I’ve been waiting for this moment since blog post 828 or something. Upon logging onto the WordPress for our site for the 3245th time I realized that the “Mine’ blog count was nearing 1000. Today is that day, my 1000th blog post for Respect My Region.
The 1000th Blog Post Backstory (Quick Edition)
I started this website alongside some friends back in college. At the time I was living in classrooms during the day, delivering pizzas by afternoon, and DJ’ing at a local bar in the evenings. I had been producing music for a long time and the artists I had spent the previous 5 years and every dollar in my bank account with was locked up facing 5 years. Having just moved back into my parent’s house from “failing to make it in the music industry”, I was a tad bit lost.
The hustle and hard work were nothing new to me and I had the name “Respect My Region” in my head for around 2 years at the time. Originally wanting to create an e-commerce business with the name, I had shelved the idea. I always put my “music dreams” first. But, one day in business class I had an internal conversation while the professor went on and on about product, price and some other P words.
“Yo mitch…you’ve always wanted to be like Dame Dash AND Just Blaze right?”
“Bet” ….wait we didn’t say bet in 2010… “Yea sure”
“Why don’t you chill on this sample flipping dreams and get your business shit moving.”
…a few more stoned thoughts later the idea started brewing more. I had recently started a monthly hip-hop concert series at college and after our second event was so successful, I figured we needed something else to increase profits. Andy Layman, who was designing the flyers and taking pictures at the event, had suggested we start a clothing line or “do something dope.” I had told him about this name I’ve had and he liked it. Andy went home, drew up a logo that neither of us liked it at all.
The Logo
We wanted to incorporate the elements of the Pacific Northwest into one branded logo. We thought mountains, trees, and river/ocean was kind of our thing. Pretty standard, Andy made one revision to the logo and we had started. We were up and running shortly after as a tee shirt company that also threw events and concerts around the PNW.
The Blog
After we started rolling out more and more clothing Andy begun the blog section of our website. At first, it was new clothing drops and music I had directly been involved with, artists we featured on our shows and rocked our gear started to reach out about being featured. I really have to give it up to Andy for being ahead of the curve, especially with the internet. He taught me a lot about SEO, blogging, and creating content for the internet.
At first, I sucked at blogging. I mean sucked! I suck at writing, grammar has never been a strength. In school, I wasn’t that terrible, I used my creativity to finesse shortcuts, which kept my writing grades in check. But writing was something I’ve always procrastinated and god knows I can’t be trusted with proofreading. Hang out with me long enough, you’ll hear me butcher words and approve marketing graphics that have blatant grammar errors.
After a few hundred blog posts, I began to get a feel for how the internet works. I started to not only write slightly better, but I began to explore the SEO world and learn about keywords and how Google works. A few hundred blog post later I learned about titles and how to properly engage the reader. Along my way to the next couple hundred blog posts, I picked up ways to keep it fresh and not overuse the same good headlines.
In the micro, a hundred blog posts didn’t teach me a lot from week to week. When you look over the course of a hundred or even a thousand blog posts, great strides of improvement are made. Many times I’ve felt like giving up. Posts didn’t get traffic, the artists I wrote about didn’t share it, and I’ve felt embarrassed and exposed for putting my thoughts out to the masses. At times I received all sorts of praise that I don’t enjoy and at other times I’ve received constant hate and negativity. It takes a lot to put your thoughts into action and dedicate a whole lot of time to them and then throw these near and dear personal dreams into the public eye and not worry about scrutiny.
I’ve been blessed to have a platform to speak on and hopefully, I’ve injected some positivity into the world. It’s been one hell of a ride and I’m often in awe. My blogging career has led to being published in magazines, breaking news that large sites have picked up, and winning a few awards. A kid that never liked writing or planned on being a writer now gets praised and demeaned as a “blogger,” simply because of time on task.
All I know, until I’m where I want to be. I’ll just be in the gym like Kobe, shooting shot after shot, even after practice is long over, putting in my 10,000 hours.
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