We recently connected with Amir Winston and have shared our conversation below.
Amir, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Baltiere means “a way of living” and the brand explains that in more ways then one. In the 10th grade I had this idea of starting something that would set me apart from all of my other peers. As a 16/17 year old what could you really do that is different around that time. Starting a clothing brand wasn’t something I would think I would be into but my love for looking nice at all times complimented this spark of an idea. From high school the brand carried me throughout college and my younger adult life.
From the beginning of my clothing brand, I have made this my way of living since the start. Never resorting to a “regular 9-5 job” I stuck with my passion and it makes me who I am today.
Amir, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Baltiere Urban Culture, formally known as Grind Hard Hustle Harder, was created/founded by Amir Winston in November of 2013 and later rebranded in September 2015. With Amir always being interested in having the best image for himself and standing out from the crowd, he decided to start a clothing brand while in high school. Ironically, there was a t-shirt shop within walking distance of school grounds and decided to give it a test run. His newly designed hoodie had his peers intrigued about where he got it from. This is when Amir knew that Baltiere Urban Culture was his way of living.
Baltiere Urban Culture is now one of the top creative brands to come out of the city of Philadelphia. With over 100+ showcases, 1,000+ sales, Baltiere is close to being one of the top creative designers out of the city of Philadelphia.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media is a big part of Baltiere success. Having over 30k followers throughout all our platforms helps our promoting/marketing out a lot. How did we gain such a big following? Throughout our 9 years in business we have met a lot of people. Having the opportunity to connect with so many different people we come across has made a big impact on our following numbers.
Another big impact on our social media following is due to the various amount of events we coordinate. On average, every 2 weeks we have an event. During these events 85% of the time they are sold out events. We try to maximize our following base by encouraging anyone who attends our events to keep up with us via our social media.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Some creatives might not understand the word perseverance. In life, there are many times you want to give up. During business you take a lot of sacrifices in order to get where you want to be in life, it’s all apart of the journey.
Without any struggle I feel as though there can never be and real progress. You have to know what it feels like to be up at 3am trying to finish up graphics or making shirts in order to really understand how dedicated you must be in this creative world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.balteire.com
- Instagram: @baltiereuc
- Facebook: Baltiere Urban Culture
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amir-winston-05a727103/
- Twitter: @baltiereuc
- Youtube: Baltiere Urban Culture
- Other: TikTok: @baltiereuc
Image Credits
@urbnhq @lovetiffhall_