Influencers turned designers: Interview with Zack Lugo
A very popular model, streamer and now designer, with more than a million followers on Instagram, TikTok and Youtube where he loves sharing videos. He started it all for fun and being so spontaneous and real is what helped him build a true following. Zack Lugo has never changed his mind and continues to do only what he likes, certain that he will also help to stay on top. And what he likes is using social media to send a message of love, thinking about how full of hate they are now.
‘Hate Is Ugly’ is precisely his motto, which we can also find on his recently released t-shirts. We talked with him about how he got what he has, his growth and his future plans in this exclusive interview.
Your notoriety came straight from social media. You certainly must have a good relationship with the “digital world”. How did it all start?
I started off just doing it for fun with my friends or my mom. Then as I started to gain a following, I realized that this could be something that I could make a career out of. I never had one viral video, it was always a slow build with working hard and enjoying myself while I did it.
Do you have any advice for guys of your age who are approaching this type of business?
Stay true to yourself, don’t feel like you have to post what everybody else is doing or thinking is “cool”. Just do what you love.
You grew up in a small town, before work took you to the hectic life of Los Angeles. Is there something you lack in your everyday life from before? Or are you super forward?
I always tell my friends and family, my life started when I moved to LA. I finally got to experience the things I always wanted to, and give back to my friends and family back home. It can be hectic, but that just means I’m busy, and busy is good.
If you could look forward and make a wish how would you see yourself? A singer, an established actor, a supermodel, or none of that?
I wish I could be a professional skateboarder, but it’s so hard nowadays because little kids are ripping now. In the meantime, I am focused on modeling currently.
You recently launched your own streetwear clothing line, Runaway Kid Apparel. It’s awesome for a guy your age. Do you want to tell us about the birth of the project?
It was a long, hard, thought-out process throughout the year deciding on the design of the split tee, and I’m so happy with the way it turned out. I knew I always wanted to do a split tee because it was something that no one else did.
“Hate Is Ugly” is a motto you have chosen to use on the first item that debuted in the line. It is certainly a phrase that hides a deep meaning.
I had a goal to drop my own clothing line since I was young. So Runaway Kid means a lot to me. There was a lot of thought behind the first line “hate is ugly”. The meaning behind this line is that everyone’s beautiful and hate is ugly. With social media there is so much hate going around and the birth of cancel culture. I wanted to inspire others to be proud of who they are and spread love not hate.
How do you think social media can help today’s youth (tomorrow’s adults) become more aware? We think of important issues such as racism, bullying, sustainability for example.
I think it’s a very easy and fast way to educate the youth on all these important topics. The more people with a platform that spread light to these important topics, the more people will understand. Social media allows people to see different perspectives and gather more information than ever before.
Do you have any projects in the pipeline regarding your brand? Would you like to expand your horizons?
With my current clothing line, we will be doing another drop this spring which I am really excited about. I am also excited about modeling. Something others don’t know is that I have a brand called zackspokepacks which I stream on Twitch, and that is something I wanna grow and expand on as well.
