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

Hi Keaton, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
My mom has always said never give up. Although I know it’s very cliche you start to understand in life that you dont, you cant. I have always had a goal for my life, its to be successful so I can take care of me, my family and my friends. Its also to not break my promise to myself. I used to tell kids in my elementary school that im going to be a billionaire or a multi millionaire. I hate lying, so I have to go after my goal no matter how many times I fail. Simple.

What should our readers know about your business?
My story actually started off as a joke. When I was in the 9th grade I started rapping for fun under the name “Lil Boujie”. My friends kept asking for merch , so I created the brand Boujie Apparel. It went through some changes but I realized I wanted to start taking it seriously after I realized how much work I put into it. Once that started to make sales, I put the brand under an official website and changed the name to Zayah Streetwear. The name came from my middle name Isaiah and a friend helped me come up with the name. What sets my brand apart is its collections. It’s collections always have a geographical theme, whether it’s a college, city or neighborhood. For example the two most recent collections were on the neighborhood Tribeca and Spelman College. So far it’s honestly been pretty hard. Many glorify the entrepreneurship process, but it’s hard, a lot of losses and truthfully I still no where near where I want to be, but it’s also a lot of fun. It’s like a giant puzzle which I kinda enjoy trying to figure out even if it’s a little frustrating. I also learned that it’s okay to fail, multiple times in this process. It’s apart of learning and honestly builds a lot of character. I want the world to know that Zayah will always be here, win or loose, brining light to schools, neighborhoods and cities, highlighting different cultures, customs and colors.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had to take them out in Atlanta, I would first start them off at my beloved school Morehouse. Show them around, tell them about the history of the area. After that in the morning, I would take them to Atlanta Breakfast club for brunch. Once they have that, I would walk it off in the Ponce section of the belt line walking path where we would finish in Piedmont Park. We would walk a little more to the botanical gardens where we would chill out and observe some awesome plants. Once that is finished and it’s evening, I would go to Sweet n Fresh where we would eat some amazing food and get the Mango Dragonfruit drink. From there, I would let them go to stay in an Airbnb, hopefully in Midtown. The next day would start bright and early at Stone Mountain where we would hike for a very long time. We would then get food at Ponce City Market and continue from there. After that, I would most likely take them to a Spelhouse day party to just chill out, then dinner at Bartaco.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shout out my mom, dad and Pace Consulting. It’s my moms business that has showed me the ropes of how to run a business and I couldn’t have started my entrepreneurial journey without her.

Website: zayahstreetwear.com

Instagram: zayahstreetwear

Other: TikTok-Zayahstreetweardc

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