“It’s nice to have [her celebrate] some of my past,” Mark Wahlberg — who recently became a strategic investor in the luxury sneaker line P448 — tells PEOPLE exclusively
Nicholas Rice is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers.
Mark Wahlberg’s older daughter is embracing his hip-hop past.
While chatting with PEOPLE about luxury sneaker brand P448, a company he recently became a strategic investor in, the actor, 51, also opens up about how his daughter Ella Rae is paying tribute to his time as a former member of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch through her fashion.
“My daughter actually was so cool. She bought a Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch T-shirt from a vintage shop, and she’s been rocking it like crazy,” Wahlberg tells PEOPLE exclusively.
Detailing that Ella, 18, “wasn’t doing it to give me a hard time,” the Ted star continues, “She was really rocking [it] with me.”
“It’s nice to have [her celebrate] some of my past,” Wahlberg adds. “That was actually a very nice little moment for me.”
Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch was formed back in the early 1990s by Wahlberg. Alongside the star, the group was also composed of members Scott Gee, Hector “the Booty Inspector” Barros, DJ-T and Ashey Ace.
The group released two albums total — 1991’s Music for the People and 1992’s You Gotta Believe. In 1991, the group’s most popular song, “Good Vibrations,” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Wahlberg’s daughter’s tune about her dad’s Marky Mark past seems to have changed from earlier this year, given that Wahlberg said that his children have “seen videos of me performing, and they are mortified,” during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Alongside Ella, Wahlberg also shares daughter Grace Margaret, 13, with wife Rhea Durham, plus sons Michael, 16, and Brendan Joseph, 13.
Wahlberg has been known for his style over the years, including popularizing the exposed underwear trend, but he tells PEOPLE that his four children think his fashion choices are “terrible.”
Explaining that “it’s all good,” however, the Father Stu actor states, “They just love to give me crap.”
“It’s fun. That’s one of the traits that they picked up from me, just being sarcastic and always keeping people on their toes,” he continues.
Wahlberg also notes that while he “always” has style regrets, he doesn’t “spend too much time dwelling on the past, [because] I’m just either in the moment or thinking about what we’re doing next.”
Currently, the self-described “sneakerhead” says that working alongside P448 CEO Wayne Kulkin and taking a significant minority stake in his business was a no-brainer, given his love of shoes.
“I’m a sneakerhead, but he’s a shoe dog. It’s a totally different level, it’s a different thing,” he says of Kulkin. “I’ve always wanted to be in the shoe business, so once I found a guy that I could really basically hitch my wagon to, that’s what we’re doing.”
Wahlberg also says his four children are “sneakerheads too,” which he uses to his advantage to help him work hand in hand with P448.
“I get to figure out how I can pick their brain and utilize them best to help me create the coolest shoes that not only are, I think, a classic shoe that the younger generation can embrace, but obviously that people my age could wear, too, and feel comfortable enough that they’re not looking ridiculous by trying to be cooler or be young.”
P448 has recently continued its commitment to sustainability through the launch of its new Invasive Species Skins Collection, which sees the brand “utilize regenerative leather from different invasive species to create a series of special capsule sneaker collections,” per a press release, including the lionfish.
“If we don’t remove the lionfish, there’s no ocean life because one fish eats 50,000 fish,” Kulkin explains to PEOPLE, adding that “doing good is good business.”
P448 also recently launched an indoor skatepark, basketball court, bar and retail store in Paris, France, which will exclusively feature the new lionfish collection.
“It’s an environment that’s half club, half store, half gallery, and you just go in and have fun,” Kulkin says. “No age, no demographic, no marketing — just real people that are interesting.”
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