June is PRIDE Month. It is a time to lend our support to members of the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ pride is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and more (LGBTQ+) people as a social group. So in honor of PRIDE month, we wanted to shine a light on a business that not only caters to the community but also was created by someone who personally identifies as apart of the community. We are talking about The Royal Rose Company created by a young entreprenuer by the name of Avery who identifies as transgender.
Born as a female , Avery said growing up he was always a tomboy. It wasn’t until college that he started to question his identity and began to research some of the things he was feeling and how to deal with it. It is now coming up on 1 year that he has identified as male. Avery is the owner and creative mind behind the Royal Rose brand. The Royal Rose Company is a unisex streetwear clothing and accessories line that caters to people up to size 5X. When asked why he wanted to start a clothing line, he said he knew that he always wanted to have a business and he was inspired by his grandmother who dreamed of being a clothing designer. She could sew and draw and told him that she would draw the designs for his clothing line if he ever decided to create one. He found an old autobiography that he had written in the 3rd grade that said that he wanted to be a fashion designer and a lawyer. When asked about the idea of still becoming a lawyer he chuckled and responded “That’s not for me anymore.”
During our interview I learned that the clothing line is not the only thing that carries the Royal
Rose name but there is also a magazine and a coaching business under the umbrella too. The idea for Royal Rose started with the magazine. It’s a literary magazine where people can send in submissions and then they are picked based off of the theme of the issues. Contributors are people of color or people who are apart of the LGBTQ+ community. The magazine was a joint venture with a friend and they also had a line of merch so when the time came to start creating the clothing line, Avery said he already had some insight into selling merch and creating designs. Like a lot of recently launched businesses COVID was the driving force for the launch of the business. While working from home, Avery realized that he had more time to give to the lingering idea of the clothing brand that he had started dreaming about months prior. Following the launch of the clothing line, The Royal Rose University, a business coaching brand was created. When asked why he chose the name Royal Rose for the businesses, he said, “I want people to know that this is a safe place. The magazine is a place to display our best self, when you wear the clothing you feel your best and when you are apart of the coaching process, you learn how to display your business the best way you can. Thats what “Royalty” is. And for the rose, a rose has thorns so that represents the challenges that one would face during the process of becoming their best.
One this week's episode of The Young & Ambitious Podcast, we go in-depth with Avery and learn more about his business and his decision to live life they way he feels comfortable. Check it out here.