ATLANTA — It’s more than just a clothing brand. It’s more than just a neighborhood. Bankhead Westside ATL Clothing is a way of life for popular Atlanta entrepreneur Terrell Gooden.
The concept for the clothing brand began a couple of years ago and continues to grow.
“King Harris had some merchandise for one of his tours. I found the box of T-shirts and I asked what he was doing with it and he said he was going to throw them away. I told him I wanted to sell them. He said if you can sell them, you can have them,” Gooden recalled.
At an event at Trap City Cafe owned by T.I. and Mike Upscale, Gooden sold all of the shirts that King gave to him.
“The next day, I got a settlement from a car accident that I was in and I was trying to figure out how I can invest it,” he said. “I went to TIP to ask if he had any investments that I can be a part of and he encouraged me to sell clothes. He said he seen me selling 100 t-shirts.”
At first, Gooden says he wasn’t convinced. He asked what would he even put on it, and T.I. suggested he put Bankhead on it.
“TIP said he would wear it and make sure his people wear it. He told me to get my shirts copyrighted and to get an LLC,” he said. “I worked with some lawyers and they helped got my paperwork together. T.I., Tiny Harris, Young Dro, King, and King’s friends helped me out a lot. Without that celebrity status, I wouldn’t be nowhere near where I am.”
Gooden began his growing clothing business with hats, then it grew to hoodies and whole outfits.
The Bankhead native said he grew up in the same neighborhood as T.I. and has known him for a long time.
He is excited for the endless possibilities for Westside Bankhead ATL Clothing.
“I’m trying to start a fashion show this summer,” he said. “Ideally, I want to have a fashion show every season and employ people in need in the community. I want to get a clothing store or a print shop in the Bankhead area where he grew up.”
Gooden says he represents a true Atlanta hustler’s spirit, something he learned as the oldest of 12 kids.
“My first job ever was working in my grandfather’s restaurant when I was 10,” he said. “That’s where I learned how to cook and how to save money. I was only making $25 a week. That was my first taste of hustling, seeing people with nice things and wanting nice things. I had to figure out a way to make it. Hustlers are the best businessman. You learn money management really early. That was a big part of it when I was out in the street.”
Gooden said he is big on relationships, networking and connecting with other people. Celebrities ranging from T.I., Young Dro, Lil Boosie, Glorilla, Desi Banks, DC Young Fly, NuFace, and more have embraced Gooden and his clothing brand.
“Relationships will take you farther than money can,” he said. “I didn’t get to where I am off of finances at all. It was all my friends and people that I know and people that they know. That will get you into some doors that you never thought you would be in without one dollar in your pocket.
He said watching his business continue to grow “means a lot.”
“In the future, I would love send some of my clothes to people in need in other countries. I want to give it away to people who really need it. I don’t want to give it away and they sell it,” he said. “I want to give people the opportunity to put clothes on their back and feel good about themselves.”
Gooden has a deal with T.I. where he peacefully sets up a tent for his clothing business at any venues or concerts that him or his family has and outside the Trap Music Museum at 630 Travis St. off of Northside Drive in Bankhead.
To order clothing from Bankhead Westside ATL Clothing, you can contact Gooden on his Instagram and Facebook.
For more information, click here.
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