MY STORY
Childhood Beginnings
From the beginning I believed presentation mattered. At 8, I put together the most stylish outfit I could imagine — hoping it would win over a girls heart. It didn’t, she picked another boy, and my little heart was shattered. I didn’t know it at the time but I was desperately seeking to have an emotional connection and soothing from a woman. This unconscious drive sent me on a journey of seeking love outside of myself.
My dream was to go to fashion school in LA where I grew up. Instead I ended up studying interpersonal communication in college and loving it. It was the first place I felt at home to be me. At the time I was working at a boutique clothing store, and during my off hours I was pursuing a career in acting. I thought that if every body else loved me I’d finally love myself.
By 33, I wasn’t styling anymore. I was helping high-performing men and women break patterns, heal shame, and lead their lives, and speaking on stages across the country. The work was deep, emotional, powerful.
But something was missing— I didn’t feel secure in myself and it was affecting how I showed up with women and I felt like I was trying to portray an image of what I was suppose to dress like.
Complete breakdown occurs. Relationship ends and my dark nights of the soul start to happen. I was disconnected from my body and my business didn’t feel fun and rewarding to me. I was lost, and so I went to Mexico for a month and that started a deeper look within.
Even with all the psychology and inner personal communication work, I felt worthless, and I was out of touch with my creativity. Life got dark, covid hit, I discovered I had a different biological family than I was told growing up. But I didn’t give up...
I even purchased my dream car.
The Climb Back
In 2021, I came full circle. With help, I climbed my way out of the dark hole I was in. I reconnected with myself and my creativity was flowing. I founded and launched Strangers Only. I was aligned in my coaching business and designing clothes. I was smiling inside and out.
What I Know Now
Style saved me before I had the words for it. At eight years old, getting dressed was an act of hope. As a man, it became an act of identity.
What I've learned, through creating brands, designing clothes, studying identity, and doing the hard internal work, is that style and self-possession are not separate conversations. They never were.
When a man is styled with intention, he's not thinking about clothes. He's deciding who he is. He's energetically sending out a pulse. He's stepping into alignment between what he feels inside and what the world sees outside.
That alignment is rare. And when a man finds it, he moves differently and feels differently. Simply put, he is alive and awake in the moment. And people crave being around that kind of gentleman.