Today we’d like to introduce you to William Proctor.
Hi William, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been doing fashion since I was 16 years old and my first actual job was at a retail store called Nautica. I worked for nautica until I was almost 20 years old and I had enlisted into the military and around 2015 before I thought to enlist, I created my first clothing brand which as at the time called “1MOB Apparel”. I was living in Italy at that time and it was the best business experience I had as a young entrepreneur. I lived in Europe for around four years and attended several fashion week events with some of the top brass European designers and creative thinkers for fashion. I met a few over that time in Milan and asked them to help me understand their perspective of fashion and how to utilize it to become a part of my life full-time as a future aspiring designer of fashion. They critiqued my clothing brand at the time and poked several holes in my bias to the future of producing products for all my future clients and this is when I came up with my first ever designer brand by the name of “A1 Fashion”. This pressed me into a new realm of thinking for my fashion company and how I would create products that I have materialized into today for customer purchase.
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?
The road was sort of smooth with my first streetwear brand in Italy because I was American to them which they loved and I was a soldier to the American community and I sold out every merch drop I released. I always prided myself on quality, long-lasting material that didn’t fade easy or my designs peeling due to washing. I hated that from other products I bought in the past so I focused my attention on vendors with great material and on shops who could give great screen print, DTG and embroidery edits to my product.
Soon after, I encountered a life-changing event that changed the course of my personal life and my business persona due to me suffering a life-threatening tragic event on September 17, 2019. I suffered being ran over by a military 11 ton truck that I worked with as my job in the army. This shifted my entire gained momentum from overseas hype but it shifted my future plans to release certain products before leaving Europe unexpectedly. From that point forward, it was a constant fight to live to see another day and to survive the multiple surgeries and pain I had to endure from my tragedy.
I started to invent products for my first designer brand of “A1 Fashion” while hospitalized in Tampa, FL at the time of 2019-2020. I interacted with a lot of vendors and I created My first designer Belt. I created my first shoe from a vendor I engaged with overseas and I created lots of custom pieces for people to wear while still going through daily therapies and even surgeries to stay afloat in health and career. I was told I’d never walk again and three months later, I worked so hard to walk again. Lost a lot of physical abilities and spent seven months overall in between several hospitals to become the person after recovery I am today to sustain my everyday life. It has been tough but I’m a warrior and fighter on another level and I encourage anyone fighting any sort of battle, physically, mentally, or spiritually, to KEEP FIGHTING. It is in you, you have to use the scenario that’s effecting you right now to bring it out. That’s my motivational speech for those who are lacking in courage, mental health and strength and need that added push.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Fashion designer and I specialize in custom pieces and clothing of all sorts. From Hats, beanies, belts, shoes, hoodies, tracksuits and bubble jackets, duffel bags, book bags, and carry on briefcases. I’m known around from where I’m from as a fashion guru and I recently attended one of the top fashion schools in LA by the name of FIDM. Which currently I’m still enrolled to as an active student which shifting my attention to transfer to the Art Institute of Atlanta to still take up fashion design due to location preferences.
I’m also a Pro trader. I trade stocks, options and mostly intraday positions in the forex market and I steadily invest in crypto and stocks for the long term haul. I have a very strong intellect of the markets and I’ve been trading for a little over two years and still growing to be one of the best traders to date.
I’m most proud of my resilience, my creative ability at the drop of a dime, my ability to create videos and commercials for my brand from my own visual perspective in the moment and pre-planned for future clothing releases to grab the hearts and minds of my target audience. I’m very proud of my humbleness as a person who has accomplished a lot of things but still giving back to people who are interested in the knowledge to grow, my dependability to help others reach new levels to become financially free and to break generational barriers of financial issues.
I have a lot of wisdom and knowledge on a lot of things in life outside of the fashion and trading world and I think what sets me apart is my mindset as a man who grew up with so many odds stacked against him in my childhood and environment growing up and overcoming my circumstances, overcoming my accident and still growing to be a better person day by day and my willingness to give to others who are less fortunate in finances and information.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’m a risk taker on different levels, I believe in taking risk with investing in things that will bring back a future income for the sake of my family to succeed. I believe in taking moderate and strategic risk, not gambling for the sake of money. I enjoy the benefits of what money brings but I’m not engulfed by money or selfish with it in the slightest. Money doesn’t really mean much to me but beyond money, I’m a risk-taker in growing and trying new things or ideals that could cause a cultural or economic shift. Whatever to make me and my family and the people around me to succeed so that they may make those dear to them to succeed in all things they decide to put their heart, mind and purpose into.
Contact Info:
- Email: W.richardson2402@gmail.com
- Website: www.A-1fashion.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a1bonafide/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCW7hfkcxmXxOZynXi1MWYUQ
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/alphaunofashion/?hl=en
Image Credits:
Credits to people who assisted in photo shoots, my videographer/photographer. Sebastian Thomas Betzaira Saenz Joshua Starr
