The #StayFresh Roundtable: Episode 3

We’re back with a new episode of The #StayFresh Roundtable!

On the latest episode, host CJ Johnson is joined by VOLV CEO and founder Brent Totty and travel and lifestyle content creator Nica Lina (aka Danica Cadelina). The thoughtful trio cover a good amount of ground, from the challenging solitude of entrepreneurship in a pandemic to the soul-nourishing joys of reading to the eternal debate behind shoes that separate the big toe from the rest of the toes.

They also examine, discuss, and provide style tips and fashion insight when it comes to putting together good outfits across the spectrum, from prioritizing comfort to accessorizing in a way that’s unique to your personality.

It's just a treat of a half-hour, really — mellow, lively, and honest — as if you're listening to three friends catch up after time away from each other, with one of them loosely playing moderator. We’ve included a few highlights below.

Bringing Sustainability Into the Fashion World

With Fresh Clean Tees recently partnering with the Surfrider Foundation, launching the sustainability initiative Fresh Clean Tees for Fresh Clean Seas, and committing to $250k in annual donations to ocean protection efforts, it's no surprise that sustainability was the first topic to be unpacked at the table. The fashion industry is one of the world’s largest polluters and global clothing production has doubled since 2000, so sustainability in the world of apparel is desperately needed.

Totty: “I'll say it wasn't very important to me originally and ultimately where my first exposure came was starting to do some thrifting, where I started to realize there was less of a carbon footprint if you’re going out and buying things that were previously purchased before. That was really the first exposure that I had to that kind of idea, and then now I’m starting to look more into what truly is the footprint of the types of clothing that I’m making. Because I was cheap before. I was like, fast fashion, anything that was like five or six bucks, I’m hitting H&M and so that was good enough for me; wear it a few times, throw it away.”

Lina: “For me, I’m all about quality over quantity, so I don’t really care about the price. I”m looking at how long I’m going to have it for.”

Properly Incorporating Accessories

Lina: "I like accessories, but very minimal. For me, it's a necklace, but a cute, little, dainty one."

Totty: "Fashion dos for guys, I think, is just knowing what your style is, knowing what you feel comfortable in.” // “You have to have a little bit of flair, something that you’re proud of.” // “[Number one style accessory to have is] three nice watches. I think you don’t need anymore than three. I would say that you would want to be able to swap out the bands too, so they can actually match your outfit. That’s another thing that I feel like a lot of people don’t do."

The Many Ways to Style Fresh Clean Tees

Toward the end, the men at the roundtable recount how key the bottom half is to matching their Fresh Clean Tees’ top half — and that comfort and style are sometimes one in the same these days.

Totty: "With a Fresh Clean Tee, I would absolutely go with a nice pair of fitted, tapered jeans, maybe some nice Chelsea boots. And then if it's a little bit more casual, then it's probably some well-fitted khakis and some Vans. That's pretty much all you'll ever catch me in."

Johnson: "A lot of times that I'm wearing [a black crew neck t-shirt from Fresh Clean Tees], I don't even really wear jeans that much anymore. It’s like fitted pants. Yeah, that's it actually...and sweats.”

Totty: “I’m just glad that joggers are cool now.”

Johnson: “Yeah, that’s what I mean!”

Totty: “You can wear stretchy joggers — again, coming back to the comfort thing — and get away with it and it’s like it can be intentional and you’re not just wearing the same thing you got out of bed in.”

Making Each Day Count

Lina: "I look up to Ben Baller a lot, and something that he says that has always stuck in my head was ‘This is not your practice life’ So make every day just super meaningful. Do something that’ll get you closer to your goal, or just do something that you’re super passionate about. So, for me, it’s that every day has to mean something.”

Johnson: “Not ending days with failure. I always want to make sure I get a win before I go to sleep, before I rest my head. How do I do that? Anything. If it’s personal — big, small — I just say to myself, you know, what did you do today that got you closer to that level of success and happiness that you’re aiming for? Like, did you accomplish a goal? Did you accomplish a challenge? And I want to make sure that when I go to bed, something has been accomplished. Something, even if it’s an incremental step, is moving forward in the right way.”

Totty: “Lead with passion. You have to find what makes you tick. You have to find what ultimately, like, when you wake up in the morning, what’s the first thing that you think about? If that’s not driving you to make the next step and the next step after that, the likelihood that you’re going to be happy in a few years is pretty low. So if you can find whatever that is, and, I always try to tell people too, you don’t have to be right. You can just be pursuing a passion. If it doesn’t work out, that’s fine. You’re still making strides. So pursue passion. Make sure that’s at the core of whatever it is that you’re doing and just be happy.”

If you enjoyed this roundtable, we have more! Watch our first episode with host CJ Johnson welcoming content creator/influencer John Baptist, social media counselor Bret Hoffer, and hairstylist/model Graham Nation, or check out our second episode with CJ Johnson chatting with filmmaker and photographer Kyle Meeks, creative producer Grant Yoshino, and our very own Fresh Clean Tees co-founder Matthew Parvis.

— Jake Kilroy