In this episode of HYPEBEAST Radio, we sat down with designer, DJ and all-around creative Heron Preston to learn about his origins as a fashion designer. Over the course of an hour-long conversation, Preston explains how Al Moran asked him to make a yearbook—The Young & The Banging—that catalogued the “big kids’ high school” of the Downtown New York scene. He also explains that he’s actually been creating luxury streetwear under his own name since before he matriculated at New York’s Parsons university. A true digital native, Preston met many of his future colleagues and collaborators Virgil Abloh, Justin “JJJJound” Saunders, and Cyber69 while trawling and trolling forums and blogs and how those relationships birthed the ‘fashion boy band’ known as Been Trill. Finally, we ask him about how he recommends aspiring young artists go about paving their own way in the age of the Internet.

Check out some highlights below and click play to hear more about Preston’s work with Nike, Kanye West, and his ongoing retail tour in the interview above.