“YOU ARE YOUR MOST VALUABLE CURRENCY":MICHAEL HASKINS JR. BUILDING CURRENCY STUDIOS
Words by Umi Patterson
Photography by Brandon Battle
For nearly two decades, Michael Haskins Jr. has built more than a brand. He has cultivated a philosophy, a creative practice, and a space that has evolved with intention while remaining rooted in its core values. In a culture that often celebrates speed and constant reinvention,
Currency Studio represents something different: the discipline to stay aligned with one's identity while allowing the work to grow.
"Your greatest asset isn't what you own. It's who you become."
Umi: "You Are Your Most Valuable Currency" has become more than a statement; it's almost a philosophy. What does that phrase mean to you today, and how has its meaning
evolved alongside Currency Studio?
Michael Haskins Jr.: Before "You Are Your Most Valuable Currency," there was another phrase: Respect Your Wealth. That was the first T-shirt I ever made, black, purple, and gray, with those three words across the front. That idea came directly from my parents. My mother worked at a bank and was incredibly frugal.
My father sold clothing and loved beautiful things, material-oriented, drawn to luxury. They represented two completely different relationships with money.
On my father's side, I grew up around cars, jewelry, and fashion. People who weren't afraid to spend, many of them coming up out of the streets, making a lot of money very quickly. But I also watched how quickly that money disappeared. There wasn't always a sense of stewardship. My mother saw that world completely differently. She talked about savings, good credit, retirement, and stability. She understood wealth through preservation.
Watching both sides at once, I kept asking myself: How do you tell people to value what they've accumulated not just financially, but holistically? That's where "Respect Your Wealth" came from.
For a few years, though, something didn't sit right. People liked the phrase, but I don't think they understood what I meant by wealth. As the brand evolved, I realized I wasn't actually trying to talk about money; I was trying to talk about people. That's when the phrase became "You Are Your Most Valuable Currency," because that had been the message all along.
Whether you're the frugal person saving every dollar or the person naturally drawn toward beautiful things, the most valuable thing either of you possesses isn't money. It's yourself. It's your mind. It's your way of thinking.
Without people, there is no creativity. Without people, there is no culture. Without people, there is no continuum. That's really what Currency has always been about, a reminder that your greatest asset isn't what you own. It's who you become.
I value uniqueness almost more than anything. I want to wake up and drink something nobody else is drinking, put on a playlist a friend made for this season of my life, wear a Currency sample that never gets released. Those little rituals matter to me. But once those interests become part of the business, you have to share them, and that's difficult, because the things that once felt deeply personal become part of the brand. People ask, "What should Currency Studio post?" And honestly, it's just my life. My life is already heavily textured, already curated, already intentional. There's always tension between living life and documenting it. But at some point you have to let go and let the things that inspire you become part of the experience for other people. That's the only way the brand keeps growing.
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Issue 004
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PRODUCTION
Words by
Umi Patterson
Photography
Brandson Battle