Interview with Imaan Browne: The Man Behind PURELUCKX

I sat down with local streetwear guru, Imaan Browne, not only to get an inside scoop on his brand, PURELUCKX, but to get to know the man himself. Fully clad in the clothes he designed, Imaan is the kind of guy to start singing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song to you when you’ve only really just met. He’s charismatic, speaks humbly of himself and welcomes me with open arms. The interview is at Copper Branch, a vegan food chain restaurant, somewhere I suggested mostly because I was craving one of their famous Power Bowls, but also since I was told Imaan was a vegetarian. Upon telling him why I suggested the interview location, he replied, “Oh, I’ve been found out!” He laughs and you just have to laugh along with him. He tells me how he thinks people are too formal via the internet sometimes and fully advocates the use of emojis. He’s a nice guy, easy to talk to. He makes me feel like I’m simply catching up with an old friend. Imaan jumps into our interview with enthusiasm. 

Note: The following has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.

Why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Alright so, I’m Imaan Browne—I always say my full name when I introduce myself, ever since I was a kid. So yeah, Imaan Brown with two As. Because you know, my dad had to be real different. I’m 32. I have 4 brothers, grew up with 3 of them. Even if my half-brother grew up in Toronto, he has the same character traits as all of us put together. We all talk the same. We’re all artists and dreamers. We reach for the stars.

Haha, amazing. How long has PURELUCKX been around?

PURELUCK was registered in March 2012, and the concept started with my cousin & I. I’ve actually always been working on t-shirts and stuff like that, but we just wanted to create a brand and more or less a lifestyle. But then, what happened was that he [my cousin] basically got really busy and said “I think you could do this on your own.” So, after all the designs were made and the concept was built, we just never really had a name for it. The brand itself was created almost effortlessly because it wasn’t like I tried to do something. It was just a part of me that had been in the works—an extension of myself—something I’d been doing for a long time but was now going to take more seriously.

How did you come up with the name?

One night, I was on Tumblr and on the phone with my friend. I was like “Yo, I really want a name and I want it to be cool, something different that hasn’t been done before.” That’s when I saw the brand Lucky Stripes, the cigarettes, and it clicked that I wanted “Luck” to be a part of the name. I just liked the way it looked. I googled the word and in the definition example it said “it happened out of pure luck.” Now, if that’s not a sign, I don’t know what the hell is. You know, you could show me another sign with neon lights but that one right there was it. After that, it was Pure Luck everything. I just ran with it.

When I went to go register, there were more brands using Pure Luck than I expected. There’s Pure Luck everything: Pure Luck dairy, Pure Luck ranch… There were just so many. So, one of the things about my life that’s been a constant is the letter X recurring in a lot of different projects growing up. Whenever I did something that was out of the ordinary, out of my comfort zone, I’d add an X. There’s something powerful there. For example, Malcolm X, when he didn’t know his last name, put an X because he didn’t want to use the name of his slave master anymore.

I was put on the spot when she told me I couldn’t just use Pure Luck, so she looked at me and asked “Is there another name?” Instinctively, I just said add an X to it. It had never been done, so it was perfect.

Alright, very cool. You have some statement pieces in your brand. Could you tell us about the first one that really took off?

Yeah, we have a few of those. What got really popular was my brother did a Mickey Mouse design. He had Jordans on, a cup of lean and a cigarette in his hand. He was a cool looking Mickey Mouse. He drew it and he wanted to get rid of it—he didn’t even like it. I straight up asked him if I could use it on a shirt and ended up putting it on a sweater, and everyone just wanted it. This was in January of 2013, but I’m actually planning on bringing the Mickey Mouse back. I just don’t know how I can do that without being sued. Although that would be really cool like, “Yo, you got sued by Disney,” you know what I mean? That’s something I’d put on my tombstone.

Do you have any style inspirations for your brand?

My style is comfy—whatever is comfy. You know, comfy and cool, I guess. I’m not gonna create something that I don’t wanna wear either. I wanna make my designs something that you can relate to, something that you understand. Like having ‘Luck’ on a shirt with the words ‘Success’ and ‘Failure’ on each sleeve. We all know what it is to be successful and how it feels to fail. It’s all a part of luck; things we go through in life. My pieces have to signify that. You win some, you lose some.

Much of my inspiration really comes from the city [Montreal], but it’s also from the people who live here. Like those who go to Concordia, and they’re wearing sweats. That’s my inspiration. They don’t give a f*ck because they’re going to school and their plan is to succeed in life. My brand is the sweater you wear while doing just that.

The philosopher, Seneca, said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Do you believe we make our own luck?

I do, and the only reason I can say that is because I believe that karma, as an energy, is very real. Karma is what I believe to be the essence of luck.

I can say I’m very lucky because of the things that I’ve received in life, but I’ve also created an energy to receive luck at the same time. I’ve given back to the community. I work alongside the DESTA Black Youth Network. I’m on the board of directors. Before I got involved, I didn’t have good luck. I didn’t have good karma. I really do think those two go hand-in-hand.

Good luck comes from positive thinking, positive action and knowing that bad things do happen—don’t let them tear you down. Just keep moving forward with great things and be present.

Any advice you’d give to someone who wants to start their own brand?

One: know that you’re not gonna make a million dollars in one shot. If you do, please, uh, give me the blueprints, because that’s kind of crazy, haha.

Two: know that having a clothing brand is a process. You’ll be stressed. It may bw a few years before it takes off. It’s going to require a lot of work and collaborating with different people, but don’t give up. If you really want it, have that patience. Grow with your business.

Know that you are your brand. If you are sick, your brand will be sick. If you are healthy, your brand will be healthy. You represent every part of it 24/7, so just be patient and take care of yourself, too.