Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marchello Eans. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Marchello thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We believe kindness is contagious and so we’d love for you to share with us and our audience about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
My wife and I spearheaded our own track team about seven years ago. This team consisted of 45-50 youth ranging from the ages of three to eighteen years old.
At the conclusion of the season at least twenty of them qualified to compete at the USATF National Jr. Olympics held in Sacramento, CA.
We booked flights, hotels, rental vans and other items needed for the trip.
After arriving at our hotel and checking in, one parent noticed bedbugs on the sheets. We decided to decline the services of the hotel and asked for a full refund.
So now we were temporarily without room and board. We gathered at a McDonald’s to use a WiFi connection.
While waiting for the youth to change in the bathroom I met a man driving a Maserati in the drive-thru.
I asked him how much the price of the car, he shared. I told him our story and he explored several avenues.
He eventually allowed the entire team to stay at his home which was able to comfortably accommodate us all. The next morning he stopped by with milk, eggs and juice for the team.
He eventually called the news and had us share our story with various news stations.The children were interviewed and able to share their experience.
When he handed over the key he said we could stay at his place for a week for free. He said the only thing that would make him uncomfortable was if we were uncomfortable. He looked me in the eyes and said, “ I trust you.”
This by far was one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Thousands of miles away from home and shown that type of hospitality.
The Maserati remained parked in the garage the entire week.
Marchello, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Our brand I LUV YOU (BLK) is a subsidiary of our family owned brand EANS TEAM LLC.
My wife and are middle school educators and parents of five miracle children. We’ve been champions for the marginalized and underserved communities. As products of single parent homes we rally around those who may have experienced the same upbringing.
The I LUV YOU (BLK) brand started unofficially during 2019. After countless videos of our (BLK) MEN and WOMEN being murdered at the hands of police, (BLK) children fighting one another in the streets and school, witnessing the insecurities of the youth in schools, we decided to create this movement.
I came across a video one night of several women repeatedly reciting the words, “ I love you Black man, or Black man I love you.” In that moment those words began to pierce my heart and I found myself in tears.
Back in 2005 we launched a clothing brand Crying Tears, which consisted of scriptures written, painted or screen printed on shirts, blazers and various apparel.
So naturally I thought, why not spread this message of love of (BLK) people globally. Even if we don’t verbalize it, at least we can rock these shirts and propagate these sentiments. Promoting love of our fellow men and women, inspiring self-love, and changing the narrative that’s been widely spread about (BLK) people in America and abroad.
Currently our brand supplies apparel ranging from t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, tank tops, dad caps, visors, tote bags, etc. All of these items carry one of our signature phrases I LUV YOU (BLK) MAN, WOMAN, BOY, GIRL or FAMILY.
There is a gaping hole within the heart of (BLK) AMERICA. We suffer from generations of trauma. Lots of our history we’re oblivious to and pass this ignorance on to other generations. We’re continuously searching for knowledge of self. Daily we’re trying to put the pieces back together and repair the damage. This can’t be done overnight but we must begin somewhere. If not today we can hope for and work for a better tomorrow.
How’d you meet your business partner?
This story is one very special to me. My cofounder/ business partner just so happens to be my wife. We met almost 20 years ago in a penthouse suite in Soho.
I was new to NYC and searching for a model agency to represent me. We met in the agency, shared wonderful dialogue and exchanged contact information.
After finally connecting over the phone, we met again in person. We went out on a few dates and after sharing thoughts, ideas and aspirations, I knew an empire needed to happen.
Maybe I forgot to mention earlier when we first met, after exchanging cards I uttered to my friends on the elevator,” I think I just met my wife.”
So this empire I spoke of in the beginning was two-fold, in my eyes.. We began working on designs I had for a Christian clothing brand. Months later we were casting models for fashion shows and marketing our brand, Crying Tears clothing.
After about five years we relocated and placed the brand on hold, never to return. Years later we began a Young Black Family blog, Young Black Family t-shirts and we could feel the I LUV YOU (BLK) brand brewing.
Eventually we officially established our business and today continue to expose our brand to the masses.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
A few years ago during the early stages of our I LUV YOU (BLK) brand, we discovered a vending opportunity. This opportunity would possibly provide us with an international connection. We communicated with the founder about the vending fees. The fees exceeded anything we had ever spent to participate. In the past we were disappointed about the turnout of certain events and lost our investments.
We negotiated with the founder to barter our services in exchange for waiving the vending fees. We created promotional items for the event and attended the venue the next morning ready to sell.
This fashion expo included a local tv personality so we knew it had the potential for great exposure. We set up our booths and began interacting with the foot traffic as always. Surrounded by people from various countries in Africa, we noticed no one else was selling t-shirts. At one point I thought we didn’t belong there. Other vendors were selling custom made dresses and suits. However, the messages on our t-shirts resonated with (BLK) AMERICANS and African people. The customers started to not only ask questions, but purchase and take pictures.
A videographer made rounds from booth to booth and eventually gave us our time to tell our story. We had people buying shirts from Dubai, Nigeria, Dallas and other areas, confessing their love for the brand.
We met a celebrity hair stylist who purchased a shirt and introduced us to her friend. Her friend turned out to be an influencer, Emmy award winning journalist, fashion model and an overall genuine human being.
We formed a relationship with her and began a campaign to donate funds for an organization for social justice. During the campaign we sold our signature I LUV YOU (BLK) MAN shirts and a portion of the proceeds were donated to the family of Ahmaud Arbery during the pre-indictment period.
This campaign had us conducting radio interviews, speaking live on podcasts, and securing magazine write-ups.
Our foundation is based on taking risks, so it is only natural that in business we take the leap of faith even at our lowest. We’re on a mission to uplift the downtrodden and marginalized. Our brand and mission will continue to draw like-minded individuals into our paths to assist us in propagating this (BLK) LUV.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.EansTeam.com
- Instagram: @eansteam
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/eansteam
Image Credits
Marchello Eans