Meet Geza Paul Frey Jr | Founder and Creative Director at TIP

We had the good fortune of connecting with Geza Paul Frey Jr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Geza Paul, how does your business help the community?
My creative agency, and Streetwear brand Tomorrow Isn’t Promised, was founded on the philosophy that life is incredibly finite. Often times, we forget that every moment provides value, big or small, and the people around us come into, and leave our lives like the seasons. This is why we must put value into and invest in what we posses, today. Our signature artwork and design ethos is called “TIP CAMO”

TIP CAMO is the “beauty in the choas”. Life moves fast and I believe we all can intersect with, coexist, and affect the next person’s energy. The lines of our life can intersect and elevate others and despite all the noise going on around us we can choose the energy we put into the world. You cannot tell where the lines begin or end. There is no up or down. It can be perceived as chaos but to me it is perfect harmony. It’s a representation of the ecosystem that keeps our world working together.

TIP is a simple message, but its a worthwhile reminder that you and those you come in contact with are all fighting battles that we could lose at any moment.. Why not pick each other up, and build together?

It’s TIP’s mission to provide access to opportunities to POC and marginalized communities in cannabis, fashion, and tech. This is only the start, we are also building a TIP mentorship program to support Creators. Our creative agency acts as a project incubator so if you have an idea big or small, we can help bring it to life, today.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I was growing up my life was centered around Sports, Art, and sneakers. I always thought I was going to be a professional football player, boy was I off. My mom taught me how to draw and I remember hoping one day I could be as talented as her. It was like magic, she was able to create beauty on a white sheet of paper and I didn’t know it back then, but showing me the possibilities of being a “creator” at such a young age definitely left an impression on my young mind. I vividly remember my elementary school teachers telling me I was special and I needed to pursue the arts, but I just wanted to play football. In High School, my only AP class was AP Art. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I credit my art teachers in high school for developing my skills and believing in me even though I wasn’t ready to believe in myself. I got hurt my senior year of high school and my football dreams were over, so what do you think I did next??? I went to college for Psychology. Now I know what you’re thinking. “G, didn’t you see the signs?” I did. But in a town like Allentown, PA art didn’t seem like a full-time career. It was my hobby, so how could I invest so much? I moved 6 hours away from home to Virginia. It was a change of pace and after a year of studying Psychology and watering the seed of my “hobby” by creating a fashion blog with my friends, I woke up. I finally realized I was going down the wrong path and I listened to the universe, and I felt that God had set me up for this exact moment. I changed my major. But not only that, I applied to the “fine arts” program with a specialization in graphic design. I know the application process would be tough, but even though I was a year removed I had been sharpening my Photography skills with an on-campus job. I put together my portfolio, sent it to the dean, grabbed some Zaxby’s, and prayed. To my astonishment, I was one of 250 students accepted into the program and I could not have been more hungry, happy, and ready for my new opportunity. In the art department, I met my fair share of incredible professors. I also met some mean ones. During this time I was playing intramural football for the school and we actually were really good (6-time champion good) but this specific year we were going to nationals. I was playing better than I had ever played before, until one game I had another injury. It seemed minor, mostly because the team trainer told me it was just a jammed finger, but as the months would pass, the pain would increase, and I had to go see what was going on. It was affecting my art, and I was having a stressful time going back and forth explaining why there was a decline in my work. I went to two different doctors and it was insane to find out that I had torn two tendons in my dominant hand. Once again, devastated. It was a similar feeling to what had happened in high school. It felt like a soul-crushing moment when I was on the right path trying to pursue my dreams. I couldn’t win at that point. 18 months and 3 surgeries later, I would finally be back ready to pursue art once again. So remember those mean professors in college? Well turns out Dr’s notes don’t work the same way in college and if you commit to a class a professor will flunk you, no matter the circumstance, totally up to their own discretion. I understood that this was a prestigious program in my university, but I couldn’t get over the feeling of just being another number, to produce the best work possible, as another pawn in their game of BS alumni advocacy. It was around this time that I dropped out. With about 5% more credits to go to complete my degree, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I felt defeated, but I knew that what made me special was inside of me, and nobody could take that away from me. I took everything I learned with the blog and got to work. It wasn’t an easy ride, for six months I had to move into my parent’s basement so that I could figure things out.. but this was a homecoming I needed because although it would be brief, I would gain an entirely new appreciation of where I am from. Around the holidays in 2016, I was reminded how finite life can be, and I was motivated to start to live more for today. The phrase “tomorrow isn’t promised” kept popping in my head. I remember praying and asking God for guidance on what to do next. I knew I wanted to start my own brand, and by going back to my roots and rediscovering my hometown, I was able to harness the creativity I needed to begin ideating exactly what I wanted TIP to become. Shortly after that, in March of 2017, I landed a dream job with a creative agency to represent one of the biggest streetwear brands on the planet! This was a game changer. A job where I could flex my creativity with a brand I was passionate about. I always tried my best to insert my personality and fingerprint in everything I did, and three years into my position, the brand offered to move me to Los Angeles to service a bigger market. This was the opportunity I waited my whole life for. Everything had led up to here and two weeks later my fiancé and I moved to Inglewood and got married within a month I had to start in my new territory in West LA. Moving to LA opened me up to an entirely new market and I was able to work with local stores to host events and activations. Things were going great! I was on top of the world, inspiration was everywhere, and I felt as if the trajectory of my life was about to change forever. In February of 2020, had the opportunity to be a part of a panel of Community Superstars at a local middle School and I left that auditorium with a refreshed purpose. I knew that I would make it my mission to show kids that looked like me that there are so many opportunities beyond sports and getting trapped in the cycle. I wanted my life to be an example, the same way my parents were an example to me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I get invited to some pretty fun cannabis events and tastings. A lot of my friends from out of town don’t know what its like to live in a legal state so I have a lot of fun introducing friends to my favorite brands and products through events and activations. I also love water ice so if we can catch Happy Ice, Fluffys Snowballs, or Vroom Ice It’s going to be a good day.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my mom and dad. I was the first born in my family, so I saw what it took to build a business from the ground up and give back to their local community.No investors, no PR team, No help, just grassroots community building. I remember when things were extremely tough. I witnessed my parents make the sacrifices it took to be the best example they could be and I could not be more grateful. They both give back to the community by holding local free events and always helping when they can and they are a constant resource for the next generation. In my business, I want to be just like them. Thank you Mom + Dad ♥️

Website: tomorrowisntpromised.us

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsgeza

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geza/

Twitter: Twitter.com/itsgeza

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxn7T8IO49k6rAE0mTLamWA

Image Credits
@lucycrivelli