On April 16th, founder of “Crooks & Castles” clothing line Dennis Calvero and long-time friend, Emil Soriano will share their story on stage at FACCOC’s 6th Annual “Secrets to Success”. Attendees will hear their story of how they started their company in 2002 and were able to relentlessly achieve success through creativity and building key relationships in the industry. Crooks and Castles has grown to have over 350 accounts worldwide.
Emil and Dennis grew up in Cerritos and were able to experience a teen life similar most 2nd generation Filipinos in the suburbs. Emil attended Cerritos High while Dennis attended Artesia High on the south part of town. Although Cerritos is considered an affluent city, it borders cities such as Norwalk, Hawaiian Gardens, and is only minutes from Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach. The influence of many lower-income areas would have a huge impact on music and style of Filipino youth. Being a child and teen and experiencing the Hip Hop revolution in the late 80s and early 90s ended up having a large influence in the feel and look of their clothing line today.
Friends who grew up with Dennis and Emil all knew their artistic abilities and ability to leverage relationships. While both could’ve easily taken the typical path of most Filipino youth of going to college and working a 9-5 job, they remained true to their vision of continuing to impact everyone and having fun.
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