Celebrity stylist Ty Hunter grew up in Texas and worked in artificial heart valves before moving to Houston for fashion. He connected with Beyonce through industry contacts including her mother, and now balances being known for that relationship with building his own brand through ventures like the Serve Fresh clothing collaboration.
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What's happening, America? I'm Mike Muse, and I am the SBA's my realist keeper, Millennial entrepreneurial champion. And I am so excited to present to you this video series on Millennial entrepreneurship. Millennials see entrepreneurship differently, and we want to give you the tools that you need to be successful. I am so excited to present to you six millennial entrepreneurs that come from a wide spectrum of industries, from fashion to digital to music to agencies. The list goes on. And through their stories, they're going to show you how you can on your terms, on your agenda, on your platform. Welcome to Biz My Way. Ty, I've always known you as the coolest guy in fashion with no ego.
Right?
And that's what I know you as. And so, for the rest of the world, who is Ty, and where does Ty come from? Besides what we see, like, on Instagram and on social media and Snapchat? So where did this tie originate from?
You know, I'm originally from Texas. Austin, Texas. Okay. And later on, I moved to Houston, Texas. So, you know, the Southern hospitality that. I'm just a country boy. You know, I was raised this way. I try to fight it. You know, a lot of times when, you know, when I moved here, actually, it was like, you're too nice. And, you know, I came here saying, yes, ma', am, no, ma'. Am. It was like, damn, I'm not old. But we were just raised that way, and so it's just in me to be this way.
But how do you fight that, though? Because as entrepreneurs, we're always in a constant battle of fight. Right? We're always in this constant aggressiveness. We're always in this thing. Well, if I don't get up, if I don't work, I don't eat. If I don't get up, I don't work. I can't pay my bills. So entrepreneurs naturally have this aggressiveness to it. So how do you, Especially with your job of styling that you have, how do you balance that. That aggressiveness? But being kind, you know, I just.
I kind of just always told myself to just be who I am, stay the same. And anything that works around that has to, you know, work around and make me, you know, not change my character, strip who I am. So, yeah, I've been blessed. And I have that problem to have to fight. And the loyalty with Beyonce and I having loyalty with one another, I haven't had the, you know, to have to get out and, like, fight for the next gig or the. You know, I've just been Blessed, you know? Yeah. Yeah.
So, well, speaking of being. Being blessed and loyalty. And you mentioned a person I think we all know. Beyonce. Yeah. How did that come about?
Right?
Like, so how did you connect with her? And more. So a lot of people are gonna be watching you. They are, like, coming from a 9 to 5 job, right? And they always wanted to know, at what point do I leave my job for that one client, that one freelance, that one gig? How did that work out for you? So how were you doing before you met her? And then how did it work?
Believe it or not, in Austin, I was working in the artificial heart valve industry.
What? Y. That's stem. That's science, technology, engineering, math.
Doesn't make any sense when you see who I am today. But, yeah, I was there. I just knew that wasn't where I was supposed to be. And so, you know, eventually I was like, I have to get out of here. Packed my car up. I moved to Houston, Texas, and I had enough money to live for a while, so I party. But then I was like, okay, it's time to become an adult again. So then I. I just started taking small jobs in different boutiques and doing visuals, doing the displays with different stores in different malls. One was, for instance, and that's where I met Latina, Beyonce's mom.
Let's go to where you are right now, right? As a celebrity stylist with Beyonce, right? And you kind of have the job where the world gets to critique you, where you kind of get evaluated daily. If she's on a best or worst dress list, yes, it's about Beyonce, but it's really about you. What is that like? Because entrepreneurs, when we take a risk, right? And any art, you take a risk, you're a risk for judgment.
I just don't. I believe in judgment. Like, I believe if the client and you, like, are happy, that's all that matters. If I wear a trash bag and I want to wear a trash bag, who are you to tell me that I can't wear a trash bag? You know what I mean? So it's important not to look at what people say.
Another thing, Ty with you, man, is I appreciate how not only have you been, you've been entrepreneurial as an entrepreneur, right? Because one could say you are attached to Beyonce.
Right?
But those of us who know you also know you as your own influencer, which is really difficult to do. So how have you built your brand?
Not even my friends, just people around me. It's like, how do you feel? They always saying, like, Beyonce stylist. In the hairline. This is you doing your shirt line, but it's like Beyonce stylist, and you're Beyonce stylist. But that's who I am. A lot of times I think people tend to fail because they so quick to have their name just be their name. But you can't knock who you are. You know what I mean? So eventually the headline would say tyhunter on something, but I'm okay, you know? I mean, it was Michael Jackson's little sister for a long time, and then now it's Janet. They don't even say Michael. You know what I mean? It's just certain things, you know, Right now, I'm Michael Jackson little sister. Yeah.
That's the best piece of advice. I wasn't expecting that at all. That's amazing. Tell us a little bit more before we close, Ty. A little bit about Serve Fresh and then tell me a little bit about passion projects, man.
So I got with Serve Fresh, I make decisions. And this did four exclamation points, which is the shirt I have on now. As simple as that is. When you know, you saw those four exclamation points, it was something positive on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, wherever. I had big companies trying to do things with me, but it was something about them. Even though it was mom and pop, the energy was there, and they were right here in New York. So I was like, instead of just putting my name and face on something, I could actually go in and design and be a part of it. And so we did this collaboration. It's been successful.
Ty, I just want to thank you one for taking risk. Thank you for following curiosity and your passion, and thank you for being Beyonce styling.
