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

Ryan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

My brand began as a community service project. Through my local church I was looking for ways to better meet the needs of the surrounding community. That lead me to research the resources available to the community for skill development and training, substance abuse and food security. I felt that for our community to rebuild we would need the citizens to have recognized training in viable skills that pay livable wages. My search led me to pursue a position in local government in workforce development. I also knew that for an idea to spread it needed to be branded and that lead me to name the brand ” Show Me Love.” . I chose the name “Show Me Love” as a layered meaning, being from Missouri it directly connects to us to the region as the “Show Me State”, but it also reiterates that love is an action word and must be shown. It has significance in us needing to show love from one to another in humanity, respect, business, and opportunity. I feel it represents what is needed to move our community, city, state, and country forward. Small acts of love compound into habit and a way of life. That must be central to rebuilding our community.

Ryan, 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?

St. Louis is my hometown and I have always felt that it had the potential to be a great city again. I always just wanted to play my part in that process. Growing up in Mt. Bethel Missionary Baptist Church on MLK and Belt I became active in service to others early. That would prove to be a seed that grew into a central principle for my life, greatness through service. I started a t-shirt business around 2004 because I was unfulfilled with my job at the time. That led me down a long road of personal and professional discovery. My initial goal was to get my products into airports and hospital gift shops. I wrote into a Q&A section on CNBC and asked how to accomplish this. To my surprise, my question was selected, and an expert from the network answered my question in their business section. It would be knowledge that I would apply for years to come. I had early success with marketing and obtained placements for my brand, but few sales. I was able to get my product on BET, in a few magazines and on famous entertainers. I still really had not connected with the true purpose for the brand and its identity. I put all my money together incorporated my business, got some products made and launched a website in 2009. My branding had improved, but it was still not a true success. I needed more information and experience.

However, that website and branding helped me land a job managing the Jordan brand for the Eastbay division of Footlocker. It was a once in lifetime opportunity that took me to North central Wisconsin to work in the bitter cold. The town was small, but the opportunity was amazing. I was given the opportunity by Steve Horn, who was the brand manager. He was one of several Black men that gave me opportunities that changed my life. That became another key principle that would shape my future, representation matters. Without having someone from the culture that could identify with me and what I could bring to add value I would have never had the opportunity. I knew it before, but that reinforced it as an obligation for me to be a bridge builder whenever possible for those that I could help.

While in the role with Footlocker, I played a significant role in large campaigns, traveled extensively to industry events, conducted, organized, and managed photoshoots, magazine layouts, social media campaigns and video projects. It was an amazing experience. I built many valuable relationships with athletes, agents, bloggers, artists etc. I leveraged those relationships to create opportunities that allowed me to work with many of those individuals in a variety of capacities. I conducted marketing and branding for professional athlete’s companies, worked on product launches, help put together product and experiential tours in major cities.

Through all of this I kept tinkering with my own brand, putting it together piece by piece. Every client and company that I worked with I gained more insight into what I did well and where I wanted to add value. I was getting closer to discovering my ‘WHY” for the brand. In my next project I began working with the designer out of Detroit. The city reminded me of St. Louis. Their story was remarkably like ours. It was once vibrant American city with a lot of hometown pride. I loved the way the city was rebuilding and making its voice known. I wanted that for St. Louis. The Detroit designer was extremely popular with celebrities and had a viable business making custom products. They were looking to transition into more retail accounts, and I used my experience working for a major retailer to assist them. Independently, I was successful at getting the brand picked up by Barneys New York along with another major sports retailer and securing a major brand collaboration. That gave me confidence in my instincts and skills in the industry. I felt that I had the professional skillset needed to succeed with my own brand.

By this time, I was actively participating in regular community service in St. Louis. I began to shape the brand around community building through service to others. The brand name was now ” Show Me Love.”

Show Me Love represents a culture of community building through service to others and the promotion of skill development particularly for the underserved community. That’s what I feel is missing from our efforts to address the issues we face as a community. The work must be branded for it to spread, it must become a CULTURE that lives on its own, showing love to each other and our region. Like New York’s Iconic 1977 “ I Love New York” campaign. Utilizing a themed campaign allows everyone to buy into the concept and participate at any level as a member of the community.

The brand shapes the culture and serves not only as a reminder for community building through service, but also a conduit for information on resources for skill development and training.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I have gone through several iterations of product production. Initially I was using a print on demand site, which served its purpose when trying to operate on a tight budget. My goal was always to have my production done locally to support my community and programs that are working to develop our youth. Currently, my shipping and fulfillment done by House of Vision STL a screen printing /storefront Owned by non- profit, Dream builders 4 Equity and operated by youth from their program. Dream builders 4 equity addresses the vacant home epidemic in our community by employing local minority youth and contractors to perform large scale community-led development projects via apprenticeships. Through the apprenticeship program historically undeserved youth develop academic and professional skills while retaining ownership in the properties in the form of scholarships.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

From the very beginning I started and kept the business going through personal funds. I had opportunities to make revenue in different was, but I was obsessed with figuring out how to make a positive impact with the brand. I realized over time that that was the true mission. I focused on gaining the knowledge on the resources available to the community, so that I could truly add value to my community. This along with building quality relationships took time but made the brand into what it is. I focused on the value to the community, and it worked out over time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.showme-love.com/
• Instagram: @showmeloveworldwide
• Facebook: @showmeloveworldwide
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ryanpierce2
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/D3LB9Xq9HYs?si=cJC8gXajQzIvS5l7
• Other: Below is a live text number. Individuals looking for information on the brand or career information can text me personally. This is a personally dedicated line created to provide information on training resources, programs, and opportunities that I am aware of. I do not guarantee employment or outcomes, but pertinent information for career assistance. Text- 314-230-9577

Image Credits
Photo Credit: @famestablishmentllc