Certified Excellence was a dream turned into reality by long arduous hours, dedication, and faith. I have always been fascinated with fashion, so much so that I walked to the local library everyday to use their computer and literature to study the latest fashion trends and popular brands. I would print out reports and interviews from some of the industries leading clothing brands from Nike, Adidas, and Jordan to Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci. My goal was to figure out how could I bring luxury quality clothing to my community for an affordable price, all while creating a product that was fresh, new, and unique yet familiar. When I felt like I had enough information I began this journey by designing my first t shirt and selling them out of my apartment. The design and message behind the brand was a hit in my neighborhood so I decided to branch out. I would pack my backpack with as many tshirts it would hold and I began catching the bus downtown to the main hub and sell the shirts there. Every stop and passenger on the way down I would pitch my shirt and the message of the brand to the locals and I started gaining traction. I eventually started making mobile deliveries with a trunk full of shirts of various designs and types. I fell in love with the "boots on the ground" approach I was doing and the customers seemed to appreciate it too. It allowed me to really see the beauty in our communities in the city as well as the people in them. Eventually Certified Excellence became popular enough to where I was able to acquire a store front. I started to dig deep in giving back to these communities and people that supported this journey by hosting local fund raisers, turkey giveaways, and even partnering with Make A Wish foundation. Sadly the store front caught fire and destroyed majority of my products. It was a huge hit and felt like I had to start from ground zero again but thanks to the culture, and most importantly the people that really stood by the brand, I was able to continue making, selling, and providing products to this day. In the ten years of being in this industry I am proud of the accomplishments and the failures I have made along the way. Through the ups and downs one thing I have learned is that trying to create a culture of positivity, hope, unity, and excellence will always prevail over negativity. My goal is to spread this same culture to not only my neighborhood and city. But to the world.