We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Boubacar Diallo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Boubacar below.
Hi Boubacar, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
I learned to be effective/successful even when I am the only one in the room that looks like me by just being me and having self love and respect for myself. I feel we all are unique. Last Throne means we all are Kings & Queens and there will never be another YOU ever again. Only one of me will ever exist in this lifetime and I embrace that. Walking into a room I walk in with that type of mentally. I have always been a confident individual. Each person possess their own individual strength and gifts. I learned to use my strengths and gifts to my advantage. In the areas that I lack I will normally seek assistance to better myself. I have no fear so, I look at every situation as an opportunity to grow. I will never push away information. I am an open-minded person, so I look at situations from both sides of the coin. No matter who I am surrounded by or room that I am in, I always walk in as myself at all times. Over the years I feel like the times I spent by myself helped me understand myself better and accept who I am as a human being. We all might look different appearance wise but, positive energy and authenticity will always prevail! People can feel your energy and I try my best to keep my energy as pure as possible. Always show respect to others and respect yourself. Overall what I learned is just be you, and accept who God created you to be.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Boubacar Diallo. I was born in Guinea,West Africa and grew up in Brooklyn,NY. I own a clothing brand called Last Throne Clothing. Right now I am focusing on growing the brand and creating more art designs. Building the brand as been a wonderful journey and I thank God everyday for the blessing. There are ups and down in building a brand but I love it!! I will normally come up with the concept and create a design around it. The meaning of Last Throne is that we all are Kings & Queens and there will only be one of YOU to ever exist in this lifetime, so we should embrace ourselves, stop comparing ourselves to others and accept our own uniqueness. Always be yourself and accept who you are because we all have a gift to share with the world. I am currently working on the Spring collection where I will make t-shirts, hats, shorts, socks, and sweatpants etc. I work with a team of illustrators, photographers, models, and different types of artist. I plan on having a pop shop at an art gallery over the summer in New York City and Atlanta. I will start having the brand in stores by Spring. I launched the website where you can go and shop now at www.lastthroneclothing.com Creating the brand gave me a way to express myself freely and connect with the public. My goal with Last Throne is to inspire future artist and entrepreneurs to go for it and have no fear! Always believe in yourself, trust in God, and don’t t never let nobody or anything hold you back from pursuing your goals! Lets create magic!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that were impactful in my journey were Patience,Teamwork, and Faith. My advice to people who are early on their journey to best develop these qualities is first to pray and have a clear vision of what your end goal is. When it comes to patience sometimes things do not happen when you want it to happen, it happens when it is suppose to happen. Keep working even if you are not seeing results yet eventually the results will come. Trust the art or the process. When it comes to teamwork, you are as strong or successful as your team. Build a team that communicates, takes accountability, supports each other to accomplish the common goal, and hardworking. Faith this the big one! Without faith the other two qualities are null and void. You have to believe in what you are building and be willing to put it all on the line. Pray to God, work hard, and believe in yourself. There will be ups and downs but in the end everything will work out!
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
My biggest area of growth in the past 12 months is expressing my art in much more vivid way. I always had an idea of how I wanted Last Throne to be expressed to the public, but now I feel like I can see it, feel it and touch it mentally. I am excited about the Spring collection and I already see the growth within myself and my illustrators. I am closer to what I want now than before for the look of Last Throne. I see the connection with the brand and audience getting closer which is huge for me. The vision is much more clear now. I am excited to show the world what I have to offer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lastthroneclothing.com
- Instagram: lastthroneclothing
- Facebook: lastthroneclothing
- Other: Email: lastthronenyc@gmail.com
