Know First

As this is the week of Thanksgiving, and as I am a week away from entering my fourth decade on earth, I’m overcome with reflection, contemplating what has comprised my life, and my wife has been quick to point out, I’m going through a very typical midlife crisis in an otherwise atypical time, a time in which our collective human experience has met possibly its truest test.... Oh, and we're moving back to Chicago.

This week it’s my pleasure to welcome onto the Know First Podcast a couple of friends who just announced their engagement. Seattle native Stacey Rozich and Milwaukee native Sam Macon now reside in Los Angeles, California with their two cats. Stacey is an artist, illustrator and accidental muralist. Sam is a writer and director of various motion picture projects across a spectrum of styles, profitability and running time.

Paul Munford is the founder of Lean Luxe, a newsletter for the modern luxury business set, sharing noteworthy developments happening in retail. Launched in July 2016, Lean Luxe is a big picture briefing on the businesses, personalities, and broader trends driving modern luxury and the HENRY (High Earner Not Rich Yet) economy.

Jessica Murnane is a creative consultant, the founder of Know Your Endo, and the author of the One Part Plant cookbook. Her next book, Know Your Endo: An Empowering Guide To Health + Hope With Endometriosis will be released this coming April.

My wife Marla Wastler is a twenty year veteran of the publishing industry, working as a sales director for titles like Cosmopolitan, Food & Wine and Domino Magazine. Earlier this month, she made a serious career pivot going to work for an experiential marketing agency and fabricator called Star, builders of branded environments that enhance in-person and virtual experiences through discovery and storytelling.

Ernest Wilkins is a writer and media entrepreneur whose work has appeared in publications like the Chicago Tribune, Complex, GQ, Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. Find his work and subscribe to his popular daily email newsletter, Office Hours, and be on the lookout for his new project Gameday Grails.

Sarah Shelton is a community activist based in St. Louis, Missouri. She’s the founder of Girl Louie, a creative storytelling organization whose mission is to help women claim their spaces, define their voices, and help them grow their businesses. She focuses on providing a platform for women to learn, grow and support one another.

Ryan Martin is the owner of denim label, W.H. Ranch Dungarees. A 2004 graduate of the Apparel and Textile Design program at Kansas State University, Ryan’s training prepared him to make the finest pair of couture jeans on the market. Various publications have called W.H. Ranch one of the best denim labels in the world. After years of methodically building a following for his handmade denim in Colorado, Martin relocated to his hometown of Kansas City in 2017 with his five children and wife of fourteen years.

Lauren Yates is the designer and creative director of W'menswear, an independent brand for hard-hitting women. You may also know her from her blog Ponytail Journal, from her excellent cooking videos on Youtube, her podcast, The Ponytail Show, and from her time writing for Vogue Australia.

Lauren and Josh Block live in Fort Worth, Texas with their 4-&-1/2-year-old daughter. Lauren is the founder and owner of Hey Gang!, a kids (and now adults!) clothing brand. She cut her teeth at Austin boutiques The Royal Family and bows + arrows and after that she built Shinola’s wholesale business. Josh is a musician and studio owner. He’s produced chart-topping records for talented musicians like Leon Bridges, Robert Ellis and Lola Kirke. Before he founded Fort Worth’s Niles City Sound, he was the drummer in the band White Denim. He holds a degree in Jazz Studies, and he’s excited to announce that his second recording space, Salad House, is on schedule to open by year’s end.