We were lucky to catch up with Gabe Stark recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gabe, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

During the COVID pandemic, I found myself with extra time and wanted to get my marketing company back up and running. My marketing philosophy has always been not to wait on people’s approval and to just go create the things you want to see. In that ideation process, I came up with rebranding an iconic team that had never rebranded before and landed on the New York Knicks. Since my marketing company’s strengths were based in branding and content creation, it naturally made sense to execute a project that was grounded in design. Part of the re-imagination of the Knicks was re-designing their jerseys. Needless to say, it was an amazingly fun process and the jerseys came out amazing. From there, I went on a journey to find the right fabrics and manufacturing partners to give me the high quality I was looking for. Now 3 years into business, I’ve designed over 40 custom jerseys and have a team of graphic designers that help me get out more ideas, quickly.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Gabe Stark and I’m the best jersey designer in the world. I own luxury sportswear brand, Rare Breed BX, where our work has been featured on Showtime, Vh1, Whistle Sports and festival stages around the world. We specialize in fully stitched, custom jerseys and range from toddler sizes to however large we need to make. We’re a Bronx-based business that prides itself in providing customers with a premium, custom experience on any of our silhouettes. We currently carry baseball, basketball, football, soccer, hockey jerseys and our take on jersey dresses – Herzeys.

My background, prior to Rare Breed BX, was in marketing. I started my own marketing company immediately after graduating college. My company specialized in content creation, video production, strategy and branding. Three years into running my marketing company, I got the opportunity to work on Yeezy Season 3, which introduced me to the world of influencer marketing. From there, I worked directly with a few of Yeezy Season’s models on brand and business development – helping them better position themselves to get corporate sponsorships.

My career then turned in-house, where I worked for two start-ups and helped them build their influencer sourcing algorithms – I was the algorithm. In pursuit of expanding my social media experience, I went on to run the social media teams at two advertising agencies and led social media strategy for over 15 Fortune 500 companies. Strategizing for some of the world’s largest companies provided me with the opportunity to learn about corporate infrastructures, partnerships, and management. After two years of running Rare Breed BX while working full time, I left my full time job in May 2022 to focus on my growing business. From there, the rest has been history!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Since beginning this journey, my goal has always been to create the best work/art possible – taking the things I see in my head and putting them out into the word. I’m also aware that the visions I see are a gift and in coming to that realization, my mission changed. As Michael Jackson once said, “You don’t understand — if I’m not there to receive these ideas, God might give them to Prince.” I feel similarly. It’s my mission to do the most with the gift God has given me, with the resources I have.

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

Build relationships and move laterally. As entrepreneurs, we tend to focus so much on moving upward or forward that we don’t value the people who are on the same level as us, working toward the same thing. Rare Breed BX started seeing more success when we began teaming up with other entrepreneurs and small businesses, pooled our resources, and collaborated on custom releases. Team up with the like-minded, successful people around you and you’ll be amazed how much you can all accomplish together.

When it comes to building relationships, build real, genuine relationships with people. We live in a transactional world where people only engage with others because they want or need something. Treat people like humans. Care more about their well being than what they can do for you or their occupation. Check up on people and ask how they’re doing. Send well wishes during holidays so you stay on top of peoples’ minds. Trust me, it will go a long way and it will make you stand out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rarebreedbx.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elguapobx/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElGuapoBx
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/f-Yqvy8T-MI

Image Credits
Omar Severino Ses Martinez