美国国家公共电台 NPR 15-Year-Old CEO Of Mo's Bows Enters Licensing Deal With NBA

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

On this program in 2014, Moziah Bridges told us about his dream.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

MOZIAH BRIDGES: I want to bring the bow tie back, and I want to make it look better than what it used to be.

CORNISH: Moziah is the Mo's in Mo's Bows, a company he started in Memphis with his mom when he was 9. He was 12 when we last spoke¹. And he's 15 today. And he just landed a deal with the NBA.

Moziah Bridges, welcome back to the program.

BRIDGES: Hey, Audie.

CORNISH: So are bow ties back? Were you successful?

BRIDGES: Well, bow ties are back. And I'm very successful. I think I was more successful than I am or than I was when I last came here.

CORNISH: Yeah, I would say because (laughter) the NBA approached you with essentially², I hear, a seven-figure licensing³ deal, which I guess means you get to make bow ties that have the logos of every team in the league. Is that right?

BRIDGES: That is correct. And I get to make their bow ties. But also, it's one side with the logos of the favorite team of that person but also the favorite print and the classic print of that person. So it's like a two-sided tie.

CORNISH: Why'd they come to you?

BRIDGES: Well, they came to me because ESPN hired me to be a fashion correspondent⁴ for the 2015 NBA draft. And after that, that's when we sparked the deal. And this deal basically means that I get sell in more arenas⁵ and hopefully to some players and to different people who love wearing NBA's logo.

CORNISH: I think it's actually a good match because NBA guys are pretty styling, right? I mean it seems like they...

BRIDGES: Yeah, they're coming up off of style now. One of my favorite players that has a very iconic style is Russell Westbrook. And he just has a very fun and playful style.

CORNISH: When we last spoke, you talked about learning to sew. I think it was from your grandmother, right?

BRIDGES: Yes, it was from my grandmother. She taught me how to sew when I was about 9 years old. But first, she taught - she made me custom bow ties. But as I got older and as she got older, I decided⁶ that I didn't want her to work as hard. So I told her to teach me how to sew.

CORNISH: So now that you're a little bit older and now that you've struck this huge deal, do you have a factory (laughter) or a manufacturing deal? Who's making the ties?

BRIDGES: We have a - I like to call it a little factory. We have a couple of ladies in Memphis, Tenn. And they basically make all of our ties. And they're very fast workers. They make all of our ties, and then they send them to us. Of course when I spoke on the show, we were all doing the ties. But now since the demand has gotten up, we couldn't, you know, handle all of it. So we had to have somebody else do it.

CORNISH: But it sounds like they are made in America.

BRIDGES: They are definitely made in America, which is really great knowing that I employ jobs in America.

CORNISH: Have you found yourself kind of gravitating more towards fashion in general, design? Are you starting to think that's your career?

BRIDGES: I think that is my career, definitely. I plan to go to Parsons School of Design when I get older. And I want to create my own fashion line by the time I'm 20. So I think that's definitely my career right now.

CORNISH: Oh, so you're going to be branching out beyond the bows.

BRIDGES: Yes, beyond the bows - blazers, shirts, jackets. But also, I just created my long neck tie, which shows how far I've come, also.

CORNISH: So what can we expect an 18-year-old Mo to be doing?

BRIDGES: Well, we can expect 18-year-old Mo to - of course graduating high school but, you know, also hopefully getting that Range Rover. But my mom says that I'm going to get the 2007 Jetta in the garage. So hopefully we can work that out (laughter).

CORNISH: (Laughter) I remember your mom seemed to help you keep your head on your shoulders.

BRIDGES: Yeah, she does by telling me to take out the trash and nagging⁷ at me to clean my room. But it's all out of love, I think.

CORNISH: Moziah Bridges, the teenage mogul behind Mo's Bows. He spoke to us from WKNO in Memphis. Mo, thanks for speaking with us, and best of luck.

BRIDGES: Thank you so much, Audie.

(SOUNDBITE OF ALAN HAWKSHAW SONG, "STUDIO 69")

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句

4 correspondent   

n.记者，通信者；adj.符合的，一致的，相当的

参考例句：

• He volunteered as a correspondent for the war.他自愿担任作报道这次战争的记者。
• The result was correspondent with my wishes.结果与我的愿望是一致的。

5 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》