Fan of a fan is perhaps the best way to describe our first interaction with Tito, JJ, and Rolo. The trio behind the company HRDWRKER, approached us to spotlight our story and we knew we had to return the favor. You see, HRDWRKER is all about celebrating the dreamers and the workers with their clothing line and video series with the moniker and tag line, "Passion before Profit". Their short films explore and celebrate entrepreneurs, helping viewers to see how ideas go from dream to reality. The team said, "We are here to support those who have chosen the dreamer's path and encourage individuals who may want to do the same, but don't know how or where to begin." As you can imagine, we were hooked from the moment we met.
Read on to see why we chose the HRDWRKER team as this week's Daring Creatives.
pictured: Rolo
When did you decide to pursue your current career path?
We all come from working class families and were shown at a young age what it really means to make sacrifices in order to live. And while some of our parents didn’t always encourage us to follow our passions in life, they did go above and beyond to ensure that we left our childhood homes with a strong work ethic.
With that work ethic in hand, Tito went on to basically live in the realm of retail and study at F.I.D.M. Rolo threw himself into becoming the best Information Technology consultant ever, and I (a.k.a. JJ) decided to study Economics while working for a sports television network as a host. When we all met and began to hang out regularly, we’d often exchange links to inspirational videos to help each other get through the workday.
A lot of the videos were great, but the majority of them were saturated with superficial elements. Sure, it’s cool to learn about the multi million-dollar house our favorite artist just bought or the rare Ferrari a self-made designer recently purchased. But, they always left us asking:
How the hell did this person become who they are today? What steps did they take to master their craft? Why is everyone going out of his or her way to make it look sooooo easy, when in reality it’s kind of difficult to get others to understand your vision? Why oh why are we as a society frontin’ so hard when it comes to this thing called life?
I was at work one day, asking myself all of these questions when Tito sent me a mock up of a shirt that read “Passion Before Profit” on the front and “HRDWRKER” across the back. He went on to explain that he wanted to create a team-like vibe around this idea and have hard workers everywhere be able to identify with it. He suggested conducting on camera interviews and creating the type of content we have always wanted to have access to.
I responded, “DONE”. We called good old tech guy Rolo and shot our very first interview the following week.
pictured: Tito
In your words, what does it mean to be a “creative”?
Being a creative means taking your unique vision and turning it into something concrete. Often times, people think because they’re not working with paint, or a camera, or writing a poem everyday that they’re not a “creative”. We beg to differ.
If you’re studying medicine and are constantly thinking of different ways to help cure people, you’re being creative. If you work in construction and are trying to find methods to build more efficiently or effectively, you’re being creative. If you’re using your imagination to come up with innovations or some sort of new concept- you are a creative. Smocks, easels and cigarettes are not mandatory.
Has rejection ever affected your creative process? If so, please describe.
We’ve been pretty solid in understanding that rejection is opinion based. If someone says no to us, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we suck and should rethink everything we’ve ever put out. It just means that we’re not a good fit for that person or that particular company. At the end of the day, we want everyone who chooses to collaborate with HRDWRKER or be featured on our site to be stoked on it. If you don’t think you’re going be stoked, you are more than welcome to say no.
In thinking about the things that you have created, is there something that you hated but the public may have loved - and perhaps purchased?
Naaaah. We would never put out anything we hated. If we hate it, we didn’t put our best foot forward. And if we didn’t put our best foot forward, it’s not worth someone else’s time.
pictured: JJ
What has been the pit and peak of your week so far? (a low and a high moment)
PIT: Realizing that no matter how early you wake up, there aren’t enough hours in the day.
PEAK: We were able to interview one of our favorite rappers/producers Crystal Caines and world renowned DJ Neil Armstrong in one week. They’re both so very talented and extremely down to earth.
Who is someone famous that you think is killing it at the moment? In other words, is there someone whose career you admire.
Eddie Huang!! Chef, writer, restaurateur and host Eddie Huang is definitely killing the game right now. If you’re not familiar with Eddie, you should definitely take a moment to type his name into your preferred web search engine.
Finish this sentence:
I want people to remember me as: that extra push they needed to get up and conquer their fears.
If I only had 24 more hours to live, I would: We’d contact our idols, tell them we only have 24 hours of life left and plead for interviews.
If I had to choose a theme song to represent me it would be: "My 1st Song” by Jay-Z
For more on HRDWRKER, check out their site here.
Photos by Bryan Sheffield.