We recently connected with Markee Carter and have shared our conversation below.
Markee, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I developed my confidence at a young age noticing that when individuals are popular or have a reputation they have to live up to that on a daily basis whether they want too or not. My self-esteem has always been on an all time high. As a youth I’ve seen individuals be talked about in a negative light, have rumors spread about them, and some will be truth and some will be false.
As, for developing confidence I always had been the so call trouble maker. Whether if I caused it or not. In my youth I felt that I was considered “different”. I can remember in my younger years always getting blame for every little thing and constantly being punished. In my mind at those ages I knew I wasn’t wrong for whatever it is I’ve done, I just looked at things as it’s just apart of life at that moment.
As I grew older I developed a confidence of being vulgar and outspoken. For some people that know me, have said it comes of being self-centered but for me it’s just being very confident and knowing who you’re as person. It’s very rare to come across a person who knows there true self and is comfortable with it.
My self esteem is what keeps me going on a daily. When I first started going to school an Auntie of mine mentioned a saying that still registered to this day. The saying goes “if anybody talks about you in a negative light, they’re just jealous and envy of you.” That most definitely turned out to be true and it never affected me in any sort of fashion.
My peers at the time would look at me differently because I would never entertain their foolishness. Reason being “sticks and stones will break my bones but words would never hurt me.” As long as you didn’t put your hands on me of course it’s fair game after that.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Well I’m from Long Beach, California born and raised. Also, spent sometime living in Lancaster, California too. As, a kid I love wrestling, video games, and sports. My favorite sport is football and favorite player is “Tim Brown.” I love the Lakers, Raiders, and USC football.
My choice of music is Hip-Hop/ R&B, and Reggae, also can forget about the oldies. The things I do to have fun is go to the movies, take a drive and vibe to music, and explore different cities, cultures, and food spots.
In high school I took an elective called “Graphic Design.” I fell in love with making art digitally and learning all types of different programs which are very common in today’s time.
I’m a college graduate in 2013 with my major being Criminal Justice and became an entrepreneur in 2021. I work as Security Personnel and sell graphic t-shirts, hoodies, and sweatshirts as a business. Some days it can be very overwhelming with work and completing orders, but when I look at my long term goal in business I’ll sacrifice the ground work until I feel like I’m accomplished.
I feel excited when I get reassurance on my merchandise and the customers that purchase them. It hasn’t hit me yet that I’m considered successful in my company. I just love creating art and being able to display for the world to see.
My brand “We Legit” is a clothing company and I’m looking to expand in the shoe market as we speak. It’s a slow process but it is in the works. I currently don’t have any upcoming plans or events to attend. Every so often I do attend the “Nashville Black Market” events to show support to other small businesses. I self market my brand everyday in the public and social media. Along with customers showing support in there own way.
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?
The three skills that is needed in being successful. First, you should listen to everyone input whether it’s positive or negative, every point of view helps in some type of way. Second, be considerate to keep evolving and learning, everyday is a learning experience. Third, stay consistent and keep going you never know who is watching. As you grow people you think that is not watching or liking the content they’re watching just from a distance to learn and ride along the journey with you.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
A friend of mine that I went to college with. Now, he resides in Atlanta, Georgia and he is a Director of Security for very well known company. He is a great communicator and gives great advice good and bad. He helps me with how people look at me as a business owner and a person. Even if it’s good or bad but I like hearing feedback because it helps me grow and work on things I never even thought about.
The reason I respect him so much is he came to America at a young age from his island. He works very hard and became a college graduate, while having a tough time reading and writing. I know plenty of people that know how to do both but some use their talents and gifts for negative reasons and find themselves in a situation they can’t get of which is sad. For, him to overcome that and be successful in his own way you can’t do nothing but respect that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.welegitclothing.com
- Instagram: Welegitlbc16
- Facebook: We Legit Clothing
- Youtube: Welegit 16
- Other: TikTok: welegit16
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
