User:Kevin Kollenda/sandbox

Kevin Kollenda, along with partner | Nicola Formichetti, is the Co-Founder and CEO of Two Hustlers; a company dedicated to building transformative experiences for passionate brands using technology like Jawbone, Shine and other tech devices that help create an emotional connection between the brands and the consumers. He works with brands like | Diesel, NICOPANDA, | H&M and | Uniqlo in crafting these experiences. Considered as an unorthodox strategist determined to leverage digital marketing with the power of community; blending the digital and physical in an innovative way. His creative thinking is clear and focus due to his leadership style and business acumen.

Early life and education
Born on July 10th, 1963 in Orange County, California. Kollenda graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Broadcast Television and Political Science. He then graduated with a French language degree at the Paris-Sorbonne University.

Before Two Hustlers
For about 6 years, Kollenda was the director at Camilla Loather Management LLC where he introduced his new online look-books to potential clients; convincing them that seeing a high-res image on a computer is just as good as seeing it on paper. This helped the company cut down on paper waste and sent out look books more quickly and efficiently. Kollenda was also the creative director for Epic Records in 2009. Later in September 2010, he became the Executive Producer for Madwood Studios.

Two Hustlers
Kevin Kollenda and Nicola Formichetti came together over the last decade starting in London where they both lived. In 2010, they partnered with | Lady Gaga and witnessed social media take off. Kollenda noticed how she used social media to get her self-embracing messages across and the potential power social media and communication have. Kollenda states "Nicola Formichetti and I came together...I suppose it was four years ago we partnered with Lady Gaga; who used social media in a way that no one had ever done before. It kind of hit me, the power that was happening in communication and social media. It was a movement and Nicola has always been a promoter of that kind of thinking. He always supported young designers. As I watched this community and new media wave I thought this is going to be the future of how everyone will want to communicate and we’ve got to figure it out. I said let’s get away from old media and let’s move into new media."

Together, they decided to tackle the new feat; how to merge social media with compelling content. They did their first launch with | Mugler and | Zombie Boy; who at the time nobody knew about. Formichetti found him on Facebook and wanted him for the launch of his first collection of Mugler. In a three weeks span, they contacted Zombie Boy, received clearance from Universal to use Lady Gaga's new music and put together the Mugler show. At the same time they launched an exclusive deal with AOL. In 2011, the exclusive video on AOL's website reached more than 193 million impressions in less than 10 days. They knew they were onto something big and so the idea of starting Two Hustlers began. Kollenda and Formichetti built their own pop-up shop in New York on Walker Street featuring Lady Gaga's costumes, vintage Versace, Mugler, Uniqlo and NICOPANDA products. Together with a team, they created the online experience fused with social media; the experiential retail was a success. A month and a half after the shop opened, they received calls from retailers, private equity firms and consumer package goods companies, all asking how they made this happen and if it can be done for a large brand.

Diesel contacted them with an opportunity; they hired Formichetti as their artistic director and Two Hustlers as the agency to support the vision of the artistic director. They wanted to create the first user-generated crowd-sourced campaign for Diesel. After Diesel's approval, the #Dieselreboot campaign was launched which won the brand many awards. For the campaign, Kellonda and Formichetti asked the | Tumblr community to become part of the #Dieselreboot and submit their own content; no brand had ever done this before. They took their content and wrapped Galeries Lafayette with two thousand of their images from Tumblr. They took full-page ads in the New York Times and billboards, making the digital physical. Two Hustlers is determined on disrupting, inspiring and challenging the fashion, music and fine art industries. The creative duo built a new media lab with radical thinkers, digital natives and industry influencers who intend on pushing the new digital era forward. They have won over notable clients such as Diesel, Uniqlo, MAC/Viva Glam, Gilt Groupe, Barney’s and Tumblr to name a few.

Kollenda believes in taking risks and disrupting the industry in a positive way. He says "you have got to dive in and try things out. When we sit with clients and we show them our proposals and ideas of how we are combining technology, and I don’t mean fashion, communication, and creativity, it can be scary". . He also believes that producing thoughtfully curated content while communicating an authentic message is essential.

Kollenda has also been featured in 2014 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, participating in panels such as “Putting the 'wear' in Wearables” and “The Decoded Fashion Forum”.

Charity Work
After working 20 years in the industry, Kollenda decided to quit his jobs and moved to Africa where he worked closely with several charities; one being African Solutions for African Problems. He states “I want to change my life, change direction, change perspective, change the channel and it was time to give something back, try and make someone else’s life a bit better". He traveled to ASAP villages in the rural Eastern Cape where he made a film for the charity. In 2010, he officially joined the organization as a board member. Another charity Kollenda works with is | Kageno a non-profit organization that helps build schools, health centers, pharmacies, sanitation and clean water systems for villages in Kenya and Rwanda. He was also involved with charities like Baphumelel and the McGregor Waldorf School. Kollenda made a film with a friend about his experiences and seeing the continent.