peace of mind are non-negotiable. As a business major, I could easily follow a career path that might make me more money while I see the light within me fade away, and so instead I keep my dreams close to my heart and I focus on my passion for football as well as my education. I think I’ve found a beautiful balance by pursuing a master’s degree in sports management because I can emerge myself into this world I’m so passionate about. I am most proud of keeping my integrity through this madness of growing up, and this is thanks to my family who has kept me grounded through years of experiences they’ve faced when they were my age. Sometimes it’s hard not to fold but you just have to keep moving forward.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Having a stoic resolve/approach to life’s difficult moments has been important for my life so far. We often find ourselves in combative situations of tension or stress with reactionary interactions that only complicate things. I have been very disciplined with what I let affect me. I like to take logical deductions to any given situation because this allows me to see everything clearly. Sometimes we get jaded with too much information or with too many emotions evolved. Your life becomes so much easier whenever you choose the non-emotional response to any given situation, so I always try to take some time to reflect on what I can. Excluding most external factors, nobody is in control of your peace but you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/wizard.fc/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sebastianxlarosa/
