Meet Kizzy Hammonds Stanley Frenchie

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kizzy Hammonds Stanley Frenchie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kizzy Hammonds below.

Hi Kizzy Hammonds, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

We get our resilience from the support of those who stand by us. In moments when we feel like giving up, it’s the encouragement, love, and presence of others that help us rise again. True strength is rarely solitary but ours is forged in connection, trust, and shared purpose.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

At Hood Nerd LLC, our mission is to blend culture, creativity, and intellect in a way that uplifts and empowers underrepresented communities especially those who’ve been told they have to choose between being “street smart” and “book smart.” We say you can be both. We’re here to break the mold and show that intelligence, creativity, and authenticity can coexist and thrive together.

About the Brand:
Hood Nerd LLC started as a passion project and has grown into a movement. We are a lifestyle and clothing brand that creates apparel based on your style, and community-based initiatives centered around representation, education, and mental health. Our apparel speaks to identity for the person who grew up with hip-hop in one hand and a sci-fi novel or coding project in the other. We want our community to feel seen, empowered, and proud of every part of who they are.

What’s Exciting:
The most exciting part of what we do is the way we connect people. Seeing someone rock our designs and feel like it represents their story, or watching our content resonate with folks who never felt fully represented before, that’s the magic. We’re not just selling clothes or air fresheners; we’re building a cultural hub that challenges stereotypes and sparks pride.

What’s New:
We’re currently working on expanding our products through social media and other methods that dig into everything from tech and culture to mental health and entrepreneurship in marginalized communities. On the product side, we’re preparing to launch a limited-edition clothing line focused on Afrofuturism and the power of imagination in underserved youth. Plus, we’ve got some community pop-ups lined up for the summer that combine fashion and creativity for local students.

Final Word:
At the end of the day, Hood Nerd LLC is about rewriting the narrative. We’re showing the world that brilliance comes in all forms and it often starts in the very places society overlooks. We’re proud to be a voice and a platform for that brilliance.

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?

Looking back, the three most impactful qualities that shaped the journey of Hood Nerd LLC were authenticity & cultural intelligence, adaptability with a learner’s mindset, and execution & discipline.

Authenticity & Cultural Intelligence:
Staying rooted in who we are but bridging street culture with apparel, education, and entrepreneurship gave us a unique voice. We didn’t try to conform; we showed up unapologetically and made space for others to do the same.

Advice:
Find your voice. Embrace your background, your community, and your lived experience. Those are assets, not liabilities. Use them to shape a narrative only you can tell. Study your culture and stay connected to your community, this keeps you grounded and makes your message real.

Adaptability with a Learner’s Mindset:
The clothing world changes fast. Being able to pivot, learn new skills, and evolve with the ecosystem kept us ahead. Whether it was design, marketing, or community building, we stayed curious and hungry.

Advice:
Don’t be afraid to start small and messy. Learn in public. Try things, fail forward, and treat everything as a data point. Invest time in learning how to learn which is your biggest edge. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and community events are your free university.

Execution & Discipline:
Ideas are everywhere but execution is everything. Showing up every day, doing the unglamorous work, staying consistent on branding and partnerships helps build momentum and trust over time.

Advice:
Create a simple system that keeps you moving even when you don’t feel motivated. Block time. Track your progress. Celebrate small wins. Execution isn’t about perfection but it’s about finishing what you start and improving along the way.

Final Thought:
Start with what you have, where you are. Being a “Hood Nerd” means owning your brilliance and your background. You don’t have to choose. That’s your superpower.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

Feeling overwhelmed as a business owner is incredibly common. You’re juggling multiple roles, high stakes, and often unpredictable challenges. Some practical strategies that can help manage that feeling and keep you moving forward are pause and prioritize, create systems and processes, guard your energy, delegate and ask for help, reframe overwhelm as a signal, and have a reset ritual.

Contact Info:

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