Mindfull

Wellness: What is the motivation behind D.R.E.A.M.?
Sammy Sucu: As a child I experienced my first panic attack. It was severe and remained
undiagnosed. I was 7 years old and my parents just brushed it off, in our culture people don't
really recognize emotional disorders as being a real condition. Even today I can count on one
hand the amount of people in my life who I can talk to about emotional health. As a result, I
wanted to help raise funding and awareness about mental health disorders and suicide.
 

Wellness: How has fashion helped you create an awareness about mental health, anxiety and
suicide prevention? What inspired you to launch Dreams Rule Everything Around Me or
D.R.E.A.M.?
Sammy Sucu: When I was 23 years old, I dropped out of law school and launched my clothing
line in an attempt to redefine success and what it means. I wanted to redefine myself as
someone who was known as more than just “Sammy, the guy who didn't have anything going
for him in high school” however, that failed miserably. I ended up giving away my inventory — to

anyone who was willing to wear it. I then went back to school and got my MBA and began self-
educating myself through YouTube on how to succeed in this field. In 2018 I decided to try again

and launched my street wear collection under a new name. I began incorporating different
inspirations in my life like Anime, SoCal culture and even literature into my designs, into my
fabrics and even color schemes.
 

Wellness: Did your motivation change this time around? What did you do differently?
Sammy Sucu: The motivation to raise money for mental health research was always the
motivating factor and that never changed. My goal was to raise $5000.00 for the first year
however, I ended up raising $18,000.00. The most important thing that I did different this time
around was and has been my commitment to writing things down. What I mean is that before I
even selected a name I would write down different, random words to see what it inspired and
finally it clicked: Dream!

 

Wellness: Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the name?
Sammy Sucu: Personal dreams and goals have always been my escape away from the reality
of living with anxiety and this fear of the future— of death, the unknown specifically— for so
long. I believe itʼs our dreams that keep us going. I think itʼs important to have short term and
long term goals, things to look forward to in order to be able to rise above depression or anxiety.
For example, I looked forward to this interview like I look forward to the arrival of my son, of
course to a different degree but nevertheless I think itʼs important to have small things that you
look forward to everyday. I do believe that everything starts with a dream and you can actually
find these words on one of my original designs.
 

Wellness: How has your family affected you in your journey to reach your personal dreams of
raising awareness for mental health awareness and suicide prevention?
Sammy Sucu: My wife and my son keep me grounded, my wife knows how to give me space to
just be when Iʼm creating or when I need to just be alone. In addition to D.R.E.A.M., I work full
time in the gaming industry and do not have a lot of free time so it is especially important for me
to have people in my life who allow me to move at my own pace. This is rare and for people who
donʼt have this support system, they have to try and be their own motivators and I think thatʼs
what I mean when I say find things to look forward to that are short term and long term, find and
define your personal dreams as a way to motivate yourself.
 

Wellness: What do you advise people in this situation to do?
Sammy Sucu: Often, in our culture, it is especially difficult to open up and talk to other men, like
my friends, about emotional issues and depression because not only does it feel taboo for men
to talk about feelings but people also seem to be on what I call auto pilot. They donʼt know how
to respond, or even what to think when you reach out for help because they, or we as a society,
have not been taught. I encourage everyone to try to talk to their friends, to explain what they
are going through. If the response they get is robotic (and what I mean is if itʼs an attempt to
change the subject or brush it off) then place yourself in their shoes, try to understand why they
arenʼt receptive, why they are so detached that they arenʼt able to connect with you.
One of my main points in trying to raise mental health awareness is that itʼs as important to
educate people on how to listen as it is on educating our society on mental health and emotional
disorders. Sometimes we have to recognize why people canʼt see our struggles in order to
recognize their struggles too. I think the idea is to try to create a culture that is better at listening
in order to understand one another. This is something that the women in my life have taught me
through example throughout my life, whether it be my mom, my sister or my wife. They have
always been there and as a result, I am inspired by womenʼs abilities to connect, to care, to
listen.
 

Wellness: What can we expect for the summer collection as you prepare to launch it?
Sammy Sucu: One of the designs I am currently working on is this distorted happy face. It is
meant to highlight the lack of knowledge that society has about emotional disorders and suicide.
When individuals try to share with their loved ones their inner struggles they are often told to
“just be happy” as if its that easy or simple. This design is meant to capture this disconnect with
hopes that it can raise an opportunity for discussion and give a platform to address and educate
those who are suffering from emotional disorders. In addition, I have partnered with RAINN to
raise awareness and to give a voice for victims of sexual abuse, to victims of rape and incest
through a new design. The design and inspiration is described in the video below...