Marc Ecko (born Marc Milecofsky[1] in 1972 in East Brunswick, New Jersey) is a fashion designer and entrepreneur. Ecko grew up in Lakewood NJ.[1] He started selling T-shirts in the mid 1980s, and founded his clothing brand eckō in 1993.
Marc Ecko Enterprises has grown to include many separate *eckō unltd. apparel and accessories lines, the contemporary Marc Ecko “Cut & Sew” collection, G-Unit Clothing Company, Zoo York, Avirex Sportswear, Complex magazine, and Marc Ecko Entertainment, a full service production company, with a focus on interactive entertainment. In 2004, Marc Ecko Enterprises reported international sales of approximately $1 billion.[2] The Company also recently signed a deal with MTV Films for the film adaptation of Marc Ecko's first videogame project, "Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure."[3]
Ecko has been included in New York magazine’s “Influentials” list,[4] Detail magazine's list of “Most Powerful Men Under 38,”[5] DNR’s “Power 100 List,”[5] Crain’s New York Business “40 Under 40” list,[6] and JVibe magazine's "Hot List."[7]
Ecko resides in Bernardsville, New Jersey[8] with his wife Allison, whom he married in October 2000.[9]
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Over the years, Ecko has also dedicated himself to a number of socially conscious initiatives, [10] and trying to help reverse the plight of the world's rhinoceros population.[11] In 2005, the San Diego Zoo named a baby Indian rhino after the designer in honor of his work with the International Rhino. His net worth is currently over $100 million and is still on its way up ,[12].In June 2005 he hosted the second annual "Save the Rhinos" benefit concert in New York's Central Park.[13] In October 2006, Marc Ecko purchased two white rhinos being auctioned by a private zoo going out of business in the Catskills, saving them the likely fate of being purchased by canned hunt operators and being shot by paying visitors.
Marc was the first recipient of the Stoked Awards honoring oustanding achievement and accomplishments in life.
On August 23, 2005, Marc Ecko won the right in Federal court to hold a free outdoor graffiti art exhibition in New York City after the city tried to revoke a previously issued permit for the event.[14] The event, held on August 22nd, 2005, featured ten 48-foot-long by 8-foot-high replicas of the legendary NYC transit Redbird subway cars, transformed into contemporary urban works of art by renowned graffiti writers, including Logan "MYTHOTIC" Sabourin, Brad "B-Craze" Gardiner, PINK, T-KID, DASH, WEST, CES, SONIC, IZ THE WIZ, MIN, DURO, WANE, WEN, DERO, CYCLE, SMITH, DOC, KEL 1st, MARE139, CRASH, DAZE, GHOST, TATS CREW, TASK ONE, SY ONE, and SURGE.
In April 2006, Ecko released a video depicting himself applying graffiti to the left wing engine of Air Force One. The video, directed by ad director Randy Krallman, was a hoax, and was created “to induce you, the viewer of the video, to think critically about freedom of expression and speech and the government’s responses to the same.”[15] However, others dismissed it as a publicity stunt.[16]
In the same year, Ecko backed seven young graffiti artists who filed a lawsuit against New York City, over its anti-graffiti law (introduced by Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr.) banning minors from possessing spray paint or broad-tipped markers.[17] Ecko's lawyer Daniel Perez acted as counsel for the plaintiffs.[18] In May 2006, District Judge George B. Daniels put in place a temporary injunction preventing the City from enforcing that law.[19] Judge Daniels said the legislation is “like telling me I can eat an apple, but I can’t buy an apple, no one can sell me an apple and I can’t bring it to work for lunch.” In June 2006, the Federal appeals court upheld Daniels' decision.[20] Ecko said “The motif of graffiti is one that has the right to exist credibly, and it is great to see the courts make a distinction between illegal vandalism and the motif of legal graffiti as a legitimate art form that cannot be pushed aside by legislators.”[21]
In September 2007, Ecko was the winning bidder in the auction for Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th home run ball, paying $752,467 for it. [22] To determine the fate of the ball, he started a website, www.vote756.com [2], which let visitors vote on what they think should happen to it. Visitors' choices were giving the ball to the Hall of Fame, branding the ball with an asterisk before giving it to the Hall of Fame, and putting the ball on a rocket to be launched into space. Over 10,000,000 votes were tallied in all.
On September 26th, 2007, on The Today Show, Ecko revealed that the public, voting with a 47% plurality, wanted to brand the ball with an asterisk and send it to Cooperstown. 34% wanted the ball sent to the Hall of Fame without an asterisk and only 19% wanted the ball to be shot into space.[23]
In reaction to the result of the vote, Dale Petroskey, the President of the Cooperstown Hall of Fame stated that, although he was "delighted to have the ball," the acceptance of the ball with an asterisk on it did not mean that Cooperstown believes that Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs to obtain his record.[23]
Public reaction to Ecko's idea has been largely mixed.
A few news columnists and newspaper bloggers have been in favor of Ecko's idea. Bob DiCesare of the Buffalo News hailed Ecko and said that the site was a "brilliant idea" and "advertising genius". DiCesare also made light of a recent ESPN online poll that showed almost 80 percent of 70,000 voters divided over whether to send the ball to Cooperstown marked or unmarked but said that only 20 percent had voted to shoot it into space.[24] Tim Dahlberg of Associated Press Sports also praised Ecko and said that while he believes the whole thing may be a giant hoax (referring to Ecko's famous spray-painting of the supposedly "real" Air Force One), his vote is "for branding the ball with an asterisk — and then shooting it into space."[25]
A few others have either dismissed Ecko or have voted that the ball go straight to the Hall of Fame with or without any tampering. Matt Murphy, the man who originally caught the ball and sold it in the auction, said that he is voting to send the ball, unblemished, to the Hall of Fame. He added that, despite all that Bonds has been accused of, at the moment, the baseball "does not belong in outer space." The Cooperstown Hall of Fame spokesman, Jeff Idelson, said that they would "be absolutely elated" to obtain the baseball, marked or unmarked, adding that, "If it carries an asterisk, so be it."[26] Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed simply called Ecko a copycat for parroting Grant DePorter of Harry Caray's Restaurant Group. DePorter purchased the infamous Bartman Ball for $113,824.16 in 2003 and, like Ecko, asked the fans to vote on the ball's fate which included putting the ball on a rocket and launching it into space.[27]
Barry Bonds himself responded, calling Ecko "stupid" and an "idiot." He also remarked that Ecko's idea was "stupid" as well, rhetorically asking, "He spent $750,000 on the ball and that's what he's doing with it?"[28] Ecko had no statement about Bonds' remarks but jokingly offered to design him a t-shirt that reads: “Marc Ecko paid $752,467 for my ball, and all I got was this ’stupid’ T-shirt.’”[29]
A few days later, on his blog, Washington Wizards point guard, Gilbert Arenas, offered to buy the ball from Ecko. Arenas said that he wasn't going to let Ecko "act like a superhero" and "mess up history." Arenas claimed that he was willing to pay $800,000 for it and that, if Bonds was found guilty, he would give the ball back to Ecko to brand with an asterisk. [30]
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