e’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Travis Ross. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Travis below.
Travis , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I feel like its come from my life, the experiences through it, support from others in crucial times, belief in myself even in the roughest of times and this desire to continue to create something bigger than myself and that can stand the test of time.
I’ve been extremely driven for a huge chunk of my life. At times, it’s been misguided or deflated due to mental health and burnout, but it always seems to come back bigger and better each time. I’ve dealt with many personal challenges, some in my control and some not. But I think two of the biggest moments for me were overdosing and being homeless. I think they contribute to my resilience the most, and really helped form a drive and never quit attitude.
Now more than ever, it comes from simply putting one foot in front of the other. Constant movement forward whether it be one brick or a few, the constant motion creates a momentum that helps me push forward in the moments when it all feels to be stacked on my shoulders.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a creative that grew up in Long Beach, CA by way of Minnesota, Arizona and Las Vegas, I moved around quite a bit as a kid, but found myself in the mecca of Southern California culture – Long Beach. I loved to skateboard, boogie board, loved music and played guitar. I also played high school basketball and found myself getting into a fair amount of trouble. This trouble landed me with no chance of playing basketball for my high school, Wilson High. My senior year I had stint at a high school in Whittier and wrapped up at a private school in East LA. I took the bus and train 2 hours each way just to have a last chance at going to community college.
Life happened pretty fast and I had to take control. I moved out of my dad’s at 17 and never looked back. Bounced around from a homeless shelter to my girlfriends parents and eventually got my first apartment 3 months later. Struggled with mental health for awhile, toured as an underground hip hop artist and waited tables part time until tattooing took over. I apprenticed on Sunset Blvd in LA and landed at ST Tattoo in Venice where I finished up my apprenticeship. Tattooing took me all over the states and around the world. After landing a gig on MTV tattooing, I decided to start a new brand, The Lost Cove Co.
The Lost Cove Co. is a contemporary lifestyle brand influenced by the diverse subcultures that mold the Southern California way of life. Our mission is to provide authentic visual expression and confidence. Our bold streetwear and unique tattoos collaborate together to empower and inspire. Through our pop-up shops, speakeasy tattoo studios, trade shows, and YouTube series, we continue to cultivate a community of artists and visionaries who find inspiration and belonging within our brand. The Lost Cove Co. strives to push boundaries, challenge norms, and create a lasting impact on the culture while staying true to our roots and embracing the essence of Southern California’s fearless spirit. To find out more, visit www.thelostcoveco.com.
In June, the brand was hand selected by Phoenix Fashion Week and director Brian Hill as one of the emerging brands in the nation, which comes with a 10 look fashion show on the 88 foot runway this October and a chance to be crowned Emerging Designer of the Year. I will be debuting my first cut and sew line that has taken 4 years to develop. The event is October 20th and 21st in Phoenix at Chateau Luxe. The 20th will be a pop-up featuring a few of our artists tattooing live and the first chance to grab our Fall ’23 t-shirts, hats and hoodies. The 21st will be a runway show that won’t be forgotten.
Also our LA speakeasy tattoo and apparel showroom just turned three. Very excited for the future as we look for a new location for the growing team.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Get to know your “why”, harness it and use it to push you forward in turbulent times.
By your “why” – I mean what are the reasons that motivate you to push yourself and strive for things that may seem out of reach or even impossible. Tap into what makes you feel the fire in your gut, the sudden shift of needing to make it happen. Is it family, life events, loss, proving something to yourself, etc? The more, the merrier. Build that list, and go build your dreams on top of it.
2. Realizing you are the Source of everything in your life.
When you take full responsibility of the events unfolding in your life, a huge mirror presents itself. You can either run, or square up with it. If you choose to confront the not so pretty side of yourself in small steps, momentum builds. You start to attract people and missing puzzle pieces. It’s not easy to consistently live in this manner, but in my life its been one of the most powerful tools to move forward in life, business and art.
3. Goonies Never Say Die
As the youth says IKYK (if you know, you know) for all those who could careless or know the new and hip shortcuts to the english language. It takes tenacity, it takes grit, it takes character, it takes failing and falling to the point you feel its over and standing back up. Life never stops, nor should you. One foot forward each day.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
The brand is definitely looking to spread our wings with collaborations in pop-ups, community events, apparel and much more. This has always been a community project and continuing in this manner and building our collaboration network is top of the list right now.
Looking for like-minded brands, artists, business minds, community organizations and events, entrepreneurs and all around creatives to further our reach, mission and knowledge.
Our pop-up shops have been mostly held at malls and we are looking into the next phase and level up for this concept. Live music festivals and collaborating with events like this seems to be the move that makes sense. But I’m always open to new ideas.
For our YouTube show and TV series pilot we are looking to partner with a major production company or streaming service to bring these projects to the masses.
Exciting times!
Contact Info:
- Website:www.thelostcoveco.com www.thecoveafterdark.com www.travisrosstattoo.com
- Instagram: @_travis_ross @thelostcoveco @thecoveafterdark
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelostcoveco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQjwM2C6qZ1M8WUFqPCqpQ
Image Credits
1. Jarrod Anthonee 2. Jarrod Anthonee 3. KJ Media Lab 4. KJ Media Lab 5. Amaya Images 6. Jarrod Anthonee 7. Jax Lin 8. Jesse Lin 9. Jack Berry
