Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kendall Duffie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Kendall thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

It’s funny how we can find so many avenues of opportunity and business in the simple every day things we do and love. 10 years ago I was diagnosed with high cholesterol, my Dr. told me she could put me on meds or I can go vegan. She informed me that the bad cholesterol in our body comes from animals or animal by products. It was an easy choice for me as an on again off again chef. I wasn’t about to get on meds so going vegan it was! I quickly discovered there’s over 80,000 edible plants and flowers in the world so I started experimenting. I’m also a musician and along with my twin brother and biz partner Kelvis, we comprise the smooth R&B duo Kloud 9. So being creative comes natural for me. I started experimenting with various plants and flowers being very intentional about not wanting to use tofu, soy, tempeh etc. Before long and with lots of trial and error I had perfected several common every day comfort foods and invited my siblings and fiends to come and taste. They were all blown away and so I decided I should offer this food to the world at large. Now rewind about 7 years ago, I decided to try scuba diving birthed out of my love for open water swimming in the ocean and just the fascination of scuba diving in general. Well I tried it and I got hooked…bad! Fast forward back to today and 4 certifications later I’m now a PADI certified rescue diver with over 100 logged dives. So the idea popped in my head to merge these 2 passions….being a Vegan chef and a scuba diver and the concept Deep Sea Vegan was born. All of our menu items are 100 percent plant based and themed after scuba diving, the beach or the ocean. We have been operating as a bi-weekly pop up inside the popular East Nashville food court Hunters Station for the past 2 years and recently we just closed on our first (of many) commercial properties for DSV brick and mortar #1. It’s been a long and tedious journey but I wouldn’t change it for the world. My co-owners and siblings Kelvis (my twin) and Michelle my sister have created something we feel is very unique and special and we’re excited about the future as we have a very clear and grand vision for Deep Sea Vegan. The 3 of us grew up facing bouts of homelessness with a single parent mother so the success we have achieved in our adult lives is something we attribute to our faith that was instilled in us by our late mother who was a chef that is responsible for all of this and taught us to always stick together and never allow our current circumstances to dictate our future.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a home taught chef by my late mother who was a culinary certified chef. After years under her training I worked for many restaurants under her supervision and I was the bakery chef at Vanderbilt University many years ago.

I’m also a certified rescue diver with a strong passion and love for diving and all things ocean! My twin brother Kelvis is also a certified open water diver and a great diver as well might I add. He along with my sister Michelle have worked non stop over the past few years building this brand and preparing for a great future for DSV. Kelvis and I also comprise the smooth R&B duo Kloud 9 and Michelle is the CEO of our family owned marketing and promotions company D3 Entertainment company which stands for Duffie 3. We market and promote faith based films among other things. We are a close knit bunch that started out in life living in shelter homes and housing projects and from time to time homeless… But that never stopped us and now we believe in pursing the extraordinary in life.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

We launched Deep Sea Vegan in June of 2019. Just as we were gearing up and looking to buy a food truck Covid hit and things came to a quick and sudden halt. With all of the work and determination we had built in this vision, I wasn’t about to throw in the towel. My twin brother Kelvis and I decided to do pick up pop ups where people would order online through our Instagram inbox and we would drop food off with no contact at a local Kroger store. This kept us busy and kept our dream simmering as we continued to fan the flames being determined to make this work. That same summer (2020) we engaged in a lease at Hunters Station food court and have been there every since and just closed on our first (of many) commercial properties for DSV brick and mortar #1. Details on the grand opening will be forth coming.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up very poor I had ro unlearn that the way things start out is not indicative of how they will end up. In the sports world, it’s always the team that starts out making mistakes and falling way behind in the first half but then turn things around down the stretch to win the game that inspires all of us! Well such is life. Never allow anyone or anything to deter you from going for it despite how your life started or how it may currently be. The world loves come back victories! Keep pushing so you can one day share yours!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.deepseavegan.com
• Instagram: @deepseavegan
• Facebook: @deepseavegan
• Youtube: @deepseavegan
• Other: IG and FB @kloud9 IG @d3egroup

Image Credits
D3 Entertainment