The Hustle

The alarm blares, piercing the quietness of the dark bedroom. Its 5:20am, time to get up. Slowly I wake, turning it off and getting out of bed. It's still dark out, and I go to shower and get dressed. My work clothes, ironed and layed out the night prior, old habit from my time in the Army. 

I am an immigrant, a first generation American, Army veteran, small business owner, construction sales rep, and most importantly a husband and father. My life has been alot of ups and downs, some self-induced, and some hardships thrown in there for good measure to help me grow. That's right, to help me grow. 

I am no stranger to struggle, and I cherish the challenges because they help me grow in my hustle, my daily grind, of me chasing and building my dreams. My personal motto is to be a shark, either I am swimming and hustling my dreams into reality, or I stagnate and die. The days I don't feel like it? I remind myself of whats at stake, roll up my sleeves and get to work. 

Growing up, we moved alot, when my mom couldn't afford to keep us here in the states, we went and lived with our grandparents in Ukraine. My mother has always been a fighter, tackling mountains of obstacles to include being broke when she came to the US, not knowing English, divorce, cancer, and more. She has always been an inspiration to how to tackle life head on. As a child, I was always aware of how poor we were, so I hustled to do what I could. From selling golf balls back to golfers, to flipping trading cards in school, to my first job at 13 working as a short order cook and busboy. These early experiences taught me that the world truly is yours, and you can get whatever you want so long as you work for it. 

From food stamps, to walking to school because we didn't have a car and our town didn't have buses, to being an alcoholic, I grew along the way and learned to toughen myself for life can be unforgiving. When I graduated high school I spiraled, digging deeper and deeper into a bottle. I ultimately left for the Army, a lifelong dream. There, I grew as a man, learning about success, failure, pain, love, and more. I go more into those experiences in the Triumph and Tragedy trilogy on this blog. 

Despite accomplishing one lifelong dream, I failed at another, becoming a Green Beret. Despite that, I gained a stronger marriage to the love of my life. From there, I went back to school. growing and learning about myself and business. 

After I left the Army, I worked in the construction industry starting out working on job-site's pulling cables and eating dust, to running a shipping receiving department for a massive nation wide supplier. During this time, I started my MBA, and was working inside sales trying to get on the road. In trying to get on the road, I was told I was too young, too inexperienced, and yet I kept pushing everyday, ignoring the naysayers and putting my best day in and out. From there, I was given an opportunity with another company to hit the road and grow a new segment for them. So I did, and in 10 short months sold over $1.75 million for them. During this time, towards the end of 2018, I started OVROUT.

For me, having a clothing business, no less in fashion/streetwear was a dream of mine., So I wake up early, make content while getting ready, and continue to hit the road during the day, while creating content and posting, answering messages, sourcing new products and R&D, and customer service/ interactions through the DM's. On top of that, I work on my MBA full time, and raise a son with my wife. 

Having this business has been one of the hardest, most rewarding, expensive ventures so far. More money has been lost than made, and I am grateful for those experiences. Numerous late nights falling asleep on the couch, waking up 4 hours later to go do my day job. Bad suppliers, criticism from other people and brands. All of that is a part of the journey. The struggle, the hustle, the constant improvement, the dream you cant get out of your head and you worry over 24/7. Total commitment. That is what chasing your dreams and hustling means to me. 

In closing, the world is yours, and you can make whatever you want into reality. Be a shark, either you are hustling your dreams into reality, or you are stagnant and dying. 

BUILD YOUR DREAMS

-Andrew

OVROUT