Today we’d like to introduce you to Jermaine Hardy.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jermaine. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Ever since I can imagine, I have been into fashion. My mother dressed me and my older sisters up for pictures all year round at a young age and I began picking up on fashion by watching what she would style us in as kids. When I got to elementary school is when I began to notice that I had a particular style for myself. I loved to dress my school uniforms up with belts, bow ties, jackets, cardigan sweaters, sneakers, loafers, you name it, I wore it to give my uniform a pop. Being well-groomed became a part of my everyday life and I knew that I always wanted to look good when I decided to save my weekly allowance to purchase my own clothes and shoes and get a haircut every Sunday. When holidays came, my mother would dress me up in suits and I always wanted to be in front of the camera. As the years went on, I began to get more and more into fashion and dress myself. By the time I graduated from middle school, I won Best Dress Male at school and wanted to continue looking my best. I even transferred high schools because I didn’t want to wear uniforms. In high school, I transitioned perfectly with each era of fashion while still adding my own twist to it. I would dress my best friends up for all the events that we attended to make sure that we looked our best and the best. I won Best Dress Male in High School as well. Once college came, I became more and more into fashion attending The University of Central Florida where I joined a modeling organization that was based around fashion, called Faces Modeling Troupe Incorporated, where I was Fashion Director while holding many other positions. As years went on, I still modeled and styled but it wasn’t until I moved to Jacksonville, Florida and met Kierra Si’ Mone and Roberto Boles that became family who pushed me to take my styling skills to the next level, doing high fashion editorial shoots and perfecting my craft. I gained more purpose and passion for fashion which gave me the opportunity to start my own styling business, Mr. Hardy Styles. Here I am today styling many clients and doing multiple photo shoots and developing more opportunities for myself for the future.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Fashion has always been a smooth road for me because I didn’t have to work hard at it. The only obstacle of reaching my full potential is getting through life. Over the years, I have dealt with a lot of grief and hard times of losing my mother, grandmother, best friend and other family members while still trying to maintain a full-time job and graduate college with both my Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Criminal Justice. I saw myself being alive but not living, which is how I became comfortable working a full-time job and going to college but never feeling passion and purpose in those things. Although working and receiving an education, my life had a purpose but not the maximum purpose I have gained since living in Jacksonville, Florida. Traveling all over Florida to do what I love, has given me a life that I could not imagine and has opened many doors of me giving back to the community by putting on a fashion show for middle school teenagers. I serve as a Fashion Director for a non-profit organization called Purpose and PowHER, giving young teenage girls an opportunity to feel pretty and confident about themselves when they are faced with day to day adversities of being bullied and belittled by today’s children in society. It has given me the opportunity to start my own non-profit organization called Ties To The Future, where I educate young teenage males about life, education, fashion, and many other life experiences they will encounter while being not only a man but a black man in the world today.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a fashion stylist and creative director and the founder of my own non-profit organization called Ties To The Future. I am most proud of how far I have come in life and how I have taken something that I have a passion for and being able to give back to the community. What sets me apart from others is my passion, my story of persevering. I did not let life knock me down when I was in many positions of being depressed, giving up and losing everything possible when faced with adversities at any moment. My strength and determination to stay committed to everything it is that I have done and will overcome gives me the mindset to keep going and never give up.I have reached a new level in believing in God and everything he has done for me. I thank him for the way he has kept me throughout my life while not knowing that he was watching over me and working in my favor. The power of God has given me more drive and belief that I can conquer all things through Christ.
What are your plans for the future?
My plans for the future is to take fashion to the next level, perfecting my vision for a photo shoots, fashion shows, modeling and so much more. While developing my non-profit organization, Ties To The Future and working as the brother program to Purpose and PowHER, next year, I will have the opportunity give back to the villages and communities of Africa, where we will serve on a missions trip for two weeks to help change the lives of those in need in Africa.
Contact Info:
- Email: mrhardystyles@gmail.com
- Instagram: mrhardy_styles (business) Personal Instagram: money_maine89
- Facebook: Jermaine Hardy
Image Credit:
Roberto Boles
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