Free & Easy

Kevin Circosta grew up in the warm glow of coastal California – surf missions, street skating, and a visual language shaped by sun, salt, and the ’70s. Free & Easy channels all of it into a modern mantra. Nostalgia meets clarity, optimism meets attitude – and Kevin keeps it all feeling beautifully effortless.

How did growing up in that golden pocket of California shape your eye, style, and the DNA of Free & Easy?

Mannnn, it’s all I’ve ever known. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and dad packing up the car with all our essentials for an all-day beach mission. We were at Zuma almost every weekend – we’d arrive early, leave at sunset, and I’d pass out the second we got in the car after a day on the sand and in the water. My parents and their friends were children of the ’60s and in their twenties in the ’70s. Their effortless style wasn’t a trend – it was just who they were, and that look always felt like home to me. My original direction for Free & Easy was to capture that moment in time – my dad’s surf tees, corduroy snapback hats, woven beach towels, Igloo cooler, rainbow beach umbrella, and our boombox.

Skateboarding has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’ll never forget when my parents splurged and got me the pink Tony Hawk Powell-Peralta board – it was my most prized possession. I skated all through my early years and then moved into ’90s street skating as a teenager. Back then there were no skateparks, so my friends and I would be outside all day skating the streets, parking lots, schools, banks – running from security guards, taking the bus to the Santa Monica sand gaps and the West L.A. courthouse. I lived the mid-’90s. I was fifteen in 1995, and all those moments really shaped who I am and what I love. The style of that era inspired this whole wave of ’90s nostalgia we’ve been seeing everywhere – from high fashion to streetwear to music and beyond.

California was the perfect playground for all my interests, and growing up in L.A. gave me such an eclectic upbringing. It’s that essence – those experiences – that define what Free & Easy means to me.

Why does 1978 show up so much in the brand?

The ’70s encapsulated my favorite graphic design, typefaces, and vibe. Everything I saw as a kid came from that late ’70s and early ’80s era. I’ve always loved how the designs of that time were both simple and bold. Pre-computer graphics meant designers had to dig deep and really get creative. The color palettes, shapes, angles, halftones, gradients – they’ve always spoken to me. When creating collections for Free & Easy, I stay true to those design principles.

“Coastal California style is eternal – it’s not a trend.”

How do you balance ’70s nostalgia with modern clarity?

Free & Easy is a love letter to my childhood, but I never wanted it to feel like straight nostalgia or costume-y – like some That ’70s Show recreation. Coastal California style is eternal – it’s not just a trend, it’s everlasting.

Being a teenager in the ’90s, I was part of the original streetwear boom. There were no baggy pants, so we’d buy size 40 corduroy pants from the Big & Tall store and $5 web belts from the army surplus to keep them from falling off. With the streetwear explosion of the last decade, I felt that same energy again.

Growing up in L.A., you’re always living at the intersection of street and beach culture. Free & Easy was made to capture just that – bringing street energy to the beach and beach energy to the street. We’ve been lucky to be embraced by the streetwear world, even as a bit of an outlier, and some of our biggest moments have been when rappers have worn our brand or when we’ve popped up at ComplexCon and received so much love from that community.

“Free & Easy” and “Don’t Trip” have this loose, optimistic energy. Are they personal mantras or public service announcements?

They started as daily reminders for me – to be more free and easy, to not worry, to slow down, to relax and enjoy my life. But those messages resonate with everyone. Everyone wants to feel good, everyone wants to feel love and joy. It’s a common thread across all walks of life, and I’m here to help spread that energy to one and all!

How do you maintain that sense of ease in a culture obsessed with hype?

Free & Easy is for everyone, and I like it that way. Hype is real and has its place – that energy is fun but temporary. We’re building a brand for the long run and have always stayed true to our vision. Free & Easy is more than a brand – it’s a lifestyle. It’s a feeling and a way of life, not just a limited-edition drop.

“Free & Easy isn’t hype – it’s a way of life.”

How do collaborations come about, and what do you look for?

We’ve been blessed with the partnerships we’ve had. A lot of our biggest projects have come together naturally. We’ve worked with some really big brands and done passion projects with smaller ones. Some amazing companies have cold-called us because they see potential, want to align with our authenticity, or just like what we’re doing and what we stand for.

Big brands like working with independents because it keeps them real and in touch with the zeitgeist – and it helps independent brands like us because we get a megaphone in return. We’re so grateful for the platforms our collaborators have given us.

I look for harmony in everything I do. When someone knocks, I can usually feel instantly if it’s a road we want to walk down – and when we do, I love to create magic with them. We’ve done collabs with other apparel brands, restaurants, footwear, bicycles, skateboards – we even made a beer and a Free & Easy x Fender Jaguar guitar! We’ve been blessed to work with the Marley family, the estate of The Beatles, the L.A. Rams, the NBA, the MLB, the World Surfing League, and more. Our ethos has a broad appeal, and we love having the opportunity to reach more people.

Tell me about the Chaka sign – does street art still influence you?

Chaka is an L.A. icon. He grew up in the projects in Boyle Heights, just a few blocks from our warehouse in Downtown L.A. As a kid, spotting his tags on freeways and walls felt like a game – he was everywhere. His art became a cultural phenomenon.

I’ve always been drawn to graffiti artists – the style, the risk, the whole world of it. I met Chaka a few years back and bought a hand-sprayed street sign from him. Now it lives proudly in our warehouse.

Today, driving down the freeway is like a revolving art gallery with all the graffiti that pops up overnight. I still get that same feeling I did when I was a kid – it’s still exciting to see new pieces and styles being showcased all around town. I always keep my eyes open for what the young, up-and-coming street artists are doing.

“Street energy to the beach, beach energy to the street.”

When LeBron and Mac Miller wore the hats, did everything change?

Yeahhhhh… both moments were pivotal for us in completely different but equally powerful ways.

With LeBron, the impact was instant. We already had a buzz in L.A., New York, Paris, and a few surf towns around the world. Tastemakers like Charlie Staunton at Virgil Normal, Humberto Leon at Opening Ceremony, and Sarah Andelman at Colette were supporting the brand, so the energy was building – and then boom, LeBron wears the washed-black Don’t Trip hat during a playoff post-game interview seen by millions. Overnight everything changed. I woke up and every Don’t Trip hat was sold out. Suddenly I’m doing a TMZ interview in my underwear, getting calls and emails from ESPN, magazines, blogs – all of it. I went straight into production to meet the demand and never looked back.

Mac’s moment hit just as hard, but in a more soulful way. His NPR Tiny Desk performance was so powerful and has touched so many people. He bought the hat at a store in L.A., and seeing him wear it in such an iconic performance genuinely shifted the trajectory of the brand. Mac embodied the Free & Easy spirit – pure light, openness, honesty. His moment wasn’t just exposure; it was emotional. It connected on a deeper level and brought an entirely new community into the fold. Mac was a messenger to so many – a beacon of hope, truth, recovery, all of it.

How do you feel about being copied or lifted by other brands?

Ehhh… no one likes being straight-up jocked, but I’ve always wanted to inspire people. Fashion and music work that way – a trend hits, then everyone jumps on. When I started the brand, there wasn’t another contemporary brand doing this exact thing. A few years later, I saw our look everywhere – high-end fashion brands, streetwear, surf brands, mall brands – all riding that wave. That’s the business.

But Free & Easy isn’t a trend for us – it’s our DNA. We evolve, but the core stays the same, and that’s why we’ve kept respect in the community. And of course… if you put “Free & Easy” or “Don’t Trip” on something and try to sell it, you’re getting a special letter in the mail lol.

Any cultural icon – past or present – who embodies the Free & Easy spirit?

Bob Marley. Goes without saying – one of my biggest influences in life. He truly embodied the Free & Easy spirit.

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