Daily Inspiration: Meet Leron Rose

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leron Rose.

Hi Leron, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
With my athletic upbringing, fitness has always played an integral role in my life. It has taught me many lessons, including discipline, maturity, altruism, and empathy. Over time, I had developed such a passionate drive towards my own fitness journey that many of my peers began to openly express that I had been a catalyst for motivation in their own journeys.

Knowing that I played that role unintentionally in others’ lives felt amazing to me; not only because it’s great to know I had that impact on others, but mostly because it served as encouragement for others to partake in self-caring, self-loving activities. This feat is extremely important from a mental health standpoint. As a Social Worker by trade, self-care is one of the main things I encourage clients to participate in, self-disclosing how beneficial it has been for me and my own well-being. As I began to make strides in my own fitness journey, I sought out the goal of becoming a Certified Personal Trainer.

Concurrently, with my confidence at its peak, it dawned on me that it may had been time to maximize my reach by creating my own luxury activewear brand, Ron Rose Co. The clothing line idea came to fruition as I pondered upon a way to wed my passion for fitness with my keen eye for high-end luxury fashion. My plan was to think of a way to combine fly clothes with a non-traditional athletic aesthetic. Hence, the fitness inspired elements included in the construction of my clothes. I want people to feel good about themselves, knowing that they are sporting luxury garments, but also understand that my garments are meant to be used to maximize your confidence in plenty of arenas. With the expansive functionality included in its composition, the possibilities are endless. This serves as a microcosm for life. Possibilities are endless, and people should never limit themselves to what social constructs suggest are the correct way of doing things.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As with many roads on the way to achievement, this one has been far from smooth. As I began to put in the groundwork to launch my brand, a global pandemic had taken its toll on the world. With so much uncertainty and ambiguity about this disease in its infancy, it was very difficult to effectively plan things the way I normally would have. People weren’t going out of their way to shop for clothes and gyms closed. Finances had to be delegated towards more significant things in the moment. It’s also worth mentioning that the manufacturing process took much longer than it normally would have. However, I did not let the obstacle stop me. I marched forward, using my extra free time to brainstorm ways to fundraise for my brand. I slowly began to build a home gym that would allow me to get right back to the self-care activity I fell in love with, exercising.

Once my gym, the Rose Dungeon, had been built, I began to train clients in it and even opened it up to public for a small fee. The money I made from this went straight into Ron Rose Co. and allowed me to realistically plan for my launch. Similar to my journey, I’m aware that many of my peers were in the same boat. Many people used the quarantined time to brainstorm on new ventures. We all found a way to grow from a dark place and did not allow such a great obstacle to hold us back from our aspirations. This widespread accomplishment is the reason I use the tag line, “The Rose That Grew.” It is inspired by Tupac’s poem, “The Rose That Grew From Concrete” and it tells the metaphoric story that we all can relate to about overcoming obstacles.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am the owner and creator of Ron Rose Co., a luxury activewear brand. Our clothes were created with wellness in mind. The goal is to encourage as many people as possible to overcome the inevitable obstacles they may face in life. By incorporating fitness and/or any means for self-care into their lifestyles, people’s confidence and willingness to face challenges may increase tremendously. Hence, the fitness inspired elements included in our pieces that are primarily designed for everyday wear. I’m proud to say my drive and ethos is deeply rooted in my empathic career choice of Social Work and that I am able to expand on this ideal in other facets like clothing and fitness. There is a path for everyone to achieve their goals. All it takes is watering your ambitions, and you will witness your own roses grow.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
As a millennial, I am proud to say that it is not difficult to find another person who is strongly driven and motivated to crush any endeavor. My advice for finding a mentor would be to not count out your own peers as mentors. I’m sure that that friend who started a business years before you in the industry that you are interested may be willing to drop some gems, ins and outs, and dos and don’ts of the process. Ask them the difficult questions that you might think sound stupid in your head. The reality is, it’ll be difficult to find some clarity in your journey without speaking to and learning from someone with experience. I strongly believe that experience is the best teacher, so why not use the experiences of others to be as informed as possible for what you’re getting yourself into?

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: Ronrose.co
• Instagram: Instagram.com/ronrose.co
• Twitter: Twitter.com/ronroseco

Image Credits
Photographer: Shanel Smith @mspaparazzi Models: Leron Rose @leron.rose Chris Lowe @lord.lowezus Ariel Nelson @arielamali