Meet Robert Browning

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

Robert , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

Funny enough, my work ethic comes from my long history of a lack of work ethic. I think I am very aware of what a lack of ethic breeds. I was raised without any real disciplinary structure, so growing up, I didn’t really grasp the concept of consequences/rewards for action or lack thereof. Over the years, mainly my teens & early 20s, I kind of just ran through life in the way I wanted to, not thinking about the long term, needs or consequences. Even when it came to being disciplined as a child, I was severely treated, beaten & spoken to since I could remember. So my reaction to all things with my parents was, “What are you gonna do? Hit me? Belittle me?” which manifested the same mentality towards all things in life, schools, jobs, friendships & beyond. As I grew up, I attracted alot of the same crowd. Similar carelessness & lack of foresight was my general environment. Until the turning point, turns out I was as careless as careless got. I lost dear friends, I missed out on opportunities, I let years of life waste away in a drought of “it is what it is”, mixed with debilitating anxiety, a very interesting combination to say the least.

Somewhere along the lines, a major shift in my life came to play. Almost like the flick of a light switch. At my loneliest, I learned to take time by myself in a healthy way, I prayed more, I walked/explored more, & I fell into a state of heavy introspection. It was almost as if every version of myself over the course of my life sat with one another & compared experiences, outcomes & realizations. I realized that I was the problem in my own life, my own worst enemy, & I pushed myself into a space of “Mental Bootcamp”. This mental bootcamp consisted of waking up early, eating clean, going on daily walks regardless of the weather/temperature & completing certain daily tasks. Over the years this has evolved more & become my yearly, sometimes even quarterly reset, which allows me to restart fresh & get back on track. Between mental bootcamp & beginning to align myself with equally motivated, productive & effective people, I learned to breed a sense of work ethic through trial & error that even extends to today, it is ever-evolving. So overall, I think my work ethic stems from the combination of a newfound sense of foresight, the introspective ability to hold myself accountable for my actions or lack of, & surrounding myself with productive, efficient & mindful people.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’m really just a thinker. I challenge myself to extend to mediums I’m not always used to, so I’ve become a bit multi-disciplinary. My primary focus has probably been footwear & garment design, or overall product design. I’ve been doing that for about 8 years. Within that time, I’ve done work with brands like Rag & Bone & Under Armour to name a few. It started through me teaching myself how to sew on a cheap $60 Brother sewing machine & eventually transitioned into a full fledged one man army production space. As I scaled that business, I began to add to my arsenal of sewing machines, screen printers, toolings & more, as well as honing in on new skills like Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator. I really enjoy learning, & pick up on things very quickly, so it’s kind of been my nature to continuously expand while mastering each new facet. In 2021, I took on a new interest, home decor, so I learned how to reupholster & even started designing some canvas wall art though making “Sewn Paintings” which mainly took inspiration from my passion for hiking & always looking for the new “good view”. Some major inspirations for me to delve outside my normal medium were brands like Ralph Lauren & Visvim, as well as my exploratory nature whether it was hiking or exploring abandoned places. Brands like Ralph Lauren, for their versatility, range of products, cohesive collections & well thought out campaigns. Visvim, for their product development, cohesiveness, unorthodox methods & design language. I enjoy products that age well, which ties into the other major venture in my life, Drifters.

In 2017, I was interning at a sneaker store located almost an hour & a half from where I lived, working pretty much for free. I loved it. In fact, I was very content with working within the sneaker space, considering how much sneakers & skate brands inspired me over the years. During the same time, my friend Geo & I, heavily spoke about one day owning our own store, curating our own space & having our own customers. So we came together & started “Drifters MD”. Drifters MD is a Vintage, Streetwear & Sneaker shop that carefully curates nostalgia, & provides favored pieces for all types of people, hence the name. The concept behind the name is based on the fact that everybody who shops with us, is a Drifter in their own story. The business has grown exponentially since Geo & I first started it, leading to branded merchandise, curated drops, shooting campaigns, us attending more events & eventually partnering up with our friends, thus starting our own event.

In 2022, We teamed up with Rich & G from Homecourt DMV to start a now well known event called “Street Market Gallery”. Since then Street Market Gallery has grown to become one of the more prominent small business markets within the DMV, (even on the east coast!) as we’ve been bringing in out of state vendors too. On a monthly basis Street Market generates about $60k per event amongst the small businesses that vend with us. As the event has grown, we’ve shifted our goals from coordinating a successful event, to paying more attention to customer/vendor experiences. Through that we’ve partnered up with some of the best local food vendors, brought in well known DJs & plan to bring many more experiences to Street Market Gallery.

This year, I’ve expanded more into product/service marketing & consulting, which has turned out pretty fruitful, considering one of the first marketing campaigns I co-directed ended up on a billboard in Times Square. This was not only a new service I offered, but it was completely out of my normal medium shooting with a Well-known Black Owned Skincare Company called Sunny in Denbigh. Since then, I’ve taken on other clients from brands, small businesses & even the print shop I print my brands clothing at.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the 3 qualities I can come up with off the top of my mind, is being adaptable, resourceful, & having a positive daily routine. Being adaptable is important, since as a creative person any given moment can be a new opportunity or setting change. So you need to be ready & able to change things up at a drop of a dime. To be resourceful is to understand that everything around you serves its own utility, everything can be made into something or inspire something new, adopting this way of thinking will not only keep you mindful but constantly inspired. Having a positive daily routine is one of the most slept on things, ever. I think that took me the longest to adopt, but it changed my life. Effecting my daily mood, my productivity, even my ability to navigate the space I’m in effectively & efficiently. It’s essentially the “1% a day” concept, you add one good thing to your life daily, 1% a day. After 100 days, you’re 100% better than you were before. Every aspect of your day is habitual. Which of those things take away from you journey, or set you back?

I think the only two things I can think of is understanding you current state, & investing in yourself. What I mean by “Understanding your current state” is, be okay with sucking at what you do. Without one being self-aware of where they are now, how will they ever be able to quantify where they strive to be? To know you suck at a medium, allows you the space to learn to get better & take the proper steps to achieve said goals. As far as investing in yourself goes, that’s pretty self explanatory. Make a list of every single item you’d need to reach you desired goal in your medium, & acquire these components by order of importance. Invest into your medium, don’t play it safe. The world is full of regretful people who played it safe.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

Considering I am quite overwhelmed most days, I’ve thankfully developed some great habits to bring me out of that state, or at least “lock-in” while in that state. So I walk 2.5 miles every single morning, no matter the weather (Like I was literally hiking through 7in. of snow this past winter lol). Walking, or “Computing in motion”, is the perfect way to manage your life & organize your thoughts, your body is in motion, so your mind is in motion. Another helpful strategy, is to surround yourself with likeminded, goal oriented people. Having good people around you who understand the lifestyle that you’ve taken on can be a game changer. Iron sharpens iron, having people around you to keep you sharp keeps you in a manageable state.

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