The CEO

FlyMisfits was founded in September 2020 by myself, the CEO, Fanta Keita. I am truly grateful for your support & interest in my business! Just a few things to know about myself: I’m co’ 2020 HS graduate, an artist, a Taurus, and I also have Sickle Cell Anemia. While sickle cell trait is pretty common, there are still so many people who aren’t aware of the disease! As far as I know, I am the only one in my family thus far who has actually ended up with Sicke Cell Anemia. This was the first time I realized that I truly was the misfit of the bunch. Due to my disability, I've had to endure many challenges growing up both in and outside of school. These uncontrollable circumstances caused me to be outed a lot as a child, and it used to make me hate the fact I had a disability. On my journey to self love, I began to learn how to accept and love ALL parts of me, even the ones I didn't like. Instead of letting my disease disable me, it has actually enabled me to be the strong person I am today! For those that don't know, Sickle Cell can be medically treated with cannabis similar to cancer, and many other physical/mental disabilities! My goal is to educate more people about the positive effects of using cannabis, while simultaneously educating my people about sickle cell disease & encouraging self love!

 

The Meaning

The acronym "F.L.Y." stands for "First Love Yourself". I knew I ultimately wanted the brand to represent self love because it's something we all need to be reminded of at times! A misfit is someone or something that has unique qualities unlike their peers.

 

Our Mission 

Our mission within FlyMisfits is to encourage self love and importance of being different! We plan to do this all while educating people about the positive uses of cannabis and how it can affect people with common or chronic physical/mental illnesses!

The Motivation 

Growing up, I too had many experiences where being different wasn't necessarily celebrated. A lot of times I was the oddball, and I always stuck out like a sore thumb without even trying. I was still both learning who I was, and learning how to love that person. As a result, I went through many long phases of trying to find/express myself. A lot of times I would unconsciously try to imitate content I saw thinking "If they enjoy when this person does it, they'll enjoy when I do it too." I didn't realize that people liked those creator's content because they were being themselves, while I was imitating what I thought was "right". It wasn't that I couldn't be original, I just didn't know how to express my individuality in a way that was true to myself. Once I began to actively seek myself, I learned how important it was to love the things that make me both a misfit, and the person I am today. It takes some learning and it may not be easy, but a big part of loving yourself is embracing your inner misfit and the fact that you're a one of one!

 

What Makes Us Different?

FlyMisfits produces custom products that are carefully designed, made with love, and no two things are the same, just like us! I promote self love within this business because it should be encouraged more in every community, but especially in my brown community. First Love Yourself!

 

The Beginning

Believe it or not, I had no initial plans in FlyMisfits being what it is today. I wanted to turn "F.L.Y." into a brand, but I didn't know where to start. Eventually I figured that I would just have to choose a lane to start with and branch out from there. During the beginning of the pandemic, I had plenty of time to get acquainted with the infamous TikTok, which did begin to consume a lot of my time. One day during my endless scrolling, I came across a video of someone making a rolling tray. I knew I always had issues finding something to roll up on, so I thought, "That's so cute I wanna make one for myself". I figured it would also be beneficial for sanitary purposes while being a fun way for stoners to express themselves! I got the supplies, started to experiment, and to my surprise, people actually wanted me to customized one for them as well! After about 5 or 6 orders I thought "I could make this into a business, that's something different", so here we are! I started only with intentions on making something for myself. Now that FlyMisfits has grown and the fact that people all over the U.S. are purchasing from us blows my mind! Thank You all!