Meet Marcus and Taylor Ryan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcus and Taylor Ryan.

Marcus and Taylor, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We wanted to build a brand with a purpose. I (Marcus Ryan) was inspired by the story of tortoise and the hare and its infamous quote “slow and steady wins the race” Growing up in New York City, everything is so fast-paced and it’s easy to get lost in the sauce. Often times we forget that greatness takes time. It’s always a competition of who can do what first instead of us just staying focused on our own goals and staying true to ourselves. With our brand, we want to encourage people to “Grind at your own pace”. Meaning success has no timeline take as long as you need to build your empire.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been an easy road. Starting a business is like jumping into fire. There are so many things to figure out, it’s more than just selling T-shirts, there is a whole business side that I was introduced to. That’s where my sister, Taylor Ryan comes in. She was an Entrepreneurship major at the Fashion Institute of Technology and she has played a big role in the business. She made us realize that we were running our business at a loss. Our expenses exceeded our earnings and I was unaware at first. She made me find every single receipt and kept a record in an excel sheet and even got our website running, from then we formed a partnership. We really began to understand the concept of entrepreneurship. It is not always glamorous, especially in the early stages . It takes a lot of time, energy and a lot of money. When we did our first pop up shop we surpassed our goal, even at our second pop up shop. When it was time to launch our website, we did not have a sale for two months. Then we had to start thinking outside the box, the internet is a huge place and very easy for you to get lost. So now we have to really market ourselves and think outside the box in order to stay relevant.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I (Marcus Ryan) am 21 years old and I am currently a senior at the University at Albany. On campus I serve on the executive board for two organizations. UAlbany Brother 2 Brother and the Albany State University Black Alliance is better known as ASUBA. In my free time, I enjoy playing Basketball, Bowling and exercising. The thing that I am most proud of is building this brand, and I feel we are different from others because we are building a brand with substance.

I (Taylor Ryan) am 23 years old and I am currently a 6th grade math teacher for the New York City school system. Aside from being a teacher, I am also a makeup artist and mixologist. I love to create different things and watch them come to life. That is part of the reason I decided to join my brother creating this brand. On my free time, I love to exercise and travel.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Being able to inspire makes us happy. You never know who’s out there watching and looking up to you. Seeing people wear our clothes and repost our photos shows that we are doing the right thing. They believe in the vision and are buying into the brand. That is just one of those unexplainable feelings.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.slowsteadyclothing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow.steadyclothing/

Image Credits:
Photographers Lamel Roberson Jr. Instagram: @thetake.bymm Limitless Imprint Ent, LLC. Instagram: @limitless_lie