Speaker 1: This is my ghetto celebrity O, my ghetto spaghetti. Hey,
Speaker 1: I'm Colleen with and we are on another episode of
Speaker 1: Eating wall Broke. Today, I have the lovely AJ Crimson
Speaker 1: from a J Crimson Beauty and he is whipping us.
Speaker 1: Uh lovely. It looks like a gore Mate eating Wall
Speaker 1: Broke dish. So tell us what you're making for us.
Speaker 1: So today I'm gonna make an amazing spaghetti that I
Speaker 1: just absolutely love. And yeah, you're gonna love it, ya excited? Okay,
Speaker 1: well this doesn't look like a traditional Eating Wall Broke dish,
Speaker 1: so um, one feed me. I'm definitely going to. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm definitely going to. So it's gonna be great. So
Speaker 1: I mean yeah, and I guess when what I heard
Speaker 1: about it and you're like, hey, like, what's the dish
Speaker 1: that you were that you ate while you were broke?
Speaker 1: And I was like, Okay, I had to think about
Speaker 1: it for a little while because it was either going
Speaker 1: to be like rice, you know, because I kind of
Speaker 1: getting like eggs and rice. But then also too, I
Speaker 1: eat a lot of noodles and need a lot of
Speaker 1: spaghetti noodles. So um, so this is gonna be my
Speaker 1: version of that. So yeah, night, I mean we have
Speaker 1: we have the water boiling over here, which is really great.
Speaker 1: You just rest that right over there. We'll do that
Speaker 1: right here. So take something, should just do the whole thing,
Speaker 1: do the whole thing. Let's just do it. Why not
Speaker 1: live a large exactly and actually can eat all of
Speaker 1: these but myself like in one sitting, So I really
Speaker 1: love spaghetti. I do. Actually I did a little switch
Speaker 1: up that A J does not know about today. Um,
Speaker 1: I just found out that they have protein noodles. Really,
Speaker 1: what is that what we're about to eat today? Protein noodles?
Speaker 1: Because I wanted to watch the carbs. What that's a
Speaker 1: lot of salt. It's for the water, so it's really
Speaker 1: for the water. You really won't taste it than the noodles.
Speaker 1: But also this is Himalayan sea salt, so you don't
Speaker 1: want to use too much because Himalayan sea salt tends
Speaker 1: to be a lot saltier than regular table salt, and
Speaker 1: but it's also healthier too. So oh was that one?
Speaker 1: I was? I was actually wondering what the difference between
Speaker 1: the Himalayan and that's when I start did a question
Speaker 1: your brokeness right there? So I'm definitely a little bougie.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm bougie broke for sure. Um, I think that. Uh.
Speaker 1: My dad used to tell me, I can tell this
Speaker 1: that was a great story. Actually. So I had to
Speaker 1: be about maybe twelve or thirteen, and we were picking
Speaker 1: out um silverware for the house and I just was
Speaker 1: thumbing through. It's like, oh, what do you think? And
Speaker 1: whatever I picked, I guess it was like super expensive.
Speaker 1: And he said, boy, you've got rich taste in poor pockets.
Speaker 1: And I just I've always remembered that, but I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: like I have to I love that I have rich taste,
Speaker 1: but now I can't have poor pockets, you know, so
Speaker 1: I have to I have to catch up to myself.
Speaker 1: So I think it's just kind of always been in
Speaker 1: me too, like nice things. Yeah, and you know what
Speaker 1: I like about. My mom used to always say, uh,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna sit because because you're doing all the cookie,
Speaker 1: you don't want to help. Uh uh, I'll help with
Speaker 1: the party. This is good. This is just how you
Speaker 1: do it at home too, like when everything is like
Speaker 1: bubbling over, messing up the stove. Um. But but yeah,
Speaker 1: my mom used to always say that, uh, poor is
Speaker 1: more long term and broke is temporary. So even when
Speaker 1: we were doing Eating Well Broke, It's awesome to have
Speaker 1: entrepreneurs like yourself, self made individuals like yourself on the show, because, honestly,
Speaker 1: I think sometimes when you're in the situation of being
Speaker 1: brokeer you don't have enough money to get whatever project
Speaker 1: off the ground. It's like you can sometimes think it's
Speaker 1: a forever plan, but you and other self made individuals
Speaker 1: are living proof that it's possible. So with that being said,
Speaker 1: I'm curious, how did you get a J. Crimson Beauty
Speaker 1: off the ground. So Crimson Beauty was actually founded in
Speaker 1: two thousand and thirteen. This is my second brand. My
Speaker 1: first brand was called Kisspical Tour, which I launched in
Speaker 1: two thousand and seven. But I learned a lot when
Speaker 1: I was building that brand, so that by the time
Speaker 1: Agan Crimson Beauty came along. Um I knew that I
Speaker 1: wasn't gonna spend as much money, you know, as I
Speaker 1: did with the first brand. I knew that I was
Speaker 1: gonna utilize social media a little bit more. Um So
Speaker 1: I started this brand with about five thousand dollars and
Speaker 1: it was but to basically level that out, I had
Speaker 1: already started some of the formulation in the old brand.
Speaker 1: You know, while doing the old brand, I was just
Speaker 1: like I knew what I wanted to do. So by
Speaker 1: the time this idea and this concept had come along,
Speaker 1: it was just more of a about implementation and I
Speaker 1: started really small. I started really small. I think that
Speaker 1: people often think that they have to go big and
Speaker 1: you know, have forty five colors. I started with eight
Speaker 1: shades that I had already kind of developed, and I
Speaker 1: needed to get a concept around. I took it to
Speaker 1: a trade show. People seem to resonate with it, and
Speaker 1: uh and I sold out that first day, which was
Speaker 1: really amaz zing. I'll use this And you said, two thousand,
Speaker 1: two thousand twelve is kind of when I started like
Speaker 1: actually developing. But two it came out in two thousand
Speaker 1: and thirteen year, so this is all before the fancies
Speaker 1: of the world all that came out. So we've been inclusive.
Speaker 1: We were inclusive before inclusive became like a buzzword. Oh
Speaker 1: can you for the people like myself, what does that mean? Inclusive?
Speaker 1: So right now you know, everybody's like, oh, diversity, and
Speaker 1: everybody wants to get in diversity training and making sure
Speaker 1: that everybody is included in their voice matters. When I
Speaker 1: started Age of Crimson Beauty, it was really I've been
Speaker 1: traveling and touring with like Hillary Duff and Fergie and
Speaker 1: Estelle and the Stell for like three years. So Christina, Million,
Speaker 1: Faith Evans, all these girls. I have been working with
Speaker 1: Amory and there are a myriad of shades, and I
Speaker 1: always had to kind of come to the table and
Speaker 1: figure out like how I was going to match their
Speaker 1: foundation or matt do the things that I needed to
Speaker 1: do for them, you know, so they look and feel
Speaker 1: their best as a compartist, right And there weren't a
Speaker 1: lot of colors on the market. There weren't a lot
Speaker 1: of It just wasn't a lot of everything, you know,
Speaker 1: in a in a way that spoke black women or
Speaker 1: women of color directly. And I think that's what we're
Speaker 1: dealing with now. That's what we're seeing more of. Now
Speaker 1: Black women are standing up and saying, hey, you know,
Speaker 1: I have a voice. I would like to see myself
Speaker 1: in the ad campaigns that kind of thing. So Adrian
Speaker 1: comes in beauty from the start was always about not
Speaker 1: leaving that girl out. You know. We started with the
Speaker 1: darkest color first and worked our way, worked our way backwards,
Speaker 1: um to make sure that you know she was seeing Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, And it sounds like you had a lot
Speaker 1: of experience because you were working with it sounds like
Speaker 1: you were working with white girls and black girls. Sure.
Speaker 1: When I was a kid, and I joke about this,
Speaker 1: it's not really a jokematic, but I came from a
Speaker 1: little bit of child abuse. And I remember when you
Speaker 1: try to cover up bruises and I'm mixed. You know,
Speaker 1: you couldn't find a palette that would cover And this
Speaker 1: sounds completely ridiculous, but you couldn't find a color to
Speaker 1: cover my face because at that time, there was no like,
Speaker 1: you know, the sixth grades in between of shades. It
Speaker 1: was just either white or black. And it was like, oh,
Speaker 1: you know, so many things are like that. You're right,
Speaker 1: and I think that was that was what I was
Speaker 1: up against, you know, it really was again, like I
Speaker 1: started with, I felt like the lighter shades were easier
Speaker 1: to make. Um. It was the deeper colors that you
Speaker 1: just didn't see. Like I started with a girl who's
Speaker 1: South Sudanese, and I was like, hey, if I can
Speaker 1: match her on my first round was terrible. It was horrible.
Speaker 1: Like I literally I thought I had the darkest color.
Speaker 1: I was testing it a trade show. I put it on.
Speaker 1: This girl was like, hey, I got the perfect color
Speaker 1: for you. She came up. I was like, give me
Speaker 1: your hand and I went to swatch it and uh.
Speaker 1: We literally looked at it. All I can see was
Speaker 1: green in it. She looked at it, she looked at me,
Speaker 1: and I was just like, okay, it was no way
Speaker 1: to spin it, spin it to make it feel better work.
Speaker 1: And I was like, all right, I gotta go back
Speaker 1: to the drawing board. But that's how it happens, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. I didn't stress out about it,
Speaker 1: but I knew it had to happen there first because
Speaker 1: no one talks to her, you know. And once we
Speaker 1: got it right, then I was able to really mix
Speaker 1: and blend all the other colors backwards nice. So that
Speaker 1: was cool. So now you do have a shade that
Speaker 1: can work for you in my brand, so I would
Speaker 1: definitely make sure you get that. Thank you. And I
Speaker 1: love this of color. By the way, I'm superde so
Speaker 1: good this col um actually made that for Cassie. I'm
Speaker 1: really okay, Well, I'm wearing Okay, okay, I feel even
Speaker 1: more special. Custom how does someone from Detroit and I
Speaker 1: and I say that with endearment? Detroit? I feel like
Speaker 1: is uh has been the underdog for a long time.
Speaker 1: When I hear you say names like Hillary Duff or
Speaker 1: or a Stell, I'm just like, how do you how?
Speaker 1: How do you make your way from Detroit to Hollywood? UM,
Speaker 1: I was very ambitious. I've always been very ambitious. I
Speaker 1: think that, UM, since I was a little kid, I've
Speaker 1: never I didn't know how it was going to be successful.
Speaker 1: I just knew I was going to be successful. And
Speaker 1: there weren't a lot of people that necessarily believed in
Speaker 1: that dream or maybe even I wouldn't say but didn't
Speaker 1: believe in it. They just didn't know how to believe
Speaker 1: in it. And UM, but I knew I had to Uh,
Speaker 1: I had to figure that out. And uh, I just
Speaker 1: had made connections. So I used to work at a
Speaker 1: radio station called w j LB. UM. It was the
Speaker 1: number one station in the city, and I produced the
Speaker 1: music the six to ten show from with Bushman at
Speaker 1: the time. And UM, I end up meeting a woman
Speaker 1: named Peggy Body, who was the arts development coordinator for
Speaker 1: Bilten Records and Michael Bivns decided to do an album
Speaker 1: project with a couple of kids in Detroit. So I
Speaker 1: helped to kind of find those groups. I went to
Speaker 1: intern for her. Then it turned into me actually styling
Speaker 1: one of the groups. And I was like, oh, this
Speaker 1: is dope, and you know, like, okay, so I'm starting
Speaker 1: to put the words together for the things that I
Speaker 1: had interest in, but I didn't know what they were,
Speaker 1: you know, so find like, oh, fashion stylist, okay, cool,
Speaker 1: like makeup artist, how you like maybe seventeen or eighteen
Speaker 1: around this time, and uh, and it was it was
Speaker 1: just a good It was just a good time, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, like just figuring all of that
Speaker 1: stuff out. So um, having worked on that, I styled
Speaker 1: my first video and all that stuff, and fast forward.
Speaker 1: I had a friend who was a director, a local director.
Speaker 1: She ended up getting a job as an art department
Speaker 1: coordinator on UM on eight Mile, a movie eight Mile
Speaker 1: with eminem and Brittany Murphy. And she was an age
Speaker 1: you don't even need to show and you don't know
Speaker 1: a mile? Then what are you doing? I don't know?
Speaker 1: But yeah, so so she was like a j like
Speaker 1: I'm working on this movie. You need to give me
Speaker 1: your resume. And at that time I had got a
Speaker 1: job at a max store to just kind of learn
Speaker 1: makeup and everything. I was just trying to learn everything
Speaker 1: I could, you know, And um, I gave him my
Speaker 1: resume for a wardrobe and for makeup, and the wardrobe
Speaker 1: department actually got back to me first. Um. So with
Speaker 1: eight Mile, I was actually walking into my job, my
Speaker 1: part time job at mac and uh. And I only
Speaker 1: took this job because I really wanted to just learn
Speaker 1: skin and foundation, because I, you know, I worked with
Speaker 1: an artist prior to that, and the makeup partis that
Speaker 1: we had hired could not get the references. And I'm
Speaker 1: really big on reference, Like I just you know, that's
Speaker 1: what I was taught, you know. So when the makeup
Speaker 1: artists did her own thing outside of the book of
Speaker 1: reference that we had created, I was like what. I
Speaker 1: was like, can you show me this in the book?
Speaker 1: And she was like, oh, I just decided to do this,
Speaker 1: and I was like, I was like, no, I'm pretty
Speaker 1: literal about my references. I wish I had your stuff
Speaker 1: because I would do it myself, you know. And I
Speaker 1: think it sounded kind of rude when it came out,
Speaker 1: but there's a lot of money on the line, right
Speaker 1: and we're doing an album cover shoot, so um, I
Speaker 1: took the girl to a Mac, to that Mac store
Speaker 1: and I was like, hey, like, can you guys recreate
Speaker 1: one of these looks? And because I thought about what
Speaker 1: I said, I was I'm gonna learn how to do
Speaker 1: the makeup that I want to see, um, just to
Speaker 1: see if I could do it. They end up hiring
Speaker 1: me because I went back for a job on this
Speaker 1: particular day that that's costume supervisor called. I was walking
Speaker 1: into that job and they're like, hey, like, we'd love
Speaker 1: to interview you. We have your resume, like what can
Speaker 1: you know? Can you come down and meet us? And
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, like, you know, I'm getting ready
Speaker 1: to walk into work, like can we you know, can
Speaker 1: we do it like another day? And uh, I feel
Speaker 1: like I'm talking. We have a I've never been on
Speaker 1: this side of the table. Feel sure. I'm sure I'm
Speaker 1: piste off all the video guys in the room, but
Speaker 1: oh no, I'm so sorry. It looks great, So go
Speaker 1: on continue with this. You and I can talk for days,
Speaker 1: just so you know, I feel like we can future.
Speaker 1: Let's do it, let's do that, let's let's not stop this.
Speaker 1: So um so John Casey called me. He was like, hey,
Speaker 1: like can you come down for an interview? And I
Speaker 1: was just like uh. I was like, I'm walking into
Speaker 1: work right now. Can we do it like another day?
Speaker 1: Like no, Like we're actually trying to look for this
Speaker 1: right now, so you know, if something else comes up,
Speaker 1: we'll give you a call back. And in that moment,
Speaker 1: like I was devastated, like my heart literally dropped because
Speaker 1: it was just like hold on, like what just happened here?
Speaker 1: Like I'm walking into a job that is not my
Speaker 1: career at all, to not go an interview for the
Speaker 1: job that absolutely my career go you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: And I was like no. I just couldn't believe it
Speaker 1: was happening to me. And I was heartbroken, you know,
Speaker 1: to be honest, So you you actually showed up to work, Well,
Speaker 1: I was right there. I was in front of it.
Speaker 1: I was in front of the door. I couldn't I
Speaker 1: couldn't have. I didn't, you know. But I'm very loyal
Speaker 1: and I'm also committed. Like when I make commitments like
Speaker 1: I you know, it's like you keep your commitments, right,
Speaker 1: You don't just you don't just bail on people like
Speaker 1: they were depending. Um, I don't think I did, Like
Speaker 1: I literally thought. That's when I was like, I'll never
Speaker 1: let I'll never let something like that happened to me again,
Speaker 1: you know, like this is my this is my life
Speaker 1: on the line. You know. So I was actually on
Speaker 1: eight Mile with a photographer looking at the photographs that
Speaker 1: we had worked on and I'm gonna turn this up
Speaker 1: just a little bit. And what was he doing here?
Speaker 1: We were looking at the pictures and I got another
Speaker 1: phone call and I was like, yeah, like where are
Speaker 1: you guys at, Like I'll come and meet you. I'm
Speaker 1: actually on eight Mile, like right now. And they were
Speaker 1: like okay, cool, like come down and meet us. I
Speaker 1: did have to work that day at the Max door um,
Speaker 1: and when I got down there, they were like hey,
Speaker 1: like you know, so this is the job. It is
Speaker 1: doing laundry overnight. And I was like okay, sounds good
Speaker 1: and they were like are you concerned? I was like no,
Speaker 1: Like can you do laundry? Was like yeah, like I can.
Speaker 1: I can figure it out. If you show me what
Speaker 1: you need, I'll do. And it's like it was like, well,
Speaker 1: you're probably thinking like why do we need you to
Speaker 1: do laundry? And I was like, yeah, like why do
Speaker 1: you need me to do laundry? And they're like, well
Speaker 1: because in Hollywood, like we have you know, overnight laundry
Speaker 1: services that send the costumes out and they come back
Speaker 1: the next morning fresh for the actors. Are cool like,
Speaker 1: obviously we're in Detroit, we don't have that cleaners, so
Speaker 1: you're going to be the twenty four cleaner. I was like,
Speaker 1: all right, sounds good. Like this job doesn't pay very well,
Speaker 1: it's not. I was hoping you're going to stay it
Speaker 1: paid well. They're like, it doesn't pay a lot, doesn't
Speaker 1: pay a lot, Like, well, how much does it pay?
Speaker 1: It's like, well it pays. Um it pays a hundred
Speaker 1: dollars a day. Is it's the right one? Yeah? Um,
Speaker 1: since it pays a hundred dollars a day. And I
Speaker 1: was like, okay, well that sounds good. I'll take that
Speaker 1: and um like you're sure? I was like yeah, And
Speaker 1: then I was like when do you need me to start?
Speaker 1: Like can you start right now? I was like I sure, can.
Speaker 1: Let me make a phone call. So it sounds like
Speaker 1: you went from you were doing makeup. You temporarily was
Speaker 1: the laundry man, which is amazing because I think a
Speaker 1: lot of people, well some people probably would have taken it,
Speaker 1: but a lot of people maybe what a half. I
Speaker 1: think that was a good judgment call on your part,
Speaker 1: for sure. I mean it's not always about the money,
Speaker 1: and I think that's where a lot of people out
Speaker 1: on opportunities these days, because they're thinking about the money,
Speaker 1: especially when you don't have experience. Now, yes I had
Speaker 1: some experience, but I had never worked on a movie,
Speaker 1: like a major motion picture before, not not enough to
Speaker 1: where I could demand anything. And you and again, there
Speaker 1: was a bigger picture, and the bigger picture was for
Speaker 1: someone to want to take me out of Detroit, to
Speaker 1: like take me out of their wing and say, hey,
Speaker 1: you're coming with us, Like when this when this movie
Speaker 1: leaves here, I want to go with it. So that
Speaker 1: week that I ended up in the hospital and not
Speaker 1: being able to go, I told the doctor I was like, hey,
Speaker 1: like when do we start, Like how do we get
Speaker 1: this going? He's like, what are you? Like? Where are
Speaker 1: you in such a rush? I was like, I said,
Speaker 1: I have a flight on Friday. I said, He's like,
Speaker 1: where are you going? So I'm going to l A.
Speaker 1: I'm going to start a new life, Like I literally
Speaker 1: those are my words. I was like, I'm going to
Speaker 1: start my new life on Friday, I'll be I'm moving
Speaker 1: to l A. My dad end up telling me that
Speaker 1: it wasn't gonna happen that way, And it took about
Speaker 1: two months from my face to go back down. But
Speaker 1: I started watching behind the music, and I want to say,
Speaker 1: on the last day of my appointment, where everything was
Speaker 1: clear and I was good to go, my car blew
Speaker 1: up up, Like the engine in my car had blown up.
Speaker 1: It's like car like one of my my home girls
Speaker 1: like given me, you know. So um, I was just
Speaker 1: like I just started laughing because I was like, what
Speaker 1: am I gonna do? Like what like I don't have
Speaker 1: I don't have ship else, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Like my I had burnt my hand. I had a
Speaker 1: third degree burn on my hand, you know, which had
Speaker 1: happened like a couple of weeks before that. I was
Speaker 1: just like, what is happening with this city? Like why
Speaker 1: is it trying to hold me back like this? And
Speaker 1: did you feel like it was holding you back or
Speaker 1: do you feel like and I and I sometimes feel
Speaker 1: this way, like sometimes when you're so focused, I feel like,
Speaker 1: for lack of better words, I'm not trying to object
Speaker 1: to anyone spiritually, but I always feel like the devil
Speaker 1: comes to mess with you right when you're either like
Speaker 1: so close to the goal. It's like I'm gonna distract
Speaker 1: you with a whole bunch of drift. Brath, do you
Speaker 1: feel like it was that or do you feel like
Speaker 1: it was just Detroit was like I'm determined to keep
Speaker 1: you here. I don't think it was. I think it
Speaker 1: was the people, Like I mean, you know, I felt
Speaker 1: like my brother was like, really, you know, sad that
Speaker 1: I was gonna leave because he felt like maybe I
Speaker 1: was leaving him behind. Um. And I think that it
Speaker 1: was just a lot of I think it was a
Speaker 1: lot of sad energy more than anything. UM. Moreover, I
Speaker 1: was like, I don't want us to go out of
Speaker 1: business over here. Um. I think it was a lot
Speaker 1: of that. So this next round, it was really just
Speaker 1: more or less keeping it to myself and like keeping
Speaker 1: it locked inside, but also not allowing whatever that energy
Speaker 1: was too overpower my dream. You know, like I knew
Speaker 1: I still had to accomplish the stream and um, and
Speaker 1: I just found myself like watching behind the music, and
Speaker 1: and uh I watched one on Ditty and he was
Speaker 1: going back and forth from like d C to UH,
Speaker 1: from DC to UH New York and is this one
Speaker 1: for this one? Yes? And he use our sauce. This
Speaker 1: is our sauce. So this is this is store bought sauce.
Speaker 1: Just so you know, stot sauce progress with the meat,
Speaker 1: well the meat flavor flavor. Yeah, there's an interesting meat flavor,
Speaker 1: but it's really good. So uh, I was watching behind
Speaker 1: the music. So I watched Jlo, I watched Diddy, and
Speaker 1: I watched Left Eye and each of them had like
Speaker 1: seven hundred and fifty bucks or like one was on
Speaker 1: the bus, like Diddy was on the bus back and
Speaker 1: forth from DC to New York. J Loo had got
Speaker 1: kicked out of her house. You know, I was living
Speaker 1: in the basement of our dance studio, and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: she basically caught the bus uh to l A to
Speaker 1: be a fly girl and you know, ended up dance
Speaker 1: for Janet Jackson and became Jennifer Lopez. And then Left
Speaker 1: Eye she took a bus to Philly with seven hundred
Speaker 1: bucks and got into TLC and became one of the
Speaker 1: biggest selling groups of all time. So it's like, all right, cool,
Speaker 1: So how much money you got left? I got about
Speaker 1: seven hundred bucks left for my savings and uh, and
Speaker 1: I was like, I'm just gonna get on the bus.
Speaker 1: I think that's what it is. And I got on
Speaker 1: the bus. I don't let that heat up a little
Speaker 1: bit more. Um. I bought a bus ticket on a Greyhound.
Speaker 1: I packed one bag of makeup like a carry on,
Speaker 1: and one bag of clothes and I didn't tell anybody.
Speaker 1: My brother was actually supposed to drop me off, and
Speaker 1: he out there late and the day I planned to leave,
Speaker 1: and I was already in a cab and when he
Speaker 1: finally showed up, and I just threw my keys out
Speaker 1: the window and I was like, hey, I'll call you
Speaker 1: when I get there. And and because I just couldn't
Speaker 1: be I couldn't miss it, you know what I mean, Like,
Speaker 1: And that was like another one of those things where
Speaker 1: the universe was just gonna try to step in and
Speaker 1: stop me because I would if I had been waiting
Speaker 1: on him, then I would have gotten there late and
Speaker 1: I would have missed my bus. So I got down there.
Speaker 1: I called my mother as the bus was backing out,
Speaker 1: and uh, and I was like, Hey, I think I'm
Speaker 1: gonna try to go to l A again. And she
Speaker 1: was like, okay, like when do you think you're gonna go?
Speaker 1: And I was like actually right now. She's like where
Speaker 1: are you? I was like, I am on a Greyhound
Speaker 1: and she was like okay, uh, when you come back?
Speaker 1: And I was like I don't know. And she's like
Speaker 1: how long is it gonna take you to get there?
Speaker 1: I was like three days. And she was like, when
Speaker 1: you call me when you get there. And I was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'll call you when I get there. And I got
Speaker 1: off the phone and I actually I just started to
Speaker 1: cry a little bit, you know what I mean. Think
Speaker 1: it was like I'm even feeling like I want to
Speaker 1: cry now, but like because at that moment just always
Speaker 1: like that's the first time that I ever was like
Speaker 1: getting ready to like just do something as big on
Speaker 1: my own, you know, and uh, and I've been I
Speaker 1: felt like I've been fighting hard for that moment and
Speaker 1: it was finally here. So backed out. Now halfway through
Speaker 1: the trip, maybe I got to Vegas, so I called
Speaker 1: Mark Bridges and this reminds you this two months later. No,
Speaker 1: so we backed out. We backed out of the out
Speaker 1: of the depot. But we're like two days in the
Speaker 1: trip now and I'm in Vegas. And this is also
Speaker 1: two months later from when I had originally spoke to
Speaker 1: Mark about staying at his place when he offered, and Uh,
Speaker 1: I was like, hey, Marcus AJ like. He was like, hey,
Speaker 1: what's up? A J Like, how you doing? I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm doing good. He said, you're feeling better. I was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm feeling much better. Like how are you? He's like
Speaker 1: I'm doing great. Um, I know how I want to
Speaker 1: do this. So then I said, hey, is it still
Speaker 1: okay if I come and stay at your place? And
Speaker 1: he was like yeah, Like when do you think you
Speaker 1: want to come? I was like, I'll be there tomorrow.
Speaker 1: It was like where are you? I was like, I'm
Speaker 1: on a greyhound. I said, I know it's like short notice,
Speaker 1: but I didn't. I didn't have a I just couldn't
Speaker 1: think about it. I had a window of opportunity. It Oh,
Speaker 1: the door opened and I had to go with it.
Speaker 1: And uh, he was like, you know what, just tell
Speaker 1: me where to pick you up and I'll be there
Speaker 1: and like, can you turn it down for me? And uh,
Speaker 1: and he was there and to pick me up and
Speaker 1: literally that was that was the first day to the
Speaker 1: rest of my life, like you know, like it just
Speaker 1: it just went from there, Like I mean, the awesomeness
Speaker 1: that was that I got to experience just even living
Speaker 1: with him, you know, like at least a Silverstone was
Speaker 1: like in our kitchen like one morning and I walked out.
Speaker 1: It was crazy. I have to ask now, and only
Speaker 1: because we're cutting short and it sucks because I have
Speaker 1: so many questions. But I talked to when it comes
Speaker 1: to know you don't um, when it comes to A J.
Speaker 1: Crimson Beauty, Yeah, what was like some of the biggest
Speaker 1: hurdles getting the brand off the ground. And I have
Speaker 1: to know, like insider SCOOPO wearing too many hats too, Okay,
Speaker 1: I can see that. So I actually, luckily, like at
Speaker 1: the time I did Agan terms of you, I was
Speaker 1: also running another business, so um, I didn't have to uh,
Speaker 1: So I wasn't struggling. I wasn't on my knuckles, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, like I was when I first
Speaker 1: got to l A. But um, I think the biggest
Speaker 1: thing I think. I want to say that one of
Speaker 1: the biggest challenges was, like in our growth process was
Speaker 1: dealing with um would be would be investors think or
Speaker 1: even thinking that I needed an investor, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, because everybody will have you thinking like, oh,
Speaker 1: you you know, you should be doing this, you should
Speaker 1: be selling this much product. You could do this, Like
Speaker 1: when I when I first launched it, I did UM
Speaker 1: I did about sixty thousand in in two months, like
Speaker 1: and that was at launch, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: And that was just no funding, that was no fundy,
Speaker 1: that was me funding it and uh and we're still
Speaker 1: so funded. Actually, I was like, I'm gonna build this
Speaker 1: business and it's gonna fund itself, you know. And uh
Speaker 1: and we'll just grow that way. And so I did
Speaker 1: that sixty thousand just offer Instagram, you know. And that
Speaker 1: was when when you really could do it off Instagram.
Speaker 1: And I love our meal. This meal looks so good.
Speaker 1: I wants to go home and make it for my
Speaker 1: mate so he can think I'm a gourmet chef because
Speaker 1: this is the best looking eating want broken you don't
Speaker 1: I've ever seen Listen, you know, Like I said in
Speaker 1: the beginning, I think broke as a mind broke as
Speaker 1: a mindset, you know what I mean? And I've never
Speaker 1: my god dad said I had rich taste but poor pockets.
Speaker 1: But so's it's about taste, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: I think you just have to kind of go into
Speaker 1: you don't have to just because you don't have a
Speaker 1: lot of money doesn't mean it looks so lovely. Everyone
Speaker 1: to live like it today. We don't have overhead cameras,
Speaker 1: so well I wouln't have over and I don't hopefully
Speaker 1: can see it. But okay, I want you to look
Speaker 1: so good, so hopefully if you need salt, I don't
Speaker 1: think I'll need salt or pepper. Good sit down with you,
Speaker 1: yes please, you slaved in the kitchen for me and
Speaker 1: I got my burners. Yeah, we have the Verdi classic
Speaker 1: Verness gingerrele mm hmm delicious, so you can't taste the difference.
Speaker 1: I haven't had that so long. So good, So I'm
Speaker 1: gonna try and take a bite. Well, I'm gonna let
Speaker 1: you take a bite, hopefully, because I didn't taste any
Speaker 1: of this, but I think it's this looks so delicious.
Speaker 1: So this is green onions? Um, no, no onions, green pepper,
Speaker 1: vegan butter meat, spaghetti sauce, spaghetti, and polish sausage. And
Speaker 1: it looks amazing. I was surprised you didn't add cheese
Speaker 1: to this dish. No, no day. M hmm. This is
Speaker 1: so good. Totally finishing this. I'm definitely gonna put it.
Speaker 1: But I'm surprised that you're not taking fun because I
Speaker 1: see a lot of venture capitalists now all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: to say all of a sudden, but it's true, all
Speaker 1: of a sudden's stepping up, and you see brands also
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, not only you know, taking in brands,
Speaker 1: but they're also giving decent shelving space, which is yeah,
Speaker 1: a big deal. I felt like for me, the conversations
Speaker 1: I was having they weren't lining up with my values.
Speaker 1: They didn't. They said they saw the vision, but I
Speaker 1: didn't feel like they were there. They were really there
Speaker 1: to try to take over the business. And for me,
Speaker 1: it was never. I didn't put my name on this
Speaker 1: company to be an employee of my own company, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, Like, I didn't do that. And
Speaker 1: I even called Bobby Brown, like, you know, twenty five
Speaker 1: years in the business, you know, billion dollar brand, sold
Speaker 1: it to Estate Lauder. I looked at her in the
Speaker 1: d M because I was I was like, who can
Speaker 1: I talk to that has been where I've where I'm
Speaker 1: trying to go, that can offer me some guidance because
Speaker 1: when I looked to the people to my left and
Speaker 1: to my right, people weren't really actively looking to share,
Speaker 1: you know. And it was also like, who can you
Speaker 1: who can you be vulnerable with, you know, without people
Speaker 1: looking down on you, you know, or feeling like or
Speaker 1: making you feel you're not successful or at what you're
Speaker 1: trying to do. And you know, so I just took
Speaker 1: a chance on contacting her and uh and we had
Speaker 1: a really great conversation and you know, and one of
Speaker 1: the things I said, Hey, I need like two million
Speaker 1: dollars like one will you give it to me? Because
Speaker 1: you know, because you got it? She did. She responded.
Speaker 1: She was like, I was like, hey, can we can
Speaker 1: we jump on a call? You know, I don't know
Speaker 1: if you remember me. I met you backstage and a
Speaker 1: fashion show like with a Stelle like years ago. It
Speaker 1: would be you know, I have some questions about my
Speaker 1: beauty business. I don't even know if you know about it,
Speaker 1: but you know, here's my page. Check it out. Let
Speaker 1: me know. I was literally sleeping. And I have been
Speaker 1: going through one of the hardest times of my business.
Speaker 1: You know. I was trying to open I had a
Speaker 1: l a location. I was trying to open a New
Speaker 1: York location. I had hired these people to like paint,
Speaker 1: They painted it all wrong, so I had to fly
Speaker 1: to you know, New York to paint it myself because
Speaker 1: I wasn't gonna pay to do it again. I had
Speaker 1: a girl who would quit on me, you know, just abruptly,
Speaker 1: like during a holiday weekend. It was just so many things,
Speaker 1: and I had one employee that was often We're a
Speaker 1: very small team, so it's just like this is too much.
Speaker 1: And I literally found myself in Times Square like what
Speaker 1: am I doing? And I was like what am I doing?
Speaker 1: I was like, this is not how it's supposed to be, Like,
Speaker 1: this is not how it's supposed to feel like, you know,
Speaker 1: I can't go back to my friend's house because it's
Speaker 1: four o'clock in the morning because I just got I
Speaker 1: don't want to wake them up, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: And I feel like I don't I can't go but
Speaker 1: check into a hotel, right now because the timing is
Speaker 1: all I was like, this is this is not how
Speaker 1: it's supposed to work, you know. So when I hit
Speaker 1: her up, it was really out of It was a
Speaker 1: bit of iolt say, desperation. I was just needed the
Speaker 1: right guidance. I needed somebody to care and somebody just
Speaker 1: to tell me like that I'm on the right path.
Speaker 1: I needed a sign that I was on the right path.
Speaker 1: So when I asked, I was like, hey, like, you know,
Speaker 1: this is what I'm trying to do. This is the
Speaker 1: conversations that I'm having. Uh, you know, this is the
Speaker 1: kind of money I need, you know. She said, why
Speaker 1: did you get you open the Stars? Because every every
Speaker 1: retailer that I went to told me that black women
Speaker 1: don't shop here and they didn't want to take my brand.
Speaker 1: And it wasn't that my brand wasn't good or good
Speaker 1: enough because it rivals. My brand is the blue blue
Speaker 1: for a lot of brands that are out there now,
Speaker 1: you know, it's the benchmark. So it's just like I
Speaker 1: was like, I had to open I had to make
Speaker 1: my own way. I've always had to make my own way,
Speaker 1: so I was not not accustomed to doing that. But
Speaker 1: in this particular case, I was like, hey, like, you know,
Speaker 1: you're getting all this these mixed messages of like what
Speaker 1: business is supposed to be and what your business is
Speaker 1: supposed to be like and um, and I was just
Speaker 1: trying to weigh my options. So I was like, I
Speaker 1: think I need two million dollars to really take this
Speaker 1: to the next level. Uh. You know, these are the
Speaker 1: conversations I've been having. I was like, do you have
Speaker 1: two million dollars? You want to invest or a million?
Speaker 1: She was like, well, I can't do it because you know,
Speaker 1: like my deal with that State Louder upon her departure,
Speaker 1: but it's very cool, and she said, don't take anybody's money.
Speaker 1: She's like, don't take anybody. She said, you're not gonna
Speaker 1: want to hear this, but don't take anybody's money. And
Speaker 1: I was like why and she said, because do you
Speaker 1: do that, then the brand is no longer yours. It's
Speaker 1: no longer yours, it belongs it belongs to the person
Speaker 1: that gave you the money. And that you know, because
Speaker 1: I have seen that happen more times than not. People
Speaker 1: have gone into these deals prematurely and thinking like, oh,
Speaker 1: I need this investor, I need to do this as
Speaker 1: opposed to It wasn't that I need an investor. I
Speaker 1: just needed more sales. I needed more sales. I needed
Speaker 1: to hit the ground running and more impact and and
Speaker 1: that was what we did. So after having that conversation,
Speaker 1: I had turned down those bad deals because they really
Speaker 1: were bad deals, Like somebody was trying to get in
Speaker 1: my company for zero dollars and I was like, do
Speaker 1: you I do you realize I can make this in
Speaker 1: like the short amount of time I would shut the
Speaker 1: store down. I'll do I'll liquidate before I do you know,
Speaker 1: before I do this kind of deal. And um, and
Speaker 1: that was what I did. And you know, I'm proud
Speaker 1: of my journey. I'm I'm proud of the way that
Speaker 1: I stepped my guns and yeah, a hundred percent of it.
Speaker 1: But I fought from a hundred percent of my business
Speaker 1: before we close out. Uh, you own a j Crems
Speaker 1: and Beauty's. When the time comes, If the time comes,
Speaker 1: then yes, I will be open to have a bigger
Speaker 1: conversation about you know, investment partners, but only when, only
Speaker 1: when I'm ready and when when the brand is ready
Speaker 1: for that and let them beat down your door. I'm
Speaker 1: just curious now, um, where are you? Where can people
Speaker 1: pick up your products? I'm glad you asked, so you
Speaker 1: can always get it from aj Crimson dot com. But
Speaker 1: then also we're launching a North Droom. So I think
Speaker 1: that probably by the time, definitely by the time this
Speaker 1: comes out, Nordrom everybody. So I guess the black women
Speaker 1: do go in North Drom, they do, you know. And
Speaker 1: I think I think this time everything is shifted, you know,
Speaker 1: after coming off of you know, the Black Lives Movement, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, protests and people really doubling down on accountability
Speaker 1: on the diversity that they say that they have, especially
Speaker 1: and we have to give our hats off to Sharon
Speaker 1: Shooter of Oma Beauty because she really kind of kicked
Speaker 1: that conversation off and really all people down to the carpet.
Speaker 1: And I think there was that conversation where it got
Speaker 1: everybody on board. And this quarantine like really isolated us
Speaker 1: to a point where we almost kind of when we're
Speaker 1: going crazy, and we got to see the injustice that
Speaker 1: was happening around us as opposed to like living in
Speaker 1: our own little bubbles, right and uh, and a lot
Speaker 1: of the retailers, uh, you know, we had conversations with
Speaker 1: but nors From felt the best. They actually as opposed
Speaker 1: to meet like pitching to them, they were pitching to us,
Speaker 1: and they were saying, hey, like, we understand what you
Speaker 1: what you're doing. We understand that we have this customer here.
Speaker 1: We love what you've been doing. And what I'm creating
Speaker 1: is something so different. You know, it's pro luxury, you know,
Speaker 1: so you know, there isn't a black, black owned brand
Speaker 1: that is a luxury brand, you know, And that was
Speaker 1: what I set out to do and and you know,
Speaker 1: and you have a professional edge. It's pro solutions for
Speaker 1: everyday women. So um, I love seeing that translate through.
Speaker 1: I love that I'm with a retail partner that understands
Speaker 1: like my goal and are willing to grow with me.
Speaker 1: They represent that luxury so they're perfect. It's a perfect
Speaker 1: sweet spot like for my brand for sure. And I
Speaker 1: think that was something too we had always been thinking about,
Speaker 1: like where does Ajan Crimson get to live? Where does
Speaker 1: Ajia Crimson Beauty get to live? Because we're not drug store,
Speaker 1: you know, and you know, we're not middle we're not massige,
Speaker 1: you know, like that middle ground. We really are, you know,
Speaker 1: a higher end brand. You know, we just happened to
Speaker 1: speak to black women first and and it's an exciting time.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited for you, and now it makes all
Speaker 1: the sense in the world why we're eating a luxury
Speaker 1: Eating all Broke meal. Thank you so much for coming
Speaker 1: on an episode of Eating All Broke. I secretly want
Speaker 1: you to come back, so hopefully, yes, come back and
Speaker 1: share more stories, because I don't think there's enough time
Speaker 1: in the world too. Even you have so much, like
Speaker 1: even behind the scenes, and just I feel like there's
Speaker 1: so much knowledge and stuff we could talk about, especially
Speaker 1: when it comes to building a brand and taking it
Speaker 1: to other levels. So I hope you come back with
Speaker 1: a even cooler dish. I'm sure I can think of
Speaker 1: okay for sure. So thank you everyone for tuning in too,
Speaker 1: Eating Wall Broke. I'm here with A J. Crimson from
Speaker 1: A J. Crimson Beauty The Luxury of Beauty. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much for coming up. I appreciate you. Thank you
Speaker 1: for having me for more. Eating While Broke from I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio and The Black Effect. Visit the I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.