Business of HYPE is a weekly series brought to you by HYPEBEAST Radio and hosted by jeffstaple. It’s a show about creatives, brand-builders, entrepreneurs and the realities behind the dreams they’ve built. This week, jeff sits down with psychotherapist and mental health advocate Liz Beecroft.

The Brooklyn based psychotherapist, is a licensed master social worker currently focusing in foster care who was recently chosen for  Nike’s “NYC By You” sneaker design contest. With a stylish Instagram that integrates fashion, footwear and mental health awareness, Liz is trying to break stigmas and create transparent dialogue for today’s youth.

With an undergrad degree from Susquehanna University and a masters from NYU, Liz’s work ranges from full time therapy and college counsel to working at crisis centers. She credits her love of sneakers to having played basketball her entire life, a sport that helped her find common ground with her students. Utilizing Instagram as her creative outlet outside of work, Liz began building a presence, which soon caused her to become “consumed in comparing [herself] to other influencer.” Through the help of a therapist she was able to see that she could fuse her love of streetwear and mental health together on her social platform.

“I wasn’t really sharing on my social media platforms about what I do, and I got really consumed in comparing myself to other influencers out there. So I actually went back to therapy for myself and she helped me see that it’s okay to be a social worker and also be in to sneakers. So that’s what I started doing— merging those two worlds.”

After an opportunity came about through Cultivator and Nike By You, Liz was chosen amongst 27 others to design a shoe, market it and have it up for sale for two weeks. Given the Nike Air Max 270 React silhouette, she created a green base (the color of mental health awareness), stylized with a wavy swoosh to signify healing’s nonlinear path alongside vintage Nike-inspired ads and a launch party at Kinfolk to advertise her “In My Feels” shoe. Rather than taking the profit, Liz decided to donate all proceeds of her collaboration to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Currently, Liz is studying for her licensed clinical social exam and hopes to work for the NBA as a mental health professional. When she’s not busy advocating for mental health, you can find her playing basketball for Hoop York City. She advises us that it’s crucial people today find outlets to express their emotions and that at the end of the day it’s okay to talk about your feelings.

If you need help with emotions that you’re dealing with or need people to talk to, Liz recommends this: Find My Well Being, mental health journals, or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Additionally, feel free to hit Jeff on Twitter, @jeffstaple, or via email at questions@businessofhype.com, and he may answer your question on a future episode.

This episode features references to the following:

2:59 – Liz’s job
3:14 – Nike Collaboration
3:24 – What is social work?
6:54 – NY Foster Care
8:37 – Educational background
12:37 – Liz’s current role
18:47 – Basketball
19:25 – Reebok Answer 3
21:07 – Susquehanna University & NYU
23:15 – Instagram
23:40 – Balancing social work w/streetwear
30:36 – Cultivator
31:35 – Cultivator x Nike NYC By You
34:17 – Nike Air Max 270 React
35:00 – Launching her shoe
36:11 – Designing her shoe
44:53 – Kinfolk
55:13 – NBA
57:03 – Hoop York City
1:00:43 – Advice