Today we’d like to introduce you to Naika Malveaux.
Hi Naika, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started at the Art Institute of Houston. Graduated with a degree in Visual Communications. I started as a painter/Illustrator but became a graphic designer. We moved to Houston in 1995 after my dad had retired from the Army after 21 years, I got the opportunity to live in Germany and 5 various states around the US.
After college, I quickly got hired to design and layout college textbook covers. After a year of doing that I was chosen to be the Art Director for Farouk Systems in the Woodlands. I learned a lot about international hair care and competitive marketing in that field. Afterwards, I begin to work for a couple of Houston’s larger recruitment advertising agencies at the time. BSA Advertising out of New York and then I was hired to help open the brand new recruitment company out of Dallas AdMasters as their Marketing Director. AdMasters made several million in their first year.
After spending approx. 4 years in recruitment advertising I started forming my own company TrioCollective Advertising. I’d been doing freelance work ever since the Art Institute. They have a great program for freelance work and contacts. To look back I even did freelance art work while in high school. I simply hadn’t thought to formulate it into a full business.
Later I was chosen as a lead Web Architect/Designer for FuelQuest. Enron was in a bidding war to get me at the same time but I chose FuelQuest due to it’s newness and vast technical team which I fit into very well. This brought me into the world of oil & gas. A big business to be into in Houston and the dotcoms were booming. I got the opportunity to sit in boardroom creative meetings with Enron, Texaco, Anadarko, Valero, Chevron and more. I was known as the designer with the purple or red dyed hair.
On the side, I continued to freelance under Brilliant Ads and TrioCollective. I helped design many of the nightclub flyers in the days of the Roxy, Liquid Lounge, Sams Boat and much more. By day I was a corporate designer. By night I got to flex my creativity designing many of the weekly club and restaurant night life flyers. It was a great business and I was fully emersed in my design work.
Eventually, I was invited to run my first nightclub and created club HaVoK on the corner of Richmand and Chimney Rock inside a failed club opening which served sushi. HaVoK took off like a rocket. We specialized in specifically underground, alternative and darkwave music with a touch of 80s. We were the red-headed stepchild of the clubbing industry but we threw some of the best concerts and DJ nights while keeping it all a secret while the bigger clubs focused on the mainstream music. HaVoK lead me to becoming a DJ. I’d always had vast music tastes and with my graphic design skills and marketing knowledge I soon became known as DJ Whisperwish of HaVoK by night while still being that alternative creative marketing director by day.
During this time, I continually attempted to get my dream job working at one of the top Houston advertising agencies. Agencies like Goswick Advertising, Ford and more. I was told to get more experience and to come back. I had promise. I never got that job but I did get to meet several of the children of advertising agency owners and struck up friendships through the club scene with people like Chris Goswick. I think it’s funny that both us are now DJs and talk about the good ole days occasionally.
After many years working, the Houston corporate world and freelancing for lawyers, doctors, real estate and some small businesses. I married my wife Krystal who shortly after joined the Air Force. This immediately cut everything off and took us to our first base in Italy. My second time being a military dependent. During this time I was chosen to be the Marketing Director for the USAF in Italy at Aviano AFB. An amazing opportunity and at the same time getting to learn a new culture while helping families of the USAF find entertaining things to do while their family member served our country abroad. During this time I continued my TrioCollective freelance work with a variety of my Houston clients. The abilities of living in a virtual world was just budding but I was already learning the flexibilities of it while maintaining a client base. After 4 years we returned and eventually moved back to Texas.
All along TrioCollective Advertising never died. I managed to continue to grow the client base and work on a variety of projects while staying flexible with an always changing military life. Today I manage clients from Houston all the way to North Texas where I’m the Marketing Director for a congressional candidate in the 2022 election. One of the great things about being a marketing company is that even during covid we are only slightly effected. Our clients range from Texas to New York. Much of it is done with only occasional face to face meetings and lots of virtual meetings and remote work. TrioCollective now has a few freelance graphic designers based out of Houston and though not well known as a major advertising company, we are still sought out through word of mouth and from people that have worked with us before. We love working behind the scenes of major Houston nightclubs and even music bands. While working with clients all over Texas and the US. Maybe one day we will decide to open up an office in one of the sky rise suites in the Houston skyline. We can dream. But to be honest we love the small, flexible, mobile/virtual style of marketing more. If we ever did open a full location it will probably be on some newly developed acreage on the outskirts or in some other random part of Texas. While still coming to Houston to meet with our clients when they need my designs.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Overall, I’d say it’s been pretty smooth. The only struggles I’ve really had is working for other companies during the times of downsizing and layoffs. But overall this taught me to keep my foot on the pedal of TrioCollective and my freelance work because even in the corporate world your next paycheck isn’t guaranteed. The funny thing is I was in a bidding war to become one of the head designers of FuelQuest and Enron. The same kind of things happened to both companies in the end. Enron of course caused a huge ripple in the Oil and Gas industry but it was still felt at the company I did choose. I take it as a lesson. Don’t wait for someone to feed you, feed yourself. Grow your own plan. Learn from the challenges and skills of large companies and take your talents to selective clients while slowly building your own marketing future.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m creative from the moment I wake up until I go to bed late at night. Often 1am. I love taking my big corporate marketing and military marketing experience and using it for new business startups in Texas. I love running full marketing and branding campaigns. I’m proud to be diverse enough to being one of the marketing brains helping nightclubs like the Scout Bar, and bands like The Hunger while at the same time working on the political campaign of Kathleen Brown for Congress. These days you have to make your marketing stand out, be edgy and daring. I love nothing more than taking big marketing knowledge and skills to people looking to increase their exposure from scratch or from little exposure and bringing them to higher levels of communication with their audience.
I’m also still known as the underground nightclub DJ and do virtual shows and occasional shows in Houston and around the US. Not only do I get to DJ the club scene but I also get to DJ a fancy Air Force birthday gala and occasional weddings and special events. One thing I did get to achieve was DJing a Sweet 16 for an MTV show for Erica Magic. Looking back I’ve lead a very creative and adventerous life and look forward to doing more and more with my creativity and talents. Who knows what the next challenge will bring? That’s the excitement of my industry. It’s ever changing and always exciting.
What are your plans for the future?
My wife will be retiring from the Air Force in about 8 years or less. In the back of my mind I’m constantly planning on that little marketing agency with big clients. I want to purchase land and have a secluded design studio in Texas. Client and friend invite only. I want to continue to deliver cutting edge graphics and designs to select clients. I also dream of opening a nightclub and to throw concerts like I helped market back in the early 2000’s, One thing is for sure I’ll be giving all I’ve got with my creative talents to others who can benefit from it in Texas and more. I like to keep my plans tight lipped and behind the scenes but am I dreaming big? Absolutely. Maybe you’ll read about it here again in the next 10 years.
Contact Info:
- Email: naika@trioadv.com
- Website: www.facebook.com/clubhavok
- Instagram: instagram.com/triocollectiveadv and instagram.com/clubhavok
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrioCollective
- Other: twitch.tv/whisperwish13
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