By Hélène Clabecq

Award-winning urban athletic apparel and accessories brand RYU (Respect Your Universe) is thriving. Thanks to the leadership of CEO Cesare Fazari, the brand’s opportunities have skyrocketed in the middle of a global pandemic. 

So, what distinguishes RYU from the competition? Here are 3 key learnings Fazari employed that you can use to overcome economic instability and set yourself up for unprecedented success.

A Skyscraper State of Mind

When Covid-19 first hit back in February of 2020, Toronto-based venture capitalist Cesare Fazari was as curious as anyone else about how the macro trends in the markets would be affected, but that hardly held him back from scaling the company.

As Covid-19 was starting to surge around the world, Alongside supporting the pandemic faced globally and in his local Toronto, Fazari was fighting another battle of his own. RYU was losing funding fast, fractured into silos, and fear was running rampant throughout the company.

The 3-4 months following Fazari’s takeover of RYU were nothing short of a nightmare. And even when the organization was on the brink of financial ruin, he still held onto hope that he could turn things around. 

With countless late nights and weekends devoted to keeping RYU above water, this new CEO put his 30+ years of experience in commercial retail rollouts for famous franchises like Marshalls, Shopping Drug Mart, and Public Mobile to good use. 

But according to Fazari, what truly got him through the economic hardship and uncertainty facing the company wasn’t his experience or a stroke of luck— it was his mindset.

As he put it, “I relate everything in business to building a high-rise. It's a long-term plan.” Then continuing,

“So when most entrepreneurs get bogged down in the day-to-day struggles, I have trained myself to drown out the down days and focus on executing the vision one day at a time.”

Ultimately, his familiarity with the highs and lows of the market prepared him well for the challenges Covid-19 would bring. Then in spite of all the unknowns, Fazari found the focus and discipline needed to patiently calculate and execute a 3-year plan of attack. 

Playing It (Anything But) Safe

While many of his competitors were playing it safe and downsizing their staff, Fazari did the complete opposite: he focused on seizing new opportunities and expanding the RYU brand.

Despite all the hardships RYU faced throughout the pandemic, this high-end athleisure brand still managed to raise millions in growth capital, hire industry luminary Rob Blair as Chief Operating Officer and appoint Stefanie Crosby on its board. Fazari also locked in a major partnership with the NFL Alumni Academy, Academy Award winner and Generation Active of Zoom Media, which is one of the world’s largest digital fitness advertising networks.

Besides adding 46 new products to their e-commerce store, RYU will also be featured on Academy Award winner Jonathan Sanger’s upcoming series ‘The Count’ and are sponsoring a Canadian skateboard team for the upcoming Olympic games. 

A Mission That Breaks the Mold

On a sunny, but chilly Vancouver afternoon, three young skaters rolled into the courtyard directly in front of RYU’s headquarters on West 4th Ave. Though the store remains closed due to Covid-19, little did they know their heroes were just on the other side of those doors.

While they shred across the pavement just steps away, pro skateboarders and members of the Canadian National Team, Andy Anderson and Adam Hopkins were waiting for a fitting. Because for the first time in history, skateboarding will be featured in the Summer Olympics with RYU as an official sponsor.

In the excitement and serendipity of the moment, Cesare Fazari ran outside to greet the kids. They were afraid they'd get in trouble for skating in the courtyard, but to their surprise, they were meeting and snapping selfies with their idols just minutes later. 

For a company with the taglines such as ‘Beautiful Tough, Breaking the Uniform, and Respect Your Universe,’ it’s no wonder why RYU wanted to help the National team take the gold with their award-winning gear, bags, and clothing. They represent everything the brand stands for.

The RYU’s website describes ‘Beautiful Tough’ as embodying the discipline, dedication, and determination to empower yourself and others and stand for something bigger, better, and beyond the norm. It’s about breaking barriers of what’s expected in order to achieve the extraordinary. And in a time where so many of us are feeling stuck and in need of inspiration, this is the kind of message the world needs.

At the end of the day, it’s not business plans or partnerships that helped RYU achieve exceptional growth against all odds. It was their mission, mindset, and willingness to move towards uncertainty instead of away from it. 

So if you really want to move your business forward just remember, even though you can’t control the world around you, you can change how you respond to it at any time.

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