Meet Michael Marlowe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Marlowe. 

Hi Michael, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I started out working in fashion as a Cutter for the runway collections of Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, and Alexander McQueen. Then I shifted to more commercial clothing, working as a Mass Cutter for Hugo Boss Tailored suiting for several years. After 9 years in fashion, I decided to step away and began digital marketing for companies like BarkBox, UFC, Westgate Hotels, and more. Since the business has grown, I have been able to return to more creative pursuits without a corporate bottom-line influencing the decisions, which has allowed me to begin to release music last year, and publish my first book – Blood & Bleach – this year (available at Barnes & Noble and online through Amazon in the US). 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t ever been a smooth road, and if you are trying to forge your own path or be creative it never will be. The greatest challenges lead to the greatest rewards, but they also demand the greatest sacrifice. You actually have to take the risk to push yourself. The side business won’t ever become the main business until you quit your job and force yourself to have to eat off of it. Your album won’t ever pop until you tour playing free shows across the country, sleeping in your car, and eating ramen. Everyone wants success, to be known, and to be influential – but hardly anyone is willing to put in the time, effort, and sacrifice it takes to get there. It’s also about consistency. Most people can commit to anything for 2 weeks, but to be successful you have to keep that consistency for years. I didn’t know anything about fashion when I decided I wanted to be a pattern cutter. I googled “world’s best fashion schools”, made a portfolio, and applied. Getting in was just step one, I clawed for every inch of knowledge and skill along the way. I was not the most skilled or most talented person in the room. I rarely am. But I am often the most willing to risk and try and that’s why I got where I did. I was not the ideal candidate to cut for big global brands, but I proved through consistent work that I was. 

When I switched to marketing, I learned how to do Google Ads off of YouTube. No formal training at all, but I proved to big national companies that I could deliver results. 

I don’t have the best vocabulary, but I began writing anyway and am now a published author. I hadn’t picked up an instrument in 15 years but I wanted to make music and made it happen anyway. 

You will always struggle. Don’t run from it. Embrace it. In the harshest struggle you’ll find the greatest glory. We can see goals, visions, and aspirations; but we must also understand risk is the vehicle to get there. Fail a lot. Over and over until you’re immune to it and once you realize it’s not that bad you can keep pressing on anyway. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Currently, I am focused on writing and music. I am most known for my career in fashion, and although I will not rule out a return sometime in the future, it’s not what I am most passionate about at the moment. I suppose I am currently most proud of the publication of my first book in August – Blood & Beach. Not because it is the work, I am most proud of – it’s not – but that the publishing process took roughly 7 years and I saw it through. Now it has opened plenty of other writing doors for me that previously weren’t available. 

Beyond that, I am not most proud of any creative work in particular, any business, or any accomplishment. I am most proud of being willing to risk and go after what I want. This is also what separates me from others. Everyone has a “dream”, but most people are cowards. A lot of talking, a lot of hot air, but when the time comes to struggle and sacrifice, they are nowhere to be seen. 

They want glory without ever tasting victory because they are too afraid of the battle and run for comfort or complacency when the battle horn sounds. 

I will never be the most successful writer, fashion designer, musician, or whatever else. It doesn’t matter. 

Success to me is not monetary wealth or status, it is the act of actually risking for what you want to do and seeing it through. 

What matters most to you? Why?
Honesty & resilience. You can’t create beautiful things if you are dishonest, and you will get nowhere if you can’t find the strength to get up after your thousandth failure. Why do you think Hollywood can only churn out remakes, reimagining, or spin-offs? They’ve sold for the cheapest production and cheapest quality for the maximum profit. This is dishonest, and it bombs every time. Sure, everyone might see something once, but there hasn’t been a classic in years. They don’t start with a great story and take the time to make it beautiful, they start with a list of movie “must-haves” (i.e.. car chase, explosion, black female lead, white male villain, LGBTQ+ relationship, current political allegory, 4th wall breaks, sarcastic one-liners, etc.) and cram them into a 2hr mess while trying to fit a story around it. Dishonesty might get you initial results, but you will lose people forever once they realize how bankrupt of a person you are. 

Resilience, because it’s the only thing you are truly in control of. You cannot make yourself successful, you can’t influence whether or not you get picked vs. someone else. All you can do is the best you can with what you can control. Which is put in the risk, put in the time, and chase the opportunity. 

I don’t care if no one ever reads anything I write, or if anyone ever listens to a song I make, or ever wears a piece of clothing I made again – that’s not why I do it. All I care about is that I did it, I took the risk, put in the effort, and saw it through. The rest isn’t up to me, and I can die happy knowing I chased everything I ever wanted and did what I could to make them happen. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://spicymarlowe.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spicymarlowe/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/track/5VqyMHzAQgtuieZZ0683f0?si=8a13cd708cc34c78

Image Credits
Josh Pruitt
Anetta Odnoralova