Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Devin McKenzie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Devin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The story behind my mission is creating opportunities for myself and others that are not readily available. Let me explain…

When I launched Fearless Rebels I did so because I wanted to create something I couldn’t find in the market, high quality, comfortable clothing suitable to wear on a 9 hour flight, a 12 hour drive, dinner and a movie or even just a night out on the town. I initially launched as an online store only in July 2017. My 1st pop-up shop was a major success. We sold out in just under 4 hours. At that moment I realized that what I have created is suitable for the masses. As I started to get offers to place my product in local stores I wasn’t happy with the terms. Retail options in Detroit didn’t leave much room for growth from the busines end. So my wife, Daisha McKenzie and I started By Popular Demand The Collective in November 2020.

By Popular Demand The Collective, is a retail organization that ports small businesses into the marketplace. We provide an elevated and premier retail space for local businesses in Michigan. The Collective is a catalyst for growth, development and exposure for Michigan’s up and coming businesses, authors, artists, etc. In today’s market, companies that can combine multiple retail options thrive because of the market trends and availability. Our objective is to bridge the gap between small businesses and availability along with customers and retail options. We are creating a culture of new business success. The Collective gives merchants credibility and a way for them to see their customer base face to face. Empowerment is essential to growth and growth is essential to success.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

I am born and raised and represent the inner city of Detroit. I grew up on the west side of Detroit. My mother is a teacher who retired from the Detroit Public School and my father retired from Detroit Edison as the Head of Safety. I grew up seeing the hard work my parents put in everyday and it rubbed off on me. I started Fearless Rebels because there was a void in the market place when it came to local streetwear designers with high quality. I always had a nack for fashion and decided to take my love for fashion and turn it into a business.

Stretch Money, Icewear Vezzo, Sada Baby, Babyface Ray and others have been spotted in Fearless Rebels Streetwear over the last few years. It is such a pleasure seeing artists that I actually listen to wearing clothing I created. There will always be a marriage between fashion and music. That’s one of the most influential ways for your products to become visible. I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported Fearless Rebels over the years.

By Popular Demand The Collective houses an abundance of options. In listing we supply: hand stamped jewelry, accessories (low and high end), leather goods, apparel, hand poured candles, natural handmade bath and body products, hair products, Michigan based prepackaged food and beverages, cosmetics, packaged pastries, men’s grooming kits and more. The customers we are looking to service in the community are searching for unique items and want to support small businesses. Our customers value the face to face interactions a brick and mortar can offer and the opportunity to meet the maker. Our customers are also coming to us looking for goods and experiences big box retailers do not provide.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Helping others grow their businesses. Think of By Popular Demand as a realtime incubator for small businesses in retail. We are able to bring in Merchants and provide them with realtime opportunities to experience retail sales in a brick and mortar location while making money. We have helped over 40 different small business grow and helped them with structure, marketing and other necessary business tools needed to be successful. The work we have done with these Merchants impacts them directly. We have generated over $250k for our merchants in less than 2 years. We have also provided a Service, Sales & Success Workshop to help small business understand the importance of excellent customer service and how that effects sales and the success of your business.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Creativity and consistency. Not being afraid to do things differently. We allow our Merchants to have Meet The Maker days where we allow them to have events at the store. We have also had multiple comedy shows starring Josh Adams and Foolish. These shows bring people into the store and allow people enjoy the event and shop. We have also had Champagne Saturdays where we provide complementary champagne for shoppers, Mobile Bartender Competitions and Pop-Up Shops. Consistently bringing new creative ideas to retail keeps us new and fresh. We are thriving because we are not afraid to be different.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fearlessrebels.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fearless_rebels/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6J5D9qZzsmuNGTJAcavTxw/videos

Image Credits
SOJIGOTIT & Devin McKenzie