#210 - Why Luxury Clients Pay More Than $10,000 for Trust, Not Just Clothing | Albert Lukonga

0:00 Holy cow, man, this is bigger than me. So I gotta be a hundred percent every time. I gotta be a thousand percent all the time. And which comes back to that place like you mentally, myself, you and us, right? As entrepreneurs, how do we take care of ourselves so we can be a hundred percent for other people? For me, that's my biggest battle. I know we have somebody significantly fashionable on today, but you got good old Mark from the country and the back roads of Kentucky.

0:42 But we're gonna see what fashion looks like in Kentucky and how it goes to the rest of the world. So our guest today has one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial stories we've had on the show. Albert Lukonga fled civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo and came to the United States as a refugee. Today he's the founder of Albert Couture, Kentucky's first luxury fashion house. Creating bespoke garments and footwear for executives, professional athletes, entertainers, and public officials across the country. But this conversation isn't just about fashion, it's going to be about resilience, building a premium brand, earning trust, and creating something exceptional in a world full of commodities.

1:22 Albert, welcome to the Necessary Entrepreneur Man. Thank you, Mark. I appreciate you guys for having me and for your time and what an amazing place to be, you know. I'm excited. You know what I think we have full studios here. What I love is your studio is your shop, your store. Right. And I and I I love when people are showing up where they're working, where the activity, where the magic's happen every day. So what are we looking at behind you? Is this your what do you call this? Yeah, man. So this is, this is here, the shop downtown. So you could see very minimum inventory. And then this is where clients come in and, they do their thing. You know, when you get an appointment with us, you come and sit down here. We have here, you got the balls, we got all the stuff that you could want to have or drink.

2:12 And then we have all the shootware here, which is all manufacturers in Spain. So on this side, Mark, we have the clothing. Okay, which is all Italian and on this side we have Spain, which is all our leather goods I mean from duffel bags right all the way to all these different accessories that you can actually pick from do you buy this? No, you do not buy this you Get inspired by this and then we make your own items, right and we put MP on it. Let's go, right and then so Over here we got pillows and stuff. So you name it. We make it we design it and then That's not my desk, that's my assistant's desk. We got some items there. You can see, you guys are off in Cincinnati.

2:53 So we have, we actually have a jacket here from Mr. Ruby that just got in, JR, right? And so we have things like that and we can be as wild as you want and we can be as minimums as you want for both men and women, yeah. This looks like I'm walking into a design studio for a private jet or a Rolls Royce, but this is for apparel. Is that is that a good analogy? That is a great analogy because I mean that was the whole point, right? So, but could I have done more? Yes, I could have, but I think it is just good enough for us to get started as entrepreneurs. You you don't want to, you you at least want to have 20 bucks in your bank account before you open up, right? That goes away quick, doesn't it? The twenty dollars. 100 % like yesterday.

3:35 So, hey, so we go all the way back in the beginning, because we're going to dig into, you know, this journey and entrepreneurialism and and what you've built, but also, but but the big question is it's a big conversation. People always look at someone like you. Deep inside, you know the failures, you know all the struggle, right? You know that. But once you build the facade that you've built now and you develop the clientele that you've built, no one sees that anymore. Right? They they they s they see themselves. From this place of struggle for not achieving anything yet, or maybe looking at a place in life where they haven't they haven't lived up to their expectations, and they look at you and they just seem like that bridge is so far. But what I always try to connect with them when that happens to me, I'm like, you all have to go back in time and talk about the mark of 20 years ago.

4:21 And so the big question is how do you go from arriving in America as a refugee to dressing governors and professional athletes? Like really How's that happen? I think it all starts with the person within right and a lot of us we are born with that person if they are but the question is that the race of life is how do you discover that person right and when do you discover it doesn't matter it could be five years you know sometimes it could be 20 40 60 years right did and a lot of people when we come to entrepreneurship story and we'll get caught up into the act speed that we end We are in this lifestyle of like, I want it now, I want it yesterday, I wanna build a business and I wanna succeed tomorrow.

5:05 But one thing that I told myself was, I'm willing to do whatever it takes, right? If it's gonna take me the rest of my life to build this, it's gonna take me the rest of my life, right? And I knew what I was willing to sacrifice before, right? I even built it. And we want it all, we can't have it all. And I'm speaking as a man who's married. who's got a son already, right? And how do you balance all that stuff, right? You got employees, got a family, and you also have clients on one side, and you also have to grow and take care of yourself, right? And as a former athlete, I've always used the term team building, right? And everybody's on one level, right? And it's like, how can I contribute to this and this and that all at once, right?

5:51 My wife was willing to say, honey, you are not gonna ever be 100 % for me because you have to be 100 % elsewhere, right? And you also have to be so she understood way before they're married, which was a big thing for me, Mark, right? Having a person that believes in you and trust you and that's willing to say, I'm gonna take a step back. I'm gonna let you take lead and I'm gonna let you grow this and I'm gonna be here to support you, right? Emotionally, whatever you need. So I have that in which I'm so so so lucky man to say that's the first thing I wanted to put out there so if you are in business finding that extra that person a partner and That's there for you man.

6:32 That's willing to just like you know what? Even just kind of like hey here's some water has some tea I made you some tea like and you have had a long day bad day terrible day Those things go a long way right so once you're done with that part the other part is Honestly being able to understand, okay, what do I want to do with my life, right? Not just me, but also like, how do I want to serve other people? We think about business the wrong way in terms of like, I want to create this product because I think it's cool, right? I want to build this because it's going to make me a lot of money or generate me a lot of revenue or whatever. The question we should be asking ourselves is, how can I serve people, right?

7:13 In the most efficient way, right? And and what do people actually need you know, what is something that I love that I can add right Into people's lives in people value like you show up you say Albert Thank you so much for making this talk of shopping experience very efficient for me. I I hate shopping I want my I like things to I like them and I want them now right and those things are so important to realize and I so when I've discovered and I wasn't better in this car fashion I was born in fashion You know, went to Kentucky to become a cardiologist. Right? was, that was a good idea. The plan was to go to medical school and all that. But my whole life has been fashion, right, Mark? Since college, I've worn one piece suits and your friends will get drunk. They'll say, Hey man, you're the best dressed guy. Since high school time, they had to put me in newspaper like this guy dresses crazy, right? Too well, right? And so, and, I never realized those little...

8:10 traits, you know, and I had to connect the dot eventually is I grew up and I got more matured and say, know what, I'm going to take a break. Let me, let me actually see what people are talking about. So eventually I decided to listen to 80 % of the individuals instead of 20%. Right. And said, okay, let me see what I can do. I know I'm not really big fan of, you know, this because I grew up around that. That's what my mom does. Right. And, but I do it. I didn't, I had no idea that I was doing this. effortlessly like you know without even thinking subconsciously right and people notice that but I had to tap into that and honestly Once I discovered that man That was the beginning of everything else Do you remember thinking, okay, I'm gonna make it now? Did one big thing happen?

8:53 Was it meeting a a certain celebrity? Was it dressing someone in fashion? Was it receiving recognition on YouTube? Was there one thing that happened? I it's gonna be the completely different answer that you expected because I went for me when it happened was when I actually had a client call me and say, hey, are you busy? I know it's COVID, but I need some clothes. And I'm like. Oh, I mean, yeah, I'm a little bit busy. Let me see if I can squeeze in tomorrow. had zero client mark, right? like, let me see if can squeeze in tomorrow and see what I can do. So this guy shows up. He's like, he's got like a bottle of blends.

9:35 He goes, hey man, thank you so much for having me in. And I just want to give this as a gift. And it was a small 400, 500 square feet, like office space, right? He goes, hey man, I need some clothes, man. I know it's COVID, but it's okay if I take a mask off. So we started ordering stuff. Mark and we're ordering stuff and then he picked this he picked that he did this today and then I went from making $50,000 or so right in the job right that's after tax to making my first transaction with a client in front of me which was about $27,000 right and I sweating right so I'm like I'm at I give this guy a copy discount I gotta do something like what did that call as I listen give him a discount as I miss mr.

10:21 So so the invoice is ready He looked at he goes, hey, what's this info? What's this discount for? And I was like, well, you know, it's COVID and appreciate you for coming in. He goes, look, Albert, if everything that I just purchased today is exactly what you told me and it's the same value, same quality, and I'm going to get it on time, then charge me the full price. But if it's not, and you think you're ripping me off, then give me the discount. Right. And My gosh, Mark, that changed my life forever, right? One thing that I did not notice was I didn't understand the value.

11:02 I didn't understand the value that I offered. And I had a client remind me and say, hey man, if it's you've been honest with me, you've been transparent and this is a good price, this is right, this is fine. Didn't just charge me that. What's going on with this guy, right? Yeah, did did your did your did you have a complete mind shift at that moment? I'm assuming that's what happened because the thing is, nothing changed in the world. 100 % 100 % nothing should my mental cycle my my psyche Completely changed and I never talked about prices again. I just when people walked into my place I was okay. What do you need? This is how I'm gonna I'm gonna offer you This is what this is how long it's gonna take and this is why I'm gonna do it This is when I want to I'm gonna do it. This is like I was it was so organized and then I never I realized I just created an invoice and I just send it and they just paid right and it's rare when somebody goes How much is this right and I realized I was like, man, like I have to understand my value right and once I understood that part Then I understood like okay. That was my big big change in transactions right even later on when I met at Grammys or around all the celebrities I had with her I like If I'd never had that moment, Mark, I would not have understood how to move and make things in those environments, right? Like somebody asked me, like, how do you, do you make the same decision?

12:33 Are you not nervous when you're on the celebrities, when you're taking care of them? And I'm like, I'm not because I look at them as, and my mentor is like, I'm the physician, they're the patient, they have a problem, right? And then after you've realized you've solved the problem, the situation, then you go, okay, Yeah, you and Mark Perkins. That's awesome. know what I mean? And, you gotta do the job first, right? You gotta do the job first. Yeah, I mean, I think what what you find from hanging around people that not only are wealthy, but that are famous. What you find is is that if you can make it into the service inner circle where you're really trusted, yeah, they look at themselves as a normal human in that circle and they only want to be treated that way there.

13:19 That's what you've 'cause that's what I found. That's what you found. No, no, no, these celebrities, they want the people, know, the individuals, right? And not even celebrities like you got very wealthy individuals, right? New York and Florida, and they just want to have a regular conversation, you know, you know, I had a client that I addressed and he was like, okay, we better invoice. was like, like, okay, spent $80,000 in clothes, right? This is Florida. He goes, hey, you want to have some Jimmy Jones? And I was like, yeah, let's have some Jimmy Jones. Like, it's like, it's not what we expect and what we see in movies.

14:02 And these guys just, you know, regular guys, you know, and they trust you. They want you to be transparent with them and straightforward. So on that moment when the bill was twenty seven thousand dollars, right, and you wanted to offer a discount because you felt like maybe it was still a desperation. This is what I have to do to get the business. I don't know how to operate in a different way. Right. At that moment, was it intentional that you were going after, I'll just put it out here, the top one percent clientele base. Not and people get that wrong, not necessarily in money, but top one percent in success, what they're doing. Money just follows the person that you are. Right, the w the world has this wrong. You don't usually become wealthy before you're one percent success, one percent mindset, right? One percent characteristic.

14:46 So was it intentional that you were gonna try to market there? Were you trying? I mean, the goal was marketing. Yes, I wanted to market, right? But the question is like, Mark, how do you even market to the one percenter? How do you even know? I didn't even know how to deal with things like that because I've never even been around individuals like that, right? So like, it's hard when you don't come from that world, try to move like you from that world. So how'd you do it? Is it just being you? think just humble, generous. use my story, man. just say, listen, I'm just, I'm the simple guy. I'm building it. I have a vision. This is the deal. And I know it's something's missing.

15:28 I have enough research. I know I'm here to do it. I know I can provide it. I was very confident in my business, in my model, in my product. That's what I could rely on. Right. At that time, you know, I knew nobody could beat me at that. Right. And I knew that I had enough information and background and like I had all that stuff already set up. So because I didn't have that 1 % of that money, I knew that I had the grades like you cannot outwork me, man. I'm gonna go above and beyond to make sure like Mark, you get the stuff that you need the right way. like I would drive to Cincinnati if I have to, you don't have to pay me for nothing. Like, so those things that I was willing to do set me apart, right? And kind of.

16:10 I was able to use that as a springboard to into that world. Do you think that if you think back, you were always the valuable person. The world just didn't know yet. And I'm sure that you refined your skills too, but did you in the beginning we hear this idea that you gotta work for free until you show and establish enough value that people will pay for it? And so in and it's more about the brand and marketing. Did in the beginning were you doing a lot for free? man, so very good question on that. never did, know, a lot of people when they start this business mark, they go, hey. Can I call for your suit for free so you can do this much marketing for me?

16:53 It was never that intention for me. My thing was, okay, look. I want you to advertise me, UK basketball player so-so, but you're have to pay for this suit, right? You're gonna have to pay for this. They're like, I don't know, man. I don't know, because I'm getting offered everywhere, right? And I was like, listen, I'm the best at this. Trust me. But whenever you're ready, just let me know. So each and every person that I have fitted and I've designed for have paid. Now it got to a point where today with the grace of God, I mean, you have companies like Apple paying for actors' clothes, right, for movie premieres and stuff like that.

17:35 So I'm like, man, I got a check from Apple, right? That's right. To fit so and so, which is quite interesting. But because... Because of that value from that $27,000 experience right from that guy. I was moving with confident You know, I was moving with great and then my shoulders were back Chin up right I knew what I could offer so I can't just walk up to you say this is free right or this is a discount especially if you want to get into my top of industry the luxury business right you have To it's not about the discount. It's about the value people forget that when you have to add a discount on top of what of the service that you're actually offering is because that person in front of you mark does not think the value is with the price that you're offering.

18:24 So I've always gone. I've always done that for every dollar mark gives me I have to give him three dollars back in value. Right. I want you to be like a man. This is a steal. This is a deal. So I had to understand psychologically. What do I need to do? What do I need to learn? What do I need to know in order for me to create that? And that's what made me separate. Mm-hmm. So what do you see? Take us into your eyes and your brains when you are designing and dressing for a specific individual. What happens in your mind? You see them. Are you listening to them? Do you already see it yourself? Do you have ideas? What happens when that new client walks through the door?

19:08 You had the appointment. What's happening in this brain so the world can understand part of the elite thinking, part of what it takes to be great? Because I don't think this is just in designer apparel. Mm-hmm. 'Cause you're gonna describe what it is probably in your mind of what what an elite human being does. But what's going on in your brain when you get that new customer when they come through the door? So for me it's fear, number one. A lot of people get excited, right, when they see new clients. I get nervous, I feel my skin is moving because that's an extra person, a new person that I have to prove that I'm worthy, right? It's a sense of like, hey man, I'm here, I need to make sure that this thing is accurate, this is beautiful.

19:55 And is every entrepreneur, every owner out there, they want the best for every customer that they have, every client that they have. But for me, it's like, all right, I need to do a great job. I need to be a hundred percent because I need to understand who Mark Perkins is, his background, his story in order for me to create, because I am not creating, I'm not just going to make you a white shirt because it's a white shirt. I want to make you a white shirt because man, I want you to be like, this guy understands me. He understands how comfort, like when it comes to my comfort zone, he understood that when it comes to my fit, quality zone, he understands that. And the way everything was delivered, he understood everything, just for white shirt, right? So for me, it's how do I absorb as much information as possible so I can create, I can be efficient when it comes to designing.

20:42 So what do I do? I just ask questions, like it's random questions too. It's like, all right, a good experience would be you walk in and say, okay. Thank you so much for coming in. Mark, please take a seat. Would you like anything to drink? Let's talk about you. Let's have fun. know, like, like everything that you think about shopping, forget it for like, just put it out the window. We're to hang out today. We're just going to talk, have a conversation. And, but I want to start with things that you hate, right? I want to go from T-shirts to jeans to sneakers. I want suits. want to hear everything that you like about each and every Adam and everything that you hate about each and every Adam, right? And then where you shop. Man, when I wear a t-shirt, I hate this, I love this. When I wear jeans, I like this, I hate this. I have this brand that I love, this is why I love it, but they take too long to ship.

21:27 And I'm just absorbing and I have an assistant there and she's taking notes and sometimes we even have a recorder. That's what I do. Now, once we have that, say, okay, Mark, tell me, what do you wanna do today? How do you think today might be different? You know, what what are you anticipating today? Like like so then you go man. I saw some story I saw this I saw this podcast right I was at the the necessary entrepreneurial podcast and I heard about this and I want to have this experience I just want something different. That's what they say. I want something different. That's a great I say look someone I do I'm gonna design you Stuff not for you to wait now for who you are but for who you're becoming. So I wanna hear more about your career, your goals and your plans.

22:20 For instance, now I know all your pros and cons of this and that, and I wanna know who do you wanna become and why you wanna become that person. Because that's the person I wanna design for. And that's the same thing I did for the governor, Mr. Andy Bichir, right? I'll say, look, if you're gonna run for office, this is who we're gonna address you for, right? We're not gonna address you as the governor of Kentucky. And I promise I'm not gonna make you look like Gavin Newsom, right? So like, so those things are so important too. And I have to do all that research and all those decisions within at least under five minutes, right? Because when I start bringing you stuff, I'm like, hey Mark, touch this. What do you think? my gosh, what is that?

23:02 this is bamboo. Bamboo fabric? my gosh. Like, you know what? Forget about that. Look at this shoe. What do you think about this shoe? So I don't go, I think you should wear this. I think I like, what do you think about this fabric? What do you think about this leather for your shoe? What do you think about your comfort? Let me see your arch underneath your foot, right? Let me see all that stuff. Because what I do is my mental state, I remove myself as Albert. And now that I know your background story, I your family, I know your kids, I become you. It's weird how that does, like I, my spirit goes out, becomes Mark for the moment. And I start imagining you, your day in and day out lifestyle. Like where you shop, how you travel, where you go, podcasts, this, all that stuff, right? Then I'm like, okay, I'll mark.

23:43 What do I want from Albrecht Couture? So now I start reverse engineer that and I started designing from your perspective over my perspective. And then that's how I do it. What do you think? So you you mentioned that people want something different. Yeah. What so that's one thing. Maybe that's the answer here, but when they come in, what do you think their goals are when they come to see you? Because they already have an idea what they're coming into. They understand this is high fashion, this is personalized, the the experience, the receipt you already have for what you've done. Right. What do you what do you think they're really doing inside their soul? What are they trying to do? I think they're trying to find themselves. I think they're trying to, because fashion and it's about, you know, it's more, it's not just putting a shirt on and jeans and going to dinner with your wife. It's how people perceive you.

24:30 It's the first resume that we have as individuals. Now, before you open your mouth, people go, who's that guy? Why is he dressed like that? That's it, maybe I don't like that guy. Or maybe I should meet that guy, right? Because it just by the way you dress, you know think about me for example I've built my whole entire business just by dressing properly and being in the right environment and people walk up to me and say hey Can I get your card? right and so imagine for somebody who's already in this business of Was not in the business of appearance, but you have they actually have to bring the product in front of you to show The first thing that they need is this appearance.

25:10 I tell people like you gotta look the right way. gotta, that fits your personality and your character. If you're an introvert, I'm not gonna put you into a bunch of red colors and stuff like that, because that's gonna attract a bunch of extroverts. So like you have to understand that psychological trait, right? Something that goes well with your skin tone, your hair color, your eye color. Those things, I just, I don't go, I think you wear this navy suit because it's a navy suit. I'm like, I think you should wear this kind of navy because Mark, your eyes are like this color and trust me and put. Right. So like I do or we do all those research. We have a color palette test that we do in store as well. And then on top of that, what I do is I say, look, we're going to start small.

25:51 I'm going to make you this one outfit, this one fit. Put it on, go out there. I want you to the experience. Once you like that, just let me know. But we have my plan is to create this for you, to create that for you. But the goal is there's a versatility. Everything's going to. Coexist like this. So if you're colorblinded mark, you don't know this colors you walk into wardrobe I don't go what am I gonna wait today because Albert told me to wear this and I would have worried So what I'm gonna wait, it's like it's a serious problem. So what I do is we psychologically organize everything that you get from us to wear when you just grab it and put it on it fits you grab it and put it on it fits you grab and put on a seat it's like man, man, you got stout man. No, it's not about having stout.

26:35 It's about having organization and having the right essential things in your wardrobe. Not a lot of things, not quantity, quality, and that are organized in a way that fits your lifestyle. That's going to be more convenient. All right, so a big question. Yeah. What do you do with the typical tech CEO that they wear the same color shirt, the same gear every day? Is that the biggest challenge you could face? What do you do with them? No, so let's say you got a guy and we have guys like this. So I have a have a client who buys every two months every quarter. I think every two to three months he buys three pairs of boots same color same design same everything right. He goes every month it's clockwork just like clockwork boom boom boom.

27:26 He doesn't buy anything else. So we have guys like that. Just obsessed with one thing you can be just obsessed with jeans with me like you got the best jeans I'm gonna buy 10 pairs every month. We also have clients who buy 50 t-shirts in 50 different colors right every single six months 50 They weren't three times they get rid of it and we order more. It's T-shirts custom t-shirts. Can you imagine now then we have clients who are like, hey This is what I'm obsessed with those guys who wear that one t-shirt like you say that one jacket It's not about the item per se. It's about the color, right? So it's the black, know, you got designers only wear black because it's convenient, right? It's just black looks good makes you look skinnier and it's just like it's great You don't have to think twice it matches with everything.

28:18 That's black done White is the same thing. So those neutral colors when you see guys who are in neutral colors and grays black and white the It's never about the items. What we do, I just focus on enhancing the quality of the product and how we're gonna actually deliver that product to them over focusing on, let's get you into a pink, let's get you into purple. That's when you lose people. What do think the difference is between an expensive product and a luxury product? You know, lecture is kind of overrated at this point. What do I say that? When you go to restaurants, when you go to a really high place, you see Gucci and money, little bit tall, you see this. It used to be this thing that was scarce and rare, you know. Now, men gravitate towards watches, example. You know, I got to protect Philip, I got Richard Mille, but So as Mr. So-and-so next door has a Richard Mille as well.

29:17 So one thing that I've discovered is these individuals, they want an experience. They want something for themselves because now they because they can go to Louis Vuitton and get this store to shut down and they can spend half a million dollars. So the next day, somebody else is going to do the same thing. And I'll tell you a story of a client that I have. He goes, Albert, I spent over $3 million in sex that area And he goes I have status there. Did you send me stuff and I just buy it he goes We see what you'll be able to do because we did a first wardrobe because I want every brand Out of this wardrobe out of this closet out and I want everything I work with all Right, and we started with t-shirts.

30:04 We've got jeans. We've got hoodies. We got you name it we designed it we made it and It wasn't about the money per se And actually I did it at a cost. I did it like a fraction of what he's not, you know, expense, right? The same quality. This only different was I had, I was walking into his home and I was like, Mark, take this off, right? Take that off, put this on, right? And every single quarter we send people there to reorganize his wardrobe because he throws things away. He throws things out on the floor and all that stuff. You know, and so we go back, we do the service out of complimentary.

30:46 Why? Because the goal, what do you want it to buy Mark was not the clothes per se. He wanted to buy freedom of mind so he can think clear, so he can focus on businesses. And he also wanted to be ready to go whenever he had to. Right. And it also unique and in style and up to date. Those are the things that I needed to take off, you know. And that's why these guys are buying. So once you understand what people are buying is more than clothes. Okay, is this guy buying time or is this guy buying parents and is he buying confident, right? Is it what exactly are they buying? Once you understand what they're purchasing, it's easy for me to create things around.

31:30 I'm sure it's a combination of personalized experience and custom. Right. Yes. And when I say I mean custom one off specifically for them and the personalized experience it goes with it. Is that what we're talking about? Yes, sir. That's exactly right. Yeah. Yeah. Who is you probably can't say who your favorite customer is, but I know your team knows. I know you all know because we all have I have my favorite client that you've so I've sold all their real estate to them. They call and they call, you know, he texted me the other day. He said, Hey, what about Vero Beach? I like, Yeah, we're in Vero Beach, man. We have an office in Sarasota. I'll fly down and meet you there. Whatever we have to do, you tell me when you look at the properties, I'll be there. And so the the goal for a top-tier realtor around the world is To be your real estate resource everywhere.

32:17 Yeah. And and even if we're not licensed in a state, we have a connection that we can be there for it. Right. And that's what they're looking for. 100%. And and a lot of people think it's about the money. The money just buys you convenience, access, exactly personalization, right? And so I'm assuming it's exactly the same in the world and the space that you're in. 100 % 100 % I think I wouldn't say the names but you're right about that but what I'll say is Tell us about them though. Tell us what you love about them. Yeah, I think I'll say in the old different ways. So I'll tell you I have a client right now and he hired us to go down to Palm Beach. He's like, hey man, I got private jet and I need clothes.

33:03 I got two private jets. need those private jets. They have closets and I need clothes. I need you to get on the jet. I want you to design the clothes for the jets. know, as like from pajamas. And I want to come in ready to go and then when I'm going out on podcasts and stuff like that I'm just like I said because I got this plane that only goes to the West Coast and I got this plane that only goes to the East Coast, know and all the way to Paris So I just need you so I'll sit in that jet and I'll just hang out and I'll just think and I'm like, okay Let's think about weather in this thing. What's he said? This goes to West Coast. It's going to East Coast We're talking about like snow we're talking about this sometimes wintertime and all that anyway this guy goes so like we have to design everything from like shorts like trunk shorts like for him to swim on it and did it and It's one thing I love about these guys.

33:50 They have an obsession You would think just because they have They've done so well. They're very successful. They don't care right? They're just how you this so detailed Orientated they're like wait the shirt that you made me last year had a different color like this But why is this one like this color like this and you gotta explain yourself So you're gonna what made you this color because of the data data. Well, what about the stitching on this? This is a little bit off the shoulder Why is this one off the other one was on the shoulder a little bit? No, but you know, it's like a couple half an inch back and so is those detailed that That you like you end up realizing like my gosh, like you're designing for the most obsessed Individual in the world.

34:33 That's why they are where they are, right? Right. So with you you have to have the same mentality Yeah, and I think that's I'm assuming you said in the beginning you were gonna be a cardiologist. Yeah. And what I know from being around human beings, all types, all income, all levels of society, yeah. If you would have been a cardiologist, you wouldn't have rested and stopped until you were one of the best. No, I think for me it was the idea of someone walking up to you and say, my life is in your hands and please help me or please help my son, help my husband. And that mentality is like, okay, let's go. Like I am going to come in sharp as ever.

35:18 I'm going to make sure I'm here physically, spiritually, mentally, like everything's aligned. Right. And then the thing about it is I want to be a better I would have been one of the best better college that I want that I was yesterday. So it goes like I always compete with myself. I'm like, let's go. Like yesterday I did two miles today. We're to go two and a half miles. Let's go. Right. So I got the mentality of obsession and wanting to read and I'm a big reader. So I consume a lot of information and I apply them rather quickly. Right. So with me is yes, I want to be that one for one because I want to, you know, in my dream was to make, can you imagine doing surgery on a president? Right. Like, so like Wanted to be that was the mentality that I was had but then I just switched it into Fashion I said, okay, right, know, I still use the same in anatomy, you know theories of like, okay the body movement moves like this I have to create clothes that are functional.

36:14 I was used to what functional, you know, it could be amazing You got these guys who are in like super fitted suit, but they can't pick up a pen, right? But and then you got this women who are wearing beautiful clothes, but they can't make a move. They can't move they can't do anything So my goal is, it functional? Is it, how is it made? Is it going to be made on time? And then if I cannot do those things, man, it's not with it. I'm not going to take your money. I'm going say, I'm not the right person for this, man. It's not going to work. And, I'm so lucky to be in a position to maybe say that. But again, yeah, obsession is there, man. You, gotta, but I don't know how you get it, man. I don't know how you get it. I don't know if I, was born with it. I just, I've always been super competitive. And now I just compete with myself.

36:56 Yeah. But that's how you can connect with these folks. I think that's what everybody you talked about in the beginning, you prepare a lot for the client. You do a lot of research. Who are they? And I think if I go out here in the world, whether it's in my business, your business, all my friends, acquaintances, they prepare so much. Mm-hmm. And that it carries across all lines, whether it be the sports analogy of, you know, a Michael Jordan or a Kobe, what they know is people talk about their work ethic and all the extra shots that other people would take. The preparation, all the preparation that that's what shows up on the court. It's not because they were elite talented so much different than someone else before the preparation. And if if we can convince the people that you're influencing, that you're leading, that you're going to mentor, you can convince them to do more work on the preparation on the front end.

37:40 So when you show up, you come across as the individual that the customers that you want to work with want to work with you. Because if you have to give them a sales pitch, you're already losing. No, these guys are the best sales people you could ever be. Like that's the reason why they're where they are. So my concept is, and I talk about team is like, we don't sell here. We help. As soon as you start saying, Mr. So-and-so, I think you should get this because I like it. I think you should also add this because no, I say, listen, put them in clothes, let them stand in the mirror and say, How are you feeling? My gosh, I've had people cry in the mirror. My gosh, my wife doesn't see me the same anymore.

38:21 This is incredible. She told me to come over to you. had people, Mark, people go, hey, what I wanna do is I wanna be able to create something that I've never really experienced, also wasn't able to have. And I'm like. But you're buying white shirts. He goes yeah, but I want something completely different and I think about those things man and When you sit there you go Holy cow, man. This is bigger than me, right? This is bigger than me and So I gotta be a hundred percent every time I gotta be a thousand percent all the time and which comes back to that place like you mentally myself you and us right is entrepreneurs How do we take care of ourselves? Right, how do we take care of ourselves?

39:08 So we can be 100 % for other people. And for me, that's my biggest battle. Mm-hmm. Right now. All right. So a couple more things here. Who's the person? You can say this if you haven't worked with them yet. We're not gonna talk who's the one that like is your that is your your your dream. This is the person I want to design for. Who's your who's your person? The Royal Family. That's a hard one. You're not British. That's a hard one. 100 % and I was just at the World Cup Congo game in Atlanta and I gotta say you got Prince, you know, the family of Monaco, Luxembourg, England. I'm going to wake my way up there to England.

39:50 But I think it's what it's what they Why why? Why? actually represent. They represent a long dynasty. of perfection and greatness and you want it to be at 1000 % being the most. You know, you got to have the right manners. You got to have this and it's been generation of that. And Mark, wasn't born in it. But what I tell you, my son is like, sometimes you got to create it, right? And I know I'm going to build it for him so he can have that. I've always wanted to be that.

40:31 I've always wanted to be that James Bond in 007 movies when I was a young kid, I'm like, man, look at that bow tie, man, look at that. You know, he's got the right drink, he's got this, but I didn't have it. and thankfully I was able to build it with the platform that God has blessed me with, you know, and me, I used God second time here and I really gravitated towards that because I cannot, some of these things that I've done, It's so hard to define and hard to describe and hard to explain if you don't believe in something bigger than yourself. So it sounds it so it sounds like you need to be the designer for the next bond, whoever the next one is.

41:13 Hey, you never know, I think we might be out of something there. Huh? They haven't said who it is yet, but Daniel Craig would have been good, but whoever the next one is. I think I had a long list of actresses and musicians that I want to design for. There's the T.A. Top and man, sometimes you ask yourself, you're like, man, like how am I gonna get there? But you know what? The how is not your business. It's not your business. I think, and my father passed away last year and he used to tell me this, he's like Albert, never have fear and never have, don't be shy and Fear and shyness are the most weirdest things to have is be individuals and they can rob you your dreams right in your goals, right? You can say is that mark Perkins?

41:57 Yeah, but he's eating I don't go there, you know because you don't want to disturb me I'll just talk to him later and before you know it I go to restroom I come back and you're gone. So it's how do you seize opportunity within opportunity cost right and And how do you say you know what heck? I'm gonna do this. gonna walk up to this guy I'm gonna go to Rob and Dunir and like he let's say man This is what I want to do with you like my name is so so and I just admire you and one day I know this is what I tell them. I didn't say I want to do this with you I said I'm gonna fit you one day. That's what I say. That's what I tell them. They're like, man, so confident I'm like, I know I will I will and I'm Somewhere somehow I I do fit them, you know, and I like to remember that I'm like you're the guy that told me you gonna fit me a victim of being Yama and those guys in San Antonio for the spurs Right. It was about two, three months out when I found out about Victor.

42:45 was like, you know what? I don't think I'm going to fit that guy. And I killed Gennad. Got a call three months later. I was already in San Antonio. That's before the playoffs started. I'm fitting Bismarck, Biyombo. And I'm like, hey, I got to get connected to this guy. He's like, man, that's my best friend. He's like, we'll figure out a way to do something. Right. So I'm always one call away. And because of that, I show up, man. I don't have to the answers, but I just show up. Yeah. Albert Lukonga is just one call away. That's the statement he said from Albert Couture. Boy, I could sit here and talk forever, but at some point we're gonna get in the sprinter van and we'll just drive right down the road to Lexington with a couple of me, my people, and we'll jump in there and say, Hey, let's see what this is all about.

43:29 Oh my gosh, man. I cannot wait to have you guys and we'll make sure plate I'll make sure my sister reach out to you guys before letting know what you guys like to eat and what you guys like to drink We have it all prepped up for you guys and it's gonna be a great time, man Okay, I can I can see this. so hey, what's the best place? We're gonna tag all the socials and websites. What's the best place for people to come and see your work and really what you do? What's the one place? Yeah. One place it's my social is my personal Albrecht Albrecht, it's on Instagram and you can so you can see some stuff a lot of Unfortunately, a lot of my clients 80 % of my clients are not Public individuals if you know what I mean So but whoever we posted there, they're like we want to be public.

44:10 Let's do it So you can find me on there you can that's when you can personally reach out to me I like to reply to my own messages, but when you go to the Outbrook with Toll Instagram page, you'll reach out to the team. And then after that, man, the website has everything that you need. Perfect. Hey, so when we came on, I think you can talk about the person. You had a jacket over hanging up. You spoke about it with it was for somebody in the restaurant business. I think you can talk about Everybody knows that you dress it. Can you take us back to that? Mr. Ruby, can you take us back to that one? Are we allowed to see it before you give it to him? Yeah, you can actually that one actually is a sample piece Let me bring it up sure It's mr. Ruby. This is is a so he was supposed to Bring it up.

44:50 get this for is Hall of Fame Cincinnati Hall of Fame business Hall of Fame and we ended up meeting Doing something else. So this is a hand made I'll say a dinner jacket, but you could have it also have it as a as a black tie so it's a tuxedo so you can have that as tuxedo. But then this stuff here for example, these things here, I'm gonna zoom in a little bit, it's all hand stitched. Took about a month to do. One person doing this. And the inside is red, he's a big red guy so I did that, I did some diamond lines in there because he's a big diamond guy, he just likes. those two colors and his restaurant is super lavish.

45:31 Jeff Ruby steakhouse. Now I'm showing you this because he is super thorough, super specific. He used to have a client named Manuel in some ways out of somewhere in Nashville. And that guy used to design for Elvis Presley. He used to do dusters and all that stuff. he had, you know, obviously, unfortunately, all those guys are all gone now. So he's been looking for that next guy who can. You know, get almost to that level where he can design for Oz X or not. The fact that he trusts me, he trusts that I can deliver. can pull that off, man. It almost reminds me like if Elvis Presley was still around, could have been designing for Elvis Presley, you know, himself. So those things matters and man, and it's a headache, but it's an obsession for me for what I do.

46:20 It's an obsession because if you're not obsessed with this stuff, man, you could be super overwhelmed. because it's super detailed things and like you gotta remember the buttons that Mark Perkins ordered while you're doing this as well, right? And while you're doing other stuff and your team, you are the designer so they rely on you and you gotta be able to release that information as quickly as possible and thorough as possible. So the client comes back two months later and they're happy, not upset. Yeah, but hey, I got some serious issues though, but it's fine, we learn from that. so hey so hey guys, Albert Lukonga, Albert Couture from Kentucky's first luxury fashion house. And what I love is I love being underestimated. And when people in the past would hear you're from Kentucky, they're like, What? Aren't you from Paris or New York, right? Or or from LA or from Vegas or Miami.

47:07 I love when we're est underestimated because it gives us an opportunity to show what we're capable of as humans and what's possible. So Kudos for doing this, man, from Lexington, Kentucky from just bringing this worldwide brand home. I'm pumped to follow you. We're gonna come out and see you, but I'm pumped to see what you already accomplished, the next place you're gonna go. And I'm watching for the moment that the r that the royal family. Let's go. And and James Bond. Let's go. Let's go, man. Let's get the Amy's. Let's get the Tony's award with this to everything. But we're to do right here, Mark. Love it, man. Hey, thanks for coming on. We're gonna we're gonna follow you and g get back to making all that big money, man, because cause 'cause isn't time money? I mean, isn't isn't it really as we wrap up here?

47:49 I'll be smiling and yeah, the bills are not gonna wait. All right, man. Hey, thanks for joining us. We'll get down there and see you. But congrats on all the success. Thank you so much. Yeah, man, and starting to really live the dream that that you probably laid out for yourself in the past. Thank you so much. God bless you for such a time for having been here the love and support that you've offered me man. I will never forget Okay, man. All right, man. Thank you.