Andy Warhol once iconically said, “In the future, everyone will have 15 minutes of fame”. For Erik Arteaga, aka @burberry.erry, unanticipated fame is lasting longer than Warhol's estimate.

Growing up in the suburbs of Southern California, Arteaga spent most of his free time skateboarding. With the same dreams of sponsorship that many young skateboarders share, he began making videos of his skating in hopes of getting noticed, primarily using social media as a medium to push his clips out.

One day, Arteaga woke up to a DM from a man he’d never heard of before who ran a clothing brand he wasn’t familiar with. The man’s name was Virgil Abloh. Having seen some of Arteaga's clips on Instagram, Abloh reached out to say that he liked Arteaga's style and wanted to work with him. He started the relationship by sending Arteaga a large box of product from his line, Off-White.

Though unfamiliar with Off-White at the time, Arteaga quickly gained an understanding of the power of the brand. As his relationship with Abloh blossomed, he began to fully understand and appreciate not only the influence of Virgil but also the world of luxury fashion. It wasn’t long after that first box that Arteaga started getting noticed for skating in some of Abloh’s limited-edition sneakers. He wasn’t afraid to beat up pieces that most would consider grails, and this rough and tumble approach to designer clothing quickly caught the attention of the fashion world. The skate community had a harder time understanding Arteaga’s sudden surge in popularity though, and at first it was difficult for Arteaga to deal with negativity from a community he was so involved in. Now, however, it's become pretty clear that the positive opportunities have far outweighed the negative opinions.

Because of Arteaga's skating background, he approaches fashion with an outsider's perspective and is willing to try things that many wouldn’t. It was likely this fresh set of eyes, uninfluenced by big brand designers or trends, that interested Abloh. The cosign has opened up a multitude of doors for Arteaga, with various brand deals allowing him to quit his 9-5 job and get a spot in Hollywood. He describes the whole experience as a bit of blur, and is still trying to balance this new life with his old one. Whether he is skating or flying to Paris Fashion Week, Arteaga's biggest moment of clarity has been learning to ignore the hate. He’s enjoying himself and doing exactly what he wants to do.

Whether this is really Andy Warhol’s prophetic “15 minutes” or the beginning of a new chapter, Arteaga isn’t worried. This isn’t anything he asked for, so if it goes away he won’t be too disappointed. In the meantime, he’s just trying to enjoy every second.

We spent some time with Arteaga in the Los Angeles Arts District as he tried on some of his favorite FWRD pieces.