Today we’d like to introduce you to Gianni DiForca.
Hi Gianni, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
GreySkale all started as an idea that at the time didn’t seem like it was going to go through. I’ve always wanted to start a shirt brand but never knew where to start. With lots of thinking and trial and error, GreySkale was born. I wanted something different aside from the normal streetwear brands. As someone who struggled with mental health and knew that it needed to be normalized, I decided to combine the two but in a different way. When people think of a mental health awareness brand, they think of positive quotes, flowers and butterflies not skeletons. It was perfect. I love that I can express mental health awareness with even something as dark as a grim reaper. It’s the best of both worlds. Its balance. It’s where life and color meet balance.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. I struggled for a while to find purpose for the brand but once I found it, it was a clear road ahead. The first month that GreySkale launched was awesome. A bunch of family and friends bought stuff and it seemed like everything was going good and all the hard work started paying off. After a couple of months, I noticed that no one really knew about the brand besides from family and friends. So I wanted to reach more people. I started posting TikTok videos and at first didn’t seem like it was getting anywhere but the more I tried the better it got! We started to get orders from people all over and soon got a following of 10k. Soon after, I attended my first local vendor market and fell in love. I thought it was so cool to see how much people loved the brand and getting to meet new people is an awesome experience that I want to continue to do for a while.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Digital art has always been a love of mine. I decided to go to college for it after previously going to school for Criminal Justice and realizing it wasn’t for me. I always thought I wanted to be a detective because I was always so interested in that kind of stuff as a kid. I did about two years of Criminal Justice before I realized I really didn’t want to do that. So I decided to listen to my gut and make a move and go to design school. I now have a Bachelor’s degree in Digital Art & Design from Full Sail University. I’ve never been a fan of a 9-5 job with set days. I wanted to have the freedom to do whatever I want whenever I want without having to worry about if my boss is going to give me days off. I tried freelancing for a little bit and hated it. I was never able to have the creative freedom I wanted. So then I started thinking about starting my own business where I make all the decisions. I now attend about 7-12 vendor markets a month, print and design more shirts all the time and love every second of it
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I definitely have a lot of supporters that keep me going two of which are my girlfriend and mom. My mom is like my biggest fan. She’s always the first to get new shirts and wears them all the time. Always giving me advice and making sure I succeed. My girlfriend is my other biggest supporter. Her being an artist herself and also running her own business, she can relate to a lot of the same things. We always help each other out when we have events, brainstorm ideas, fixes any issues we may have and just constantly support each other. A teammate that deserves so much credit would be one of my best friends Jose. He is constantly helping me out without even having to ask. From anything little or big he always has my back on anything and I never know how to thank him enough.
Contact Info:
- Email: greyskalee@gmail.com
- Website: greyskalee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greyskalee/
Image Credits:
All photos were taken by me, Gianni Diforca
