cover image Unlabel: Selling You Without Selling Out

Unlabel: Selling You Without Selling Out

Marc Ecko. Touchstone, $30 (304p) ISBN 978-1-4516-8530-5

Urbanwear king Ecko (founder of Ecko Unlimited and owner of Complex Media) narrates his rise to glory, thinly disguised as a how-to guide to true-to-yourself success. “I am a brand, but I am not a label... you too are a brand,” begins this overblown though beautifully designed and illustrated book-length ode to the author’s own greatness. Applying his “Authenticity Formula,” the reader can overcome fear, take action, follow his or her purpose, and execute on ideas. But this is just a prelude; the heart of the book is an exhaustive history of Ecko’s rise from goofy kid to entrepreneur selling his own airbrushed T-shirts. He charts the ups and downs of running a growing business, from his first breaks getting street cred from DJs and other influencers to figuring out the manufacturing and fulfillment processes, to eventually achieving hard-won fame. His overall message is positive: “Refuse to be labeled.” But the rest of his tossed-off advice is a sop thrown out to would-be entrepreneurs. This is hubris disguised as how-to. Agent: Matthew Carnicelli, Carnicelli Literary Management. (Sept.)