Meet Mark Wilkins: VRTIGO: Design Director

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

Hi Mark, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
Some advice I always heard is that being a business owner and entrepreneur is easy all you gotta do is stick to the script. That’s a lie. Those are people that want you to fail.

What script?

You got to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone. Know what it’s like to be broke for a while. Know what it’s like to fail. Know what it’s like to lose some friends and family. You will have some sleepless nights. It’s ok long as you keep going.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The ability to take risk, most brands or companies care too much what people think and cater to that. I was raised to be a risk taker.

If something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not on your side. The biggest risk is not taking a risk at all

Don’t just think outside the box. Live outside the box.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It depends on who’s visiting. I’m a laid back person when it comes to going out. Most of the time i’m with my family (wife and kids)

But I’ll keep it general.

For Food, I’d have to hit Dave’s Hot Chicken for sure, don’t @ me.

Then do some sneaker shopping:

Roundtwo, CoolkicksLA or BannedLA might hit all 3.

For drinks, I’m going Wild Living Foods getting the mint chocolate chip shake. Best shakes ever made.

It would Literally be like this all day.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My brother , Chris Ngo at the Leverage Showroom. He has been a mentor and inspiration for me for about 8 years.

How he beat the odds coming from Santa Ana. Being a Minority, being a real husband a real father to a family of 4.

He has mastered the fashion wholesale world owning and partnering with multiple brands. He has the blueprint to build success in this space. He’s always been a open book to young people, willing to give knowledge when and where possible.

Website: www.vrtigo.red

Instagram: @markwilkins22

Twitter: @markwilkins22

Image Credits
Darryl Simms is the photographer