Innovative headwear brand Dungeon Forward is the brainchild of David Castro. Years ago, as an architecture student at Florida A&M University, Castro would buy plain t-shirts and bring them to life with paint, using the garments to tell empowering stories with artistic flair.
“The inspiration came from not having the finances to pay for things I thought were cool,” Castro said. Over time their canvas expanded to hats, which have since become what they call ‘crowns for the culture’ and the centerpiece of Dungeon Forward’s thriving business.
“Streetwear is not the first thought that comes to mind when you think of royalty, but the ideas that move the world and drive everything come from the street,” said Castro, who wants to change the perspective on what a crown could look and feel like.
In 2008 Castro parlayed his vision for a creative streetwear brand into Fort Lauderdale-based Dungeon Forward, which designs and sells innovative headwear combining style, comfort, and cultural expression. The colorful collection includes hats, caps, and accessories that are fashion forward, a nod to the brand’s namesake.
The Black-owned business initially began selling direct-to-consumer before expanding to Amazon as a sales channel, where they now sell over 200 products. Their items tell stories that derive from art pieces, songs, and other cultural expressions.
“It started with an intention to meet the customer where they were [because Amazon is] an environment where people are coming to shop,” said Castro of the decision to sell with Amazon.
More than 15 years since launching, Dungeon Forward continues to call on consumers who may not normally view themselves as royalty to recognize their greatness through creativity, storytelling, and self-expression. An important part of that greatness is embracing diversity, reflected in the company’s staff.
“We are all mostly hyphenated when it comes to race and ethnicity. When it comes to nationality, it’s a melting pot here,” said Marketing and Sales Director Zhu Mendoza.
That principle extends to their business operations.
“For me, diversity is at every step of the life cycle, from the inception of the idea of a product, the creation of the product to levels of manufacturing in the product, where we source our boxes, who we connect with as a realtor to find the space that we’re leasing, to the people that work on the team, to the people that we choose as ambassadors, to the people that we work with,” Castro said. “The inclusion at all of those levels is intentional.”
When Dungeon Forward joined the Amazon Black Business Accelerator (BBA), they found mentorship and a network of like-minded peers able to help them take the next step of their small business journey while embracing shared values. The BBA is a $150 million commitment from Amazon over four years to help empower and drive the sustainable success of Black-owned businesses by providing access to financial assistance, strategic business education, coaching and marketing support.
“Amazon Black Business Accelerator Program is exactly what we were looking for,” said Mendoza. “It’s a space—a lab—where I can create community with people that might not know that there are others just like them: hungry and ready.”
“The intentionality of the BBA and the mindfulness that went into not just the programming but who was selected for the program gave us the confidence to be even more authentic in the way we show up as a brand,” she added.
For Castro and Zhu, who aspire to grow Dungeon Forward into a multibillion-dollar brand, showing up authentically and building genuine relationships are part of their recipe for success.
“You can go fast alone, but you can go further together,” Zhu said.