Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack & Kenau Victor
Hi Jack & Kenau, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Our journey begins with my love of tech and both, my wife and I, love of fashion. Before I get into that, let me give a brief background of where I come from so you can see how it all ties together. I am a Technical Analyst and have been working in this career for about 10 years. Being a young, African American male in this industry is a rare sight to see and even more so when you dress in the way that I do. It leaves a lot of people speechless while at work when they see how urban I dress and they think I’m the delivery guy or some other title and then I tell them that I work for IT and will be troubleshooting your computer hardware or software. Everyone has this general stereotype of how a tech should look, act, and dress meanwhile, African Americans, Hispanics, and women are in this tech industry also but, are not being recognized on the same scale as our peers. We kind of get left in the shadows and treated like we are not a part of the equation when in reality we’re right here just like everyone else. Knowing that people like myself are not being recognized in the tech industry, and our culture had yet to be implemented into it either, my wife and I decided to find a way to bridge that gap. This is where my love of tech and both our fashion-savvy personalities were able to merge together thus creating Techky Apparel. We wanted to bridge the gap of the underrepresentation of Hispanics, women, and African Americans in tech by creating designs that spoke diversity and inclusion along with some designs that implemented our culture’s fashion and modern edge. We definitely started something different and made it creative while pushing forth the main message that drives us and that is diversity and inclusion. This is how we got to where we are today and this is the driving force behind our brand. When you see me and my wife representing the tech community through streetwear-inspired fashion, you see something that’s not as common in the tech industry and that a lot of people would have to get used to. We are not excluding anyone’s culture but we are embracing and adding ours to the mix because it’s not being done and if it is then it’s not being recognized in the way that it should. Techky Apparel is a brand that speaks to those in and outside of our community. We want to build some type of unity while being a representation of many.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road the entire time. Mind you, we have only been around since last year June, and we have definitely faced some trials and errors. We lost funds on Facebook marketing, my wife wasn’t working at one point and we had backend costs to deal with for running the business, and on top of all of that, we have children that my wife has to homeschool. It is a struggle to juggle all of that and keep your sanity at the same time.
As you know, we’re big fans of Techky Apparel. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Techky Apparel is an online store with streetwear-inspired clothing for techs and tech lovers. This is a brand that promotes diversity and inclusion in tech because women, Hispanics, and African Americans are underrepresented in the tech community. Techky Apparel also consists of modern pieces that utilize graphics and phrases from recent trends while making it catchy and captivating for those in (and out of) the tech industry. We specialize in building confidence, awareness, and acceptance of the skills that people in STEM possess. Our designs do the talking and it builds that much-needed confidence for those that feel shy or slightly embarrassed to speak on their involvement in tech. People assume that techs are nerds, boring, and lack a sense of fashion. Techky Apparel is showing the complete opposite by bringing fashion to an industry that is overlooked in the fashion realm. Clothing has a way of opening up conversations and making you more appealing so that’s what we want to do in order to raise awareness and acceptance for those in tech. I am proud of the fact that my brand resonates very well with those in tech and those that are not. This is the beginning foundation for the bridge that we are trying to build. Also, we are breaking ground with getting the diversity and inclusion message circulating because a personal blog used their platform to write about Techky Apparel and talked about the lack of diversity within tech. That was definitely a proud moment in the very beginning stages of launching our brand. Overall, I am most proud that we took a leap of faith and created designs that people enjoy with an underlying message that is bigger than us. We want readers to know that our brand is unique and we celebrate the unique qualities of not only ourselves but every individual in the tech industry. Furthermore, we love providing excellent customer service to those that shop on our website and we give quick responses to any and all inquiries. When you come in contact with Techky Apparel we know that you won’t be disappointed because we are passionate about our brand and love what we do.
What matters most to you? Why?
Being able to make a difference and having a significant impact on promoting change or growth within an industry or community is what matters the most. This is important because you want to know that you stood for something and chose to be the voice or the leader for those that don’t know how to do it or maybe they don’t have the resources you have to do it. I love how Entrebeliever, a brand founded by the creators of Art of Homage put it when they posted a quote saying that “creating a brand means you put other people first” and this pretty much summarizes what matters most.
Contact Info:
- Email: techkyapparel@gmail.com
- Website: Techkyapparel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techkyapparel/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Techkyapparel/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/techkya
