We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bardo Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bardo below.

Alright, Bardo thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I decided I wanted to be a rapper when I was 14 y/o. Since an early age listening to music has always been therapeutic for me. So creating music was a simple next step to take. I would write raps in class and then recite them for my friends. They definitely played a part in sparking my confidence with it. I used to ride the bus for hours to go to the home studio of a classmate. I would stay the weekend in his basement just recording and honing my skills. I performed for the first time when I was 19 in Cleveland, OH. And ever since then I was hooked. Eventually I started throwing my own events because most of the promoters in my hometown of Columbus would charge artists to perform. We always had a number of vendors at our events. I seen how much money people would make off of apparel lines, so I figured I could too. I dabbled in graphic design as a kid but after that I made it my day job and created The Blaytent Brew and Apparel Co. A creative content brand that promotes creatives as a media outlet and platform, that also houses an apparel line.

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

My father has been an entrepreneur since before I was born so I’ve always wanted to work for myself, I just never knew what field I wanted to be in. When I got heavy into rapping, I realized funding a rap career can get costly. So it was time to figure out my path because I felt getting a steady day job would be too similar to quitting on my dreams. My first two companies I started with different partners both fell apart from too many heads not focused on the same goal. So when I created The Blaytent Brew and Apparel Co, I did it on my own. I figured I could still use help building the brand and couldn’t afford employees so I found local artists to be brand ambassadors. And they helped a lot. Eventually a few of their personal lives got complicated and the Blaytent Co wasn’t much of a priority to them as much as me. So that led me to getting a new set of brand ambassadors. They are still an integral part of my brand to this day.

What I feel that sets me apart is the fact that I’m determined to succeed. No matter how many times I stumble, fall or hit my head, I get back up and try to learn from where I failed. I have taken a lot of losses and gotten discouraged but I’m my biggest inspiration and have a drive like no other. Each time I only get better and smarter. The main thing I want people to take away from Blaytent is that it’s all about originality and being unique. The people I choose to partner with, the artists I choose to promote are all individuals committed to excellence and have their own personalities and identities. I am 100% set on authenticity will outlast any wave or fad that’s popular at any given time.

The emblem for Blaytent is an Elephant with an exclamation on the trunk. The elephant is for wisdom and knowledge and also a play on the phrase, Elephant in the Room. That ties in with the Exclamation because we stand out. We’re noticeable. You will see us. You will feel us. We’re here to be heard!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

The first step to building an online presence is consistency. That’s critical for any endeavor. You have to keep your foot on the gas at all times. Even when you think it’s not getting out there, still do it! One big thing that helped us is we built a name in our city, Columbus, OH. I was literally at every event I could possibly be at. Sometimes we were at multiple events in one night, sometimes even multiple cities. No matter where I went I had merchandise, whether it was a trunk full of clothes or wrist bands/flyers with our social media handle. I always had something with the brand on that I could put into someone’s hand. I followed people back who showed an interest and built rapport with a bunch of locals.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Like I mentioned early, my biggest testament to my resilience is The Blaytent Co was my third LLC. The first two times I had partners but the creative differences were very detrimental so I came back by myself with Blaytent. But even then when I had gotten brand ambassadors, the commitment level wasn’t there and I had to find all new brand ambassadors and that took a couple years. So resilience is definitely an understatement for me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram.com/theblaytentbrew.com
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@bardojones2760

Image Credits
D.White Photography, ItsNineVibes