Luke Carson bridges basketball courts and design studios, carrying forward a creative legacy while carving his own path. As the son of legendary designer David Carson, Luke spent his early years shooting hoops rather than studying typography—until a Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis at 18 forced him to confront life, death, and purpose. During chemotherapy on his 19th birthday, he improved his college test scores by 400 points to reach his dream film school at Chapman University.~

Now at 27, Luke represents his father's work, curating brand partnerships that honor authentic creative expression over commercial convenience. From Stüssy collections that sold out in two hours to intricate Rapha cycling collaborations featuring custom Factor bikes, Luke's curatorial eye reflects his New York upbringing—where street culture, film photography, and raw documentary storytelling shaped his aesthetic sensibilities.

His approach to life mirrors his father's design philosophy: trust your intuition, embrace imperfection, and never stop moving. His mantra combines hope with action, curiosity with discipline, and creative passion with business savvy—proving that the Carson legacy isn't just about breaking design rules, but about living authentically and fearlessly.

Key Takeaways

• Adversity reveals your priorities: Luke's cancer diagnosis at 18 taught him that small daily wins matter more than distant goals when you're struggling to survive
• Trust your creative intuition: Growing up around David Carson's work instilled the belief that gut instinct matters more than formal rules or external validation
• Experiences outweigh possessions: Luke consistently chooses travel, basketball games, and cultural immersion over material purchases—a philosophy born from understanding life's fragility
• Authentic partnerships beat forced collaborations: Successful brand work requires genuine connection and cultural fit, not just big names partnering with big names for visibility
• Document your journey relentlessly: From iPhone photos to film photography, Luke creates an endless archive that informs his creative direction and preserves meaningful moments
• Balance heritage with originality: Working with his father taught Luke how to honor a creative legacy while bringing his own perspective and contemporary cultural awareness
• Hope requires action: The most important lesson from cancer—and from climate activism—is that hope alone isn't enough without consistent follow-through
• Stay levelheaded through extremes: Learning not to ride highs too high or lows too low creates sustainable momentum through both success and setback
• Curiosity opens unexpected doors: Luke's diverse interests in film, basketball, furniture, and street culture create unique intersection points that fuel creative opportunities
• New York confidence comes from community: Growing up surrounded by artists, designers, and passionate people in NYC

Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic

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 [00:00:00] 

Luke: The way I am, the way I think what attracts me, what doesn't, attract me. A big thing he always teaches is trusting your intuition, your gut.

he never had schooling. There were no rules to break. It just is what made sense to him and communicated. And, you know, as you know, it came with a lot of hate mail in the early days. It came with a lot of, what is this crap? But he never, never second guessed himself. And I think that's, an approach that I've always found useful for my life is trusting my gut. Take that risky trip without knowing where you're going. buy those jeans that you found in Japan, even though they're a little out of budget because you really believe in the brand and the person making them. make those are smaller decisions, but again, that intuition aspect. 

Welcome to the [00:01:00] Daring Creativity Podcast, a show about daring to forever explore creativity that isn't about chasing shiny perfection. It's about showing up with all your doubts and imperfections and making them count. It's about becoming more of who you already are. My name is Radim Malinic I'm a designer, author, and eternally curious human being.

 I am talking to a broad range of guests who share their stories of small actions that sparked lifetime discoveries, taking one step towards the thing that made them feel most alive. 

 Let me begin this episode with a question. Are you ready to discover what happens when you dare to create? 

Today I am speaking with Luke Carson, a creative producer and a brand strategist who represents his father legendary graphic designer David Carson, while forging his own path at the intersection of design, [00:02:00] sport, and culture, His work involves curating authentic brand partnerships that always prioritize genuine creative connection over commercial convenience.

In this conversation Luke discusses how survive and Hodgkin's life firm at 18 taught him how to find beauty in struggle, and how basketball court became his therapy and community. He also opens up about a challenge of working with family while maintaining creative independence, while he chooses travel experiences over material possessions and how his New York upbringing shaped his instinct for what makes culturally relevant collaborations work.

It's my pleasure to share with you my conversation with Luke Carson. 

Radim: Hey, Luke, welcome to the show. How are you doing today?

Luke: Doing well. Thank you so much, Adam. Thanks for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

Radim: likewise. I think we'll have a lot to unpack today because of what you do, who you are, where you grew up. your short career so far [00:03:00] is already packed with so many things that, We can share with my listeners. But for those who may have never heard of Luke Carson, how would you introduce yourself and what you do?

Luke: yeah, definitely. thanks again for having me. It means a lot. it has been a short career thus far, just getting started. originally I actually studied film at Chapman University in Southern California,and actually one of those courses that I took towards the end of my senior year was called Agency Managers.

And we got to learn in shadow a bunch of agents and managers and more specifically the Hollywood scene from a movie, from actors and directors, you name it, and representing those specific talents. but it really struck a chord with me. And then specifically I was always really fascinated with my upbringing around not only New York City and growing up here in Manhattan, playing basketball at a high level. I played literally all throughout my life, played at the collegiate level for a little bit as well, and it's still a big part of my day to day. Even as of last night I was playing at the Nike headquarters. uh, it's a big part [00:04:00] of my routine and it's opened a lot of doors up for me in terms of the people I've met. and so actually from that course in itself, the first gig that I landed outta school was to work for CAA, the town agency, to potentially become like a basketball agent down the road. but it didn't really make a lot of sense out of school, because I was self-sufficient, didn't have a ton of money in the bank account. And, I don't know how much you know about the town agency role, but when you're an entry level, they call it the mail room and there's really no money to be had and it's an absolute grind for years before you can even see a penny. And I don't have the luxury, or I didn't have the luxury of just like stepping into a trust fund or, you know, having endless money to just hit my bank account the second I graduated and rent in LA is expensive.

So I just figured out other ways to build a more steady income. And then, in 2022, December, I wanna say is when I approached my father, David Carson. [00:05:00] The legendary designer to come on board and help him with special collaborations, brand partnerships, ideally get him into arts and residency programs, which we're doing a lot of, this fall and early next year. because again, he sees himself more of a fine artist, as do a lot of his fans. And so that's really fun avenue. And so that was kind of my schooling and my training from a career perspective, was learning how to navigate, a father son relationship, and also just being a fan of the work and having a good understanding of, culturally what would be a good fit at that point in early 2023 all the way up until now and, and, and moving forward in 2026, just culturally having a good pulse on the brands and just people that make sense for his career. so that's been a really fun challenge and I think is unique to, my upbringing, specifically growing up in New York City and then walking this fine line of, Fashion and just growing up around artists, my, whole family is full of professional artists and graphic designer, so 

Radim: This is [00:06:00] fascinating. I've got my first question and

I wanna know about basketball what was it like? the love for the game, at what point did you know, I'm gonna be shooting hoops for quite a while.

Luke: I have videos actually just pulled one up pretty recently and posted across my Instagram, but, it was just me when I was about. Four or five years old. we'd actually just relocated outside of, New York when nine 11 happened and we moved to a place called, Isla Palms, which is in South Carolina and outside of Charleston specifically. so my mom was down there, my dad was down there. My sister and I were down there. And I found this amazing footage of me playing back then, which was definitely an early sign that I was pretty hooked. but I do remember that Eureka moment. I think it was pretty evident by fourth or fifth grade that I clearly could play.

thanks to my dad. He put me in the LeBron James camp. So I played at the LeBron James camp and won, best shooter award as was a 10-year-old, which was pretty ridiculous. And then the next year at 11, I won the MVP of the camp for my age bracket, which was like a two year age bracket.

And so [00:07:00] that's where things started to really click. I think there was one other story where I won an MVP at a camp in South Carolina a few years earlier than that when I was probably eight or eight or nine. And my dad was absolutely stunned because he didn't expect me to get a, an award because all the names had been written off and he didn't think that MVP was even left because he just forgot about it.

And then he was like, wait a minute, my son's about to win this. So that was a cool first interaction too. and a long-winded answer to say, actually sixth grade, so let's say when I was about 12 years old is when I decided to drop track and field. played one year of football as a sixth grader, dropped everything that was not basketball and just pursued that full time.

 so yeah, that was a big part of it.

Radim: I always say I do have the habit of asking people about their beginnings, about their families, and as you said, your dad is David Carson, and we spent most of this conversation so far talking about your basketball and obviously your track and field and all of that stuff, because obviously you grew up around someone who's been such a [00:08:00] prolific and, and important person in, in the graphic design history of this, of this planet.

Really. What was your way of being inspired by this?did you ever feel the pull from a younger age into being sort of working into exploring creativity because it's, so far, it sounds more like you spend more time running around getting sweaty and rubbing hoops.

Luke: yeah, definitely. I think, I've always been the curious one. I've always admired, film photography. I've been shooting on a contact C two for quite a while. I think my general curiosity. As a youth bled into my career and my day-to-day now, and it's really interesting, at my age of 27, spending time with my dad or spending time with my mom, and I noticed the same tendencies that we all have when it comes to signage on the streets, typography on a, the side of a building or a jersey or for an album cover. and just that childlike curiosity has like always been within me. I've always liked [00:09:00] specific teams from a very early age because of their jersey designs, the color palettes and things of that sort. And I think that's always stood out to me. I think I have old Instagram accounts that I made for myself of just numbers of typography, of numbers that I liked throughout New York City signage, whether that's on a garbage can or, on someone's front door.

So I think it's just always been in, tandem, and growing up in New York Especially with my mom specifically too. I mean, she has such a good eye. she's more of an iPhone photographer day to day, but she's just always going above and beyond to take that quick shot, very abstract image of a basketball dribbling, people interacting in New York City.

I mean, she just always caught such raw footage of our life growing up in New York that, I think it just was ingrained in my DNA, 

 Um, you mentioned your mom. what does she do? Was she creative? Yeah. She's a graph designer. She actually submitted two different types of [00:10:00] fonts that were used in Regu and beach culture when she was still a university student. So she designed her own fonts that she made. One of one, when she was in her early twenties and just, off a whim, sent them to my father without expecting to ever hear back.

And he went on to use both fonts. And I'm not off the top of my head. I won't know the name of the two. but I just received, a magazine and it's called Idea Mag. And David did the cover of Idea Mag. It's a famous Japanese mag from the late nineties, and there's an entire spread on my mom's portfolio in it and a feature about her career and how she was, recognized by a IGA 30, under 30 as a graph designer.

Um, so her first gig out of school after she dropped outta Cal Arts, she was there for her master's program, but because of a, pretty severe, earthquake, she ended up dropping her master's program and just started immediately working for David Carson Design in her mid twenties. Her, I guess [00:11:00] graduating class, if you will, were famous designers and artists like Jeff McBride, a dear friend of hers to this day. and so she came from quite a class from that era. And again, those two type, those two fonts that she designed ended up in the most influential magazine of the time. So, she's a great designer and, I think one of my favorite quotes from my dad, even though they split at a young age, that he always said she was the best designer's ever worked with.

So that's cool. token for her. Of course.

Radim: That's a real compliment and you're thinking about what you've been describing. It's just we got love of film, we've got New York, we've got photography. And I'm like, okay, so what is the love story we actually drawing here? And yeah, it all started with a font.

Luke: Yeah,

Radim: It was like, how do you make two graphic designers, get together? Well, designer font. And from designing a font, you never know where it might take 

you, because that's really interesting. So, growing up in New York, you mentioned that you guys moved out after nine 11.

Luke: Yeah,

Radim: A lot of the life in New York for the medium of film. Obviously you see a lot of movies, obviously you see lots of [00:12:00] different facets of New York and all kind of stories, what was it like to live through it firstly, for, especially through such important time of American history.

Luke: yeah, I was just about to turn four years old, so I was on the younger side, however. Ever since that moment, I even remember in my fifth grade courses, art classes that I was drawing Twin Towers, and contributing it to a lot of my portfolio work throughout middle school and even high school.

For some reason, I just had this strong, strong obsession with New York. I think that's a really unique perspective of New York City in general, is that I'm not the most patriot person when it comes to America and the politics and the current standing that we're in. However, I'm a very, very proud New Yorker and I'm hopeful that we can kind of push the needle and change the course of our country's legacy, if you will, in the 20 25, 20 26 lens. so I do think, to answer your question, like. from a very early age, I felt this really strong sense of unity and [00:13:00] pride to be from New York to have come from that situation at hand. the film, there's insane photos that my mom took of me on our roof in the West Village overlooking twin Towers days before the event. and then she has video footage of the aftermath or while that was currently happening, and, she can relive those stories very well. and so that's also kind of part of the family history in some capacity. And there's no real way of knowing or telling, but it is really interesting because there is no, Genetic connection to my cancer diagnosis. Um, as I mentioned earlier, Hodgkin's lymphoma, it's very possible that it was because of nine 11 because the black smoke was in our apartment so deeply. and I have family friends who have actually won court cases and nine 11 nonprofits in terms of getting some sort of compensation, because there was no other linkage to their diagnosis.

So, I feel a real strong sense of connection to that [00:14:00] catastrophic moment. You know?

Radim: That sounds like a tragedy within a tragedy 

Luke: seriously. 

Radim: before we started recording, I asked you about, your cancer and I wanted to know if, it's okay to talk about it because you mentioned it was your 18th birthday, which wasn't exactly the celebration that you wanted.

Luke: Yeah, it was actually the Halloween and then my birthday was about two months later, so I would've turned 19.

I remember I had chemo. I had my third round of chemo on my birthday when I was 19 years old. So that's, yeah, not an, not the best way to celebrate. but I also, look back at that time and I'm almost in a strange way, indebted to it. It taught me a lot that school friendships, girlfriends, family haven't been able to teach me. And it's just a sense of, I mean, of course they have in some capacity, but there's another underlying impact that that experience

had with life and death illness. quite literally being as pale as you can imagine. No eyebrows, no eyelashes, bald head, you know, just the whole nine, [00:15:00] where you're just completely, you look like a cancer patient. And to see that and to look in the mirror at 1819. Oh my gosh. you don't wish that upon anyone. And so, I did find myself losing my grip even when the sites or I guess the goals were near and clear in terms of my cancer cure date was around the corner, which later became May 1st, 2017 after five rounds of chemo and 21 days of radiation. but even with that site in mind, it became obviously a very daunting experience once I had a little bit time on my hands to just take a step back. And so one of the things that I did was that I worked with a tutor and improved my college testing scores in order to get into a dream university.

And I improved my score by over 400 points, which then ultimately got me into my dream film school, as I mentioned a bit earlier, the third in the country, just behind NYU and USC. found some beauty in the struggle, which has actually been A consistent life lesson to this day [00:16:00] is, if you're still chugging, you're still, if there's still life to be had, there's something there for you.

You just gotta believe and you gotta focus on the small wins day to day when you've lost, your way a bit, you know? And so there's endless lessons from it, and I'm very, very proud of that experience. Very open talking about it. I've spoken to cancer patients and families at large scale, in front of several hundred people here at NYU, because I leaned on people like myself when I was in that position

to get real insight, to get real advice.

'cause it was, almost impossible to get a real connection with someone who hadn't walked that walk before, 

Radim: you mentioned you were losing your grip, but I didn't expect it. In your next breath, you would just say, well, I was working with Tutu to improve my scores by 400 points and never do this because. Life changes. you got your diagnosis, your life as you knew it.

it was always gonna change forever. 

And what do you remember being that sort of guiding light, even though obviously you get yourself in the mirror and go, okay, this is not the [00:17:00] person I remember a few months ago. how did you give yourself that view on things that you can make it, you can, find positivity in the darkness.

Luke: yeah, definitely. I think it's funny, it comes down to a couple things. Number one, the relationships I have, I realize how lucky I am and, and was then to have deep, deep friendships, uh, Pro of New York City, especially if you're a bit of an extroverted person and you're gonna meet a lot of people quickly and a lot of people that care deeply too.

It's a very passionate place to grow up. And so I was, even though a lot of my friends were away at their first year of school or at college, I mean, or their second year in university, I had a dear friend who I went to high school with who was just then becoming a senior in high school. So he was still based in New York City. and he's still, to this day a close friend of mine, Jacob. And Jacob is a major influence on me as he became the youngest director level music executive at the age of 25, which is ridiculous. and he is just [00:18:00] turning 27, and he works at Sony. And so yeah, he was just such a major influence. And then obviously people like my mother, even though she had to work and yeah, everyone in the family of course, you know, so just leaning on those relationships. But then what I wanted to say also that we talked about earlier was basketball. Jacob, he wanted to distract me in any way possible, so he would get me to Nick's games. We would play NBA 2K the video game to like simulate our favorite players. or he would quite literally force me in the best way possible to come to his practice. Ak my old high school where I graduated the year prior. And he forced me to at least participate and watch the practice and rebound and pass the ball to people, even though I was quite literally had a beanie on and not one strand of hair anywhere on my body.

And so he wanted me to just be there. And it kind of comes back to this, the impact basketball has had on my outlook on life. and to this day, it's really interesting whenever I've been in [00:19:00] a rut. I zoom out, I talk to a therapist and I realize I'm not playing as basketball as much as I like to. And then once I get that back into swings, it's really interesting, everything starts to click. and that's kind of been the case for the last 3 years playing a

Radim: I like when you said that if you're a bit extroverted, you get lots of friends in New York. I spoke to people like Talia Cotton on this podcast, and I was asking about the New York confidence. when you're surrounded by these type of people, like is it something that you grow up with?

Is it something you need to learn? And I think it's just that, the surroundings rubs onto you and just gives you that feeling that, as you talk about your friend Jacob, it's so inspiring just to have someone to really root for you and just say Hey look, we are gonna get you through this.

this is gonna happen.

Luke: definitely. it's just pridefulness that all It's one of the reasons why I have friends always ask me, or people I've dated, they're like, are you gonna leave New York ever? And I can't. I can leave for months at a time. I did Japan for a month. I went to Vietnam the year prior for a month.

I traveled pretty much every [00:20:00] month. really thankful for that experience.I just love, love, love to travel, put myself in new positions. However, New York City's always gotta be home base. I can't get away from it. it always pulls me back.

I find something new each week it adds an extra chip on your shoulder. 'cause if you can make it here, it's really cliche, but you can make it anywhere, because it is so fricking expensive here. It is, tiring at times. but then you find out how to navigate it and then it becomes a very almost peaceful place.

I remember coming back from Tokyo and Japan To hear sirens and people screaming and craziness, it was comforting in, didn't I've?

Radim: Those are not, elements of therapy that you would require. Is it like sirens and screaming? But I think there is something about once you grow up in a city, you need that urban noise. You need those elements 

because I remember living somewhere which was quiet, literally, [00:21:00] it was just only the other side of town.

And I was like, something's not quite right. this is suspiciously too quiet because you need that hum. You need that bus cause it makes you believe that you're close to the important things. You're close to people or close to, energy. So, yeah, I know what you mean. coming back and get it in London, you just hear the sirens okay, I used to live near, used to live near hospital in London and I was busy, noisy, but yeah, I know exactly where I'm in the world because I know 

something's happening. 

Luke: Right, 

Radim: we gonna take to the film school because I wanna know you ended up there, because now I know that you, work with a tutu and in darkest times to improve your scores and get that, but what was the motivation in the first place to actually go into film school and,

Luke: what was your film influencesthe, first one that got me that I'll never forget was Le Haine, French film from 1995. that actually struck a chord in me when I was 14 years old. one of my dear friends, who's someone I've known since I was about six or seven years old. he is another very strong [00:22:00] figure and influence in my life.

His name's Conrad Linsky. Conrad's an amazing creative producer and Conrad's older brother. Used to, win quite a few VMAs back in the day and MTV awards for his music video direction. And so he had introduced us to, a more niche raw film experience from a very early age. I think that was a big part of it. and then through that I was always very inspired by music, video direction. And then growing up in New York City, one of my best friend's dad's in his heyday and his nineties and eighties runs was a prominent graffiti artist. And so, all the video VVHS footage of just going into the subway tracks. Documenting people, skateboarding and also drug usage and just the rawness of New York, I really felt, compelled by more documentary specifically. and Lehan kind of feels that because it pays tribute to a real situation, which was police brutality. and so yeah, I think that was actually [00:23:00] the eureka moment. And to clarify a little bit, I got to Chapman that was the name of the school and the film school is called Dodge and it's within Chapman. And so the way I realized and got the inside scoop was if you wanted to get admitted to Dodge the film school, you needed to at least get into Chapman, keep a straight A portfolio, and then imply apply internally. So then after one full year at Chapman, playing basketball on the team and taking all sorts of courses. But then also taking courses that I was interested film related wise. Then I kept my grades at a 4.0 straight A's and then went to, the film school. But as you can imagine, as you understand, it's still the same place.

So I got to finally dive deep as a film major by sophomore year. and it was the first time in my life I can truthfully say I took school very seriously because I wanted that, creative outlet badly. And I liked, what stood out to me actually [00:24:00] most about Chapman's film program were the creative entrepreneurs that came out of that school at a very young age.

And to this day, people that I rely on call on for big production shoots, whether it's, yeah, I mean, I can go down the list for the type of brands that they work on. They're younger than me in some cases, or a little older in the 25 to 29 ballpark. which is pretty surreal the level of expertise this film school produced.

So that was a really attractive quality. 

Radim: very interesting that you've chosen, that you've named one of the heaviest darkest French movies I've ever heard of. ' cause it's actually, it's come up the other day in the press again, it says why was hane so important at the time when it came up? Because I don't remember specifically any of the story, but I remember the heaviness, the, the grittiness, the energy of this.

And it's amazing what a body of work that is. Because when you create a lasting impression, it's just that is the masterpiece of filmmaking. do you remember how you felt when you watched that movie for the first time? Because [00:25:00] it's interesting you talked about New York and I was expecting I didn't know the answer, so I was like, what is it gonna be?

and you've taken it totally somewhere else, which 

Luke: Yeah, definitely. Well, I've always been really inspired by the work wear, street wear apparel. So you think of the Carhartts baggy jeans, Timberlands, really the New York ethos, and you feel that a lot throughout the film of Lehan. And I think it's also my, upbringing around a more creative and graffiti scene I grew up obsessed with skateboarding. really diehard on Supreme at a very early age. had family friend connections that, were people at Supreme. So we'd get showered in gifts before that brand became the brand it is today, like before there were lines around the corner. And so I think it just spoke again to this rawness of Paris and a side of Paris that you don't get to learn about ever.

I think that's what was really compelling to me. and then also. I've always been [00:26:00] very, politically aware and passionate about my stance on how people should be treated. whether your ethnicity, your race, your sexual orientation. That has been a huge, huge huge part of growing up in New York City is a sense of effectiveness and, loving people for who they are and not what they look like or et cetera.

And so I think that was another element too, where I remember going to George Floyd protests and getting on the Brooklyn Bridge at a very young age and stopping the traffic there with friends in high school. Police brutality specifically, I think struck a chord of me at a very, very early age. Again, I grew up in New York City, so I was open to so many different cultures playing in basketball. Predominantly, I was usually the only white guy on my team. And I was just seeing how different their perspective in their life was when I'd go back for sleepovers at their house or go to their neighborhoods and play basketball. and it was just a different perspective, and I think, again, unique to living in New York City. 'cause I [00:27:00] remember we had to leave, as I mentioned, after nine 11, and we went to a small bubble in South Carolina for a year or two. And drastically everything changes and everyone's in these bubbles and they don't understand these bigger problems.

So, long g answer, but I think Lehan just kind of struck chords, in so many different elements. And then it was also super cool because. Lehan specifically. I saw it when I was 14. I was introduced by a friend To this day, I trust his judgment on anything film or music related. And so then when I got to the Film School of My Dreams, that was one of the first, films they had us swatch and study. I was like, ah, okay. This is clearly, there was something behind this when my friend introduced me to this six years later and I had a chip on my shoulder already, kind of knowing the film. And then, flash forward to two years ago, there's a great film theater called Metrograph that my friend's older brother. Conrad older brother who I mentioned is one VMAs from Music Direction. His name is Matt Linsky. Matt Linsky is a partial [00:28:00] owner in Metrograph, which is a theater here in New York City that shows more indie art house films. And so I got to see Le Haine on 35 Millimeter about two years ago and I cried.

' I didn't think I'd ever get to see a film that intense and relevant to my life in terms of the impact it had in theaters. it came out before I was born. So to have that privilege was super cool and full circle.

Radim: I think we piecing together, the streetwear culture, the clothing, the fashion, the music videos, the storytelling and the grittiness. Obviously l hane it's such a masterpiece. And somehow I can piece in that sort of, in that, that vision board and imaginary vision board, I can ly your dad's work.

And it's because he was never about clean or pretty, 

Luke: Yeah, 

no, definitely not. 

Radim: al always about just sort of breaking rules and doing whatever he wanted. And how much of a awareness did you have of his work? because it's not difficult to ask. Group of students, who do you like?

And they'd be like, [00:29:00] almost encyclopedic knowledgeable about, David Carson's work. And because it's really creative. I mean, for certain people that's, that's really their, what I'm called, the blood group. they really underst understand 

it and they're really related to it.

But for you, were you aware of what he was doing? Because it sounds like your mom was doing similar work. 'cause obviously if they work for Reagan and kind of stuff. So what was the awareness like of his work?

Luke: I think growing up it was more just father and son relationship. Same with my younger sister. holidays. Christmas presents, birthday gifts, just spending time together. I think it was more just that as a kid for sure, and figuring out my own lane, figuring out my own curiosities. And then truth be told, when I approached him in fall of 2022 to say, Hey, I would like to give this a shot. I think I have a good grasp on type of brands that you should be working with at this stage of your career. Especially because he didn't have a representative at that specific time. I obviously need to digest the work a lot more. [00:30:00] And so that's when I really became a fan and a diehard fan in its own right. And then I also just started to have these wow moments where. I was like, wow, this, makes sense. The way I am, the way I think what attracts me, what doesn't, attract me. A big thing he always teaches is trusting your intuition, your gut.

he never had schooling. There were no rules to break. It just is what made sense to him and communicated. And, you know, as you know, it came with a lot of hate mail in the early days. It came with a lot of, what is this crap? But he never, never second guessed himself. And I think that's, an approach that I've always found useful for my life is trusting my gut. Take that risky trip to Vietnam without knowing where you're going. buy those jeans that you found in Japan, even though they're a little out of budget because you really believe in the brand and the person making them. make those are smaller decisions, but again, that intuition aspect.

Yeah, the last three years have been, a super fun scavenger hunt [00:31:00] because I've been collecting beach culture magazines, Ray guns. I've been, people have been sending me stuff. I've found magazines that I wasn't even aware he worked on. And then we can have these great dialogues and conversations about his experiences during those moments.

And, that stuff in itself is a really valuable, learning experience and gets me even more hooked on the process. And not only that, and I think what's worked well for us the last two to three years is that yes, I'm now a major fan and I always have been, but it's really now I'm, I understand what he's worked on, but what is really interesting and almost luck, but then again, it's it's in the blood.

The Carson blood is, I know what makes sense for his brand. in his aesthetic, I can't stand all these bigger artist collaborations with big name brands where it's just, let's say, let's put one giant with one giant, and you guys have to take this, you have to enjoy it because we don't know what else to give you guys. And you see the same graphics by [00:32:00] the same artist every single time, and it's just licensing after licensing, after licensing. And there's no more originality. And I feel like from the get go of approaching this work relationship with him, I just knew we couldn't go that route because that's not true to the essence of, his brand, if you will.

So, yeah.

Radim: This is interesting because yeah, as you said, it's the cast and intuition. it's in the blood because. One of the things that you have to give to your dad is he's David Carson. He's always been David Carson, who was never anybody else. And he stayed exactly who he was because I was chatting to him at someone at an event in Mexico and 

 I said, so how are you doing? It is like, oh look, I've never been busier. things are still going really strong. And you kind of think is the biggest testament to someone's career because if you really accept who you are, and I think there was not even need that oh, I'm gonna accept who I am because the world is busy.

Because it sounded like he started with zero. It got to one from one to 100, for one to 1000. this is the almost linear career. It was like, okay, [00:33:00] I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna double down and really stick to it because. He lives and breathes what he does, and he doesn't have to imitate anything.

And I think that's the biggest gift of being able to do this because as you were saying, obviously you've got brown partnerships where you've got a pretty face and a, and a and a swoosh or whatever, and it's just, it's more about image licensing as a photo licensing this is not to speak, of any ill of, of brand partnerships or collaborations, but when I see what you guys did, I think with Macland recently, and there was, as you mentioned that there was a hate mill before, but I think there's a hate mill now.

But people call it a visual pollution because they don't like it because it's too busy.

I was like, this is the biggest compliment because in the world, which is beige and, influences by whatever color of top, 

 you're like, let's disrupt it. actually let's do this. Because, I am not the biggest fan of the work, but I'm biggest fan of the man because the man's become something that is, unachievable by some others because, he stands for himself.

 So when it comes to partnerships, for example, the work you did recently [00:34:00] with Rafa, 

what does the process entail? Obviously, what is your work as a producer that you stand between, the legend and the brand and make sure that everyone is happy with what's being made? So how does the, for example, partnership like that come together?

Luke: Yeah, day in, day out, I'm always going into my own, recognition of brands that I admire, moments in time stores that have impacted me. the Rafa Clubhouse in New York always stood out to me because I grew up around the corner. It's been around, I believe, for about, almost 10 years now, if not a little longer. I think first and foremost, it was culturally, is this a good fit? Are the people that I'm talking with and building a rapport with, do they feel like people that get him? Because if it's a force collaboration, and again, it's just a brand and brand moment that's gonna be communicated even in the final product, people are gonna feel that this was a bit more of a clickbait moment than it's an actual story. And I think from the get go, they really wanted to understand his ethos, his approach. There were specific guidelines because this was a [00:35:00] very specific collaboration. It was to celebrate their 10 years of Rafa cycling club. And so there were parameters that came with that. but he loves those challenges because in a lot of cases, people just perceive him as like a, throw everything at the pallet, take it or leave it. But then he loves those challenges where you see with Macallan whiskey, where you have to really dial in that logo, you have to make it really concise and celebrate the 200 years of Macallan. Or with Rafa, you still have to pay homage in respect to, the legacy of this membership program and the previous lineage.

You don't want to piss off existing customers. You wanna keep them engaged, you wanna keep them fired up. And then most importantly, how do you bring in new people? so I think it's always just a, tug and pull, and I don't think we've ever gone through with a partnership from start to finish as seamless in my personal relationship with Rafa.

I mean, they were just so lovely. They're so curious. they're so supportive in that regard, and they really wanted to test the boundaries. it was the first time [00:36:00] in his history that he had ever placed. His artwork on a bike, let alone the price tag of those Bikes. And so to get factor involved and have them produce these upscale cycling Bikes was a insane challenge in its own right.

and they did such a phenomenal job, bringing such a coveted artist's work onto a very delicate and small platform when you really break it down. so yeah, it's a fun one.

Radim: When you talk about our partnership, I think one of the best colors in the world is that Rafa Pink. I mean, there's something about it. And I've got a full t-shirt it's literally, it's just Rafa pink and it's just the right tone. And it might be the creative mind, it might be the, a personal preference, but when you see other color, no, not that tone.

Not this tone. And when I've seen, the kit that you guys did, I was like, oh, that just fits perfectly. Because when you see the details, when you see the movement, you're like, oh, that makes sense because you said you don't wanna piss of customers. 

And in the cycling world. it's such an [00:37:00] opinionated world, and I can put my hand up.

 I do understand. I don't understand certain releases. you see brands like Attacker, you see brands like Map who's just having their mad face. You know, like everyone's kind of doing something of their own just to stand up because it's, let's be honest, it's a fashion industry. it's not necessarily a sports performance anymore because you could capture collections.

Oh, one a minute. It's going big, it's going fast, and there's a lot of it there. Obviously you need the variations to find yourself where to where to land, but. Speaking of those customers, you don't wanna piss off with Rafa, especially as opinionated as the English one sometimes. What was the process of actually finding, where do you get that brand?

DNA? Where do you get Steve, what David does? how do you build it? And how much of, because you said the process of partnership wasn't necessarily too complicated, but did you approach them to make it happen?

Luke: Yeah. yeah. Well first off, one thing that made the process pretty seamless is, you know, David and I, we visited the Mayorca storefront, which was a wonderful environment. in [00:38:00] January, we were there for a different client, for a different project, and I said, Hey, like, we're about to sign this contract, see if we should go see what this is all about before we dive into the art. And he was like, okay, yeah. I need to see a clubhouse. that'd be great. love what I've seen, I love what I've learned, but I, haven't really felt it, felt it. And so then we did site visits such like that. And that just was a kid in the candy store, specifically the one in Myorca because people had their families, people were working on, graph design projects.

There were fans in the store that were riding their Bikes and having a coffee. And he said, this is a place I would hang out in. So then that was a really fun experience. And then the way I got Rafa specifically was through a man named Rob Lee, who was their Chief Creative Officer. and that's a big part of my role is figuring out, just who are the right decision makers at these brands. And then doing a little bit of my own investigation and figuring out do they get David Carson? Because again, I don't want to ever force something and there [00:39:00] has to be a why, and there has to be a connection, and there has to be a moment that's coming up that. Makes right for both sides because David is in a position, as you can imagine, where he picks and chooses who he works with.

So, I can feed all day long, but he's not gonna always say yes because it's gotta feel right. And so I got a really great understanding of the Rafa history and where they were trying to take it and how they started off as this more rebellious leaders in the space and then how they've, maintained the bigger scale brand.

But now they're trying to continue on with, adding a little more flare here and there, while also paying homage to how amazing their product is. I mean, I was blown away getting to see even the t-shirts, the t-shirts alone were insane, way better than the streetwear brands that I wear in the states here. and so Rob was a big driving force and then he teed us off to the rest of the team. And then, yeah, by the top of the year we just got started and it was a, again, really seamless experience. And what [00:40:00] was really cool about the New York City launch, which I helped execute. we made sure, we did posters that people got to take home with very high quality prints.

We made sure, that people had, their own David Carson graphics that you could then heat press onto existing Rafa materials. So a lot of people came out with one of one Rafa pieces of clothing with David's graphic language. and so that was a really fun experience in its own right. and the point being is that they went above and beyond to really make this feel like a David Carson moment and to get his story out there, which I think is really crucial for, This current generation specifically as we try to navigate the landscape of AI and people getting away from hand done work and, so forth. We even recreated the collage he had made two months prior, and we worked with an amazing artist and a friend of mine, she helped us redo the collage on the spot before the party went live.

So then you could feel like you were still at the photo shoot that we had just [00:41:00] done two months prior where David made the collage within minutes. So that was, a nice little detail again, where it felt very intentional.

So yeah, 

those little 

Radim: ab sounds, absolutely incredible. You know what I'm gonna say next? we need to do, I mean, even though it's been launched and it's out there, we need to bring it to London.

We need to do special. I mean, the London Rafa Clubhouse is incredible. It's such a lovely space and it's, just a place where, you know, where creativity matters.

You know, it's design and it's a physical space. It's that 360 brand experience when you go in and, they evolve in their own way, obviously, everything changes and obviously find that change. I felt that's why I thought, for example, the partnership was so good because it just, it felt in a busy world and in a picky world that cycling is, it was something really remarkable.

But before we leave Rafa, I wanna know about a bike design because it's one of these things that when it's done right, you know it's done right. And obviously very much immersed in the world of [00:42:00] cycling. I ride my frames almost unbranded. I don't like riding on them.

I just get literallymuted colors but I appreciate what you guys did with Factor because it's something that I can't picture.

Luke: Yeah.

Radim: So you said it was the first bike he's ever designed. how did you guys go about it?

Luke: Yeah, definitely. So I think, well, that I gotta give credit or credits to the factor design team. Their creative director, is a diehard David Carson fan. And so when he heard that Ralph and David Carson had a bike idea to do this limited edition bike, they were just so ready. felt like they almost dropped everything and were said, let's get to work and figure out how to make this work. and so then it just came down to which graphic elements from the hoodie, from the kit, from any graphic, from any product that we released, how can we then morph it into one cohesive design that made sense for a bike. And again, not easy to do. And rad, I hear your point in terms of wanting a more seamless, [00:43:00] clean, slated bike, And I actually feel like there aren't many colors used. And so it still has that elegance and that sophistication and aligns and elevates the price tag of an already expensive bike. But then it still communicates David's language so well. So, I think it was just, again, speaks to the, the teamwork here.

You know, there was three parties involved. It was us, it was Rafa and then Factor. and they just had a field day with it and eventually we got it to a place where we all felt most excited about and, I can't wait. we have a Chrome finish. there's only 11 of those in the world. so I have one of those coming over now.

And then, David got the original one where they did about 200 of those. So yeah, really excited to have those in New York City and be riding around. It's gonna be great.

Radim: Some people that I follow, they are sponsored riders and they get the latest frames, latest designs. I remember asking, there's a rider called Suffer Brian. why aren't you ride in that particular frame? It was no, no, no, that's a [00:44:00] museum piece. that bike doesn't get taken out because it just, it has to stay, safe because it's just, it's so, so beautiful.

But yeah. as you know, I'm a fan and I just absolutely love what you guys did because it's kind of, as you said, there's not much color used, but it's how you use it, how you do it, and getting it right. Because some of these things sometimes take time to even just sort of visually digest because it's unremarkable how a bike frame can make or break.

 just a paint job, just how to do that. so did you say, so you got one come in, so you actually, would you ride it or would you keep it as a museum piece?

Luke: we'll keep one up for now. We'll I'll keep it hanging. keep it safe. I'm a firm believer in using the product. I'm a big sneaker guy growing up both basketball, lifestyle sneakers. I never let them sit in the box. I wear them, and so I see that with this specifically, I definitely wanna showcase the work in New York City.

Radim: is, this is what I say 'cause I ride my, my super bike all year long [00:45:00] becauseto be riding cell four with Tia in the winter just because you got a nice bike in the garage. So I was just you should enjoy what you do. So I'm with you on that one. look, I wanna talk more about your traveling because 

 you, you're coming from a place where people come to you more or less everything good will ultimately arrive in New York. But what was that sense of freedom where, you can go from a noisy place to a different sort of dynamic and explore because your outlook on life has changed.

 your, gratitude for life has changed, through such a horrific experience. how does the travel feature in your life

Luke: I think it's who I am through and through. for example, I didn't have the luxury of growing up with travel. As I mentioned, I'm, before we started talking on the podcast, I'm gonna to Brazil for the first time and bringing my mother. And her and I haven't had the luxury of traveling together, abroad.

I think she's only been abroad three times in her life. And so again, just knowing that once I started earning a little bit of income, it's where can I take this? I've always found spending money on [00:46:00] experiences, is far more valuable than a nice jacket or a wristwatch, which I don't own, or, stuff like that.

I'm very, I do and will always care about clothing and the things that I wear. but again, like that flight to Vietnam is more interesting to me than a nice jacket down in, in New York City and soho. So I think that's kind of a big part of it. And then. To the Bourdain note. I grew up on him, we would watch Parts Unknown, no Reservations.

I read his book, kitchen Confidential a couple times, A Cook's tour. And so watching all three of those shows and watch and reading through his book, I think three or four separate times at this point. that was a Sunday tradition, for example, of my mother. Just really got me curious about what else is out there and because to your point, everyone comes to New York to where are they coming from and what's that story about? and then that's another thing that my dad has accomplished a great deal of, which is travel. He is been to well over a hundred countries now. He's been to the most niche small towns and cities you can think of to then, the Sao Paulos [00:47:00] of the world and Paris of the world. That was a really curious to me.

and then it's just been kind of an addiction ever since I started earning a little money in my pocket since, late 2021. So just been go, go, go, go, go. and so yeah, I was in Japan for a month in May. Then I got to do Paris for the first time this summer for Fashion Week. We launched, three two C Magazine in Vom as well during men's fashion week. And then I got to go to Zermatt, Switzerland because I do have a crazy passion for the outdoors in nature. So then I went hiking for five days, and then I went to a music festival in Italy, in a place called, it was the largest labyrinth in the world. It was all out of bamboo. It was this festival called The Lost Festival that a friend of mine was writing about and got us three free tickets to go attend.

So I'm a yes man. So I like to just jump on these opportunities when I can. And sometimes, if a trip feels too good feels great, and I'll push back my return date a couple weeks ' what [00:48:00] else is out here? And, that's a big part of my life. I'm definitely a bit of a type B planner.

I kind of just go off of locals recommendations. And then I think my childlike curiosities growing up around graph designers. I just stumbled into cool places. I'm really passionate about furniture. I'm really passionate about art galleries. I'm really passionate about the different brands parks, basketball courts.

And so every single big city and cool place I've. I had the fortunate, opportunity to travel to, you're gonna find like five to 10 basketball courts pinned in my Google Maps. and that's also been a really amazing way to meet people while traveling alone in places Vietnam and Japan.

Radim: if anyone was looking for any way of travel advice, they just heard it. ' if you're into something, you find your people, you find your 

tribe. meeting people for basketball sounds like a one way of perfect way of actually meeting other people. And creativity brings people together in the most fantastic way.

But when you said. If the trip is feeling good, I'll push back by a [00:49:00] couple of weeks. that's winning the lottery of life. when you can do that. 

it's a way that you can explore that situation.

Obviously, you know how life can be fragile, 

Luke: Exactly. So that's what I was gonna say is to that point, I know what it's like to be on a ticking time bomb, if you will, where you don't know what's next. You don't know if you're gonna make it through. You don't know how you're gonna react to that, specific round of chemo. And so I like to keep the gas on the pedal.

I have friends to this day saying, sometimes you need to chill a little bit, Luke. well, I don't have a drinking problem. I don't do drugs. love experiences. So I'm very active. I like to think I live 10 lives in a Saturday in New York City. 'cause I really do, I'll be upstate at a, at an architecture park slash art museum.

And then I'll make it back down and still go to a friend's gallery opening and then still go out for a dinner with friends and maybe see a jazz show or a DJ set and boom, 1214 hour day, 16 hour day, and still get my eight hours of sleep and then do it again the next day. And I do that with travel [00:50:00] too. Oh my gosh. In Japan I set up about 10 or 10 or so in-person meetings that were extremely fruitful people. I was so thankful to meet headquarters. I got to see Uniqlo and she, but I was living these 18 hour days of just full on adventure. And, another part of that adventure and curiosity comes from shooting with my film camera.

So just keeps me going. Keeps me chugging.

Radim: You just literally thought of my question because I was gonna ask how would you document these things? Because obviously we picturing all of this together, is your influences the energy, is the, is the passion and the gratitude for life. And then we've been talking about, the film school and the storytelling.

So how would you document the trips that you, take, and, what'd you do with those pieces?

Luke: Yeah, definitely. it's been a big part of my life, iPhone photography. I've always had a friend who has said, you love taking photos and you have the eye for it. And I've, never really considered it. I really thought about it and I, kid you not, I'm not just saying that I've gotten stopped a lot of the times I've had people message me on Instagram or text me I can't wait to see you travel [00:51:00] to, this happened yesterday.

A friend said, I can't wait to see what photos you take when you go to Brazil. And that can be as simple as iPhone photos or videos of moments in time. and I do see it as this endless archive for me personally because I reference a lot of the work, or the photos or the videos. In the mood boards that I put together, the strategies that I, help execute for collaborations for Work Studio or for David Carson, or for my own personal project. it it all kind of coincides, kid around, I forget, people follow me on Instagram because I do post stories quite a bit. You'll see I'll have a million things highlighted. on my highlights. I have so many folders, because I do go back and reference that stuff quite a bit. And I'm really excited to have my own website finished before my lecture in Brazil in two weeks time. So that'll be a big part of it. And then it's open doors. So again, my childlike curiosities, my relationships with galleries in New York City. I have open opportunities where I got to shoot the entire, ESP Spaso Gallery, which is a [00:52:00] renowned, Brazilian furniture gallery based here in New York.

They have locations in Paris, London, la and I shot their whole two story gallery. and I have new opportunities in that world too, to start shooting more for other galleries in the New York City space. So that's a really fun opportunity in its own right. and then as you know, with film cameras specifically, you don't get that instant grad gratification.

And I found that process really fun, because for example, I had my, there were two moments when I, my first client for David Carson design was Stussy. We did a six piece collection with them. It sold out in seven two hours online globally. Major moment. We did a big launch at Dover Street Market here in New York City, and I didn't realize I had my film camera on the wrong. Settings. So every single photo for two roles on such a big day was blurry, super bright, and just shit, shit qualities. I laughed that off 'cause I, got enough iPhone photos and other people took photos. But I think that's such a great [00:53:00] experience is like failing in that regard.

And then, making sure you, try your best the next time or be a little bit more careful. and that happened to me in Japan. I was just so excited. And, three or four of my roles were perfect or, and the quality I was hoping for. And then two or three or four, maybe like three of them were terrible, really bright, blurry because I don't know, I must have jumbled with the camera without even noticing, just pure excitement.

or maybe it was trying something new one day and then forgot to change the setting and then I failed on a few of those, roles. But again, there's beauty in it, super fun experience. Definitely. I'm a big, documenter.

Radim: As you know, one of your dad's stories is that he created nine inch nails cover because somebody used the wrong chemicals in the lab on his photography, and it was just that sort of happy accident. So I'm sure that your photos that you didn't get quite right, he was obviously gleaming thinking this is a potential opportunity to do something with it.

Luke: I love that story. I love that. Yeah. I feel like, again, another just intuition. Just say, oh, this actually [00:54:00] works, this mistake.

Radim: absolutely a hundred percent right. Luke, I mean, you, throughout this conversation, I don't really need to ask you, what would you suggest for people to do? I don't ask people for advice, but you said you work with cancer patients As a survivor, what is the one thing that people look for at the darkest times that you've learned that is almost a key to, content life?

Luke: I think just a belief system. That's the biggest thing you gotta believe. You know, you gotta have hope. a story in a lecture, I won't forget, is I actually went to a sustainability and design conference, called Sea Changes and it's

based up in Burlington, Vermont. And, this woman was the environmental advisor for Barack Obama all eight years. And she said the only way we're gonna be able to get through anything from a climate change perspective is hope. And you have to have to follow through with that hope, with action. And I think before I heard those words and saw that lecture, I [00:55:00] was walking that walk from my cancer experience. But then when she had said that, it was kind of this eureka moment of okay. That is actually my DNA and what I've learned through this experience. And so when you're through those darkest of times, there's so many other things I've gone through in my family's history and so, just figuring out what is that light at the end of the tunnel and focusing on the good around you and feeding into that is, a huge, huge push forward.

 and yeah, and just having fun with it too. what I'm still trying to learn. I have so much to learn, but one, one of the things is not riding the highs too high, not riding the lows too low either. Just trying to stay levelheaded. and that's what's been really fun working with my dad.

We've done some amazing projects together. I've done things in travel places I never expected. connect with people that I never knew I get to connect with. And it's opened wonderful doors, like joining this incredible creative studio called works. a big shout out to my dad for introducing me, Joe Perez.

 So yeah, really, really cool, opportunity to just continue to do what I do best, which is connect people with artists and creatives and [00:56:00] brands. Add my own flair to it with my own photography and my own art direction, my own creative direction. And then, just trust my gut, you know? That's a big part of it.

Radim: Intuition, hope and action. this is what I'm taking away from this conversation. Luke, thank you so much. What a beautiful words to finish with because it all makes perfect sense. So 

 thank 

you 

for joining me today. What a great conversation. Thank you.

Luke: No, I really appreciate you having me.

It means a. Thank you for listening to this episode of Daring Creativity Podcast I'd love to know your thoughts questions and suggestions So please get in touch via the email in the show notes or social channels This episode was produced and presented by me Rad Malid The audio production was done by Neil Mackay from 7 million Bucks Podcast Thank you and I hope to see you on the next episode [00:57:00]