Rising Stars: Meet Mogul Marz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mogul Marz.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As a multifaceted creative entrepreneur, I wear many hats and excel in several fields, including music production, videography, photography, and graphic design. My company, MogulMarz Studios, is a content creation, graphic art, and production studio that manages commercial and small brands/businesses in the music, entertainment, fashion, athletic, and podcast industries. I am also a part of a creative collective and lifestyle brand called PRSTNE (pristine). I was born in Dayton, Ohio, and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. I spent most of my life as an athlete. I attended the University of South Carolina-Upstate on an athletic scholarship, majoring in IT and double-minoring in healthcare and business. Having to go in a different direction, I had to find my identity outside of sports.

Being the oldest of two, I was raised in a single-parent household in a poverty-stricken area. As a child, I spent much time indoors drawing on sketch pads my mother would purchase. When I got into college, I started doing logos, flyers, cover art, and mock-ups for businesses, brands, and music artists as a side hustle.

Every summer until my grandfather’s passing, My sister and I would spend our summer in Ohio to give my mother a break. During my time there, I would go to local thrift and antique stores with my grandfather, where he would purchase rare or collectible instruments, vinyl records, and more. He was a big music lover, and I grew up around his vinyl and equipment, which I still retain. He was the first person to teach me about vinyl records and searching for critical things such as musician names, record label companies, years, stamps, particular keywords for rarities, the texture of the cover, the condition not only of the body and record but also the different sizes of vinyl, etc.

The man I considered my father came into our lives, and I was heavily influenced by his music taste, which had extreme depth. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by way of Atlanta, Georgia. His music ranged from Rakim, Mobb Deep, Mos Def, Jay Z, and Common to Outkast/ Dungeon Family, 8ball & MJG, UGK, TI, and Rick Ross, to name a few. My mother is a 70’s baby and would clean the house with school music blasting Mary J. Blige, Musiq Soulchild, Anthony Hamilton, Erykah Badu, etc. So, my music resources were broad from a very young age, thus resulting in music production that followed right after college.

I’ve been doing videography, cinematography, photography, DOP, and creative directing for almost two years. It is something I discovered as an interest, and like anything else, I’m practically addicted to starting something new and sharpening my skills until I deem them up to par. I’ve worked with artists, models, athletes, weddings, and small and big brands. My most recent project was with the New Balance 4Q collection.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest obstacle for me these days would be simply playing the balancing act of juggling so many crafts and the importance of time allocations.

Another would be the obvious with the initial start-up capital to be able to do what I do at a high level. I went from working a 9-5 after college as an IT/ Data Entry Specialist for the Ford Automotive Software and Engineering team. Was balancing my entrepreneurial endeavors while still working 8hrs a day to be able to live but also invest into equipment as well as other business ventures.

Last thing would be getting out of my comfort zone and networking. Due to the athletic background, I’m familiar with the concept of a team and the importance of having one, but at the same time, I’m a bit of a recluse. Also, at the same time being self aware that to be successful at my job is dependent upon both quality of work but also networking and building rapport with people and businesses. So, hitting that ground hard with reaching out to these businesses or brands initially and stressing the importance of the value I can bring to the table was essential for me.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As far as music production, I am a chameleon of sorts, but mainly a soul sample producer. Pulling heavily from the 70s and 80s vinyl.

Photography style is preferably streetwear fashion. But I’ve done everything from headshots for businesses and schools, weddings, etc. to landscape shots for parks, pamphlets, and establishments.

I tend to always drift to a cinematic look or feel when it comes to my videography projects. I’ve been privileged enough to do contracts for real estate, commercial style shoots, music videos, recaps and vlogs, festivals & concerts, sports games and events, as well as short films.

Graphic art style is preferably realism, but I do more animated logos and pieces than anything these days as that is currently in high demand.

Also assist with tour management, designing of merch for their brands, and rollout gameplan or marketing schemes (A&R) for numerous music artists behind the scenes.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Pros: The plethora of networking opportunities and event circles.

Cons: Has to be the traffic.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: (@MogulMarz) https://instagram.com/mogulmarz?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA==
• Twitter: @MogulMarz