Today we’d like to introduce you to Jared Rok.
Jared, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Sure! So the story is actually a pretty cool one. My grandpa came here from Cuba in 1967. Looking for work, he opened up a few retail stores in Downtown Miami and eventually did well enough to buy a few buildings, working his way up in the Real Estate industry. He started his own business and decided to hold an art competition here Downtown where the winning design would be the logo for his new company. He ended up choosing this logo because of his love for the ocean, sailboats, and ultimately the vibrant colors of the sails, which he thought represented the vibrancy of Miami itself.
He made hats with the logo for family members and over time, anywhere we went, people would ask, “What’s that logo? It’s so cool! How do I get one?!” My grandfather, unfortunately, passed away when I was 13, but I decided to keep making the hats for the family and eventually started making some for my friends. Everyone would tell me how much attention the hats were getting, encouraging me to make more and start a clothing brand. Although I loved the idea of turning my hobby into a business, I brushed it off for a while, until two years ago when I decided to really pursue it and created ROK MIAMI.
Since then, things have taken off like I would never have imagined. My clothing and hats are now sold in stores around Miami, including Shoe Gallery, BASE, Sneak Peek Luxury, and SoHo House, to name a few. The amount of support I have received over these last two years has been incredible, and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been the smoothest road… Because I do commercial real estate, I didn’t know one thing about starting a clothing brand. I had to learn every step of the process that goes into it all, from mocking a design to testing out samples to production and then running a retail business. To this day, I still struggle and even fail on some of the pieces I make. But that’s how I ultimately learn and grow. You have to fail to succeed. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky” – Michael Scott
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I started off with just making hats and then gradually worked my way into the clothing aspect of it. Since the brand has more of an urban-nautical vibe, many athletes and celebrities enjoy wearing it. Seeing athletes like Tyler Herro, Donovan Mitchell, Dalvin Cook and Devante Parker rep the brand has really been a dream turned reality. It’s surreal.
I am so excited to announce the opening of the first flagship store here in Downtown in late January 2021. To me, what sets us apart from others is the uniqueness of the logo. Almost all of our hats only have the logo without the name of the brand on it – so it’s more of an “If you know, you know” type of thing. Also, like my grandfather with his first business, ROK MIAMI is based out of Downtown, Miami, and I like to think our gear is a way of celebrating this city and its history while paying homage to my grandfather, who remains one of my greatest inspirations.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think it’s a great city with SO much opportunity. Miami attracts people from all over the world, making it a more diverse, vibrant, fashion-forward city – which in turn makes it a great place to start a business like mine. Many brands start here, but with that being said, there’s more competition as well. One thing our city can do to improve is to build and expand on the retail industry here Downtown. This way, more new entrepreneurs can come and build their businesses here.
Pricing:
- Hats – $30-40
- Shirts – $40-75
- Hoodies – $75-140
Contact Info:
- Address: 158 E. Flagler St
- Website: www.rokmiami.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rokmiami/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rokmiami
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