xcon3

xcon3

New York-bred Kevin Fulgenzi opened his Long Beach clothing store, XCon Apparel, just a week after he was released from prison for petty theft. Photos by Brittany Woolsey

About five months ago, Kevin Fulgenzi was declared a free man after serving 16 months in a California jail for petty theft. Within a week after his release, Fulgenzi had opened a retail store of his own.

Taking his experiences and lessons from nearly 25 years in-and-out of jail for various offenses, 44-year-old Fulgenzi now owns and operates XCon, an apparel store located on the corner of Anaheim Street and Long Beach Boulevard.

The store sells Long Beach-inspired custom apparel, all screen-printed in the store, as well as Fulgenzi’s own clothing brand, XCon Apparel, inspired by jail tattoos and jail clothing.

xcon1“What I did was take prison tattooing art and I introduced it into clothing,” he said of the brand which will have its official launch this summer. “What I did was put it out Instagram and it’s been blowing up. I have like 30 orders for the jackets alone.”

Fulgenzi said he grew up with business in his blood. His father opened New York restaurants while his mom owned retail stores. His grandfather also served as a positive influence as a New York police commissioner. Still, Fugenzi managed to get into some trouble when he was 19 and was in-and-out of jail ever since.

This last time around, Fulgenzi knew something had to change. He said he was tired of living the jailbird lifestyle, and thought, what if he could find a way to learn from his mistakes and help others? That’s when the idea of XCon sparked in his head, and another inmate agreed to fund the store.

“When I got arrested, I was just so fed up with everything,” he said. “I was like, ‘I can’t do this no more.’ I just did a lot of thinking and after a month or two, I decided I had to do something and began writing ideas down on paper.”

On November 11, two days after Fulgenzi was released from jail, he signed a rental agreement for his new business. Five days later, on November 16, his store was open.

Fulgenzi said his store has already had its fair share of thieves who have attempted to steal items, but instead of immediately calling the police, he remembers where he came from and tries to speak rationally to the thieves.

“This last time, someone tried to steal a sweatshirt,” he said. “I didn’t say anything, I just walked behind him then got his attention at the door. I told him to get back in the store and put it back neatly on the rack. He did. I walked him out to the front of the store and showed him the name. I asked him, ‘Why would you want to steal from an ex-con?'”

It’s common knowledge in jail that you don’t steal from other convicts, he explained.

He then let the man walk away like nothing happened and didn’t call the police.

xcon4“When I see people who get caught stealing, I think, ‘Man, I’m glad I don’t have to go through that anymore,'” he said. “It gives me a drive to just keep going and do what I can. It’s a lot of work, but it’s working.”

The store also hosts weekly Monday night events, like breakdance competitions and rap battles, to help raise money for organizations like the Long Beach Police Foundation and local shelters.

Because the events take place on Monday nights, when live entertainment is fairly rare, Fulgenzi said he hopes it gives young people a place to go where they can avoid getting into trouble.

“There’s usually nothing going on on Mondays,” he said. “It’s really been working out. When we first did the battles, it started out with like a crowd of 30 and six performers, but people kept calling others to come down, and the place just became packed.”

Through his new livelihood, Fulgenzi said he hopes to inspire other ex-cons to turn their lives around. He said the store has also changed his life for the better.

“It’s given me a focus on the future,” he said. “I don’t live for the moment anymore; I live for tomorrow. It’s given me a piece of structure and foundation. I try and help out other people. We have a lot of people come through who are homeless or addicts. I try to steer them in the right direction and get them help. I’ve given people clothes. That’s just who I am. I’m always looking to help somebody else.”

XCon apparel is located at 1250 Long Beach Boulevard. A full event listing and online version of the store can be found at XConApparel.NYC.