Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Ross.
Hi Andrew, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Entrepreneurship was always my first career choice since middle school, I never seen myself working for another company other than my own. My creative mindset started when I was very young. I was always one of the most artistic in my class & knew how to articulate my ideas through different forms of media. High school really gave me the opportunity showcase this through clothing, considering that there were no uniforms & I came from wearing uniforms since elementary. I never failed in style & always kept up with the latest trends & sometimes even started some in the halls. Approaching my junior year in 2018, me & my 2 close friends since middle school collectively founded our first brand, Dfrnt Hype.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The journey has had its ups & downs. Starting out the brand while we were still Juniors in high school, we had to learn everything through trial & error. At the time, mentors were hard to come by & we were the only kids in our age group running a business while in school. But through perseverance & dedication, we quickly learned the fundamentals & excelled throughout the southern Maryland area. However, we faced a lot of adversity in regard of dealing with overseas manufacturing, learning social media algorithms, connecting with celebrities, budgeting & more. But over time we got a groove for how we wanted to operate as a brand & did what we did best for every project put out.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As I grew alongside the clothing brand, I as the Creative Director took a lot of interest in the graphic design process & visual production. Quickly, I became a photographer, graphic designer, and a project manager all at the same time. Learning these skills over time gave me the idea to simultaneously start my photography business, DrewVisualz. Running both of these companies has led me to a few fashion shows, selling out at multiple pop-ups, hosting a HBCU tour, meeting celebrities & even given me the opportunity to mentor others.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
As a child, I always enjoyed going to the movies & experiencing the way of how each movie made me feel internally. I was more so interested in the emotional connection that movies resonated with me rather than the actual genre. It taught me how different situations can have an impact on you as a person & that each situation, depending on the person, has an emotional response to that scenario. This same concept transfers over to my body of work & can be illustrated in various ways depending on how I feel at that moment.
Contact Info:
- Website: dfrnthype.com
- Instagram: DrewVisualz
- Twitter: DrewVisualz
- Youtube: Dfrnt Hype, LLC.
Image Credits
All images captured by DrewVisualz & @J.erd_
