10/1/13- Brand Spotlight! Money Stones & Gold

You know the drill..

We bring you the scoop on brands we love and support, so you know why we love and support them!

We caught up with Ryan, co-founder of newcomers MS&G to become a little more familiar.

How was Money Stones & Gold founded?
Early last year my partner (Jayson Earl) and I started MS&G clothing after a few life changing experiences occurred. For me it was the bankruptcy filing of the brands I built my career around. At the time I didn't know what was going to happen and weather or not I was going to still have a job. For my partner it was a very heavy motorcycle accident that almost took his life. He spent over 4 months in the hospital.
After his recovery he left his job at a design firm and decided to be a free agent. I'd been mowing over ideas for different brands and decided MS&G would be the best bet for us to pursue given the current market trends. I went to Jayson and asked him to be my partner and handle all of the designs and website. That's his specialty and mine is sales so we're a great team.

What brought about the name? What is your purpose in creating MS&G?
The name came from the idea that there are 3 elements within life that stay a constant. They all tie back into one another. We all spend our lives trying to achieve some level of financial comfort.
Street Wear has come on the scene in a very strong way. After working for Diamond for several years and seeing the trends I wanted to create a street wear brand vs. a surf brand because the kids seem to be identifying with street wear right now. I've actually trade marked a surf brand as well but I don't see a need to pursue that right now. The biggest brands in surf are having a major struggle right now and that pushed me to put my efforts behind MS&G for the time being.
As far as our purpose in creating the brand I think Jayson and I both needed something to sink our teeth into to pull us both out of our funk. It's really helped me mentally to get past the negativity I'd been feeling about the fall of the brands at the time. I think we've both had a lot of fun doing it and seeing it prove to be successful. Just naming the shirts is super fun.

Who is going to be wearing your gear? What industry do you think suits your brand the best?
We just sent out a ton of promo gear yesterday actually. A lot of it to Los Angeles for some people. We sent Omarion gear, Paypa aka Marcus Moody, and Eric Bellinger. They're all big names in the music world and have shown a lot of interest in our designs. We're working with some key industry people as well to get a small but tight skate team put together. I think historically street wear has always meshed very well within the skate community. I've even entertained the idea of having a couple surfers on board but that would have to be further down the road. My heart will always be with skateboarding and surfing so we'll see how that plays out within the brand down the road.
For now we're focusing on artists and even potentially mainstream athletes. We've sent a ton of stuff to Jag guys as well. If they're not winning on the field they might as well feel like their winning when they wear our gear! LOL

It seems like Costco is getting more and more filled with familiar surf industry giants. Where is the industry going in your opinion?
You know my thoughts regarding the Costco distribution within the surf industry. In my opinion it plays directly into why some of the larger surf brands are struggling so hard right now. Bottom line is, you can't get your cool back if you loose it. If a kid can find a famous surf brand tee shirt between the prosciutto ham and baby diapers in Costco how cool is that brand to that kid? Pretty much isn't cool at all.
There was a time where you'd see someone wearing a surf tee or hat and you'd do a double take because you'd know that person surfed or skated. It was like an unspoken brotherhood within what tee shirt you were wearing. We all know that's not the case anymore. I also see the need for the Specialty retailers to expand on their offering of brands. They really need to look at some newer brands and get behind them. They don't have to be street wear. They could be some of the newer and smaller surf brands. Everyone knows they can get their favorite surf brand tee/hat at a discount store now for pennies on the dollar vs. the surf shop pricing. It's a sad reality but it's THE reality.
I think it's happening already within the industry. I see key buyers for key accounts really looking hard at the newer brands and giving them opportunity. That's a good sign. If the economy can get a jump start then some of these newer brands will really see an opportunity to grow significantly. I'd like to see it happen. I hate watching the contests (surf) and seeing top 40 guys without a major sponsor. We all have a responsibility to get behind some newer brands and help them achieve that level of success to ensure all of our futures.

Last Question: Dead elephant, Miley Cyrus, and a loud parrot; marry one, kill one, live with one forever?
Sounds like someone already killed the elephant. I just got out of a marriage so I'll pass on that one for a while. I could live with Miley forever I guess. I'm sure it would be a nice set up with some cool cars and big homes!!! Hopefully she'd be down to sponsor me!

Thanks for chatting, Ryan! Money Stones & Gold Available now At Inland Ocean Jacksonville.