"Just Ship It": How Tony Kim Continues To Find New Growth Opportunities For HERO WITHIN CLOTHING During An Unprecedented Year

“We definitely live in a new era in pop culture, with new opportunities to express our fandoms. I always felt as fans we shouldn’t have to separate our fandoms… Like that’s something we do on nights and weekends, or at Comic Cons. I feel like you should be able to express your fandom 24/7 — when you go to work, when you go to play, when you go out socially. You should be able to express yourself and what you love in a subtle and sophisticated way. ”

— Tony Kim

Click through the channels on your telelvision, or the flip through the pages of any fashion magazine and it’s clear. Nerdy style has infiltrated our lives — from pop culture, to work culture, to fashion. As a life-long nerd myself, I’m totally okay with that, since that means there’s a lot more options out there these days besides nerdy t-shirts.

Tony Kim’s unique’s blend of sophistication and geek style has given fashion fans a chance to subtly fly their nerd flags with Hero Within Clothing. The entrepreneur and former marketing manager started the label in 2016, and since then the brand has has grown into a successful online retail business with a devoted following, and licenses with some of pop culture’s biggest properties including DC, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and its most recent addition — Godzilla.

Hero Within offers a range of high-end designs for men and women — each featuring subtle details and iconography perfect for any fashion-forward nerd. Kim, a self-professed fanboy and successful Comic-Con blogger, says he wanted to create a label to “help express what I love everywhere I went, and I wanted to see other fans express that as well. When we launched four years ago, fandom passion was primarily still t-shirts and hoodies,” says Kim. “So launching with my coats and blazers and jackets and so on, it just gave fans a chance to be able to take their fandom into all areas of their life, and not just when they put on a hoodie and go to a Comic Con.”

There haven’t been many opportunities to put on those jackets and hoodies for a Con in 2020. Coronavirus concerns have reshaped the entertainment landscape this year, with most of the fan conventions cancelled and movie release dates delayed. For exhibitors like Hero Within that plan the year around conventions and tent-pole movie release dates, “it’s been really tough. Hardest year that we've ever had,” says Kim. But in spite of it’s challenges, 2020 has also been a year of new opportunities and growth for the brand.

I’ve been a fan of Hero Within since it’s initial launch, so it was a treat to talk to Tony Kim recently over Zoom. We discussed a wide range of topics — everything from what he’s missed most about conventions, to the new Godzilla collection, to the Star Trek: The Motion Picture fan club he started as a kid. Throughout the conversation it was clear that the challenges of 2020 haven’t dampened Kim’s passion for giving back, his creativity, or his commitment to coming up with stylish ways for people to show their love of their fandoms.

Fashion and Fandom: Shows and conventions are a big way you connect with your client base and promote Hero Within. How have all the convention cancellations this year impacted your business?

KIM: For Hero Within, we typically have a very full year of conventions that we exhibit at, and at those conventions we release all kinds of new products, as well as connect with all kinds of different partners — media partners as well as licensed partners. Anywhere up to 50% of our annual income comes from conventions, and so when those went away it was a pretty significant blow for our company. It was very unexpected, like it was for many people. Like a lot of companies, we had to really tighten the belt and buckle down and really focus on what we could do to get through this. That's why we ended up shifting a little to create some things like pins. Because of the financial downturn people don’t have a ton of expendable income to spend $100 on a jacket, but they can spend $8 on a pin.

Sure…

People still want to express their fandom, but they might not necessarily have as much to spend it on. So we definitely had to make some pretty desperate shifts to create new products, as well as create a new business model to make it through this year.

Images: HERO WITHIN

KIM: But the biggest loss over the year has been the actual connection with fans. That’s the hardest part for myself and the team. We really thrive off of the interaction with the fans, to be able to get that first-hand feedback of what they love, what they don't, what works, and what doesn't. Normally we would announce our new Doctor Who license or Godzilla license in conjunction with a big show. To be able to have fans give us direct feedback on what they would love to see really helps us quite a bit. It personally really inspires me to interact with the fans, and really hear from them what they love about our brand…even the problems that they have with the brand. We get a lot of raw, honest feedback, and then we also get a lot of encouragement, and so to not have that for almost an entire year has been tough. So, there certainly has been a financial loss for us because of the cancellation of the Comic Cons. There's been some big business losses because of the typical media and business partners that we work with at the Cons. But the hardest thing for me has been the emotional loss because of not being able to interact with fans.

There's so much uncertainty right now, and I know it probably makes planning going into 2021 very challenging. I know everybody’s hoping to go back to large, in-person gatherings when it’s safe. But right now we don’t know what shows are going to be virtual next year, or what shows are going to be able to take place in person. How has this impacted Hero Within’s strategy going into next year?

KIM: For us, it’s based off of two things. The big conventions like San Diego or New York or D23, or Wondercon. Those dates are kind of mile markers that we know we need to have a certain amount of exclusives and merchandise ready for those shows. Another big part has been movie releases, and we really live and die off of those big tent pole movies. So when none of that is happening — the shows or the films… it’s very difficult to plan. With the industry focusing more on streaming, that will that will probably have a significant impact on us because now we're going to look at streaming dates. But then that's also a little bit weird, because people typically don't buy a jacket to watch a movie.

I do. I do (laughter).

KIM: One strategy that we did was we came out with comfort wear clothing — sweat pants and joggers and we came out with a Star Trek onesie. If you’re going to watch Star Trek: Discovery at home, do it in a onesie. So, product-wise, we’re moving more in that direction. But we haven't quite wrapped our head around what it means to build merchandise off of a streaming industry, so we’re still trying to figure that out as well.

Star Trek Universe Onesie ($65)

You and everybody else.

Your pins have been fantastic this year, and I think that was a good way for some fans to try to stay connected and commiserate together. Now that you've entered the pin market can we expect to see more pins with all of your licenses?

KIM: I think so. It’s been fun. It doesn’t take nearly as much time to develop. It’s a little bit lower risk and we can be a little bit more tongue and cheek and have a little bit more fun with it. While it was never planned for that to be part of our offerings, it’s seemingly finding a place. As we’ve been doing more pins, we're really finding a community of people who just want to collect them and getting people who batches of them at a time so they can give them to their friends. That’s been fun. So I think pins are going to be here to stay.

Some of the label’s 2020 pin offerings. HERO WITHIN

Giving back has been one of the components of Hero Within since you launched the brand. Tell me why that’s important to you.

KIM: A big part of the reason we called this company Hero Within was the idea that we all have a hero in all of us that's waiting to get out. Just like the heroes that we celebrate in comic books, you can be an everyday hero in your public and private life. So one of the ways our company expresses that is through supporting foster kid initiatives, specifically here in Orange County… Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to participate in that as normal this year becausue of COVID. Hopefully next year we can. Over the pandemic we made pivots, like many companies. When the pandemic hit back in March and April we had our factories shift to facemask production… specifically the medical grade mask production. So we were shipping out face masks directly to medical facilities, nursing homes, all that sort of stuff. So we did a lot of that for those first couple months. We focused on face masks and other types of PPE. We're trying to do the best we can to provide help in any way we can. So as we go into 2021, we're hoping that we can find new opportunities to be able to grow our company, but also serve the community.

One of the things I love about your designs is all of the little subtle details you incorporate into them and all the functionality too. Have you always been into clothes and fashion?

KIM: My education was a designer… a graphic designer. So when I graduated college I spent a good chunk of my time in the design world. I also dabbled in interior design and fabric. But for the most part, fashion design has been relatively new to me, and while I always loved clothing and love, you know, fandom and love design, bringing it all together is something that has been a newer endeavor the past five years now. So you know I'm still learning a lot to learn the ropes. Fortunately, I've been able to connect with and get a lot of help from mentors that kind of helped me along the way. But yeah… I've always loved clothing and always loved pop culture and so it's it's fun to be able to spend my day there.

in spite of all the challenges of the year, you've still managed to announce some pretty big news the last few weeks with two new licenses: Doctor Who and Godzilla. Was that a big risk, given all of the uncertainty heading into next year?

KIM: One thing that pandemic did was that it also put other licenses in a place where they were also looking for new opportunities and new partnerships as well. So the pandemic, as terrible and awful as it’s been, has created this sort of catalyst for new relationships to form. Doctor Who had been in the works for quite some time. Godzilla a little bit less than that. But, but I think the pandemic put us in a place where everyone was like more open to trying new things. So I'm really excited. It’s one of those things that is a little bit of good news for for us as well as for our fan base that we can provide something new in the middle of this crazy mess.

Thirteenth Doctor Whoodie ($55)

A lot of your designs are pretty subtle. But the two new pieces I've seen in your Godzilla collection are very Japanese streetwear-inspired, with some really bold graphics. Tell me a little bit about what went into the decision-making of the designs you wanted to launch the line with.

KIM: For years I’ve wanted to do something that involved big, bright, bold, graphics, as well as bringing in sort the Asian fusion- inspired artwork. And for me, I thought, there is no property that's bigger in scope than Godzilla. And so we thought, we're gonna do Godzilla let's just go big.

KIM: It's very different than what we've done in the past. We've done a lot of subtle clothing, and we definitely have a following for that. But we've also had fans that say, ‘hey, I would love to have something that makes a really big statement,’ as well. I’m not saying that all the pieces in the Godzilla collection will be this way, but we wanted to definitely come out of the gates and make a very big statement. Godzilla is one of those characters that does not go unnoticed. Whenever Godzilla appears he is the center of attention. So we wanted to do that with the first couple pieces. We wanted to make them really catch your eye, and leave no doubt it’s something that is inspired by Godzilla.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters Jacket ($99)

KIM: Working with the great folks at Toho, they had just come into to some new Godzilla graphics that hadn't been used in any format yet. And so we were grateful that we were had a chance to be able to use them on these first few pieces. I love them. I love that sort of wood- etching, beautiful Japanese footprint.

They’re beautiful.

ScreenShot2020-11-29at9.36.08PM_2048x2048.png

Ghidorah Street Hoodie ($59)

KIM: Yeah I love those. We actually have a few more that we're going to come out with as well here in the near future. So far, the response has been great. I’ve been a Godzilla fan for a long time, but anytime you launch a new license you’re always nervous. What’s the fan base going to be like? Are they going to think it’s weird or corny or strange? But the fans have been awesome. They've been really excited. Very vocal. Very enthusiastic about sharing on social media. So I've been very pleased with the launch. These first two are the test ones, and based on that we’ll see how we move forward.

Any hints on when you might be dropping additional Godzilla designs?

KIM: I think we will probably drop something right after Christmas just once we get past the holidays as people look towards a new year. I can't say what pieces but I can can say that there's obviously great characters like Rodan and Mothra, and there’s a huge array of villains for Godzilla. I’m very excited, and I can’t wait.

I read somewhere that you started a Star Trek: The Motion Picture fan club, as a kid. What was it about that particular movie that that inspired you at such a young age?

KIM: I was very young, and back then Star Trek: The Motion Picture was largely considered the most boring Star Trek out of all of them. I loved it. I love it still to this day. I actually watched it last week. But at that time, all my friends were into Star Wars, so they all thought I was a complete weirdo. Even among nerds they thought I was the nerdiest. But two things really caught my attention with Star Trek: the first one was that it was the first time that we saw something go from little screen to the big screen. The idea that these characters — even though they’re not on tv anymore — their stories are continuing… and their stories are bigger and more fantastic. That as a young kid blew my mind. You can actually have continuing voyages. When Star Trek II came out that just completely blew my mind. It’s still, to this day, one of my favorite movies.

KIM: The other big part of Star Trek was the diversity. As a young kid, the first Asian-American I saw on TV was Sulu. And you say Uhura, and Chekov, and Scotty. Even Spock is an allegory for diversity. I grew up in an all white community and every day I was reminded I was different. So to be able to come home from school feeling beat down and watch Star Trek — where they’re getting along in harmony and they’re all working together, and their differences are actually what makes stronger…that was a big feeling of hope for me as a young kid. I felt like that's the universe that I want to be a part of. That's a world that I want to help create. So, I love Star Wars. I love all kinds of sci-fi, but I do feel like that's one thing that sets Star Trek apart is the idea that a commitment to our to our fullest potential and overcoming our differences — especially in the area of racism.

I grew up with a dad who quoted Vulcan proverbs and told us Tang was ‘tranya’, so I would be happy to see a pastel Star Trek: The Motion Picture onesie added to your Star Trek collection someday.

KIM: I love that movie poster.

That Bob Peak Artwork. Beautiful.

KIM: I definitely want to do something with that. It’s just so brilliant, and I want to do something that honors that.

What was the first comic book you remember buying?

KIM: The Dark Knight Returns, the graphic novel by Frank Miller. That was the first thing that got me into comic books. That was when comics turned more gritty, and when I read that I was instantly hooked.

If money was no object, what piece of fashion, or collectible would you add to your collection?

KIM: That is a tough one. How about if space was no object? Space is a big one with me. It would definitely be a starship of some sort. They've got so many different versions. So many large scale versions. It’s tough to deny one of the Enterprises… Enterprise A or the D. But I have a soft spot for the Reliance and the Excelsior. So it would probably be a Starfleet ship of some sort.

Last question, and I appreciate all the time you’ve taken with me today. What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?

KIM: Seth Godin is one of my business leader heroes, and his thing very early on was the idea of “just ship”. The idea of ship it out, get it out…don't wait for it to be perfect or wait for the market to be ‘just right’. Don’t wait until you have it all figured out. Don't wait to get all the ducks in a row… Just ship it out. Because once you ship it out, and the fans get a chance to interact with it, then you'll know what to do from there. The times when I’ve struggled the most in my life has been when I sat on something for a long time…tried to get it ‘just right’ and it never is ‘just right’ and it doesn’t ever happen. Here at Hero Within we always err on getting it out early. Getting it out first instead of waiting. There’s a lot of problems with that, but but that sort of momentum is what propels our company and keeps it going continually. Because again, the fans interact with it and then we can move forward and keep evolving as a company. So, I tell my team all the time, just ship. We have to ship. Move, move, move, and ship it out.

Make sure you follow Hero Within Clothing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up-to-date on all the latest product release news. You can follow CEO, Tony Kim on Twitter and his Crazy4ComicsCon blog.