Terrance Barksdale shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Terrance, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
Loneliness, even in a crowd surrounded by people but still feeling unseen, unheard, or misunderstood. That empty feeling when everyone knows your name, but no one knows your pain.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Tarrence Barksdale. I’m a creator, a builder, and the mind behind the Get It Clothing brand. I started this journey by designing for myself just trying to bring my own ideas to life. But as time went on, people started noticing my work. What began as a clothing brand turned into something much bigger. I found myself creating logos and visual identities for other people’s businesses, and that’s when things really started to shift. Folks weren’t just drawn to my designs they respected how I moved creatively.
Get It Clothing was always meant to stand for something bigger. It’s about the grind. Whether you’re going to work, hitting the gym, playing ball, chasing your dreams, or just handling life Get It is for the ones who wake up with purpose. That daily hustle, that mindset, that ambition… that’s what this brand represents.
Right now, I’m a student at the University of Texas at Dallas, studying Visual and Performing Arts. I’m focusing on videography and photography because I realized this brand was more than clothes it was becoming a movement. I wanted to take things further and reach a wider audience through visuals, stories, and impact. That’s also why I’m now deep into sports broadcasting and photography. I shoot everything from football and basketball to lacrosse and soccer indoor and outdoor. If it moves, I’m there capturing it.
The Get It brand is transitioning into something greater. It’s no longer just about a logo on a hat or shirt. It’s becoming a culture a platform for talent. Models, athletes, artists, everyday people chasing something real. And as I continue to grow this brand, I’m keeping the youth at the center. They are the future. That’s why I’m still showing up for schools in need providing supplies, support, and real presence where it matters.
On top of all that, I’m writing a five-book series called Built In The Dark. It’s raw, it’s honest, and it’s based on my own life. Each book breaks down the different ways I’ve faced challenges, handled betrayal, stayed solid, and built silently. This series is for anyone who knows what it’s like to be doubted, slept on, or forced to figure it out alone. The message is simple: You can be just as dangerous in silence as the loudest one in the room. Speak through action. Move with purpose. Let the results talk.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
The person who taught me the most about work? That’s easy my mother. She loved to work. I mean, she’d be up at five in the morning just to make it to the bus stop, because we didn’t have a car. Public transportation was our way, and she made it work rain, cold, whatever.
She’d put in her hours, come home, maybe rest for a few, and then have to get right back up and do it all over again. And this wasn’t just a healthy woman grinding she was dealing with her own health issues, too. A lot of nights, she was only getting maybe three hours of sleep if that. But she still got up, got dressed, and went to work like nothing was wrong.
That’s where my work ethic comes from. Watching her showed me: no excuses. No matter how tired, no matter the situation just get up and go. She taught me that nothing should stop you. You just keep pushing.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could say something to my younger self, it’d be simple: block out the noise.
There’s gonna be bumps in the road. People gon’ envy you. Fake love gon’ show up. And some folks gon’ present fake opportunities just to throw you off track. Don’t fall for none of it. Don’t give up.
You’re gonna face trials that’ll break you all the way down. But keep pushing. Keep going.
To all the people who think they know you or feel like they can speak on your life ignore ‘em. Never let go of your dreams. Nothing becomes real until you believe in it first.
When you speak on the things you wanna do, some people won’t get it. They’ll call it crazy, far-fetched. But that ain’t about you it’s ‘cause they ain’t got no vision of their own.
Some people’s whole dream is just to see others unhappy. That’s how they feel important. Let ‘em stay miserable. You stay focused.
Keep your circle small. Trust yourself. And when everything feels like it’s falling apart just keep pushing through.
You built for this.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Is the public version of me the real me?
Yeah… but only the part I allow you to see.
I show up real, but I don’t show up all the way open. What I give you is me but it’s the me I built through pain, silence, and survival. The public version of me had to be sharpened, had to be strategic. I’m not fake I’m just not fully exposed.
You see the confidence, the grind, the creativity, the energy… but you don’t always see the nights I had to talk myself outta quitting, or the battles I had to fight in silence.
So yeah, that’s me. But the real me? The one built in the dark? That version don’t need no crowd. That version don’t perform. That version just gets it done and lets the results speak.
Everything ain’t meant to be seen. Just respected.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
Honestly? It’d be bittersweet but short-lived.
We in a microwave era. Folks move on quick. One day you the wave, next day they surfing somebody else’s page. It’s too many people doing the same thing. Too many brands, too many creators, too much noise. So nah, I don’t expect no overflow of emails or people begging me to come back.
A few might ask why I stopped. Some might say, “Damn, you were almost there.” But that’s about it.
Truth is most people don’t care like that. They care about what you give them… not who you are. That’s why I don’t get caught up in the hype. I move how I move ’cause I know if I ever fall back, the world gon’ keep spinning without me.
That’s why everything I do gotta be for me first.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pexels.com/@perfect-lens/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terranceb_official/
Image Credits
All the photos are taken by me.
