Ep 144: Ten Toes Down and Chasing Goals with Rob Marley of Stay Focus Society

Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤

Self-motivated. Determination. Commitment. Those are the three stars on the logo, and they're not decoration.

Rob Marley was going through the worst of it around 2010. No support system, no outlet. He kept telling himself two words to get through the day, and then figured a whole community of people probably needed them too. He didn't know graphic design or computers. He started by painting the words on t-shirts by hand.

What We Talk About

• The trip that started it: he got on the bus at 119th, rode downtown to an art school he'd never seen, and asked strangers for directions the whole way
• What happened when he tried to sell his first shirts to family and friends, and what Instagram taught him about who his customers actually were
• Why he says be careful who you tell your ideas to, and what a real community around your business looks like instead
• The unexpected turn: he's building a workout community now too, running activations in the park, because losing his focus physically taught him something about keeping it everywhere else

If you love origin stories that don't skip the scary parts, this episode is for you.

All about Rob Marley

You're gonna love Rob. He's a father, a creator, and a visionary who built a Chicago clothing line on focus, positivity, and persistence. He had a Hyde Park store from late 2019 through early 2024, which means he opened it weeks before the pandemic and kept it going anyway. He's spent years doing pop-ups and meeting people directly, block by block, in West Pullman, Chatham, South Shore, and Pilsen. He's now relocating to a new appointment-only showroom called 5113, with a new website to match.

Things We Mentioned

• Stay Focus Society
• 5113, the new appointment-only showroom, coming soon
• The goal chasing shirt
• His coat drive, collecting coats, hoodies, socks, and hats
• His upcoming workout activation in the park

This series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤

Connect with Rob Marley

• IG: @robmarley_stayfocussociety
• Website

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Episode Credits

Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham

Lyrics: Queen Lex

Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam

Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick

Hey, friends, welcome and welcome back to nosey AF conversations about art, activism and social change.

I'm your host and friend, Stephanie Graham, and we have been doing all month long conversations with black business owners to celebrate Black Business Month. And it has been such a joy and I am so delighted to share today's conversation with you. So self motivated, determination, commitment.

Those are the three stars on the stage Focused Society logo. And Rob Marley, the founder will tell you they're not just decoration.

Rob built the brand out of the two words he used to repeat itself when he was going through the worst of it. Now he's a father, a creator, and the man behind Chicago clothing line built on focused, positivity and persistence.

I found this conversation to be such a joy and so inspiring and I really just hope that you find it to be the same. But I really think, think that you will. So we're gonna play my beloved theme song. I hope you've been enjoying it.

Maybe if you've been joining me every day in August, you too, sing the words along with me and artist Queen Lex. So here it is, here's the theme song and then we're gonna talk to Rob Marley from Stay Focused Society. Gotta get up, get up to the whole world. You will win a winner. Vision of a star with a mission in the cause. What you're doing, how you doing, what.

You're doing and who you are. Flex yourself, impress yourself. Check yourself, don't work yourself. If you know me then you know that I be knowing what's up.

Hey, Stephanie.

Graham is nosy as Rob. Welcome to nosey af.

Thanks for having me. Yes, thanks for having me.

Yes. I'm so excited to talk to you because you are the man behind Stay Focused Society.

And I would love if you could just give us like a brief background on how Stay Focused Society came about.

Okay? Okay, no problem. Well, Stay Focused Society came about first.

It was just a mind trick to myself, I should say, because before I had the clothes, I was just going through a tough time in my life. I was very depressed. I was just. I didn't really have a support system or nothing.

But the thing that was keeping me on point where I used to just tell myself, stay focused. And I got to stay focused from I was listening to Jay Z and he always sound focused, man. And all this different things like that.

So that's why I'm like, man, you gotta stay focused, stay focused, stay focused. So once I start seeing it, I'm doing kind of good with this, with this. Stay focused. I'm. I'M staying intact. So I'm like, you know what, Rob?

Maybe this might be a whole community of individuals like yourself that might be having tough times that you might not even know about. You might smile in front of people. You might not know what anybody going through. So I'm like, you know what?

I'm gonna build a community around this, and I'm gonna make this a clothing line. Now, at time, like, clothing lines are like this 20, 26, so it's more common.

And I started feeling confident about this, and I started telling people like, you know what, Stephanie? I'm getting ready to clothing line. What do you think about that? Some people are like, what do you mean making a clothing line? It wasn't.

It really wasn't even believable. Because at the time, we know, we just see an urban brand, like, you might see a boo boo or academic or Jabot or Nietzsche.

Just different little clothes you might combat out of the store that we go shop at and your roses or your 60 thirds or things like that. So people really wasn't taking me serious. So I was like, okay, that's cool. I found out it could be a community. I'm like, you know what?

Now I need to learn. How do I translate this? Because I was always a painter. I always been a drawer or just a creator. But one of my.

I don't know if it was one of my family members. It was one of my auntie's friends and right around with him sometimes.

And I was telling him just like, I mean, everybody that I was coming in tune with, I was telling. I was telling everybody, I'm making a clothing line. I'm making a clothing line. So he told me, bro, you need a logo. You need this, you need that.

So I'm like, a logo? What's that boy logo? Like Nike, like the. The check that's on the side of the shoe. That's the logo, bro. You don't know it's the logo.

So I'm like, nah, bro, I don't know. So he like, you need to learn how to do this, you need to learn how to do that. So I'm like, okay, Vaughn, thanks.

You know, so after that, I'm like, logo school. You know what I need for someone that goes to a creative school like that, you know? Let me ask this young man about this.

So I end up running into this young man named Daniel. We all went to high school together. We probably graduated a few years after this. But I ended up getting in tune with him.

And he told me, like, you know what? Yeah, Rob, I go to the school, they teach you how to sew, they teach you how to put stuff on a computer. They teach you how to make games, everything.

You should. I take you down there, bro. I'm like, you serious? I. I love to go down there. You gonna take me? If you're serious? Like, yeah, bro, I'm gonna take you.

Fast forward. I get up with the young man, some must have came up and he like, dang. He was in a spot where I met him at the first time.

I rode up on him like, man, bro, you ready? Like, dang, bro, I got something to do. I gotta go. So I'm like, why would you have me meet you over here at 12 o'?

Clock?

Or you could have just called or I said, send a text or anything. He's like, no, bro, I said, okay, that's cool. I'm just gonna proceed to get on this pace bus and find my way down there. What's the address again?

I asked him the address. He told me it was one north State. So, you know, I end up go to the red line, get down there.

So now that I'm getting closer north, I'm getting more nervous, I'm starting to sweat more. I'm getting closer. I'm getting closer and closer. So I'm like, ask this person on bus, like, where do I get off to get to this school?

Evidently they didn't know. So I'm like, you know what? Just let me get off the L right here.

Now that I know what stop that I got off on, now that I know that sound like the back of my hand. Now. I got off Roosevelt street and walked around Michigan, probably walked past the statue, hit state. I walked past. Oh, man.

I'm by the House of Blues.

Oh, wow.

I'm about a house of Blues. On the bridge.

I see a young man that went to my high school, which he works down here now at this time, I'm a. I'm evolved person, you know what I'm saying? You know, when you, you, when you were a kid, you might be a little knucklehead, you might fight a little bit and all this stuff.

So just me being downtown when I was starting to run into people like, what are you doing down here? Like, you know what I mean? So he's like, what are you down here, Ross?

I'm like, I'm down here trying to find this school, this art school, you know, one North State is he. Tell me it's right here. He walked me from House of Blues past Macy's, I mean Chicago Theater past Macy's. It was literally right past Macy's.

Next door to Old Navy and everything right here. Wet Seal was there at the time, Sears across the street, all these different stores. So I'm like, okay, finally made it. I'm sweating like a dog.

The little outfit that I had on because it was definitely summertime. I had a long sleeve button up. I tried to look professional. I didn't sweat it. And soaked out my whole outfit. Fast forward to that.

I finally made it in. I went and took the ticket. I went to the floor where the school was. They called my name. They like, Barbara Love, we've been waiting on you.

I'm like, I did. So he's like, yeah, at that time I was playing basketball. So I remember signing up for Ball State.

All these different, you know, basketball program schools, you know what I mean? But I did not remember that I signed up for that school.

Now how I am now, I'm like, God was really controlling me like a pawn at this time, you know what I'm saying? Now that I'm spiritual, you know. So now he's like, man, what type of clothing line are you trying to do?

And this, that, and the third, forget the classes that I was trying to pick and all of these things. We just started networking and start filling each other out as people. He's like, man, bro, I like your personality. I like your drive.

You seem like you so enthusiastic about starting. I'm gonna hook you up with these people that's in fashion design and these people that's in graphic. This is before I even have a class.

I don't even a curriculum yet. You know what? I haven't took any college. So after that, you know, I end up going to the school. I started progressing into the school.

I started being on the dean's list. They love me at the school. They start putting me in commercials as something crazy came up. And I was just getting ready to graduate.

So I stopped right before, like three weeks before my graduation, I was getting graduated and Something came up, so I did not finish. But what I did was I went and got everything that I was using that I've learned.

For the few years that I was down there, I wasn't able to use it again. I know I'll just leave from the hundreds and just go downtown and get on a computer. Go downtown and get on my sewing machine.

Everything that I'm doing is consist of downtown. Now, downtown, downtown.

But once I stopped going to that school, now I just start finding ways to get all those things that I need that was necessary for me to keep on going and stay focused on what I need to do to get this clothing line off the ground. You know what I mean? So, yeah, I'm riding around with some little street dudes, you know what I'm saying? You know, you be back in the hood.

But this is God again. I get to talking about it. I'm like, dang, bro, I'm not at the school no more, man. I can't get to my computer.

He like, bro, my man's them got a store right up here, like on 116th and Western. They be selling laptops and they be having programs and things like that. So I'm like, yeah, laptop, I might need that, you know what I'm saying?

From that. It was like connecting dot. Every time I say something to someone, someone was leading me to someone else every time.

So now I'm noticing, like, you keep speaking up on something now. Yeah, every time that you're talking, you keep speaking up on things.

So now that I get to the man that has the, the laptop, so now I'm like, yeah, bro, I was going to this school, man, something happened. I just need a laptop, man, and this and the third. But now I just need these programs, you know what I'm saying?

Now they got Photoshop, Illustrator, all these different things. He's like, bro, my guy at the Swaporama has the program. She sells a hard drive that has Photoshop and Illustrator. So I'm like, you know what, Rob?

You, you might be okay. You, you, you might be okay with this, you know what I'm saying? So now I'm not painting anymore. I know the process.

I got me a computer, I got me the program. Now I'm ready now, you know what I'm saying? But I still haven't had a shirt or a product yet. I just know how to use the programs.

I know how to do everything. So fast forward now that I go to the swap, I'm telling the young man what I'm trying to do. So I'm like the young man that had the programs.

He tells me, you need to get this, you need to get that, or take your designs and you take them to a manufacturer and they will print up shirts for you. You know what I'm saying? So I'm like, okay, I get that. That's what it is. Fast forward all of that. I learned everything.

I got my computer, I did my networking, I found the programs, I found my distributor who's going to do everything. So now it's just, now I have these shirts. Now I gotta start selling.

You know, the first people you think you're gonna sell to is your family and friends.

Oh, my gosh.

And. And this is when I start learning. You know, it's not a bad. It's not a bad thing. It's all a learning experience.

But this is when I start noticing that us as a people, I don't care if you, my family, my friend, or just being a black person. Me as an entrepreneur, I'm looking like, okay, mom, okay, brother, okay cousin, one of my day one friends, I got these shirts for sale for $20.

Everybody's like, Nah. It's like everybody was having a problem with purchasing. So I was starting to get a little distracted and distraught.

Like, why is it that now that I have a product, no one wants to buy it? Like, I've been telling you guys for the last year or two, I'm going to do this. I didn't learn the process. I doing everything that I need to do.

Yeah. And I'm sure they see you doing it.

Yeah. You know, no. Now no one's. They're not purchasing. So, you know, I used to be.

I was never on Instagram, but once I started getting on Instagram, someone told me, like, bro, you got these shirts and stuff, you need to get on Instagram. You need to get this stuff. You steady walking into stores, you steady telling people, word of mouth. You need to get on Instagram.

That's exactly what I did once I got on Instagram. This is where I found out that other people will want your services. Now that I start. It was a young lady. It was one of the guys, girls.

Now that she's teaching me how to do, you know, I'm linking up with her. I know the guy probably back then was smoking heavy or something or doing something with him heavy.

He ended up getting mad that I wasn't coming down there for him. I started coming to girl for she could teach me the Instagram game on how to post on how to do this.

You take a picture, and you do this and you do that. Once I got on Instagram and people start liking my pictures and start asking for this stuff, these. These.

These shirts, and whatever I had at the time, I said, I might have something. So now I might. Okay, you from off Instagram, Stephanie. You see it? You're like, I like your shirt. To say, stay focused. I like that shirt.

And how can I purchase? I'm like, well, you can just meet me on wherever. We'll meet up 95th and at the library's parking lot.

And I sold a person that I did not know a T shirt. I didn't know him. They didn't know this person. Yeah, that turned me up.

It turned me up so much that I didn't even market it to the people that I know anymore. Now I just start telling, hey, bro, come downtown with me. Come help me pass these business cards out.

We'll put on some of the painted sweaters that I had, and then I will go downtown or go on 95th or on the L and just might give out a free shirt. I might sell a free shirt. But once I start marketing to other people and start giving them my Instagram and things like that, I just start.

I start taking off. Now I take their pictures and put it on my Instagram.

Yeah, how everybody from that, you know, from the area or people that I know now, once they see that other people are buying it, then they tap in. So that's when I was like, oh, okay, I see what's going on. But don't get me wrong, all of my people wasn't like that.

It was just a majority of them was like that. But I definitely had people that stuck with me from the mud that's still with me to this day.

And that followed my journey and that they always bought it. They never wanted a discount, you know what I'm saying? They always gave me all the money. They might have said, don't even give me the shirt.

Just take this money and put this to, you know, to whatever you got going on. So I don't want to make it seem like everyone was just against it, because I definitely had some core supporters.

But once I started getting the other people that I didn't know, then I'm mixing with people that I did know. I just feel like I just started getting a little traction, you know what I'm saying? And. And, yeah, that's. I just started getting a little.

I started buzzing a little bit, you know what I'm saying? I started getting a little Local buzz and things like that. And that's what happened.

Yeah, that's, that's amazing. Especially because, you know, focus is literally in the brand that you have.

Why is the word focus the message you wanted to build your life around your, your clothing brand around.

I call it a self motivating drug. That's what I used to call it to myself. I used to say this is a self motivating drug to me.

Because when you step outside from where I'm from, all you see is not all negativity. But I got people standing on the corner right here. I'm walking with somebody that's got something on them. Like it's always something.

But in my mind I always had like a delusional mind that they call it. Like I was seeing things that people wasn't seeing. And I was like, long as I stay focused on this goal, what I got going on, I'll be cool.

So I'm like, you know what? Stay self motivating. You stay focused. That, that'll be, that, that should be it.

So I just felt like that was a strong word to stay around because I know if I could do that and people see me do that, it could be. It's a, it's a show and tell thing.

Not on purpose, but it's like from where I'm from is like they have to see first and then they believe like that I could talk to them about, yeah, bro, I'm starting to clothing line all day or whatever I'm gonna do all day. But soon as they see it was a different thing, you know what I'm saying?

So once they seen that my focus like, oh, he's staying down, he's staying ten toes down on. He's self motivated. Because that's another thing. It's like focus, staying focused is the core message.

Like, like the first circuit I had said stay focused with like an asset with 3 stars. The 3 stars is self motivating determination and commitment.

So if you could stay self motivated and don't need anyone support, that's what a self motivation. Because I can't keep waiting on someone to support me or motivate me. Determined. Nothing's not going to stop me from doing this.

I don't care if I got to go downtown. If it's rain, sleet or snow. You from the hood, you see it's raining outside. You're not going outside today. It's too snowy outside.

You know, once I get out downtown, there's nothing stopping these people. Rain, sleet, snow, they riding bikes in the snow and stuff like that turn up, you know what I'm saying?

And commitment, it's like you can be committed to things, but it's like when, when certain people, they do certain things and then next thing you know, they jump into the next thing because they, not the results that they think they're going to get within the little short amount of time that they thought was a long time. So you have to stay committed to something. You can't keep just jumping. You can't just keep jumping.

So that's the, that was the message from that, that I wanted to, to portray. And then the, the second design was stay focused is more than a statement, it's a lifestyle.

Yeah.

Like everything you do needs focus. You can't if you're.

And, and that was another thing that when I was building this at the table and I was sitting down, you know, I had, I have a partner that was helping me at this time and when I would sit down, I would say, bro, yeah, yeah. It was only for a certain type of person. So if you're not trying to. Once I came up with that, I said, oh, this is a good one.

I said, if you're not trying to go to work, go to school, take care of kids, you, this is, it's no way around this because you have to have some type of focus to just go through life. So if you're going to school, going to work, taking care of kids or whatever it is that you're doing, you're gonna need focus.

So I'm just felt like, you know what?

This is for all the people that I know that's working, that I know that this is going to represent for them and then for the ones that's not, this is a subliminal message for you to get on your ding. You walking around with a shirt that says stay focused on it.

Now some people might be lost and just buying it be like, let me get a shirt and not noticing what it's saying. But the ones that do get it, they know what their, their focus they know they get every day they hustle and they grinding. You know what I mean?

That's the consumer that I'm trying to reach the hustling goal. Chasing, determined, self motivating. Like those people are my community. You know what I mean? I don't want no doubters around me.

I don't want no negative around me.

And then if you are these type of people because I have certain people that just buying it just because they feel like they getting fresh and it Looks good.

But the message on it, if someone else sees you, just like when they come at Rob, somebody came up to me and asked me where I get this goalchasing shirt from. You see what I'm saying? That's because they wondering like, oh, this young man must be chasing a goal. You know what I'm saying?

So it's just for that, that that person. And if you're not, you will definitely turn into one of these risk taking, goalchasing, focused beings. You know what I mean? So that's that.

But Rob, are. Can you like motivate yourself or do you have to define a goal to make yourself be a goal chaser?

Because I guess I listen to you and even like, you know, just like the conversation we had, like, it seems like you can make yourself do these things.

Yeah.

Not everybody is like that. Any advice for those who aren't like that? It seems like you, you're gonna do it for yourself internally, just like from your passion.

But I know I personally need something outside of myself to get me to go.

Yeah.

So I wasn't always like, I always been like this, but I did used to want to feel some type of support or I wanted to feel like, you know, like when you got people behind you, it just make you feel like it's better.

It's just like if I, if I had people coming to my basketball games or I will feel better if I see my mom, them in a stand doing it just because I know my coach don't want to do it or if I know I want to do it. But it was just to the point of I was draining myself trying to get people to support me.

And I was using energy, trying to get the support from the people that I thought would just support me just off of the bat. But I would just tell people, you gotta find your why on whatever it is that you wanna do.

Like, you have to find your why and then you have to see like, like what, what I do. Like I have. Like that's why I call myself a visionary. Like, I can. I'm talking to you. But everything that I'm saying, like, I'm literally conceived.

Like I can see this, like right here in front of me. Like, I can see it. So it's like you gotta visualize where you want to go, what you see yourself doing.

And you just gotta go for it, you know, because. And one of my friends, his name is Smiley, he always tell me that.

And you like the second person that told me that, like, everybody don't got that because the people That I got around me. I'll be talking to them like how I'm talking to you. And then they won't do nothing. You know what I'm saying?

And I'll be like, hey, bro, you just gotta do this. And then Smiley had to tell me, like, bro, everybody don't got that.

So when you be trying to tell people to do these certain things and you feeling some type of way that they not doing it, it's not that they not doing. They just don't have the ump to just jump off the porch like you do. You know what I'm saying?

And that just comes from me just being a young man, like, 11, 12, 10, 9. Like, I always wanted to do something. Like, I just always felt, even if I had nothing, and I was like, I gotta get something.

Like, I don't care if I'm gonna go. Go pump gas at the gas station. I will go to Aldi's and help you with your bags as a kid, you know what I'm saying?

So I just always felt like I needed to do something. Even though people probably thought I was crazy.

They try to call me crazy as a shorty or you this or you that, instead of just trying to find the special thing. Like, okay, in school, if I'm not doing my work or if I finish my work or if I'm. I probably didn't finish, if I just put it down.

And I was a kid and I just probably got sidetracked and just started drawing instead of them coming to me saying, like, rob, you need to finish your work. You could draw later, after school. If you want to do this, you can do something and make yourself out of that. I'll just get in trouble.

I'll just get detention or something like that. Go down to the office. Like, they wouldn't tell you that you can do certain things. You know what I'm saying? So I'm just like. But it's like, people.

I felt like I was. I'm not gonna lie. I hate to say this. I felt like my family and friends, they didn't want me to go the extra mile. Cause, you know, you got people.

You got certain people that's in your family that's doing certain things, and you got certain people that's in your family that they feel that everybody pours into. I wasn't the kid that was getting watered. Like, I wasn't the kid that was getting, like, the extra support.

It might have been a sister or brother or cousins or something like that that the family might push like little Greg is doing this and you know what I'm saying? So I'm like, I didn't really feel awake, but probably would. But now that I look in retrospect, I'm like, man, I gotta do something.

It's like I'm not getting the support that I need.

So if I got to get up and go to basketball practice on my own, I'm not gonna ask my mom, I'm not gonna ask nobody because I know they not gonna take me anyway. They don't feel like it. So I always just been this self motivated person.

I always beat every challenge that was ahead of me without the support that I needed. Prime example. If I fail a class, I'm gonna go to night school, summer school, Saturday school, everything. No one pushing me to go now.

Yeah, but I know within myself, like, you need to go. I never knew that I was gonna start a clothing line. I never, I always been a fashionable guy.

Even if I had nothing, my brother could give me a bag of clothes, all his old clothes, I pack it up or fix the shoe, put some powder. I always been fashionable and I always was drawing. Those are the two seeds.

Drawing, that's the creative and just dressing up, liking, looking through magazines and looking at cash money with your bowls on. And you know that that's what got me. But that's what it was once I started seeing people, wasn't.

I just had to get self motivated and just go for what I know to get these visions across. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah. Your clothing brand has gone through like different iterations in terms of like collections. You've had a store, not had a store.

You've had like this vast career of, you know, making, making fashion. What's been like your toughest lesson? You think like as a business owner,.

That's a nice question. It's an easy question for me to ask too. But once you. No one never asked me all these questions. So when it's just like all this just going around.

So what I'm going to say is, the first thing that I will say is one of the toughest things that I had a, a problem with was coming around people. Like, it's one thing to tell people, like, yeah, I'm coming out with a, a clothing line.

But the thing was telling people my execution and my ideas, that was one of the toughest things that I went through as an entrepreneur because I went around a group of people that I thought was, you know, that I thought was for me, you know what I mean? And they Was they really were trying to soak up all my sauce on what I knew.

Wow, like stealing your ideas.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying?

Oh, wow.

So that's what that, that was one of the toughest things, you know what I'm saying? But once, once I, that, that turned me up even more too. Like do not go around thinking everybody's gonna help you, you know what I'm saying?

So if you from the streets, I'm playing basketball and I'm a street guy. Being in business and fashion was new to me.

So when I come around somebody and I'm saying what I feel like I want to do and people are sitting there listening at the time, I'm naive to the situation, but they already on a finesse move like, oh, this guy doing this, he doing that, we gonna do this and try to do that. But that, that will be one of the strongest and one of the most important things.

Be careful on who you are relaying and you are speaking about your ideas and your business with. Because next thing you know, somebody be walking around trying to do exactly what you trying to do with the same sauce might try to switch it up.

They say Virgil, now that Virgil's out, they say it's the 5% rule. But at that time Virgil wasn't out and that wasn't a thing. So that's just like copying copy and paste, you know what I'm saying?

So just be more careful on who you sitting down conversating with with your ideas and, and say less. I know I'm talking a lot. This is an interview, you know what I'm saying? But the, the new me, I speak so less now.

I, I, that's why I'm talking so much now, you know what I'm saying? I do not have anything. If it's for you, it's for you. It's like I got trust issues with certain people.

I just always make sure you got some pure people around. That's another thing. Make sure you got some people. That's a nice tribe that like self motivation. Yeah, that's, that's cool.

Sometimes I'm not always self motivating, you know what I'm saying?

Maybe I might have to stay consistent to bring back my motivation and I might look in retrospect and just think like, bro, you, you've done a lot bro, just keep going, you know what I'm saying?

But if you have a community of people behind you that's truly with you that want to see you win and want to help you win, and they see a goal that you trying to help, I mean, that you trying to reach, and they can help that cuff. Those type of people. I would say that.

I would say make sure you got a good team around you, a good group of people that support you and that want to see you win. Be careful on who you speak in your ideas to. Those might be the most important things. And then after that, I'll just say, bet on yourself.

Yeah.

Don't keep waiting on a bank. Don't keep waiting on a big lump sum of money. Don't keep waiting on such and such.

Said they was going to do this, that, and the third, you have to use what you got at the time to do whatever it is you need to do. Those three points right there, I feel like that that'll get it. That, that. That'll break and get anybody together.

Yeah. What's your favorite thing about seeing people wear your clothes?

Good question. What's a good thing? I never thought of that. Well, I can say now because now I'm thinking about it now.

It does feel good to see people wearing my clothes, especially when I know that I just entered a lane and learned this lane and I. And. And it feels so good to see it within certain Chicago brands, you know what I'm saying?

So if I go into a spot, I might go to an open mic on North Avenue or something, and you might see a fly, you might see a fashion geek, and you just might see some stay focused society too. You know what I'm saying? So I just feel good that I just stayed down. That's a good feeling to see that.

And another way is someone always coming back and telling me, oh, I seen someone out west with your clothes on. Oh, I was downtown, I seen someone with your clothes on. Or I tell them, that's my guy. And this, that, and the third.

So it just feel good just knowing I did the work. And that is reaching like. And that is really reaching. Without. Let me say this, without any clout, without any, like, I didn't work in a retail.

I didn't come up around like, I know these people now, but now that I'm around everyone that I'm, you know, that I wanted to get on the apex like, that I hold at a. At a high. It's like, I just feel like everyone was in this cult of people. It's good to know that I'm in it now.

But coming up that I just came in just off of me. Yeah, it wasn't no co sign. It's just all me still to this day, I don't have no co signings. Like no big brands that stand. Go mess with my man.

Stay focused. Society. This is all organic. It's been a while. It takes some time. They did say it take 10 years to become a, a success.

So once I seen that for the first time, I was, I was, I was reaching for my 10th year. I was like, okay, I gotta get this. At least 10 years for me to get in. You know what I'm saying?

Especially not knowing nobody or not knowing nothing, you know. But I'm glad to say that my clothes are out here. I do have a demand and people do rock with me, you know. So I am grateful for that.

Yeah. Where do folks even find your clothes? Do you do pop ups stores? Like do we meet you at the library on 95th still?

He did not know Covid was gonna happen. It was like the end of 19, the beginning of 20 until like the end of 23, the beginning of 24. I always do pop ups.

I will always do pop ups and things like that. But after I opened that store, after I. After I opened the store and I shut it down, I still was, you know, meeting people. But I feel like I'm.

I'm past that now. So right now I just been only focused on reopening the store. I have, I dropped probably like once or twice since then last year.

No, I might drop one more time before I open the store. But it's like once I. This is how I think for myself. Once I did the store, that was one thing that they thought I wasn't going to do.

I was already doing a lot of pop ups and just meeting people on the block and coming to your neighborhood. I go to West Pullman and stay over there all day or all week. I go to Chatham and stay in Chatham all week. I go to South Shore, I go to Pilsen.

But I'm in the process of relocating the store and once the new website because I'm building a new website as well. It's still a website that's up now. And it might have a few little odd and end pieces that I have right now, you know what I'm saying?

Just like it was on Harper. It wasn't like a storefront, it was in a building.

You have to get bus stop, make your appointment, tell me what time you're going to come and then you could get in.

I will be having vintage, I will be having resale clothes and I will be having exclusive clothing and I might be offering a couple of more different clothing lines from other people in there as well.

I always get so intimidated to shop by appointment only because I'm like, what if they're out of my size or something and I leave without nothing. Now I've made this appointment and I didn't get anything.

No, you're going to get something because the size is definitely going to be there. But just in case it is not, this is what usually happens.

Say you did make an appointment and you seen something that you wanted on my Instagram or on the website and you came to try to make the appointment. You can either call and act. Is it still available? And then if it is, I could tell you and then you can.

If it's not, you can still come and proceed and I can still offer you something else that I might have that you might be interested in. But I definitely don't want you to make an appointment and don't feel like you're leaving with something.

You're not going to leave with nothing because it be something in there you're going to want either. It's going to be. I had the last time I was open I had different people. I had Lip Loss in there. I had a Lip Loss brand in there.

If you was a coffee drink, I had coffee from Africa. I had different from Ghana, Kenya. I had another clothing line called Godly Attire in there. So it just will be a different.

It be different selections of things.

So you have like your stuff but then you have like others, other brands as well or.

For sure.

I love it. I love the idea of you selling coffee with also being having to stay focused. That's like. Yeah, I need that.

It's gonna be a vibe, man. It's definitely gonna be a vibe.

I want to ask you, I had some other initiatives as well with Momentum Chicago and Project Stand Together. Right. You wanna tell us about those two things?

Yes, I definitely will.

Project Stand Together is my non for profit that I've been doing since I don't know how long I've been doing this since since before I even knew this was a Non for profit. Like, I was just always collecting clothes, doing basketball games within the hood. This is before I even had clothes.

Always was doing things for the community where I was from. So one particular time. Dang. What's crazy is the guy that I was doing fitness with, his brother, I ran into his brother. Wow.

I'm just not thinking of that right now. His brother, like, rob, where's she going? Because I would see him. One guy is more in the hood, one guy's more downtown. I'm in both fights.

When I'm downtown, I see the brother, I see the workout guy. You see what I'm saying?

Yeah.

When I'm downtown, like, Rob, I always see you downtown, bro. What you doing? What you doing downtown? What you doing downtown? I'm like, bro, I'm going to school.

But long story short, I told him, like, yeah, man, I'm doing. I'm trying to. I'm doing a coke drive. Just coats, hoodies, socks, hats, anything. I've just been collecting hats and stuff like that lately.

He's like, oh, bro, you do that. I'll be having the same things going on, man. You know, that's called a not for profit. And I'll be getting grants.

And I'm doing this, and I'm doing this, that, and the third. And I'm like, wow, I never knew that that was a thing. You know what I'm saying? Start gaming me up on that type of stuff.

Amazing.

Cold and drive. So at the end of the coding, drive is always around Christmas when I was doing it.

So I would take all the proceeds to the shelter, whatever shelter that's around, wherever I'm at. I asked some of the people if I knew somebody that got a barbershop champ. Can I do a clothing drive this year at your Missy? Can I do one?

Whatever shelters around that facility, I'll just collect it and I'll take it to that facility and let them get it and, you know, pass it out within their kids and things like that. Because back in the day, I lived in a shelter. I know how that life is. Once I was a kid, I'm like seven, eight years old, living in the shell.

So there's bunk beds and everything. People not having what they need, you know what I'm saying? So what's crazy is I do all the things that's like, you know what you good.

Because I never think of these things until you asking me this stuff, you know what I'm saying? I never. And when once I once I'm saying it out loud like this, it's like I'm always doing something that reflected in my childhood.

So yeah, now that I'm. Everything that you're asking me is always went back to my childhood.

So I'm just not noticing that what you telling me to asking me this stuff right now. But yeah, I've been doing it for the last like 10 years plus. So I end up running into some more people that knew what I was doing.

So when I had my shop, some people was coming shopping with me and they like, dang bro, can we use your space? Okay, so I let them have a meeting and this is the young lady that let me know that's why we care.

And she helps me with the non for profit and she's been gaming me up with how to get everything these days as far as my non for profit. So that's the non for profit aspect and the fitness, the momentum shy that comes from me. You know, I used to be an athlete.

I ended up going to college. I played basketball in high school and went to college, played basketball.

I even had a couple of tryouts with some D league teams like a step before the NBA. But I felt like I'm not going to keep chasing basketball. But I also do want to stay in shape.

I always been an athlete, so I always continue to try to stay in the gym. You know, we getting older, you got to stay in motion and stay healthy and eat clean. You know, everyone don't eat clean. Everyone is not exercising.

But it's always a way to still incorporate all this stuff without being like a gym freak or trying to be a nutritionist or things like that. So that's when from being like I'm not the like a top trainer, but I'm not at the very bottom where I don't know what's going on.

So I'm like the midway point for everybody. So it's when I start doing these activations, it'll be for all, you know, all levels. You know what I'm saying?

I'm not gonna be doing too much too hard, you know. But I've been working out for the last five years. I've been on a workout journey.

But I started this also because the young man, the young man that I used to work out with, I always wanted to get in the gym, wanted to get in the gym. Certain people would let me come to the gym. Certain people wouldn't.

The young men that cuffed me under their wing as far as working out was the young man brother. His name is Ty. That's Rodney's brother.

The downtown hood brother combination.

Yeah. So this is Ty and then the other guy is Mike Jones. They just tapped into fitness a hundred percent.

So once I seen them on Instagram, I asked them, bro, can I come work out with y'? All? Which is. This might been like the 10th group that I was asking. They said, yeah, bro, come on. Ever since then I've been locked in. You know what?

I'm. So I get up. I used to live South Loop. I will drive from the South Loop all the way to Lincoln highway every day.

Wow, that's so far. If you, if you're listening and you don't live in Chicago, that's like. Is that like 45 minutes away?

Yes.

Yeah.

I used to get up from South Loop every day and I used to have to be there early, like 7:30. Good news, they working out early. So I make sure I'm like, you know what? To show that I'm not committed and I'm focusing, I can hang with them.

I want to make sure to let them know that I can do this. No matter where I'm coming from, I'm going to make sure I do that.

But I start being so consistent with them that I just started getting so strong and so big infinities like that. But some tragic happened on both ends.

I end up losing both of these guys, man, that really took a toll on me, you know, So I had stopped working out for a little minute, you know what I mean? After I lost Mike Jones. Mike Jones ended up winning. He started working out. What is it that you call when you're doing a competition?

Yeah, like the bodybuilding company, man, start.

Entering that killing that stuff. Like, he ended up winning first place like three times before he passed away.

And then Ty Illy, he was end up starting to have a lot of people come and join our workout group. Like how I started. He invited me so we would just start. Like, I was glad that I wasn't like a bottom no more.

But they will always invite people that to that community. But they both ended up passing. And I think. I don't know if it was the same year or a year after next, but I end up just getting discouraged.

I end up getting out of shape again. I end up just losing focus. But I caught, I caught it back. I had to find My momentum to get back.

So once I felt it, I just start getting in and just being. And now like I'm the Mike Jones. Working out every day and seeing me juicing and eating watermelon and doing all this.

So just like I did with the state focused society, I'm like, man, Rob, this might be a whole lane. Talking to myself like, this might be a whole nother lane for you, bro. You haven't dropped anything and stay focused.

But you've been active in a gym whole time. So I invite people to ride the bike, I will invite people to come walk on the track, I will invite people to come to the gym with me.

Since I haven't been been dropping anything lately, far as stay focused society, I've been momentum crazy. So now I'm getting ready to have momentum merch, momentum juices. It's like a whole rollout that I'm getting ready to do.

And probably like next weekend I'll be having my first. Excuse me. I'll be having my first workout activation in a park.

Cool.

And I'll see you. It's going to be probably on 22nd down down there in Chinatown. I'm going to have activation.

So everybody come out there, get your push ups, get you some sit outs in stretch and then just be around a community of people that have like the same life goals. Yeah, we only live once.

Yeah.

For real. Get much as we can out of this. So yeah, that's my momentum. That's the fitness and wellness. Then I got the non for profit, the project Stand Together.

I'm just trying to stay busy, just keep going up. I always have people that I was looking up to. That might be my motivation too.

So I might look at a Jay Z, I might look at a. I hate to say it nowadays, but I always looked at making a band, all these different things had going on. I'll watch that stuff just to see the, the moves that he was making, you know what I'm saying?

So I would just be just looking at that, seeing that stuff. But nowadays I got Chicago legends that cuff me, you know what I'm saying?

Like the Dave Jeffs and the Diego Ross and Alonzo Jackson that took me under their wing and they keep me motivated to just keep going and stay focused on everything, you know what I mean? They tell me like, bro, you, you got it, you next up and stuff like that. So now I done found my community within the fashion.

I done found my community within the non for profit. And God has sent me all the people I need for well, fitness and wellness.

So I just been feeling so energetic and so positive and even just speaking and running into, you know, I just feel like I still been getting my spiritual movements and I still been getting around to all the people that I need to come in contact with. So I just feel good.

Yeah. You know, Rob, as we wrap up, what is, like, one message you hope people carry with them after this conversation,.

Whatever you do, stay focused and always go after what you want. Never stop, be persistent. No matter what's going on, just always keep going. Because I don't think. I never stop.

I might stop for a month, I might stop, but eventually I. I' ma always get back in the rotation of whatever I got going on. Even if I'm.

You don't see me physically or on an Instagram or doing something in the spotlight or on the phone because you got to post everything all the time. Always stay busy and stay working on the next thing.

Don't get discouraged and get so stressed out that you send your mind into a panic or you don't want to do nothing or you get so depressed when you can't get up out of it. Just always stay focused, stay confident, keep goalchasing, and don't be afraid to take risk, because you gotta take risk.

Everything that I've been doing was a risk. I use my own money. I never had no funding. I've never used, like, everybody always, oh, well, I'm getting my taxes. Oh, I'm waiting on this.

I use whatever I got around me, man.

You just find what you need, stay focused, keep risk taking, bet on yourself and stay confident, man, and just keep going forward and keep God and not leave the higher being because it's a frequency, it's a vibration that you need to feel. It's like, I can't even explain it. I can't even explain it.

But you're going to know once you're in it, because once you do the work and you got your faith, you're going to be within the. You're going to be within the loophole of that and you're going to feel the energy. You're going to feel like you're being guided by something.

And once you get that, the sky is the limit. I'm telling you.

Thank you so much for talking with me and everybody on nosey af. We really appreciate it. We're all so proud of you, Rob.

Thank you, Stephanie. I really thank you because. No, you know what? Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you, Stephanie.

That concludes another episode of nosy AF. 31 Days of Black Business. I'm your host and friend Stephanie Graham.

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