Creating Merch & Building my website (The Indie Route experience for me)

Like most things, being new to something can seem intimidating. But the experience I had gained prior, played a role in building this thing for my brand 2 years back, developing it, & then getting ideas for Merch as well as creative designs, etc.

Developing a mentality that wasn’t afraid of challenges was what got me this far. Working at my previous jobs to get extra money at the time was something I would do my best to get value out of as well. Ideas of my own merch would take inspiration from things I saw people wearing:

sportswear, casual, accessories, and so on. Whenever I saw something I thought was interesting I’d either make a mental note and find a chance to write it down in my notes on my phone or literally stop what I was doing(depending on the idea) and go hide somewhere to write it haha. I would use these ideas and make them into my own with the inspiration I got from the brands that were already successful in making things related to clothes, accessories, etc..

Like I’ve mentioned before, my drive to be the best is what allowed my mind to train itself in finding moments where I could be productive towards the brand I was creating. When I was washing dishes at home or work, I was listening/watching YouTube vids to teach myself Adobe software (at the time I was new to it) or practice my Spanish or anything else relevant to a skill beneficial to my grind.

As a lyric in one of my songs goes “ you would see when shit got tough I moved with ease” this translated into me doing tedious things that I didn’t want to do but knew I had to do it. I would find a way to get inspiration or pull any sort of value where it would come back into helping my own business in that time being spent for an employer.

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Whether it was Creating the overall aesthetic, designing the Merch, including the important elements of my brand, or anything else, up until now(since August 2019), I have been creating my official site from the ground up.

I think there’s something special about being on a journey in gradually manifesting whatever it is your pushing towards & seeing it develop throughout the process, knowing that no matter how far you go with it & who joins you to work toward that same goal, you’d never forget that it started with only you at one point. I made the mistakes, learned the dos, the donts, & the maybes, and took that knowledge to create something I’m proud of.

A point I’ve always wanted to be at within my website that showcased: My brand and what it represents, alongside the vision for the website being clear to the majority of people who I would eventually come to work alongside in continuing to further what it is I’ve strived to build.

I’m finally here. A news page, a shopping page, Bio pages (For myself & Him), Fashion & Film pages…..I’ve done it! & I couldn’t be more thankful. Because everything really came full circle in the end. 🥲

Those mental breakdowns of late night grind sessions to learn Adobe software, having to constantly be reminded by my body to sleep or eat just to create my own content, and design different things have proven overtime to have been worth it.

So my experience? It was hell, but so was learning everything else. All in the effort to gain useful skills to save my money until I was financially free enough to pay for those services passively and play an overseer role for the majority. Instead of having a limited skill base and constantly feeling unfulfilled because I had a sea of ideas(& still do) that I had no way of expressing. The struggle that led to me to now having the ability to do that was all worth it.

As of Oct 13th 2021, I’m currently testing ads and (finally lol) back outside & livelier a lot more than I was these past 2 years. I’m finally Ready to show this shit to the world & getting closer to my end goal of becoming the person I intend to be. Someone who has tapped into his creative mind and is maximizing that potential to the fullest to exceed the competition. Old ideas and new, I’ll make sure to fully express them in the best ways possible. Not only for others to see, but for my mind and soul to be free of restraints in what it strives to create!