Claima Stories with Bimma

Laci Jordan is an artist and creative director from Huntsville, Alabama currently living in Los Angeles that has worked with Jordan Brand, Adobe, Skillshare and so many more. Raised by southern parents, her dad, a plastics engineer from Tennessee and her mother, a Jill of All Trades with roots in the church, Laci was introduced to creativity before she even realized it.

Her mother was a resourceful woman who used her gift of crafting to paint Santa Clauses black, to make sure that Laci had representation in the household, while her father would fiddle and fix electronics all over the house. With older brothers, Laci was a tomboy with an engrained love for sneakers, and a super involved kid in all things from track to marching band( yes, marching band is a sport) to working ever since she was 14.

That hard work would lead Laci to the University of Alabama where she would major in Criminal Justice with FBI dreams, but her creativity always shined through. While in school, Laci was introduced to Disney recruiters that would lead to a summer internship in Orlando. Not really feeling it, Laci returned home, where she would be an IT analyst at her old middle school. With no options back home and desperate to get out of Huntsville, she applied for any creative gig at Disney in LA.

About Claima Stories with Bimma:

Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.

Subscribe:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/claimastories

A lifelong student of hip-hop, Jabari always knew he wanted to work in the music industry specifically on the media side. While at Howard he started interviewing artists for a website including Fabolous, Nicki Minaj, and Justin Bieber, early in their careers. After working in social media at Capitol Records, the itch to create something of his own still remained. He decided to dive deep into the world of live music experiences, taking a page from the EDM world to create something for his culture at the forefront. Enter R&B ONLY LIVE, a one-of-kind music event that combines a DJ and Host to give you the ultimate R&B genre experience. Today, Jabari is the Founder and CEO of COLORS Worldwide with R&B ONLY as one of its flagship brands bringing together thousands of people in 50+ cities across the country.
Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.
From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more.
Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliams
And watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

In searching for the thing he could truly call his own, Julian aka JuWorkingOnProjects, found that art was his calling. While working as a brand ambassador for Jordan Brand’s store in Chicago, Ju noticed an opportunity to create custom pieces of apparel that ultimately led to impressing artists like Teyana Taylor with his work. In a lot of Ju’s paintings, he offers his perspective on the experience of Black folks in America. Some experiences are great and others not so good. Inspired by his own racist encounter while sipping a cup of coffee and admiring his own vehicle, Ju went on to create a series of paintings called the Karen’s that would end up on the cover of New York Mag. In our conversation, Ju shares how being an East Sider in Chicago shaped him into the highly sought after artist he is today.
Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.
From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner and more.
Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories @bimmawilliams
And watch us on Youtube powered by Vista

If you ask today’s guests Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper, golf has always been a great game. The two met as teammates on the Morehouse College golf team where they won a National Championship and then remained friends as their lives ran parallel in different career fields. But the game always remained in Olajuwon’s heart and as a lover of design he wanted combine the two. So, he created the infamous swingman logo and put it on a shirt initially for himself which turned into shipping 3,000 orders from his home. As they say, the rest is history. Earl saw the vision and knew he had to join the mission. Today, Olajuwon and Earl are the Founders of Eastside Golf a golf apparel brand for the culture that is rooted in authenticity. They’ve gone to work with some of your favorite brands, including golf enthusiast and GOAT Michael Jordan.
Co-Founder of Claima and Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging creatives and entrepreneurs of color about how they were able to build their own tables by turning their hobbies, side hustles, and ideas into thriving small businesses.
From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers by stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Dapper Dan, Jeff Staple, Karleen Roy and more.
Follow Claima Stories and Bimma Williams on Instagram: @claimastories and @bimmawilliams
And watch us Youtube powered by Vista. Vista is proud to be your go-to design and marketing partner for small business owners across the world. Use code CLAIMASTORIES at check-out on www.vistaprint.com to receive 20% off your next order of $75 or more plus free standard shipping.

Alejandro Rodriguez, founder and creative director of BTFL, who has lived a life that would make most fashion heads envious. Born and raised in LA, the son of an entrepreneur who worked his way from washer to owner. Alejandro grew up watching people running their own businesses, but he wasn’t necessarily interested in the family business.

Baseball and fashion always held his attention, until he quit the sport to study art at his mother’s encouragement. That encouragement to express himself through art developed in the clothes he wears, and while still in high school, he ended up collaborating with the certified diamond singer Usher, leading to a pretty successful sneaker customization business.

After graduating, and the interest in painted sneakers declining, Alejandro moved to New Jersey where he learned more about the business of fashion. After a short stint, he returned home for work and his design jobs would evolve into graphic design. Yep, if you remember Ed Hardy and Affliction, you can blame Alejandro for that. But all he wanted to do was his own thing.

So he decided to start a clothing brand called Beautiful Ful, inspired by a line from the Movie Great Gatsby. The very next year, he would open a brick and mortar location. His vision and creativity would later shift, leading Alejandro to discontinue the first iteration of the brand. He was in need of inspiration. After a reset and decision to be true to himself, Alejandro returned with BTFL, focused on simplicity and not following the hype.

About Claima Stories with Bimma:

Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.

Subscribe:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/claimastories