XL’s Featured Tribe Men Of The Week Brandon Madden

1. What are your biggest fashion obstacles?
For myself some of my biggest fashion obstacles would have to be sizing, and availability like it is for most men of size. Shoe shopping for me has been a real challenge because I wear a size 14 shoe. Most stores have very limited availability or the company makes only 10 pair in that size nation-wide and never restock that size in the store or warehouse.

2. Where are you from and how you describe your style?
I am from Austin, TX and yes it is true Everything is Bigger in Texas! And Football is King, with that being said there are a lot of men of size here. The saying in Austin is “Keep Austin Weird” and the same goes for the fashion here, the more outside of the box the better. Because it’s hot in Texas almost year around I tend to wear alot of nice Tees, Graphic, V-necks, and distressed looks, scoop T’s, and distressed shorts or nice jeans.
Chuck Taylor’s or a Nike shoe is the normal casual look for me.
I wear a lot of button downs short sleeve and long sleeve shirts, nice tampered jeans and wingtip or cap toe shoes. To dress it up I normally add a sports coat.
Most of my power colors are Black, Navy Blue, Royal Purple, and Gray. I also wear quite a bit of Denim, Kaki, and White. But I am adding more colors in my wardrobe

3. Tell us about your biggest fashion nightmare and if it came true do explain. (attach a picture if you can)
Some of my biggest fashion nightmares is ordering jeans, collared shirts online because you have no idea how the product is cut, or know what type of fabric is being used and it doesn’t fit for one reason or another.
I don’t have a picture of these but my other fashion nightmare was I had a couple of pairs of tapered jeans wear-out in the groin area quicker than normal and they would just rip/or split because my legs would rub together.

4.What are somethings you wanna see more of from your favorite brands?
I would like to see more luxury brands in larger sizes (Gucci, LV, Versace,YSL, etc…) Especially their accent pieces like belts, shoes, and some shirts, so we can marry them with our existing wardrobe. I would also like to see more athletic cut options, extra room for chest, shoulders, and arms with a tapper in the mid-section to give a V-like look and not an overly baggy shapeless shirt. Same with the pants extra room in the seat and thigh area with a tapper from the knee down.

5.Where do you see yourself in five years and how do you see yourself accomplishing it?
In five years I see myself growing my brand as a Big&Tall Super Model continuing to do more national campaigns, and be the face of major brands like Miguel Perdomo and Zach Miko.
Expand my Voice Over business to doing major movie trailers and big animated films. Bulid up my acting career to be in Tinseltown movies and Network TV shows.
I want to continue to inspire people to live out your dreams and do what you love because time is only commodity we can’t get back.

6.How long have you been on the journey of being a Big & Tall man? What’s the biggest misconception you hear about Big & Tall Guys?
I would say most of my adult life. I’ve always been a big guy, and I’ve been an athlete my whole life and played Defensive Tackle in College. So I’ve always had a big chest, wide shoulders, muscular arms, big legs, and long feet. Shopping as a Big & Tall man I’ve had to get creative with pairing my selections.
The biggest misconception about Big&Tall men is that we are not healthy or take care of ourselves, or that we love our clothes to extra comfortable and baggy.
I have an athletic build, and I have always lived a very active lifestyle, and I enjoy being in the gym making my body stronger and harder. I want to promote a healthy lifestyle. It’s not about the size you wear or how much you weigh, It’s about how you feel in your own skin and what makes you happy. My goal everyday is to become my greatest version.
I do like to feel comfortable and confident in what I’m wearing but I don’t want my clothes to be baggy or have that “dad-look” too it. I want to have access to trendy pieces, and patterns that look right for my body type. Also high quality functional investment pieces like jeans, collared shirts, and sports coats.

7.If you could swap styles with one celebrity who would it be and why?
I don’t know if I would swap styles but I am definatly inspired by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Idris Elba. I am a fan of The Rock’s suit and vest looks on his TV show “Ballers”. And I enjoy Idris’s style and swag all together, he can dress up or dress down he’s still a gentleman, and someone you can have fun with in the streets.

Instagram : @bmadden59