We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kevin Atkinson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kevin , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

It started with a few sketches and a thought…. Oan a friend that was doing shirt designs, lol. I came up with the name StakkMoney really because it sounded kool and to my surprise, it wasn’t out there so I ran with it and made it stand for something totally different from what most people may know. STAKK or S. T. A. K. K. (standing tall against knowledge killers ) over money, My friend Grant was creating different fly designs and I made a deal with him to do my shirts for an undisclosed split of profits from sales! THERE IT IS !!! The birth of StakkMoney Brand Apparel Designs! After one year, I learned all I could about vinyl and designing, making and pressing shirts and anything that vinyl could be pressed on, lol. Here I am, six years later! The CEO & Founder of my own brand:

Kevin , 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?

Welcome to Stakkmoney Brand Apparel World

A world where no design is impossible and no order is too big or small. At Stakkmoney Brand Apparel designs, our motto is to not sell you anything but to give you an experience. When you support this brand, you are supporting a way of life, thought and action!! When you put on your Stakkmoney gear, we know that you are standing for all that is good. Did you know that some of the most legendary artists and entertainers in the business can attest to such a claim? : *Big known fact.. HipHop/Rap artist: Starting with, the legendary legends: “𝑮𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒇𝒊𝒂”, “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒛”, “𝑺𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒎 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏”, and the one and only “Mr. Keys to the City Of East Pernt” “𝑺𝒊𝒓 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑳𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝑭𝒐𝒐𝒕” “𝑩𝒊𝒈 𝑩𝒐𝒊” of arguably the best Hip Hop duo or group, the Multi-Grammy Award-winning “𝑶𝑼𝑻𝑲𝑨𝑺𝑻”. The above mentioned legends and many more of our supporters nationally and internationally can all attest to the creative design and craftsmanship that the Stakkmoney Brand can consistently provide to “YOU” Our Valued Customer: in fact, you are our Family! The fitting word is “Grateful”.

** Little known fact………………………..

The very meaning of the name 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑲𝑲 is: Standing Tall Against Knowledge Killers. We love, respect and appreciate each and every one of our supporters; from Atlanta all the way to the UK! This has been my personal dream to clothe the entire world Stakkmomey…Thanks for making this little guy from College Park Georgia a believer. I hope I make you proud.

Let me tell you… it hasn’t been an easy path any way! Fortunately tho. Only in hindsight! From a life-threatening illness to homelessness I’ve been through it all!

I had to struggle to get the brand up and running without knowing much about design hardware or software! I quickly learned that it was the main cause of success or failure for a start-up and I had no capita (?… money lol) Once the hardware/software issue wasn’t an issue anymore, there still was an issue lol!

No one knew of me as a brand, but…… I knew people!!!! I had to start out as a custom design creator by starting with doing or offering my services as someone who can do their T-Shirts by offering any designs they could think of and has great quality and service! (the hard part)

Another struggle was the marketing. A very scary word, lol.

Believing in your own brand!

I had to learn to place value on my creations so that others would also do the same! That really was a challenge and sometimes still is a struggle. Especially as time change!!!! Reinvention in key !! Yup learned that the hard way also.

I do creative custom designs and I’m the CEO of my own brand, the StakkMoney Brand: StakkMoney Brand Apparel And Customs. I specialize in vinyl, anything vinyl. Shirts hats or entire outfits, also wall and sign vinyl. I’m known for designing outfits for major artists and music festivals as well as a few major restaurants and eateries.

There are a few moments that I’m proud of in my professional career. The highlight of my design career was being able to outfit some of my favorite artists such as Youngbloodz Ghetto Mafia DJ Swiff ( OUTKAST DJ ) Slimm Calhoun Lil Will and I’ve designed custom apparel for Big Boi as well.

The other special moment was in my musical journey. I produce music as well! I’m a 2x Ga Music Award-Winning Producer of the year: 2014 and 2016.

What sets me apart from others is my design skills and service! People know exactly the skill and quality that they will receive for their hard-earned money! With a great personality to boot!

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

I had to unlearn the way that I was taught in school! I’m 49yrs old, and I was taught today if I went to school: got a good education then get a great job/ career. Not saying that it’s a waste of time or that formal education is not necessary! To educate yourself is the key to success in life! For me I started realize that most all of the millionaires did not finish school or skipped college all together! The most powerful moment came when I was working for someone and it asked them where did they attend college. My boss at the time said that he only has his GED and that he hires people with advanced degrees to work for corporate! My mind immediately switched to do it for myself mode! The beginning of my entrepreneur design journey, cause the way I saw it was…. That if he can, then I can as well! Why not me? Right? Why not “ YOU “ ?

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

Yes….” It’s simple and not very complicated: I want to be financially independent and stable! I absolutely don’t trust 9 to 5’s at all! Ive taught school for 16 years and it was the most stressful times of my life! Not because of the adults that were my students… I enjoyed teaching people and helping them reach their immediate goals and hopefully their long term goals as well! No! It was the fact that I could get fired/let go at anytime without cause nor reason and the threat of layoffs! I had absolutely no control over my future, nor of my own machinations because I was always at the tail end of someone else’s machinations!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @stakkmoneystakk
• Facebook: Kevin Lamar Atkinson
• Youtube: “ WICKEDTRUTHTV “ https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=wickedtruthtv
• Other: Google me: StakkMoneystakk/ stakkmoney brand/ Kevin Lamar