A Man Worth Listening To: Joffrey Lupul
Joffrey Lupul has the utmost respect for Canadian troops. “However rough I think my job can get, it doesn’t even compare to theirs,” he said, strategically holding his broken hand behind his back. Together with Gotstyle, Lupul raised $25,000 for the True Patriot Love Foundation through LupulStyle, a collaboration between the clothing emporium and Lupul. True Patriot Love is a national charity that honours the sacrifices of members of the Canadian Armed Forces and funds programs and research in the areas of mental health, physical rehabilitation, family support and more.
Gotstyle recently hosted an event for the presentation of the $25,000 cheque. An exclusive Canadian digitized camouflage Sully Wong x Gotstyle limited edition sneaker was on hand for partygoers to preorder with a portion of the proceeds also going to the foundation. We caught up with the assistant captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the presentation to talk about LupulStyle.com, the collaboration and even Don Cherry.
Your website LupulStyle.com is obviously a great place to go if you’re looking for style advice. What style advice do you swear by?
The first thing I always tell anyone is that you have to be comfortable. And what goes along with that s finding a good tailor. Once you’ve done that, then you can get a little more creative with your look. But that’s a major thing, you want your clothes to fit comfortably and well.
I’m interested in your partnership with Gotstyle because it’s not the usual ‘athlete as a spokesmodel’ deal.
We’ve just partnered up and found a neat way to do some charitable things. We both have a passion for that. And, obviously, we both have a passion for fashion. It’s been fun for us but it’s rewarding on days like this to see where the contribution goes.
What is your own personal style like and how is Gotstyle a part of it?
They have a lot of different options to choose from when it comes to style. It’s more than just suits. They’ve got a lot of good casual clothes. I like a lot of versatility when it comes to my clothes and I’m usually pretty open to new styles. I like what I like and if I don’t like it, I won’t wear it.
Let’s say you’re stranded on an island, but it’s a fashionable island. What fashion accessory would you bring with you?
[Laughs] What’s the weather like? It’s probably my leather biker jacket. Unless it’s tropical, that might get hot.
You can always sling it over your shoulder and still look cool.
Yeah yeah. I’ll probably stick with the leather jacket. I love it and my boots. Those are the first two things I would go for.
What’s the first word that pops into your head when I say’ Don Cherry’s personal style’?
Unique? [Laughs] Unique. He has his own personal style and it will never be duplicated and that’s probably a good thing.
Tell me a little bit about the event we’re at right now.
It’s a kind of wrap up party from the collaboration we did – myself and Sully Wong – for the True Patriot Love Foundation. We’re here to have some fun, meet a few member of the military and present the foundation with a cheque.
Photos courtesy of Michelle Prata
