We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kayla Rose a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kayla, thanks for joining us today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?
The best boss I ever had was myself. As I was able to see my whole self as a business, I have learned to give grace to myself on the days I am still working that are supposed to be days off. I am my best boss because I leader without having someone ask me to. Every single day I am my own boss and I take pride and initiative in knowing that someone has to do the work, and still I chose for that person to be me. This has made me a necessary accent to my environments and communities, and has led me to leave impact on those I may never physically cross paths with.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Sunrise, my name is Kayla Rose. I am a scholar-athlete at Howard University studying Psychology, and Biology while playing Women’s Lacrosse full time. I am in pursuit of becoming a Psychotherapist and/or Sports Psychotherapist. The mind is a tool that I have been able to learn, get inside, and translate and Kozy Streetwear puts the energy of likeminded individuals to good use. All content that is streamed from our platforms strives to enhance the experience of our visitors, encourage their interaction so they may continue to be engaged with us, and to always give thanks and pray for circumstances that will come to us through good will and good work. I am most proud of being able to build foundations from Kozy Streetwear. We have created Kozy Kids which is based in community service for grade school children, Kozy Kreators which is a platform used to highlight artists, models, and poets that are inspiring in their own respective communities, and also our P4CK Mailing list that keeps our audience, or as we like to refer to them “P4CK”, a family based emailing system that sends wise words, mood boards and updates surrounding everything KOZY. As we transition into this new era of Kozy and come off of our. celebration of two years in business, we seek to advance Kozy and gear towards a “lifestyle” brand, moving off the street and streetwear into our P4CK’s home.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
First we had a team. Myself, my Bestfriend, Jaadyn Rogers who served as our Creative Director/Videographer, a good friend who’s a brother to me Zamoi Murrell who served as our Creative Coach/Photographer, models who fit what we were going to present, and a great venue spaced. We used our journey to and from our very first premiere photoshoot to create footage for 4 days leading up to the drop of Kozy Streetwear on October 4, 2020. I remember we had the space booked from 7-9 PM precisely. We got in and out of that studio and had vibes the whole time. Nothing felt forced and that showed throughout the footage we ultimately displayed. I believe that the will and want of our P4CK is what ended up being seen through our social media lens, and that is why Kozy Streetwear started off with a bang. It is why we continue! We have also been received well on social media because our PR team is all about relativity, and love in community. To know Kozy Streetwear is to love Kozy Streetwear and that is why the people are always Kozy on the Kozy Street.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing others wear what you create. Even hearing people use the language “kozy” brings joy. To be able to leave a mark on people that is not only impressive, but impactful is a reward in and of itself. The fact that people, besides me and my friends, actually wake up and put KOZY across their chest and live their own individual life is a blessing and a reward. Ultimately I can say that the most rewarding aspect of being a creative also comes from the purpose others may place onto what you have created so that it suits them too, truly this further removes limitations from KOZY, what we have been and also where we will go.
Contact Info:
- Website: kozystreetwear.com
- Instagram: @thekozystreet
- Linkedin: Kayla Rose
- Twitter: @4KOZYSTREETWEAR
- Youtube: KOZY K4y
- Other: pinterest KOZY STREETWEAR: P4CK https://pin.it/3hhdeDE
Image Credits
CREDITS Jaadyn Rogers Zamoi Murrell Latrell Caton