Meet Mikhail/Mik DuBose | Entrepreneur, Stylist & Digital Marketer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mikhail/Mik DuBose and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mikhail/Mik, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Growing up on the southside of Chicago brings a certain style to typical everyday living. It starts from the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you’re able to carry and conduct yourself amongst others and still maintain tough skin. It’s the mojo that everyone in the world seems to want to be a part of solely due to a song line ‘not from 63rd’ or maybe dating back to the start of the drill music era. Well, I’ll be the first to tell you, we are the face of so many things being mainstreamed in today’s society and social media. More so than others, It’s the swagger that many probably won’t understand, it’s being able to have street smarts, book smarts, and hustle to navigate the world. Chicago is as simple as white air force one’s, also known as g fazos, on a Saturday morning at the Bud Billiken Parade. Those that understand that analogy will understand my brand!

Starting my personal brand was nothing more than the simple aesthetics to life for me. It’s the passion that stems from the Chicago grit and toughness. It’s the risk of stepping off the bus with a 7-day CTA card just knowing you can go anywhere in the city even though it may mean riding through rival neighborhoods. It’s the respect for elders and always being willing to obtain knowledge and learn.

My brand is having a keen eye and being comfortable in uncomfortable settings while gracefully expressing my everyday style with no regrets. My brand was inspired in honor of my mother Ruth, she is fierce, she is what every southside of Chicago mother is. Beautiful yet tough, protective but always willing to push you to be the best you can be. My Brand is T.W.S! TW stands for: Trainwreck always willing to take a risk head-on. The S stands for Style; Having elegance and taste for setting the tone through fashion, digital marketing, and shoes.

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.
My professional job is being an Insurance Business Consultant. I negotiate offers and bring strategies that best fit my candidates and put them in a position to be on the entrepreneurial side of things. I also help onboard and bring clients the best marketing strategies for their future agency and staff.

When I’m not working, I’m perfecting my craft for the industry I plan on exceeding in, which happens to be digital content marketing and fashion. Most people see those two things and want immediate success just from one or two posts. What set’s me apart is the ability to work my full-time job and work many more hours perfecting my personal brand. It’s long rigorous hours of watching and editing videos, reaching out to countless individuals for their constructive criticism, being able to humble yourself and show humility to those in the industry.

I’m here today because I had to learn that no matter how hard you work for something, it can be taken away from you in a second. This happened to me back in 2017 when I thought I was going to be a millionaire in the NFL. Instead, it led to a popped hamstring and NFL career over. While rehabbing, I questioned, why? This led to probably one of the toughest battles I’ve ever faced in my life and the opponent was depression. It was something I had no clue about and probably made me even stronger today. The first step out of that battle was confronting the issue and getting over the male stigma about therapy. Once I confronted those two, life started to get a tad bit easier.

Life became easier when I started teaching myself how to edit videos and fly drones for cinematic shots. One day I found myself watching editing tutorials on YouTube for about 8 hours and absolutely loved it. It became an obsession but also a way for me to reach my inner child once again. It started soothing me and it led to lifestyle pictures and videos that brought back so many memories about my childhood and I loved every piece of it. One day, I posted a picture on Instagram and tagged Shea Moisture and two days later I had all my pictures liked by the main account. This led to me taking a leap of faith and reaching out to some of my good friends about starting my own styling and lifestyle company and without hesitation, it led to immediate yeses from everyone.

Now, I stand here today, a year and a half since that day continuing to find my stride. My brand is my life story, it isn’t the typical do what’s popular for the moment. It’s doing what you love while giving it your all and not letting social media numbers dictate your success and I mean that wholeheartedly! My brand, style, and work ethic are pure because I allow myself to be personable and maybe my downfall is being too kind-hearted… But, I’ll always give my all and stay true to the fashion and video marketing aesthetics.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Monday- The first stop would be Harold’s off of 87th to get a 6 pc. mild with salt and pepper -Give you a tour of where I grew up and played ball at
-Show you the Mall I used to shop and do everything at. ( Ford city & Chicago Ridge )
-Then Some good ol BBQ from my pops, his neighborhood famous jerk chicken and red beans and rice.
-Play Some cards and dominoes

Tuesday-Clowns breakfast off western
-Head around to footlocker, Finish Line, and DTLR to pick up some new releases jordans
-Head to Baba’s for a Philly cheesesteak.
-Head to a Bulls Game

Wednesday
-Downtown All-day event:
-Mag Mile
-The Bean
-Water Tower
-Portillo’s
-Lakefront
-Old navy
-Lou Malnati’s pizza for dinner

Thursday
-Starlight Breakfast off of 83rd
-Buckingham Fountain
-The historic district of Bronzeville and learn about Dusable
-Tour University of Chicago and learn the history of the area
Maxwell’s for lunch
-Chicago food and site tour
-Upstairs at the Gwen for Dinner

Friday
-Early morning up and pregame for a white sox baseball game
-Jew town polish after the game
-Bottled blonde for midday and evening outing
Saturday
-Brunch at Freemont
-Club scene at the Y bar

Sunday
-Shed Aquarium
-Jerk taco man
Rock tossing at the lakefront

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost, I would like to shout out to my parents, I would like to thank my pops (Gearld) for instilling his military mindset into my brain at a young age. Thank you for pushing me to see how the little things matter even when no one is around to see them. Those life lessons taught me that no matter what’s going on in the world never feel sorry for myself and always go after my goals and try to be the best man I can be every day I wake up.

It’s crazy how doing chores before a football game or a baseball tournament helps with passion and work ethic. To my beautiful mother (Ruth), thank you for being the backbone of the family! You’re the reason I am who I am today and the reason I carry myself with so much pride. I am a reflection of my mom, which comes with a mixture of grit, intelligence, style, and not taking crap from anyone but also being a respectful young man. Thank you for believing in me when I thought I would never get a football scholarship and, in a weekend I went from having no offers to 25 offers. Thank you for giving me the strength to believe that I can achieve anything I set my mind to, especially coming from Chicago. Most importantly, thank you for being a mother to many kids in Englewood, you will always be loved more than you’ll ever know.

The next individual, I’d like to thank is my little sister (Isis) you have always been the brightest individual in the room. The only woman I know that can ace an exam, not study and watch Dora the explorer all day lol. You’re strong, intelligent, a pretty good baker, and most importantly the one woman who can one day be President. I love you and thank you for always being honest with me while always telling me how it is.

To my close immediate friends, I love you all dearly for pushing me to be better daily. Mr. Rod, Mrs. Susan and Eric, thank you for always being loving and accepting of me and allowing me to have your daughter/sister’s hand.

Last and not least, to my Fiancé (Alex) I love you to the moon and back! You’re now the glue that holds the family together for us. You’re the peace when things seem to be going wrong. I love that we come from different backgrounds and are still able to grow and laugh more and more daily. Being with you is one job I plan on perfecting every day for the rest of my life and for that I am forever willing to learn. Without you, I would’ve never had the strength to go to counseling and that has made me a better man. So, for that, thank you and love you!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trainwreck10/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mik-dubose-7a9036198

Image Credits
Alfred (Aj) Johnson Jr.