five questions : aaron levant

On the eve on Agenda Trade Show's 10th anniversary we walk the space of its New York leg, all three floors of a huge empty building in SoHo, with Aaron "Ace" Levant. He the guy who dreamed it all up with a handful of brands when he was just 19 years old and this year he will not only show in Long Beach California, Las Vegas, and New York City, but he'll do it all twice. The list of brands with booths at the trade show rounds out at about 600, and that is edited--which means there's a long line of brands that won't even make it. Retail shop owners, buyers, sellers, skaters, snowboarders, rappers, DJs, models, and people who operate in an industry that hardly existed 10 years ago will all fly in, swarm to the house that Levant built, do billions in business for a couple days, and then leave. The interesting thing about this young visionary is not only that he's had staying power and the business acumen to survive and prosper in the changing environment, but also that he has a plan for the next decade. As if Agenda wasn't enough to keep Levant busy, he also has a brand management firm called The NTWRK Agency, manages The Seventh Letter brand, and has an award winning tropical flower garden...okay we lied about the garden. Let's put it like this; when your favorite brand wants to get into the store or website you bought it from, there's a 90-percent chance they booked that sale at one of Levant's trade shows. Essentially this dude is responsible for dressing a good portion of America and if you passed him on the street you'd have no idea. As we walked around the soon-to-be-inundated trade show space with the surprisingly calm and super focused Levant, he told us about some of the new brands showing at this leg of Agenda, how much he loves visiting NYC in the summer, and of course he answered our five questions. For more on Levant's work check out Agendashow.com.What was your favorite cartoon/TV show as a kid?Mr. Wizard.What was your favorite cereal?Lucky Charms...I only ate the marshmallows.What was the first record you bought?It was a dual purchase of both Metallica's Black Album and Dr. Dre's The Chronic.What was the first live show/concert you went to?I went to see Little Richard with my dad, I don't know exactly where it was, I was super young.What posters were hanging on your bedroom wall in High School?Posters of low rider bikes and graffiti.