Percival People: Leo Mandella
Out on the Field with @gullyguyleo
Leo Mandella, also known as Gully Guy Leo, woke up on Christmas Day 2015 and rushed downstairs to find that Santa Claus had brought him some spicy new fits. He coordinated his favourite pieces and, over the next few days, took to posting fit pics taken on his parents’ suburban Warwickshire driveway (Neighbourhood Watch sticker on the window). He was thirteen years old. The neighbourhood watched and the neighbourhood approved, and pretty soon the world was watching.
By fifteen, Leo was fronting Converse’s One Star campaign. The past eight years have seen Gully Guy Leo rise through the world of street fashion, right to its vertigo-inducing heights, where he remains to this day. In terms of influential people from Warwickshire, it pretty much goes: George Eliot, Ken Loach, Gully Guy Leo — not necessarily in that order — and that’s a hill we will die on. We wanted to get to know Leo a little better, so we managed to nab him for a chat. Enjoy…
Hey Leo! How’s your summer been, what are the highlights?
Hey Percival, my summer has been good and busy, My highlight has definitely going to Ibiza, I just love getting away and doing holidays and another highlight has been moving to London which I have been really enjoying its given me a new lease of life and feeling more productive and motivated, which I think I was struggling with a bit in Warwick because I had a single bedroom and you can’t really be that productive or that on top of your game when you are stuck in a small town like that.
So moving to London has definitely been the highlight of my summer, it was difficult to adapt to it first but when you do come round and realise this is exactly what you needed, it is definitely a real good feeling and feeling very grateful that I am able to do it at this age and I can’t wait for what the future holds now I live in London.
Why do you think sportswear has such a connection with contemporary menswear?
I think sportswear has such a good connection with contemporary menswear because they go hand in hand. For example if you look at any kind of footballer or tennis player a lot of them love their fashion and they are always wearing the newest releases. They are always wearing the coolest shoes. I loved the Serena Williams Off White collab when Virgil was there (RIP). that was really pivotal in making the connection a lot more bold. Obviously it was an amazing shoe but it was also powerful to show how a female tennis player like Serena Williams can come into the footwear game, and collaborate with the most influential and iconic fashion designer of all time and make such an amazing shoe. That obviously sold out so quickly, so I think there have been so many moments like that with both contemporary menswear and sportswear that kind of make the connection very bold even if you are not within fashion. I think it’s very apparent that they work very well together.
Tell us what you’ve got coming up for the rest of the year.
So a lot of the things I have coming up I can’t say because of NDA’s and stuff like that, and I like to keep it as surprises as well, but just know I am very much back in the modelling game now and working with some of the coolest people I’ve ever worked with.
I’ve got a show coming up in about a week’s time that is one of the biggest shows and campaigns of my career. It has come at such an amazing time and I can’t wait for everyone to see. Its with one the most influential and coolest artists in the UK, so that will be amazing and I am really getting into my DJing again. Now I’m living in London, I have my decks with me so I can play whenever without pissing the neighbours off too much and kind of just getting myself back into the swing of things. I kind of lost myself living in Warwick but that’s understandable when it wasn’t the most inspiring place for me.
But this year is about establishing new connections, DJing and getting myself back on track!
