Today we’d like to introduce you to Dee Greene.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dee. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born in a small town of Kokomo, IN. My mother had me when she was only 16 years old. I’ve never met my father and grew up living with my mom and my aunt and uncle. When I was in 2nd grade my mother got in a relationship with a guy that would physically abuse me from the age of 8 up until I was 14. By that time we had moved to McAllen, TX and it got so bad that I moved back up to Indiana to live with my aunt and uncle again.
From there, I always wanted to prove to myself that I could break the chain and be the one in my family that did things differently and made a positive impact. I didn’t want to make excuses and let setbacks stop me from being my best self. So that’s what I set out to do. I was really into basketball and making music from a young age so I did that all through high school. In college, I got an offer to play basketball but quit the first day I got there to purse music.
I ended up transferring to Indiana University a year later where I continued music and eventually started my own clothing line XII PLVS (Twelve Plus).After graduation, I found myself working at the UPS Store for a very low wage, and so I eventually put as much in my car as I could and drove to Orlando to live.This is where I eventually met my wife and embarked on a journey of learning how to be an entrepreneur.
Over the five or so years that I’ve been in Orlando, I’ve done so many jobs and started so many projects that I can’t even keep track. Last year I came across the book “Find Your Why” which led me to discover that my purpose in life is to help inspire others to overcome adversity. This discovery led me to create my second clothing line UNDETERRED.
I have been running that as well as my own social media agency for the majority of this year. However, lately, I have been feeling unfilled and started digging deeper into why. My wife made a great point that although I have been inspiring others to overcome adversity, I gave up pursuing music during that process. So in the past month I started producing music again and made close to $1,000 in beat sales in the first few weeks as well as getting great feedback from other producers and artists in the industry.
My goal now is to inspire people with my actions and not just my clothing line. I plan to go full time music career by the end of this December and then find a way to operate my clothing line in a way that won’t take up the majority of my time but still allow me to make a positive impact.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road to success is never smooth. I’ve had to overcome:
– physical abuse
– having a college degree and not being able to get a job with it
– learning how to be an entrepreneur
– getting married and learning how to be a stepfather although I don’t know my own father
– and now learning how to be successful in the music industry
Tell us more about the business.
I think I mentioned that before. But as far as UNDETERRED, I think our message helps us stand out. We actually stand for something as a brand and are seeking to inspire others. As far as music goes, I think I have a very distinct sound. My type of production would be classified as smooth/”airy” r&b that is laced with 80-90s olds kool r&b samples.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Not lucky at all but instead faith. Having faith in God has allowed me to be where I am today. I have learned to ask for direction and then completely trust the process.
Pricing:
- UNDETERRED merch currently on sale for $10-$15
Contact Info:
- Website: www.undeterredco.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/deegreene
- Twitter: www.instagram.com/realdeegreene
Image Credit:
Photographer: Jorge M
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