We had the good fortune of connecting with Larz Broussard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Larz, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
It all started with the passion I have for men’s fashion, particularly streetwear, alongside needing some sort of creative outlet. I was sitting around the beginning of 2022, applying for jobs while scrolling on Tik Tok and thought to myself, “I could make videos like this.” After all, I had just finished my master’s program, and had a whole educational background in journalism, media communications, and video production. I figured it could also serve as a decent portfolio to reference for jobs, and the results have been my Tik Tok and Instagram channels creating video content, centered around streetwear, alongside my other interests of music and sports.

However, it didn’t start becoming a business until about a year or so into making videos. Initially, it was all trial and error, figuring out what style of videos I wanted to make, and overall just getting through that awkward/growing stage of the channel. Sometimes, I like to go back and rewatch those first several videos that I made. It makes me cringe because they were indeed trash, laugh because I remember thinking “Oh yeah, this gonna be the one to go viral” and it proceeded to get 200 views, and also be proud for how far I’ve come, how I’ve developed and honed my craft of creating content.

But yes, the business part came in once the brands started flooding my email for sponsorships, and of course once the income started hitting my bank account. The gifted collabs were, and still are fun for me, depending on what it is. I remember I used to say yes to any partnership, just because I felt like it made me and my channel seem more “verified”. But once the initial buzz wore off, alongside realizing that I was essentially creating free content without getting paid, I took a step back and took into account the value I had built for myself to share with these brands. This has resulted in treating my channel like a business, only putting my energy into collaborations that will have the best possible outcome for my platform.

The only thing I don’t like about the business aspect though? Taxes. I still haven’t gotten used to that, putting money to the side for tax season. I’m so used to all my paychecks having that taken care of already. I’d rather just not have to see how much in taxes I have to pay each year. But it is what it is.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I create video content on social media, primarily centered around men’s fashion, music, and sports. I genuinely believe that despite people’s similarities, everyone has their own individual story to share with the world, in whatever medium they choose to. My Tik Tok, Instagram, and YouTube channels are simply my takes on my own experiences regarding my three biggest passions.

I’m most proud of the multiple outcomes relating to the growth of my channels. Obviously, it’s nice to see your follower count, likes/comments, and all that increase over time, definitely not going to lie about that. But whenever I get some time to reflect on how far I’ve come, what I really think fondly of are the results of making my videos. People coming up to me, friends, family, and even strangers sometimes who recognize me from the videos, telling me how much a video helped them find their own style, or how they enjoyed one of my clothing recommendations, for example. Those affirmations make all the late nights of editing, or filming on days where you’re not feeling too hot, all worth it. Getting brand deals and sharing the products with my inner circle is a great feeling too. I get an excess of clothing, jewelry, accessories, etc., and gifting them to friends and family is a great feeling for me to share the wealth all around. One eats, we all eat. And it’s only going to get bigger. That’s what I’m excited for in the future.

Getting to this point was definitely not easy, to say the least. A big reason why I started this was to have some sort of online portfolio to show companies when applying for jobs. It still is that; it’s just now also turned into a second job. But getting it off the ground was tough. Like I mentioned earlier, the trial and error process of finding my own style of video was a grind. I didn’t make any money off it either for several months, so it was tough for me to even talk about it with others as a serious endeavor. Which, looking back, was a stupid thought on my part. I feel it was due to a combo of my own insecurities about it, alongside the negative societal view on the arts. But that’s a whole other conversation.

Regardless, the biggest thing I’ve learned from this whole process is that consistency will prevail over everything. Consistency will generate you finding a style and system you can grow from. Consistency will cultivate that comfortability after the initial awkward stage. Consistency will lead to making mistakes in which you can learn and bounce back from. Consistency really is key, and that can be applied to any facet of life.

I want people to know me as their trustworthy content creator homie who provides quality fashion, music, and sports content, where they can come to be informed and/or entertained. My story is not unlike many other people my age: just another young buck on my grind, trying to find my place in society after graduating college. I share my interests online, it relates to people, and we just take it from there. Nothing complex or over the top. I’ve always been a humble dude, and especially now, in an industry where you see a lot of people get big-headed just because they got some followers online, I continue to remind myself that I’m no different than anyone else. Still confident, FOSURE. Just humble as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To be honest, LA is so big that there’s no way we’re covering everything. But I’ll do my best.

Depending on what time of year it is, we’ll hit up a sporting event. If it’s in the Spring/Summer, we’ll hit up Dodger Stadium. Get there early so they can see the amazing view of downtown from atop the hill, eat some great food, and of course watch the Dodgers win. If it’s Fall/Winter, we’ll go to Crytpo.com Arena to watch the Lakers. We’re spoiled with so many sports teams in LA, it’d be foul to not take them to at least one game.

In that same respect, the amount of concert venues we have here is insane. I remember when I was in college, at UC Irvine, the closet live music venue was The Observatory in Santa Ana. It was where I saw several artists, and don’t get me wrong, it was fun! But coming back to LA, knowing that we have the Hollywood Palladium, YouTube Theater, The NOVO, The Echo, and that’s only naming the smaller venues! Don’t even get me started with the arenas or even SoFi Stadium. We’re hitting up a concert as well, no questions asked.

Now that’ll probably take up the majority of the budget, so to save some money leftover for food/shopping, we’ll do some free stuff, mainly the beach and a hike. I like Bruce’s Beach in Manhattan Beach. Dockweiler works too. For the hike, we can be basic and go to Griffith Park. It’s a solid hike, and the option to do the Hollywood sign is there.

For food, we can go to KTown for an AYCE KBBQ, probably Road to Seoul. That place is fire. We could also just pull up to Sawtelle and have options galore. CoCo Ichibanya and Marugame Udon on the same block is crazy. We can get boba on the way back too at Sunright, or if I feel like driving a bit, we’ll hit 7 Leaves in Gardena. They’re also not allowed to leave until we hit up Porto’s Bakery. We’ll be putting in a mobile order as well to avoid the line.

Finally, for shopping, I’ll be taking them to Uniqlo. They just built a new one in Culver City which is really nice, but the Santa Monica one is cool too. If they wanna go more downtown, we can hit up Stussy, Undefeated, and find our way to The Grove as well. I think Kith is not too far from there too. That’s for name brand stuff though. You can find everything you need at Uniqlo.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I suppose I have quite a few shoutouts to give then. Let’s get to it!

I wouldn’t be into fashion if it wasn’t for the homie Jordan. We met back in the freshman dorms in 2015 and he was always the flyest dude in our hall. The more you kick it with someone with a good fashion sense, the more it rubs off on you because you don’t want to look like a bum next to someone fitted. Honestly, it wouldn’t even be him teaching me things; sometimes it was just what he was wearing, I would go search up the piece, find out about the brand, and in turn, find other online fashion creators (ex. Richie Le, Drew Joiner) to educate myself more and define my own style. Prior to this, my uniform was strictly a Nike tee, Nike shorts, Nike socks, and either some Vans or some basketball shoes (take a guess from what brand). Fast forward to now, where fashion has exploded into this huge niche of creators, I like to think of myself as just other guy within the fashion zeitgeist. But yeah, shoutout Jordan for getting me on my fashion vibe because otherwise I probably wouldn’t be making content about clothes.

Jordan’s not the only friend deserving of credit. We’re both a part of a solid friend group that I’m blessed to have. We call ourselves the “Travis Scott Listening Party” (interpret that name however you’d like). We’re a group of friends that have been knowing each other for almost a decade, some longer than that. Of course they engage in the videos and all that, but the real, authentic friendship they’ve given me through the years fuels my confidence, not only in front of the camera, but also just in life. We’ve been through it all, we go to all the music festivals together, and in short, life is just better with the homies around.

A huge amount of credit also goes out to my family. My parents have always been supportive of everything that I do in life. A lot of people my age go through situations where their parents force a career upon them for a multitude of reasons, resulting in the child being very unhappy and causing a rift in their relationship with their parents. I’m very blessed to say that hasn’t been my case, and I am forever grateful that my Mom and Dad have been there for every life occasion and continue to ride with me. Same thing goes for my little brother, Bryce. He shares all my posts, and even shows my parents my videos. It got to a point where he just set up Tik Tok accounts for my parents to watch them on their own phones. It’s little things like that that go a long way and help you remember that no matter how “big” you get online, nothing could ever replace a genuine connection like that, specifically my family for me.

Finally, the best for last. This one goes out to my girlfriend, Kelley. She keeps me sane and supports me unconditionally. We have built an amazing life together over the past few years, including living together, where she has a front row seat to watching the production of all my videos. She puts up with all my outtakes, taking up half the room with my ring lights and overall setup, but most importantly, reminds me whenever I’m doubting myself, that you can only control what you can control, alongside the fact that I’ve come this far, so who’s to say I can’t go farther? And I’ll always love her for that.

Website: https://larzbroussard.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larzagna/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larz-broussard/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@larzagna

Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@larzagna Email: larzbroussard@gmail.com

Image Credits
Cover photo: Gabe Lopez

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