Wake the Wolves

Hi guys! Tell us your story.

We’re both hapa artist kids (mixed with Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Japanese, Chinese, and haole heritage). Graham and I met back in our early party years as young designers in San Francisco. I was born and raised in Seattle after my parents transplanted from the island life of Oahu, and Graham is one of those rare breeds, who actually was born in SF and stayed.

As co-founders, our whole “story” kind of starts from the moment we met. We were both growing independent design careers. Graham focused on streetwear and skate apparel companies. I focused on technology, education, and soon to be health/wellness companies. Our journey to live healthy really grew out of a need to “get it together.” Long days at the office, bodies changing as we got older, and the ever-so-confusing health information floating around the web, had us reaching for answers that were conflicting (especially as it related to our cultures). “Wait…what…rice is bad?”

After 7+ years of stacking our experiences, failures, and successes, and heading back to school to study holistic nutrition, we saw a very clear gap that needed to be filled. So we brought our passions and backgrounds in fashion, health, education and culture together, and co-founded Wake the Wolves – where we get recklessly fun and bold about living healthy.

What’s the best way to describe what you do?

Wake the Wolves is made up of a team of imperfect designers, lifestylists, & wellness gurus here to wake up your inner wolf so you can eat + live like you matter (because you do). Our approach to healthy-conscious living is bold and straight-forward. We take the “get-to-the-point” highway, tailored to reach a diverse group of “young-at-heart” people who want to feel A-MAZING and do A-MAZING.

Every day we make “being mindful about our health” a cool thing to do, and design goods to make that happen. Our blog and book series are designed to show you HOW to create a healthy lifestyle (without the complexity) and our locally produced apparel goods are designed for you to ROCK IT PROUD. More on us here.

What’s your favorite place to travel to?

Oh man… this is a toughy. From couch surfing at my Uncles' and Aunties' homes in Honolulu to road tripping along the coast – from LA all the way up to quiet islands in the Pacific Northwest – we love it all. We crave the outdoors (more ‘glamping’ style), discovering new food spots, and cruising with family and friends that we haven’t seen in a while.

What’s the raddest thing you’ve done for the environment or community?

As co-founders and Creative Directors for Wake the Wolves, we’ve always been into hevily focusing our efforts on young people and the arts because we’ve had mentors in our youth to cultivate creativity in our lives. Graham and I have been known to teach and create courses for high school youth in Seattle and San Francisco, that merge design, art, technology, and marketing in hopes to really help young folks see that there are BIG futures in creative problem solving.

As a company, Wake the Wolves is heavily focused on labor and equal rights. We produce our goods within a 10 mile radius of our headquarters, we know our sewers and printers, and are committed to making sure that we keep those standards high. We’ve also integrated a donation-based purchase where 20% of all proceeds of some of our goods are donated towards a featured non-profit. We plan to do more of this!

Who is someone you look up to?

As a company and team, Wake the Wolves looks up to a few AWESOME game changers. There are many, but here are few of our faves: 1) our parents – they’ve sacrificed themselves on so many levels to put food on the table and give us a future where we can think creatively; 2) musicians and activists – Erykah Badu, Stic.Man (from Dead Prez), KRS-ONE, Goapele, and Michelle Obama. These talented folks and projects have evolved their power as performers to really elevate health and wellness to a greater world; 3) authors, directors, producers – Bryant Terry (#AfroVegan), Robert Kenner (Food Inc.), Marisa Wolfson (Veducated), and The Broccoli City Festival. The folks behind these projects and productions have really made a dent in how people learn and engage in the history of our food; and 4) hometown heroes – small farmers (like Greenhearts Family Farm), urban farmers markets, local restaurants and eateries, and parents/teachers teaching young folks about their food. Without these key people, we’d all be lost (and hungry).

What are your plans for the near future?

We are ramping up a line-up of team members, more locally made apparel goods, and a phat roll of new digital books and e-courses to really bring Wake the Wolves to the masses. Big vision — plan to see us collaborating in live events, locally in your hometown.

Any sponsors or things to plug?

Shout out to Indosole! We HEART you guys and thanks for making this happen. (That’s a plug and a sponsor. ;) I remember when Graham brought home one of your famous recycled bags one day. I was stoked!!! I’m no fan of fancy purses, but will rock a new slouchy bag any day. Can’t wait to rock the Ikhannas.

Lastly, we’d like to plug (or put you on) our latest interactive book, called “Kale. All Day. Err Day.” It’s super fun, kid-friendly, but designed for adults — all about our love/hate relationship with KALE and some pretty spot-on recipes and tips to keep you hungry and on your A-game. It rhymes. There’s mad photos. And you won’t get bored. You can download it here. (There’s a special interactive version for Apple iBooks too.)