We were lucky to catch up with Edward Blair II recently and have shared our conversation below.
Edward, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
The type of legacy I want to build is an immortalized legacy. When I’m gone people will be admire by my work ethic and how many hats I wore in the many different fields I’m involved in. I want to be remembered for my ambition and my desire to lead by example. I want people to know that I did everything with love and always spoke with passion and never was a shady businessman. I want people to remember that all I built was done for my wife and kids and to create generational wealth.
Edward, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Edward Blair II PKA Ed Blair or Coach Blair and I am a recording Artist/Songwriter/Music Producer/Business Owner/Football and Basketball Coach/Certified Personal Trainer. I’m happily married to the CEO/Founder of Queen By Sierra Shanelle and we have a beautiful blended family that consists of two precious sons and a beautiful daughter. I graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School in 2010 and Full Sail University in 2023 and currently am working on my secondary teaching degree. I am the CEO/Founder of The Varsity Squad Collective. I am a member of the national society of collegiate scholars, honors society, Grammy U by The Recording Academy and The Recording Engineer Society. I’m also a member of New Harvest Christian Center. I got my start in music when I was 16 years old and started with putting out mixtapes and selling them at school and throughout my hometown in Kalamazoo Michigan. I’ve had some television appearances and also have been on notable radio stations like Shade 45 and hip hop nation on Sirius XM radio along with smaller fm stations and also was on hot 97 in NY before. I’ve worked with artist like XXL freshman class of 10 memeber Mickey Factz and legends from Atlanta’s own Dungeon Family such as Big Rube and T-Mo Goodie from Goodie Mob. I’ve been written on on notable blogs as well like ThisIs50 and more. I have music on all streaming platforms along with The Ed Blair Podcast which is on all podcast platforms. I started The Varsity Squad Collective on 2017 and launched my online clothing store in 2020. I started coaching sports in 2022 and got my start with the Jr Bearcats football and cheer organization when I moved to Battle Creek Michigan and then I coached basketball in the Jr Detroit Pistons league at full blast. I also coached baseball at Battle Creek central high school and currently coach basketball for Battle Creek central middle school. I also served as a youth development worker for 21st century after school program at Springfield middle school as well as a Bearcat coach for both Battle Creek central high school and Springfield middle school and serve as a mentor for Young Men Of Potential at Springfield which is a program specializing in mentoring young black males at Springfield middle school.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I’ve been on social media since 2006 as a teenager on MySpace and eventually as I’ve gotten older Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and many more social media platforms were formed. My early following came from my days as an athlete when I played football and lacrosse. Then once I transitioned from athlete to rapper I started to gain more of a following from performing at events and doing open mics and doing vlogs for social media. Once I started to professionally release music on to streaming platforms and do interviews and such then my following took off. Now that I am coaching I create a lot of content for the kids I coach and get slot of followers from that which then promotes my music and clothing brand as well as my podcast. For those starting to build a social media presence just stay consistent and only post thing’s related to what it is you do.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I think when I was in high school I was a stand up guy and developed many great relationships from that and then it made people want to support my music. As I gotten older I continued to stay on a straight and narrow path and always remained professional in everything I did which then made colleagues in my professional life want to support my brand. Then once I started coaching and being involved in my communities people started to discover who I am and what all I have my hands in and it made me even more interesting to some. Now everything is coinciding with each other and people enjoy following my journeys in my day to day life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.VarsitySquadCollective.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/coachblair23?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdwardBlairII?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-blair-ii-738008213?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/CoachBlair23
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@CoachBlair23?si=lXYULoshZiW5npcg
Image Credits
Sierra Shanelle Edward Blair Ii