Saved By The Bell

Today we talk to a new brand that goes by the name of feel more this brand is owned and started by Sonny Gomez, based in Orange County, California. I found this brand through Instagram and their aesthetic caught my eye. As someone who is a fan of self expression through clothing and photography this sure was something different and refreshing. Their page gave me a summer break chilling with your friends type of vibe. In this interview you will get the full story on how everything started for them as a brand, as well as how their experience helped them connect to more people that have created a team of driven and focused creatives of our generation.

A bio about yourself and/or your team:

How's it going My name is Sonny Gomez and I am the creative behind Feel More High School. First of all I'd just like to say thanks for taking the time to shine some light on Feel More this is technically my first real interview ever so it's probably gonna be a shit show but nonetheless still very grateful for your magazine reaching out ! It's crazy to think about it now but you can ask anybody in my neighborhood and they'll tell you  I've been making clothes since I was a Freshman in high school in 2012 at the age of 12 or 13 give or take. Not just t-shirts either real cut and sew shit, I used to save up all my money from mowing lawns in the summer and go crazy at the wholesale district in LA just to be able to say I made this flannel that I'm wearing I just thought that was the coolest shit ever! Both my parents are from Mexico but I grew up in Orange County California one of the best counties in the world if you ask me, I feel like growing up so close to LA and the beach has definitely influenced my art in many ways. the best part about growing up here though has to be the crazy amount of good concerts and festivals we get on a daily basis! Ever since we were kids I feel like every week someone is asking, "Hey Sonny you going to the show this weekend?!" The act of attending all these concerts to be in pits, meet new people, take photos, and essentially just Feel More is a huge part of what motivated me to start our shit show of a brand over a year ago. I thank God every day for the amount of live music I've consumed in my lifetime. From smaller more raw and intimate shows at our local venue the observatory in Santa Ana to huge festivals across the country the lifestyle of all the kids and adults that are attending these shows is what keeps me going. It's crazy to think about everything that has happened to me and my friends at these shows, from the hours standing in line to get the best spot to the gruesome walk back to the car we have stories for years to come. At the end of the day I really want Feel More to translate into something that motivates people to step outside their comfort zone and jump into the mosh pit we know as life. It's always pretty fucking scary at first but you'll be surprised how many people are real life looking out for others and genuinely wanna feel something pure with you.  

What are the owner(s) of the brand(s) name or names? Feel More would be nothing but an idea if it was not for the people that surround and inspire me in my daily life. First and foremost Dylan Keith who I met at a Tyler the Creator meet and greet in 2012 when we were both first in line (crazy story for another day) Dyl handles pretty much all our visuals when it comes to lookbooks, or as we like to call them "yearbooks". Another day one homie that helps me out with the day to day operations such as shipping orders and getting shit done regardless of how crazy the situation might get is one of my best friends Wayne Spigner. These guys and all my friends play a huge role in the brand and even though we do not always see eye to eye this shit would be no fun without em.

Where are you guys located or started? Orange County California ! our daily surroundings usually include in n out or mexican food, loud music, house parties, and flea markets! 

What is your clothing line about? To put it in the most simplest form possible, the goal of Feel More High School is to get you to Feel Something ! Through clothes, photographs, short films or whatever it may be that we feel like making that week if it gets you to really feel something than our mission is complete. It's crazy to me how many people will spend their lives indoors oblivious to the beautiful world we live in. I know shit gets tough sometimes and the feelings aren't always good but the bad days are what make the good days feel so rich. You can't have the good without the bad, and we hope to highlight the beauty of both the bad and good feelings we go through every day of our lives. "Memento Mori"  What inspired you to start this clothing line? I've always wanted to make clothes ever since I could remember.  Since I was a little kid I would spend all my money at thrift stores specifically on polos, I love a good polo. In junior high I would spend my time at local streetwear and vintage shops just admiring shit I couldn't afford to buy but  knowing maybe I could afford to make my own. In high school I got two different internships (for two designers I still look up to today) which inspired me heavily to make my own brand just based on the fact that they were giving me the time of day. After high school I attended college for a few semesters but I just feel like life is too short to not follow your dreams so I dropped out and have been working on Feel More ever since. Losing a few people that were very close to me due to drugs and gun violence has also pushed me to keep Feel More going, knowing that there are people supporting me from heaven who were supporting me down here not too long ago is surreal so I try my best to spread a positive message for them. 

What is your thought process when making designs or where do you look for inspiration? My thought process is usually all over the place. A big part of our inspiration for the brand is definitely the whole high school experience hence the name Feel More High School. A lot of people say high school was the best years of their life, I personally don't feel like that but I could forsure see why they say it. So much life changing shit happens during those years it's only right we pay homage. I get inspired by something new every day though if I'm being honest. Sometimes all it takes is going outside. I love old high school movies like fast times at ridgemont high and empire records stuff like that. Old music videos are sick to me too, mtv classics like the beastie boys or nirvana. We just paid paid homage to Kurt Cobain with a crazy long sleeve that says "fuck im in high school again" in his handwriting, he wrote this in a journal entry reflecting on how being famous felt like those high school years again which is so interesting to me how everything comes full circle. Do you want to see your clothes on runways? Yeah that's definitely a goal of mine but right now i'm just happy to see our clothes on anyone its a blessing people are really buying our stuff because they genuinely fuck with it. But yeah a runway would be sick and would be great excuse to throw a party after so yeah I would definitely be in favor of that .

What do you see for the future of your brand? It's really a shit show at the end of the day so I couldn't tell you where we're going to be a year from now but I know its gonna be a lot of progression because we been working hard every day and it always pays off due to the fact that we are genuinely doing this to make something cool that lasts forever on some non corny shit haha. I want to do a pop up shop soon though so be on the look out for that. 

Any projects coming up that you want to tell the audience that are viewing this article right now? We just finished releasing our fifth collection which was our craziest and best to date I'm so hyped on how everything came out from the pieces we dropped to the yearbook and everything in between. I never thought we could be making stuff like this so early in our journey but everything just slowly comes together through hard work and its a beautiful process. Our 6th collection is going to be even better as it should be, wish I had pictures to leak but everything is in production right now but you can expect a craaaaazy sick cardigan, the coziest bucket hat you ever seen, a quality ammo bag, some graphic tees, and i'm probably forgetting something but its gonna be so sick I cant stop thinking about it.

How can people reach you guys? (Social media handles)

Once again thanks for taking the time to ask us these questions it was cool answering them shout out all the students at Feel More High School hit us on instagram @feelmorehighscool and I think we just made a twitter too so hit that @feelmorehigh ! See you at school ! Dont forget to Feel More!