Meet Christopher O’Neil of Especial HTX in South Central

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher O’Neil.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Especial is a mashup of a lot of meaningful experiences. For instance, I remember my mom dressing us in the flyest clothes in elementary. My Grandmother helped me design my first pair of jeans. They were clean. Or wanting to skateboard in the 90’s and finally getting one in 2004.

Also being completely engulfed into skate culture with style, music, and all of the dope homies I met in it. I try to my best to mix all of my life influences into my designs. I’m also lucky to have some strong support form the City when I’m able to get the Mobile Hustling Unit out in the streets. But Especial is a Texas brand true and through.

Great, 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?
It has not been smooth at all but I’m here for it all.

Some of the biggest struggles has been the concept of patience, team building, delegation, and brand building. I can say I have some super capable friends and family that actually see my vision of Especial and they have been helping me out and showing hella love and support in so many ways since Especial had the first shirt printed. I’m really thankful for them. But also with me being a single Dad who is super involved in my Daughter’s lives and also just figuring everything out it can be a stretch sometimes but I’m here for it all. Ups and downs bring it on. Like Curren$y said “If my life was easy then my autobiography will be boring”.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Especial HTX – what should we know?
Especial is a Texas brand that has the wonderful opportunity to be influenced by the 90’s globally and the 90’s in Texas (we really had our own bubble here). I try to make sure my all of the designs have a personal reference to it. As in specialization we really have none. I was born in the 90’s it’s was way too much exposure for me to pigeon hole Especial into. We just try to make sure the design is executed as close to the mental picture as possible while having fun with it the process.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
To have the end user see the vision and to make sure they are apart of the growth. We really believe the local support is one of the biggest part of our growth, especially with the branding strategy we have in place.

Contact Info:

• Email: especialhtx@gmail.com
• Instagram: @especialhtx
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Especialhtx/
• Twitter: @especialhtx

Image Credit:
Photos by D.C. Boson (@derrezzll)

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