We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rudy Mage. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rudy below.

Rudy, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

You have to be willing to risk it all for a dream no one else might see but you. You need to be relentless. Your drive has to be unstoppable and your ambition unmatchable. You need to outwork everyone day in day out. It could take one year or 10 years, but you got want it bad enough that time doesn’t matter. Find something you love and just put in the work. Hard work will always pay off.

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

I am a Peruvian born Miami raised artist, creator and entrepreneur. I’ve been part of the art scene for over 20 years. At a young age, I found outlet to express my creativity from drawing to creative design.

When I was 18, I started printing and selling t-shirts out of the trunk of my car. I would go knock on doors up and down South Florida while going to school. I got my bachelors degree in Computer Animation from International University of Art and Design and couple years later, started my company Inked Pro located in the garment district in Allapatah. Today, we specialize in screenprinting, sublimation, embroidery, and design. We work with hundreds of companies across the nation, known recording artists, and up-and-coming artists to design brands and print apparel.

A few years ago, I opened a boutique and studio gallery called Rated Art. Rated Art is focused on highlighting and selling artwork from local Miami artists, including myself, and ‘one-of-one’ apparel for men and women.

My passion is painting murals, which I have been doing for decades. My work can be seen in various companies and hotels all over the country.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

After I graduated high school, I worked random jobs just to have income to support the shirts I was printing from home and selling out of my car. I kept InkedPro as my side hustle, working on it after work and on the weekends. I had eventually found a job as an Art Director that at one point I thought could end up being a career. I had just had a baby boy too. Just when I thought things were falling into place, I got let go because they found out I was working on the side trying to get my business off the ground.

I didn’t know it then, but it was the biggest blessing in disguise and by far the best thing that ever happened to me. I picked myself up, went all in as an entrepreneur and never looked back.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Sometimes you have to be willing to take a step back, so you can jump forward. About 6 years ago, life hit all at once. I went through a divorce, the company was losing thousands of dollars every month because of high over head and failed expansion attempts. For almost a year, it felt like I was just trying to stay a float. There was definitely a time where I thought maybe this is it, it’s time to give up and do something else. I just couldn’t though. It’s not in me to give up. I decided to downsize and go harder. At the time, I had enough money left in my bank account to pay first months rent and a deposit. I asked my team to trust in me and be patient- Let them know I would make sure we were all good. In the middle of this, I met my now wife who was a huge support during this time and had my back. Today, we just expanded again and are back on top.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.inkedpro.com
• Instagram: @inkedpro
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkedpromiami
• Twitter: @rudy_mage