When Kim Kardashian was spotted wearing a Sci-Fi Fantasy hat, Jerry Hsu had no idea it was coming.
The professional skateboarder and founder of the brand wasn’t involved at all. No one from his team sent her anything, and he definitely didn’t prepare a box of gear for her.
In the new Nine Club podcast, he admitted he wasn’t sure what to make of it at first.
“I was like, is this good for me or is this bad,” Hsu said. Jeron Wilson quickly replied, “It is good,” which broke the tension and got everyone laughing.
Even though it came out of nowhere, the moment brought a lot of new attention to the brand. But there was one problem. The exact hat Kim wore wasn’t even available anymore.
“So that was a huge bummer,” Jerry said.
On top of that, people immediately started bootlegging it online. Still, the unexpected spotlight gave Sci-Fi Fantasy a noticeable boost in sales.
As for how Kim got her hands on the hat, Jerry’s wife helped piece it together.
She works as a costume designer in the film world and knows people behind the scenes. After doing some digging, she found out Kim’s stylist had bought the hat and passed it along to her.
None of it was planned. No deals were made. No one gave Jerry a heads-up. It just happened. And even if it was a little confusing at first, the whole thing ended up being a strange and funny win for the brand.
The Sci-Fi Fantasy boss also shared that one big thing he’s learned in business is how important it is to talk to people and build connections if you want help or opportunities.
He brought up a similar situation that happened in Korea, where a lot of people started asking about the Arin Lester pro board.
When he reached out to an American fan who messaged him on Instagram, he was told that a top Korean celebrity had been photographed holding the board, and others were spotted in the background.
He also learned that it’s not easy to directly contact Korean stars. So once again, he asked his wife, who knew a director that happened to know the celebrity’s ex-boyfriend.
That connection eventually led to getting the celebrity’s email, and Jerry was able to send over a box of Sci-Fi gear.