Junior Drake Piscione has always been into fashion but never did much with it, until 2020. When the summer of ‘20 hit, he finally took action and started his own business. Piscione is the founder and CEO of Faith vs. Fury streetwear. 

According to Piscione, he’d been thinking about starting a clothing business for a few years prior to going through with his idea. “I’d travel to Los Angeles a lot and found the streetwear scene pretty cool. I always thought there was a gap in the market here,” Piscione said. “I also had a friend whose dad was part of the founding team of Buscemi, so it was fascinating to watch that brand just grow and grow.”

But it wasn’t until after COVID-19 hit that he decided to launch his business. “By the time summer of 2020 hit, I was bored,” he said. “It was time to take the risk.”

Piscione explained that the name Faith vs. Fury was meant to be very impactful. “[It] captured the zeitgeist of the times as people were angry, but the hope was that we all could do good in a small way,” he said. According to Piscione, with Faith vs. Fury, he aims to help new, inexperienced founders by making small financial contributions to help them launch their own streetwear businesses. 

Now that the business has been active for over a year, Piscione’s day-to-day responsibilities have lessened, but there are still some things he needs to monitor. “It is pretty simple at this point. I need to post on social media then check for sales each day and send out packages within 24-36 hours.”

In order to advertise the brand further, Piscione has become familiar with multiple social media platforms. He currently has about 8,000 followers on Instagram and almost 50,000 on TikTok. “Instagram was where I did the majority of my marketing, but I was constantly told to shift over to the business side of TikTok,” Piscione said. He was skeptical at first, but once one of his TikTok videos went viral he was able to gain a lot of traction for his brand. “[Once the video went viral], I was finally able to bring traction to not only my website but also [my] Instagram, where I can build more of a community among streetwear enthusiasts. TikTok completely changed Faith vs. Fury’s momentum and is truly such a great marketing tool,” Piscione said. 

While Piscione is busy with his business, he also has other obligations. Piscione played water polo for Menlo this fall, and he’ll be playing lacrosse for Menlo in the spring. “Obviously being back in school and playing sports, I don’t have as much time to focus on expanding Faith vs. Fury, but I have enough inventory to sell through the end of the year. I also will capitalize on the upcoming holidays to work on the brand and offer expanded inventory.” Piscione aims to eventually host some pop-up shops in the future. 

Piscione also touched on what he wants to accomplish with his brand. “While I do have an interest in product design and fashion, I am deeply interested in asset management and creating a more inclusive culture,” Piscione said. “While I manage Faith vs. Fury now, what I have learned in business will carry with me no matter where I head. It has been incredibly valuable.”