A few days ago, my co-worker Gianna and I had the opportunity to talk to our boss of Hardcore Italians, Mike. We got to learn about the story of Hardcore and a lot of background on our boss that we didn’t know! Here’s what we covered.
The beginning of the podcast was introductions. Gianna introduced herself, as she is a designer for Hardcore Italians, and you probably wear her work! Next was myself, the marketing manager, and I introduced how I got to working for Hardcore and each of our individual stories. The funniest one would have to be Gianna’s, you should definitely listen to hear how her interview went!
But the coolest story had to have been Mike’s. Mike’s father Mike actually created what we know as Hardcore Italians. Being a part of this company for a little over a year now, I knew bits and pieces of Mike & Mike’s story, but what I didn’t know is how young Mike was when he became a partner of Hardcore Italians! Mike was only 16 years old, that’s crazy!
More information was revealed about Mike and his background throughout the podcast, and it was truly inspiring to listen to. However, the major focus that Mike was emphasizing throughout the podcast was Mike’s dedication to preserving the true, authentic values of his grandparents. My favorite thing that Mike said was that “his grandparents would have been happy with an orange for Christmas, they were just happy with anything.” That resonated deeply considering the lives of our grandparents and ancestors and how they came to this country to be happy and with their families. Nothing else.
Oranges in particular too got me thinking. I can’t tell you how many times I remember going to my grandparents’ house and my grandfather offering me some grapes, watermelon, or any fruit to be honest. But, every time I eat a grape or a piece of watermelon I am reminded of all the good conversations I got to have with my grandfather about the simple pleasures and love for life with a bowl of fruit sitting in front of me. And I’ll never forget them.
I know that this is what sets Hardcore Italians as a family-oriented business. Not only are they creating a community, but they are honoring everyone’s roots. It’s important to remember where you came from and to live every day grateful for the little things. But this is certainly a conversation worth listening to and gives you plenty of background of just some of us at Hardcore.
