Meet Anthony J | Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anthony J and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anthony, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My entire life there has always been versatility in the ways that I express myself, wether if it was through my haircut designs or through my bowties and ties. When I started to take interest in hair and had gotten my first frontal unit installed the love and support I received was overwhelming, I would have never thought I’d receive that type of love from complete strangers and from that point I knew that I needed to capitalize off of it. I initially had no idea what route I wanted to take within the hair industry, I had bounced between starting a YouTube channel, becoming a brand ambassador or I could start my own hair line. I wasn’t really sold on the idea of starting a YouTube channel and I also knew that I didn’t want to be a hairstylist. It wasn’t until I was continuously turned down from hair companies after inquiring about becoming a brand ambassador that I decided I wanted to start my own company and be the face of my brand.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It’s important that my supporters understand that Oddlycreative embodies androgyny, What better example of that than myself being the face of my brand? I chose to start my hair line because of the constant no’s I’d receive from other brands not wanting to work with me. Although I understand that everyone has their own vision for their brand and how they’d like to present to their audience, it inspired me to want create something that will represent for men that are androgynous. It wasn’t easy starting out; I had never had interest in being in the hair industry so with that I also had no knowledge surrounding hair. It took 4 years of research to find the perfect vendor having to use a trial and error tactic. Believing in myself and the hunger for success is what got me to where I am today.
I am still in the beginning stages of creating this brand surrounding Oddlycreative, I don’t expect this journey to be easy but I’m in it for the long run and I strongly believe that faith, hard work and determination will place me where I am meant to be in this world. My goal is to inspire others, even if I inspire just one person to be their true authentic self undeniably that would complete me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love the city of Atlanta, my favorite area would have to be little five spots. it feels the most authentic to me with the whole area being full of artist and their art work, record shops and even exclusive shoe stores and clothing boutiques such as Wish ATL and Meet ATL . You also have the thrift stores which in my opinion is what makes little five points so exquisite, my favorite would have to be The Clothing Warehouse. I’m big on getting out early in the day to enjoy the city and have brunch, visit museums and definitely get some shopping in. It’s so hard to decide on a favorite place to grab some food/drinks as they’re so many different vibes to choose from, I like to decide based on my mood. You can choose between a nice brunch on the rooftop at Southern Gentlemen or brunch and hookah on Edgewood at Fine & Feathers it all depends on the vibe that you’re looking for which in my opinion is the best thing about Atlanta. There’s so much to offer

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my mother, she always instilled in my siblings and I growing up that as long as we worked hard for what we wanted and stayed determined we could receive anything that we wanted out of life and she made sure that we understood that we could do whatever we set our minds to regardless of what it was. I’d also like to shoutout Stahr Milan & Malibudollface for being a big inspiration to me, I started wearing wigs in 2018 and at that time being feminine was still frowned upon . Nobody was really rocking with the boys in makeup/hair and being able to watch them put their life on camera and to watch them authentically be themselves not only brought me confidence but it was also comforting knowing that there was someone out there that was just like me that I could relate to.

Website: www.Oddlycreativehair.com

Instagram: @Oddlycreative / @Oddlycreativehair

Facebook: Oddlycreativehair

Image Credits
CapturedByEvil