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Leo Chan, founder of Levitate Style, a men’s style and travel blog, shares his story coming from an immigrant to the USA to becoming a fashion influencer.
Leo started Levitate Style in 2014 with his girlfriend, Alicia Mara, as a creative side hustle. They eventually quit their full-time jobs for a trip of a lifetime world cruise. Since then, Leo has worked with companies like American Express and Audi and has been featured in GQ, Men’s Health, and Forbes. This is the journey from Immigrant to Influencer, Finance to Fashion.
We discuss how he employed an immigrant mentality of being the best in his professional work and business, doubling down on Levitate Style in his free time outside of work, and his advice for pursuing projects on the side.
Episode Highlights
Starting out in fashion
Leo didn’t become an influencer over night.
Instead, he first came into dressing well as a form of self-expression. This, combined with his hobby of photography, led him to start creating content.
Add on top of that his work in modeling, Leo started to build Levitate Style.
Doubling down on content creation
Leo used his nights and weekends to grow Levitate Style. Be it creating content for his site and social media, networking at fashion events, or crafting his content strategy, he kept going – all while maintaining a full-time job in finance.
Leo’s tips for side projects
- Do things that interest you. Explore. You have to enjoy what you’re doing, even the parts that are hard – the whole process
- Have a backup plan. Do what you need to do during the daytime so you can focus on what you want to do in your free time
- Know what’s best for yourself. Entrepreneurship is a specific type of lifestyle and you should know what you’re getting yourself into before starting
More about Leo
Leo can be found on Instagram @levitatestyle and on his website, levitatestyle.com