Greetings and Welcome,

Happy September. It is so hard to believe that we are entering the Fall season, but I welcome it with open arms and eager anticipation. I love Fall in Atlanta, as the temperatures cool, Football Fever is everywhere, and I get to wear my favorite uniform of shorts and sweatshirts. This is a big month for me personally, as our wedding is 3 weeks away and we get to gather with natural family and chosen family to celebrate.

I hope the change of seasons brings you joy, peace, and time for self-care and reflection. We human beings need time to recharge, relax, and refocus.

Please remember, Selfish is not a Bad Word!!

Enjoy,

Jim

Please share this newsletter with family, friends, and work colleagues. Share it with anyone who is committed to living and leading authentically with radical kindness and a growth mindset. Share it with anyone who needs to be in Community and Conversation! THANK YOU!

Flying the Flags: Radical Kindness, Chosen Family, and the Power of Being Seen

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Pride flags abroad.

I was walking through a city far from home, caught between the thrill of discovery and the unease of being a stranger. Different language. Different culture. Different rules. I felt out of place in every way.

And then I turned a corner and saw them. Bright rainbow flags strung across the street, unapologetic in their color and their presence.

In that moment, my body shifted. My shoulders dropped. My breath steadied. For the first time in days, I felt both physical and psychological safety. I felt at home.

That’s the power of visual representation. These colors are not decoration. They are declarations.

I’ve spent a lifetime chasing these moments of belonging. As a young gay man, I searched for signs that told me I wasn’t alone. Too often, I found silence.

Today, whether it’s a rainbow pin on a blazer in London, a trans flag draped from a balcony in São Paulo, or an ally flag flying in Johannesburg, I feel the same jolt of recognition I craved back then: you belong here.

Representation transforms fear into safety. Isolation into community. Silence into solidarity.

My own journey has been shaped by the privilege of studying abroad, leading international teams, and working across continents. Each new experience has reminded me that our community is not only global but deeply interconnected.

From Tokyo to Toronto, Paris to Cape Town, I’ve seen how Pride flags stitch together strangers into chosen family. They travel across borders more easily than passports, and they remind us that belonging is not bound by geography.

Every flag tells its own story—rainbow, trans, bisexual, non-binary, ally. But together, they share the same foundation: radical kindness, chosen family, community, representation, independence, and allyship.

These values don’t just live in fabric. They live in us.

For me, the work of being seen has been decades in the making. Stepping out from behind the polished corporate mask. Writing All Pride, No Ego. Coaching leaders to lead with heart. And walking hand-in-hand with my fiancé—visible, proud, unapologetic.

Because visibility isn’t vanity. It’s responsibility.

Every time we show up authentically—whether by flying a flag, wearing a pin, or speaking our truth—we create possibility for someone else who’s still wondering: Can I do that too?

In a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under attack around the world, every act of representation matters. Every flag flown, every pronoun respected, every story told is an act of radical kindness.

It says: I see you. I welcome you. You are safe here.

And that’s the point. The rainbow is big enough for us all. When each identity shines, the whole spectrum glows brighter—across every continent, every community, and every workplace.

So let’s keep showing up. Out. Loud. Visible. And kind.

✨ I’d love to hear from you: Where have you felt most seen—at home, at work, or halfway across the world?

Celebrating BEAU LAWRENCE , founder of Ace Rivington based in Santa Barbara California

I first met Beau over 10 years ago and we quickly bonded over a shared love of Storytelling, Denim, and Experiential Retail. Beau is an an Amazing Ally for our community and exactly the kind of leader I love to feature here. He and his family and team have been so supportive of the Book and of me and Joe personally.

Here is his story and some amazing photos of his flagship store in Santa Barbara, California.

 Chances are that you, or someone you know, have owned a pair of jeans that Beau Lawrence has designed. As a kid, if there was one thing that captured Lawrence’s imagination…it was making things. Lawrence has built his life around the same, first pursuing an education in architecture… then pivoting into fashion which launched his path mostly focused on that favorite blue fabric in all our closets, denim.

Founder and CEO of Ace Rivington, Lawrence’s career in global denim design and development was built at Guess Jeans where he started in 2000 directly after graduating with a degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Over the years at Guess, where he started as an entry level design assistant, his role grew to Head Designer of Men’s Jeanswear for the Globe. He left corporate life back in 2013 and moved to a sleepy beach town just south of Santa Barbara, California, with the goal of building a brand and raising his daughters alongside is wife Yasmin. 

Lawrence shares that, “There is no such thing as a straight path when you’re an entrepreneur or have the vision to build anything.” Ace Rivington was launched on Kickstarter in 2013 and doubled its funding goal in 34 days. That fueled the confidence for the Lawrences to go all in on the brand, selling their home to self-finance the company. The follow-up to Kickstarter was developing a full menswear collection marketed in a 28-page Ace Rivington catalog that shipped in fall of 2014 to 110,000 customers. As Lawrence says, that was a flop…. but what it did do was give us storage units full of product we had to figure out how to sell. Even with the first wholesale exposure for Ace Rivington at Fred Segal in 2014, the winding road to gain traction for selling success wouldn’t come until the Lawrences opened their first tiny shop in Santa Barbara (only 120 square feet) in winter of 2016. 

Ace Rivington has expanded over the years and now has a 2,000 sq ft flagship store and 2,500 sq ft warehouse in Santa Barbara where the company manages its own online and wholesale fulfillment as well as custom denim tailoring. Yes, as you’d expect, denim is the core business for Ace Rivington. Today you can find Ace Rivington in many of the best Men’s specialty stores in the country, and at acerivington.com

K-POP DEMON HUNTERS! I have to celebrate this smart, unexpected, and delightful movie I stumbled upon when our 11 year old nephew began watching it daily this summer. Yes, I am late to the game, but that does not mean I cannot appreciate it’s wonderful writing, brilliant animation, and binge worthy songs. Fun, Warm, and some really important messages about mental health, tolerance, self-acceptance, and forgiveness. Watch in on Netflix and download the music on your favorite platform. You will enjoy it and learn some new dance moves!

In three weeks, I’ll marry an extraordinary human who loves and accepts me without conditions. I’m full of joy, gratitude, and excitement—and I’m also keenly aware of the relentless attacks on our community and the anxiety so many of us carry about our government’s direction. Holding both is hard. I’m giving myself grace and space to feel the whole spectrum: fear and hope, worry and wonder, anxiety and love.

“The moment we choose to love, we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love, we begin to move toward freedom.” — bell hooks

As we step into this moment together, I’m choosing love as a daily practice—courageous, imperfect, and alive.

My wish for all of us is the same: allow the full, messy, beautiful range of being human, and keep choosing love as your act of freedom.

I’m grateful you’re here.