Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriel Rice.
Gabriel, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Well of course I’m Gabriel but known to my family and friends as “Gab” I was born and raised on the North side of Houston 5th ward to be exact. I was raised by my grandparents. My dad was in prison and my mom was in the streets. I’m the oldest of 5 so growing up I automatically became a young mother to my siblings. I knew at a young age I wanted to become a entrepreneur but it wasn’t until later in life I birth “Naturally Kinkz.” It’s my all natural hair care product line for men, women and kids. If you’re natural then you know finding exactly what products works for you and your hair type is a job within itself. After trying different products and resources I decided to come up with my own natural hair care line which is what got me here today.
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?
Easy?? lol not at all! It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I definitely had to go through it to get to it. I believe starting any business you will have bumps in the road. I struggled with literally everything on down to the name. I remember just jotting down different words and putting names together then having my friends help me narrow it down to the best sounding ones. Even with my logo I know I changed it over 100 times lol. I had to make sure what I was offering to customers really worked and I wasn’t just trying to get a sell. The bumps and struggles make everything worth it at the end. The good definitely outweigh the bad.
Naturally Kinkz – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Naturally Kinkz is an all natural hair care product line. We have two different shampoos and conditioners, (Intense Hydrating and Deep Moisturizing) we have a leave in conditioner (that will leave your hair silky smooth) and introducing our “Slick’d” edge control for our queens. Don’t worry Kings we did not leave you out. We have shampoo, conditioner for you and also a daily beard wash and a leave in moisturizer for beards. What we do best is really care for the customer and their needs. I try To find out what problem areas they’re having with their hair (if any) or exactly what hair goals they’re trying to accomplish and we go from there. I don’t believe in competing with anyone, I’m my only competition.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Definitely! I remember vividly I was in high school, I was going to Klein Oak high school in Spring Tx. It was a predominately white school so in my classes I literally was the only black kid. One day I wore my hair in braids and in one of my classes some classmates kept starring asking what was wrong with my hair, why did I have my hair like that etc. I went home, took my braids out, and got my hair pressed. In retrospect, I wish I wouldn’t have. I wish i would have embraced my hair more then like I do now. I should have educated them on different hair styles and hair types for African Americans but I didn’t. I wish that everyone will embrace their hair and not change it bc the next person don’t like it. I plan to expand Naturally Kinkz women and men edition so that I can encourage and help the next person. I want Naturally Kinkz bigger than what it is now. I’m looking forward to having a wider variety of products to choose from for women and being able to have my products the “go to” for Naturals everywhere.
Contact Info:
- Email: Naturally.Kinkz@gmail.com
- Instagram: NaturallyKinkz_
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