Today we’d like to introduce you to A. Gates.
A. Gates, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It started with me just wearing shirts that I liked. I was personally drawn to designs that were politically driven, socially conscience, pro-Black – but also, the design concept itself had to be dope to catch my eye. I was building a decent collection for myself as far as my personal wardrobe. One day at work, I wrote out the phrase “I rock shirts.”, and it stuck with me. I started a hashtag, which became an Instagram page, and I started posting pictures of myself in all these dope shirts. I would use #iRockShirts every time, and the page started drawing interest. This was long before there was ever a company.
It was the Latitude/Longitude design that really made me official. I got some custom cufflinks as a gift and they had the initials “NMB” with the location coordinates, and as soon as I saw it, I knew would make a great shirt. I created one to represent North Miami Beach, posted it and thought that would be it. But people responded almost immediately asking to represent their city. Though it still wasn’t in my mind to start a company, I’d done small projects before. When the Trayvon Martin situation was going on, I created a hoodie for myself for what was happening at that moment. Other people saw it and immediately wanted to be a part of that conversation. I think I sold about 20 hoodies. Then the verdict came back and people felt how they felt and started to reach out again for the Trayvon hoodies. I sold about 70 hoodies from that movement. So, I was used to doing small campaigns, and that’s what I thought the coordinates design was going to be. That single design took off and I still had other designs in my head. Before I knew I had a catalog of designs, and because each design had so much potential, a small group of designs became several collections. And here we are.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I don’t know of any entrepreneur that doesn’t experience challenges and obstacles in the first year of business, and I’m certainly no exception. First of all, it’s important to understand that iRockShirts is not built on the desire to simply sell shirts to people. That’s not why I created the brand. And let’s be honest, it’s not hard to find people selling shirts. Yes, I have an apparel brand, but more than that, I’m about self-expression – either as an individual or as part of a larger movement. The focus is always on my customer’s feeling seen and heard. From every aspect of the business from the designs, how they can be customized, shipping times – everything, I want every single customer to feel like the “i” in iRockShirts is a placeholder for them.
Starting out, I used a third-party supplier for the actual shirts so I could focus solely on designs, processes, marketing, and the customer experience. That worked well in the beginning. I had fulfilled a few hundred orders and never touched a shirt, but that changed and I ended up having to take over every single aspect of the business. I had to design, purchase, press, ship, etc., and I had to learn it all in the moment without my customers being impacted by the transition. Meanwhile, my original parent design was doing well, someone saw it and instead of being inspired by it and partnering with me, they decided to imitate it. Also, I was still heavily focused on marketing and I started out selling through Instagram, but I was ready for my website to be up and running and kept missing deadlines for the launch. So, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. But I’ve learned a lot, I continue to learn and improve, and hopefully my supporters continue to have a smooth consumer experience.
Please tell us about iRockShirts.
iRockShirts is a Miami-based apparel brand comprised of 4 main collections: ON THE MAP, DA CRIB, COLLEGE STUFF, and LONERS. There is a collection called CUSTOM, but every design that I create can be customized. I wanted to create a brand that people can enjoy together, but that also speaks for the individual.
If I had to sum it up in one word, I want to be known for representation. I want people to see my brand and understand that there’s a place for them in it. You can represent whatever you want to represent through my design concepts because they are carefully constructed that way. Whether it’s a location, a nationality, a lifestyle, school colors, the year you were born – literally, whatever. iRockShirts is about individual expression. There are so many different directions you can take just a single design. Consider the Latitude/Longitude design: Mine represents North Miami Beach, but the guy who lives just a mile down the street might also want a NMB shirt, but by the time he represents his location, the coordinates would be slightly different. So essentially, he has the design, but the shirt uniquely represents him. I think it’s the ability to customize that sets iRockShirts apart. I built it into the mission from the beginning, so it’s already factored in for you. A lot of companies have dope shirts, but the design has to be exactly what you want to say every time because either it’s not customizable, or it costs more to have the design catered to what you want to say. iRockShirts has already considered your voice and your unique life experiences, and I’m not charging you anything extra to wear your voice in exactly the way you want to wear it.
Again, it’s not just about the shirts; it’s about what you can express. In the early days of marketing, one of the first things I did was display the designs in frames. I would maybe wear a design once and I was done with the outfit, but not the expression…so I would frame it. That proved useful during my first year of business when I lost my friend, Emmanuel Lubin. #LivLikE
I customized a design for him, framed it, and presented it to his mother at his homegoing service. There were no words for me that could sum up my feelings in that moment, but to be able to honor him and express my sentiments through what I do meant everything to me.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
This journey has been so unexpected. At the same time, it has afforded me so many opportunities to connect with people as I do what I’ve always loved doing — speaking through my shirts. As much as I never expected to start a company, it feels like I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. That makes me grateful, humble, and actually more creative than I could’ve imagined. When I consider all those things, I would not have done anything differently.
Pricing:
- Single-color shirts: $25
- Multi-color and/or exclusive designs: $30
- Hoodies: $50
Contact Info:
- Website: www.irockshirts.com
- Phone: 305-707-4805
- Email: irockshirts12@gmail.com
- Instagram: @_irockshirts
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