Meet Darin Roche | Founder

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

Hi Darin, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Authentic Ginger was inspired by my four children, now aged 8, 10, 13, 24. Our 3 youngest are girls and we have our son who is now on his own! Our three girls were drawing one day in our living room, mystical creatures that they ended up borrowing a horn from one, or an arm from another, or a face from another to create these interesting designs. What came out of these designs by then 3-7 year olds were creations that made you think, for example, our eldest daughter drew a mix between a unicorn and a dinosaur, the result – magical! We thought it would be neat to have these custom, imaginable designs on apparel and sell them to small boutiques around our city. That was going to be the plan, however everything took a shift when we thought that they needed a brand behind these designs, they all have red hair, so we knew that the name of the brand was going to have to do red hair, we tested a few names, and finally after 2 months settled on Authentic Ginger Clothing.

I started to immediate research on the redhead culture to understand more about it, especially if my kids were going to be named after it! I came to find out that there was still a major stigma associated with redheads, being called names, being bullied etc. all around the world, it was common from my discoveries, so this lead me to dive deeper, which made this brand created with our kids drawings in mind to a new level. A level that we could be a business that did more for the redhead community, we could be a voice, a place where redheads could come and feel a sense of belonging, right on our little website. To this day 5 years later we have gone through some changes, and continue to progress our identity as a business that is giving back and also spreading light on the real issues that many redheads still face today.

We are building a community one thread at a time. Our clothing becomes a statement for those who wear it, and unity.

What should our readers know about your business?
I have had an entrepreneurial spirit since i can remember. I had always dreamed of owning my own business and having real estate all over the world! This was a dream, and dreams we need to have to give us motivation to get to that dream and succeed, but there is more to it than that, there is a ton of work that goes into achieving these dreams, the hard work, the learning, the ups and downs. I have seen it all, and been through it all. My life has taken me to the financial industry, sales, entertainment and other industries that for me have given me a well rounded approach to life and business.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
You can’t go wrong with some of Hollywoods royalty in Atlanta, from houses that were filmed on location for the Walking Dead, to attending the Trap Music Museum, the history of Hip Hop! When it comes to food, we keep it pretty simple, yet cultural by visiting Ponce Market!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes indeed! There are many books that I have read to help us continue our mission as a business, both personally and professionally. One such book that really resonated with me is a book by Jim Collins “Good to Great”. This title really helps you understand what leadership really is, and how to take a business from just doing everyday tasks (Good) to greatness, understanding why you do what you, understanding the top end reason why you exist as a company. This is a great read! I 100% reccomend.

Website: www.authenticginger.com

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