Today we’d like to introduce you to Alejandro Vargas.
Alejandro, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m 32. I’m a husband, father of 2 beautiful little girls, and the owner of Nine Apparel Co. I’m a New Jersey native. I lived there most of my life. A little over five years ago, just after having our first daughter, my wife and I made a huge decision after receiving a job opportunity to pack everything and move to Houston. We were in a professional and financial rut so in hopes of something better we set off on our journey. I always knew I wanted to work for myself, but I could never figure out exactly what it was I wanted to do with my life. And after a string of different jobs, I found that none of them gave me a sense of fulfillment. I felt stuck.
Then one day my sister invited me to a church called The Church Of Champions that she had been attending. I was hesitant because I wasn’t a very spiritual or religious person. For the majority of my adult life, I was actually the complete opposite, but I decided to go. And I’m so glad that I did because that’s where I found God. I met some amazing people that truly helped me nurture my relationship with God. Even tho I had these great things happening in my life I still had this hole inside. I wanted to be as fulfilled in my professional life as I had become in my spiritual and personal life. So I began to pray. I prayed to God everyday to reveal to me his purpose for my life. Then one day he spoke to me and Nine Apparel Co was born. I had always had a passion for music and fashion. So I decided to combine them with my love for God. Nine Apparel Co. is a Christian based urban apparel company. Our mission is to use our brand to spread the Gospel. All of our pieces are inspired by the word of God mixed with the hip hop culture I grew up with.
Has it been a smooth road?
Nothing about starting this company has been easy. But nothing worth doing is I guess. The biggest struggle for me was just getting started. I knew what I wanted to do, but I had no idea what to do. I had no experience in the clothing industry. It took me a really long time to get where I am today. And I got discouraged quite a bit. I almost gave up a few times. There is so much involved and so many different routes you can take. It can be pretty overwhelming. But thanks to a lot of other entrepreneurs out there who have put out content to help people like me avoid some of the mistakes they made, I started to feel a little better. To be honest, one of the biggest things that helped me, believe it or not, was YouTube. I started to follow a lot of entrepreneurs and people in the clothing industry. There content and suggestions on things to read up on was invaluable.
Then one day I came across a video that changed my whole perspective. I was so focused on the end result that I was making this business into this huge thing that I convinced myself I couldn’t do. But in a ten-minute video my entire mindset changed. I realized what I needed to do was just focus on one step at a time. I needed to figure out what the very first thing I need to do was and do it. Then the next step and so on and so forth. Then slowly but surely things started to progress. Then before you know it we were up and running and I was making money doing something I loved.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Nine Apparel Co. – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Nine Apparel Co. is a Christian based urban apparel company. Growing up music played such a huge roll in my life. Growing up, I always thought (and secretly still do, lol) that I would have a career in music. And after finding God, I felt like there was a way to share The Gospel, but in my own way. In a way that would reach people that may have never even stepped into a church. So I decided to create a brand that had God at its core but had some hip hop culture thrown in. In the beginning, we had taken some of the most iconic Images and reimagined them. Our “BUT GOD” tee was our first release. We took the famous RUN DMC logo and replaced the letters with BUT GOD. We have several similar pieces. What I’m most proud of is our original designs. Our customers have responded incredibly to our originals. We’ve sold twice as many of our original pieces. I think what sets us apart is why we do it. The money is great and all that comes with that but that’s not why we do it. We do it because we love God. He has done so much for us this is just a small way that we can show our gratitude.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The thing I like the most about Houston is the diversity and the love. I’ve met so many different people form so many different places here, but the one thing they all have in common are they’re huge hearts. I’ve never been somewhere where a complete stranger will just randomly strike up a conversation with you in the grocery line and by the time you check out you feel like you’re best friends that have known each other your whole lives. The thing I like least, coming from the east coast is the heat! This heat is on a whole other level! It’s just downright disrespectful! Oh and 290! (Lol)
Contact Info:
- Website: Nineapparelco.com
- Email: 9apparelco@gmail.com
- Instagram: @nine_apparel_co
- Facebook: @nineapparelco
- Twitter: @NineApparel
Image Credit:
Isaac Escobar
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