Wild Ingenuity™: Masakazu Fukuyama of Man of Moods

The next brand leader in our new series called Wild Ingenuity™ is the indomitable Masakazu Fukuyama. He’s a former pro snowboarder, mountain man, angler, and the creative brain behind brands like Man of Moods and TONEDTROUT. We’re also massive fans of his amazing collaborations with companies such as KEEN, Snow Peak, and MSPC. We break it down with Masakazu and get his thoughts on nature, culture, and future.

NATURE
Tell us a bit about yourself and how is nature woven into what you do.
My name is Masakazu Fukuyama. I started out as a pro snowboarder signing with amazing brands such as Nike, Timex, and DC Shoes and landing a JSBA Half Pipe All Japan Championship Win, among many others. At the same time, after modeling in several magazines, I studied fashion on my own and launched a men’s apparel brand call Man of Moods that continues to this day. In 2016, signed a contract with Megabass to further expand their range of activities as a mountain stream professional angler. Rather than saying that I like nature, I like the way people interact with nature, and I like the stimulation that nature gives me. I believe in order for a design to be valid, it must work in nature.

CULTURE
Where do you go for inspiration? What out there in current culture is creating the most interesting vibes to motivate you?
I think of stimulus first and inspiration second. I like the stimulus I get from nature, it makes me want more. That then leads to inspiration, which leads to product creation and inspiration around manufacturing techniques. But it all begins with some form of stimulus. Culturally, extreme sports — such as snowboarding — are also a great source of stimulus.

FUTURE
What trends are you seeing and tracking right now that are helping you plan for the future?
I am actually not that interested in trends, but I believe that the path of highest motivation in my life is based only on the decisions I chose to make. That’s it.

Check out all of Masakazu’s work and collabs on Instagram and on his website.