Meet Spencer McGuire of B. Modest Apparel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Spencer McGuire.

Spencer, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Wow. Where do I start? B. Modest Apparel is literally the manifestation of my purpose. I’ve always had a niche for apparel, but I didn’t know how it fit into my life.

I was in California visiting my best friend embracing the great Los Angeles vibes. We were having one of our typical conversations pouring into one another discussing purpose and being fulfilled. Not only is he thriving in his career, he’s definitely walking in his purpose (shout-out to Micah McDonald he’s a huge inspiration and literally one of the most powerful stylist in Hollywood). I expressed I was ready to walk into that stage of my life. He encouraged me to explore what I was passionate about, while also giving me solid advice confirming qualities I knew I had, but was apprehensive about pursuing. Fast forward to the beginning of 2018, I decided to attend a Destiny and Leadership Conference, hosted by my spiritual leader, Keion Henderson from the Lighthouse Church. The focus was to bring successful global business leaders and entrepreneurs together, to share their journey and give meaningful insight to aspiring entrepreneurs. Ivy McGregor, Vivica Fox, Marcus Davis, Johnny Wimbrey, to name a few, shared their journey and it really inspired me. I believe it’s important to surround yourself around people who are able to outthink you. Needless to say, I left feeling motivated and decided it was time to pursue my dreams. Shortly after that experience, I decided to launch a campaign, the #BlackMenAre Movement.

#BlackMenAre is a community-based movement that fights to dispel stereotypes projected upon black men. Today, unarmed black men are disproportionately more likely to be shot and killed by police. We are constantly scrutinized; told we are dangerous, uneducated, and non-contributors of society. That’s NOT who we are. The goal of the #BlackMenAre campaign was to help shift how society views us, through positive affirmations that highlight everything we ARE. What better way to do that than through apparel! To my surprise, people were overwhelmingly receptive.

Initially, I thought it would be geared to black men, but I quickly realized I MUST include the entire black community. The support was coming from all angles. People not only begin to purchase the merchandise, but my customers are using their social media platform to empower others in the community through my apparel. At that moment, I realized this is bigger than me. Today all of our apparel is unisex style.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, but adversity propels me! Being in my position, I always have to keep it together. A lot of people depend on me, so when I’m not operating at my best, it affects others. It can be an overwhelming amount of pressure at times, but I am built for this.

Being new to the E-Commerce industry, I quickly learned this was not going to be an easy journey. One of my biggest struggles early on was the execution of my vision. I had an idea for a brand and what it should represent; people were connecting to the brand, so how do I make this come to fruition? From sourcing products, product design, marketing, learning about copyright infringement, to the platform I’d use to sell the products. It was a lot of trial and error. The dope thing about creating a business your passionate about is despite the hiccups along the way, giving up really isn’t an option. People subscribe to you before your product, so it’s important to believe in yourself.

One thing that keeps me grounded and pushes me to keep pursuing my goals is surrounding myself with other dreamers. Entrepreneurship requires a ton of consistency and perseverance. Even when nothing spectacular is happening! I believe in the law of attraction. So I made a conscious effort to unsubscribe to anything or anyone that is not uplifting my focus in life. Thus, my focus is to create continual perpetual movements of increase for the people around me.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with B. Modest Apparel – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
B. Modest Apparel is a unisex streetwear brand that gives everyone a voice in a bold way. We are Black AF, Resilient AF, Educated AF, and Woke AF! We do not apologize for going against the grain. Our brand is organic, authentic, and created for us, by us! #BlackVibesOnly

What sets us apart? We aren’t just a T-Shirt company. Our designs are modest, but our message is intentional and empowering. I personally source, every item in our collection, because quality always supersedes quantity. My goal is to make our customers feel like they can always be representative of the culture no matter where they are.

I’m most proud to be a Vendor at Houston’s #1 Night Market, BLCK Market Houston. I love the sense of community they’ve organically created among black business owners. Good Vibes Always. Black Vibes Only!

What’s next for your company? Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years?  Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?
It’s hard to predict the future for B. Modest Apparel, its ever changing. I can tell you we will continue to stay on trend, take risks, collaborate, and be bold in our message.

As we continue to grow, we want to ensure our customers have quality garments. We’ve recently partnered with American Apparel to offer diverse style variations allowing us to add more pieces to the Black Vibes Only collection. We have big plans for 2019!

In the next five years, there will be no division between luxury and streetwear. Black fashion designers like Virgil Abloh, Creator of Off-White and Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s streetwear collection, are working to change the scope of luxury brands. It’s my dream to collaborate with a high-end or luxury streetwear brand creating a culture branded streetwear line. Dapper Dan, Virgil Abloh, Daniel Patrick, if you’re reading this, let’s collaborate (law of attraction).

Pricing:

• B. Modest Apparel Unisex Apparel $20-$34.00
• B. Modest Apparel Culture Buttons $5.00

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bmodestapparel.com
• Phone: 832-525-5636
• Email: info@bmodestapparel.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/bmodestapparel
• Facebook: Facebook.com/bmodestapparel

Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.