Meet Mike Morelli of Burn Our Bridges

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Morelli.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started off with just a journal back in 2019, writing down my ideas and rough sketching, it was basically just a way to vent to myself.

When Covid hit the following year, my fiancé and I packed up and hit the road. We went all over the United States, hiking and exploring, just trying to escape the chaos that was currently going on. At the time I was highly devoted to my photography career but I always found myself going back to that journal.

Fast forward to 2021, we moved to Arizona, a fresh start away from all familiar distractions, and this was where it all really changed. At this point, I had pages full of ideas and decided to put them onto clothing. The first year was a major learning experience. I lost a lot of money and struggled a good bit to the point I actually stopped completely. I then went back to photography full-time.

One day on break, the following year, I went into my notepad on my iPhone and saw some old shirt ideas I had. I could not stop thinking about them for the remainder of the day. That night I found myself at my laptop, on photoshop going through art files I haven’t seen in over a year. It was at that point I decided to go back and fix what wasn’t working. I knew I was onto something but it wasn’t perfect.

For 3 months, I watched every video and read every article I could about perfecting a business. I completely redesigned art files, made my website more appealing, learned I could actually negotiate better deals with my suppliers, recalculated my shipping costs so I wasn’t losing money and the list goes on. The one thing I learned about running a business is that even though it may be “only 25 cents.”

It all adds up. I relaunched the brand in March with our new look and structure, and it completely sold out the first week. We ended up doing $10k in sales that month alone and since then it has skyrocketed, reaching sales in over 40 states.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The first year was rough. I made a lot of mistakes and mistakes cost money.

I actually temporarily “gave up” you could say to the feeling of failure is created. The whole thing was great though cause it taught me what to do and what not to do.

I’m glad I decided to go back into it one more time with refuse to give up attitude and try a different route than the first time. It also made me aware that I am capable of overcoming these struggles. I wouldn’t change a thing if I could.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are an Alternate Lifestyle Clothing brand from the Pittsburgh/Phoenix area.

We are known for our edgy designs and comfortable materials. One thing that I have strived for since day one of this brand that I am very proud of is that we are totally different from every other company, our designs give a sense of belonging or relatedness.

Our family of customers read our clothing and it makes them feel like they aren’t alone, others feel the same way, and I feel that is what it’s all about.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I did everything myself, I have always been an independent person and like to try to learn new things on my own. YouTube is honestly incredible and so are books.

We live in the golden age of technology, it’s crazy what knowledge is for free on that platform. 90% of my troubleshooting from when my business was struggling came from YouTube.

Contact Info:

• Website: burnourbridges.com
• Instagram: @burnourbridgesco
• Facebook: @burnourbridges