Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrance Brashun.
Terrance, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started a Classic Villain in 2015. The idea originally came from a disagreement I had with a former associate of mine. It was a situation where we had done numerous things together to make money and develop a good rapport. On one occasion, we didn’t see eye to eye and the entire relationship imploded. No matter how many times you tell a person yes, the one time you say no will stand out. From that, no, I got painted as a bad person. A villain. I took that situation and looked at other relationships in my life that were similar. No matter how long you try to be a hero or a good person to people, when you stand up against them or disagree with an opinion, you will become a villain in some way. I took that and tied it up to my upbringing in the church. Jesus died because people thought he was a villain due to his contrarian practices. He was a rarity in his time on Earth and the majority of people couldn’t understand how so many were drawn to him like a magnet.
We’ve come a long way from those times but in this modern atmosphere, it’s the same thing. The minute you go against the grain of popular opinion, you get looked at as a villain. You’re problematic. You’re a hater. You’re a negative person. And all it could simply be is that you expect greater things from people or a quality product. So I took that title and made it a brand. These days, the cartoons I see being created for kids are trash. I grew up in the late 80s, early 90s, the golden era for creativity it seems. Everything was so classic then. That’s how I came up with a Classic Villain.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I wouldn’t say the road has been smooth or hard. Finding information on developing a brand is hard to obtain from established brands or as an entity at all. Everyone wants to keep their connections a secret or upcharge you for their information and services. Greed runs rampant to the point it’s disgusting. However, thankfully, on occasion, I do meet kind people. I started out designing prints. I’ve been drawing free-handed since I was five years old. So to learn about making prints and pricing them, I looked at a few artists on Instagram. I don’t have the audience they have yet so my prices are a little cheaper. No one I reached out to initially responded to any of my inquiries. When I decided to start doing shirts and snapbacks, I reached out to Brian Begley from New Jersey. Brian was the biggest help in offering information about anything. Look him up on Instagram – @iambrianbegley. He told me who his vendor was, gave me ideas about where to start from and was honest about what really got his brand going.
Anytime I ever reached out with a question, he was cool about responding. I still don’t have the following he has but I hope to get there. As far as music, I been doing that for a while and I kind of have a following but I’m in the middle of rebranding so I’m starting over on that from scratch. I know a little bit more of what I’m doing now so hopefully, this new transition won’t be as hard as it was with my old moniker. With creating content, I think it’s all about what you’re trying to give the viewer. Does it make sense? Is it quality? How long are you asking for their attention? I try to make viewable content that I want to see without making it too long to view. I know we live in a microwave society now where everyone’s attention span is short so I try to cater to that.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Classic Villain is a brand that combines music, comics, art and literature. I am a rapper, graphic designer, videographer, film editor, author and poet. I make music, write books, and design prints and clothing. I specialize in trying to fuse all the 90s retro things that I thought were cool, growing up with the modern taste of today’s pop culture. As a company, I’m most proud of the fact that I try to do everything the right way. I’m not only a business owner. I’m a consumer as well. So in interacting with the owners and customer service of other business owners, I try to see what they’re not doing and implement that into what I do. It’s the small things that drive success and make clients return. I want everyone who supports me to feel good about what they’re buying from me. I would say the biggest thing that sets me apart from others is that I listen to feedback and criticism without being offended and try to improve my product. No one wants to do business with people who come with attitude or try to short change you on what you’re receiving. Give it your best in all aspects of what you do.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plan for the future is to create more divisions and subsidiaries for the Classic Villain. I want to expand my message that everyone can’t be a hero. We can’t all be people pleasers. There is no progress if you never go against the grain and question the process to make it better. We need more villains in the world to upset the programming. I am in the process of creating my first short film, which is a fan film project along with a new mini-series for social media platforms and new music.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.classicvillain.com
- Phone: (469)263-1520
- Email: classicvillaininfo@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/classicvillainbrand
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/classicvillainbrand
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/terrancebrashun
Image Credit:
Heather Davis
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