Lexington, Kentucky native Patrick Buchanan is from a family where the matriarch, his grandmother, birthed 11 children. From an early age, he knew that he’d have to leave behind his Kentucky roots to achieve his dreams. Having a big family was one of the reasons he definitely left, but Patrick primarily left because he wanted to achieve something that would only be possible if he left Kentucky.

In high school, Buchanan was in the Yearbook club and part of the morning news, as in the student you’d hear every day on the intercom at 7am. It helped him break out of his shy shell, but because he didn’t feel like he had room to figure out who Patrick was as a person outside his family, he jumped at the opportunity to leave town for a college two hours away.

Upon graduation, he set his eyes on NYC but an opportunity to audition at E! News in Los Angeles presented itself. Since, he’s had moments on BET, MTV, and Logo. He was even a guest on The Tyra Banks Show. However, his time at Creative Recreation, where he worked with celebrities on high-profile campaigns, changed the course of his journey entirely and has propelled his whole career.

Let’s take it back. What did you plan to do with your Journalism and Broadcasting degree from Western Kentucky University?

My plan was to move to NYC and work in journalism. I wanted to report on pop culture though I had professors at Western Kentucky telling me I wouldn’t get a job because my reel was all about entertainment. Ironically, I was among the first people from my graduating class to land a job right out of school. Thanks to my reel and the internet, I was offered an opportunity to move to Virginia, where I hosted an entertainment segment for two years.

How did this tailspin into a career in marketing versus the communications side?

Marketing has allowed me to see and meet some of the most incredible people. A lot of my decisions came from taking the next best step. I’m an opportunist, positively speaking. I held many titles at Creative Recreation because no one else was doing them. In my head, it was, “no one is doing PR; cool, I’ll do it.” That’s my way of coming up, not being afraid to get my hands dirty, and hoping it leads to being promoted. I hadn’t even studied marketing in school, but I was in a position where I was able to get hands-on experience and enhance my skillset to make me more competitive and valuable. I can’t say I was being as thoughtful or intentional about it at the time; I just knew I was taking the next step to ensure I kept my job.

In 2016, you were the Global Marketing Director at K-Swiss. Tell me about this role and what it was like trying to revive a brand that launched in 1966 but was a part of pop culture in the 1990s and very early 2000s.

Barney Waters was the President of K-Swiss at the time and told me the company was looking to rebrand. His idea was for K-Swiss to become a brand for entrepreneurs. Apparently, they had tried to execute that idea for several years but hadn’t made much movement. When I joined, the brand was 50-plus years old, and it wasn’t like people had negative feelings about the brand. It was more like, “omg, I remember K-Swiss.”

When I started, the brand wasn’t in any of the major retailers, so with Barney, we set the new strategy and built a new team. We set out to tell a story, and we started having presentations at Footlocker and telling them we have Gary Vee and Anwar Carrots and how we were using this to inspire the younger generation. In short, after developing our entrepreneur series and presenting it successfully, K-Swiss was back in Footlocker, Finish Line, and Shoe Palace. It was one of the most exciting times in my life because we started off in an office ourselves and with a big vision, and in a short time we grew the team and the business to new heights.

Whatever happened to the K-Swiss commercials?

We weren’t doing television commercials anymore, but there was a lot of talk about them. Anyone who remembers K-Swiss would always sing that jingle to us. We had many conversations about recreating that concept, and the number of agencies who pitched us about those commercials is endless. Our focus was on entrepreneurship, so the commercials didn’t make much sense at the time.

Last June, you became the Vice President of Brand Marketing at Good American, the denim brand founded by Khloé Kardashian and Emma Grede. How did this opportunity come about.

I received an email one day with the words “Good American” in the subject line. I was really happy with where I was at the time, but it sounded like such a great opportunity. After I did my research – looking at their social channels, PR campaigns, and the founders’ backgrounds –I was like, “Wow, this is a really cool company,” but not only that, the brand has a great purpose and stands for something bigger. It’s more than just selling merchandise; it’s helping uplift women.

I had a meeting with Emma, and I cannot remember why, but I do recall coming out of that one-on-one in tears. It felt like destiny and the right next step in my career.

What’s your experience been like working at Good American?  

I’ve been with the company for over a year and it’s been a wonderful experience. So many people want to know what it’s like, and truthfully my bosses are two of the smartest, most talented, and hard-working women I’ve met. The entire team is such “good” vibe.

I was watching The Kardashians on Hulu and saw you on screen when you all were casting for a Good American campaign. Tell more about that moment and what else Patrick works on or oversees.

I oversee all brand marketing at Good American, including Public Relations, influencer marketing, events and social media. The Open Casting is an annual event, where we travel around the world to find new faces for our campaigns. We’re looking for women of every size, shape and background. It’s one of the best experiences of my life and I’m looking forward to hitting the road this year again.

What are you hoping your skillset can do for Good American?

I want to do my part to help spread the message of inclusivity for all. We’ve made so much progress but there is more work to be done.  And like Tiffany Haddish would say, “We ready!”

IG (Personal): @patricklyspeakn

IG (Good American): @goodamerican