Owning Your Destiny: Khristian Michael's Story

Stand on a busy street corner for just a few minutes and listen to all the ideas being discussed by the people who are passing by. Chances are, only ten of those people will actually think twice about their idea and out of those ten, two will be really serious and have the courage to go for it. Of those two, one of them will stick with it and stop at nothing to see his/her idea become a reality AND a success. That individual understands that this is their destiny and is determined to walk within that destiny.  Khristian Michael, Founder and President of Forever K. Michael Eyewear is one of those people. He envisioned his destiny as a child and understood that it would take a lot of hard work and dedication to see his dream come alive. Yet, come alive it has--Forever K. Michael Eyewear is currently circulating in high end malls all over the country, and can be seen on artists such as Sean Paul of the Young Bloods and iconic professional athletes such as Shaquille O’Neal.

Michael will be the first to tell you that the success he is experiencing now didn’t just happen, he had to put a lot of hard work into it. He has seen many doors closed in his face, and his products being pushed to the back burner of potential distributor’s priority list. Yet, none of this stopped Michael’s dream of getting his eyewear into the public’s sights. He’d gone through too much to stop and he believed the saying, 'when one door closes another one opens. '

“I have been in love with fashion since I was a kid,” Michael explained. “One thing that stood out about my family is that we were always fashionable, so it became an ingrained desire for me to be on point with my look. To get in the business, I was an intern at different record labels. One of my mentors at that time was the National Director of promotions for Arista and Warner Brothers. That mentor relationship lasted for about 10 years and during that time I did a lot of promotions with him that dealt with celebrities. But I always had a true eye for fashion and I decided that one day that I wanted to put a product behind my image.”

That product with his image behind it became eyewear. Michael has always been a huge fan of shades and explained that if a person had on a nice pair of shades then their entire outfit will look nice. “When I was younger, I may not have had the best clothes on,” said Michael. “but a pair of shades always made my outfit. My shoes weren’t the best, my pants weren’t the best but if I threw on a pair of fly shades, I was going to be the coolest cat in school. So I thought that eyewear would be good fit for my image and my life experience.”

 After deciding on the product to promote his image, the work began. Michael had to learn how to design and manufacture eyewear. Once he mastered the ins and outs of manufactured, he learned how to find and sell to distributors, and ultimately how to market the Forever K. Michael brand.  He found a supportive partner in NYS Collection, a leading retailer in the eyewear industry, who was willing to listen to and support his vision for Forever K Michael.  He utilized the contacts he had made during his years in the music industry and reached out to some of the celebrities that he met over the years, asked them to help out and it took off from there. The Forever K Michael brand can be found on celebrities such as Tynisha Keli, Donnie Klang, Mr. Cheeks, Nappy Roots, and Sean Paul of the Young Bloods.

Earlier this month (February 2011), Forever K Michael signed an agreement with Superman.  Okay, not Clark Kent, but our favorite Superman, Shaquille O’Neal, to create the Forever K. Michael presents Dunk Man Eyewear line. This new line is set to launch summer of 2011. 

None of this would have been possible if Michael would have given up on his dreams, his destiny.  He considers himself to be a 'Smart Guy' because of the company that he surrounds himself with--Michael credits his decision to move forward and realize his dreams to mentors and his inner circle.  “It would have to be listening to mentors.” Said Michael when asked about getting Forever K. Michael off the ground. “Even the bible says A man who takes good counsel can’t lose. So if you take good counsel, listen to trusted opinions, and then incorporate all of that to make good decisions of your own. Even the President has advisors and takes counsel. Taking counsel has been one of the best decisions of my career.”

“I think being a 'smart guy' is really about the people that are around you, the people you surround yourself with.” said Michael. “I am a firm believer in if you have good people around you who make good decisions, (in business and in general) that adds to your character, to who you are.”  Michael's advise to young people is simple.  “I think that when you walk in your destiny that you are going to succeed.” said Michael. “Only you know if what you are doing is something that you really believe in and love. Don’t fool yourself. You have to know in your heart if you truly want to do this (whatever it is) and be successful at it. So when you walk in your destiny, you work hard at it, and you truly try, then I can assure you that you will succeed at it."

A Stylish Smart Guy,

K. Michael

Khristian Michael is from and currently resides in NYC. You can see more Forever K. Michael on line at www.foreverkmichael.com . You can like him on facebook at foreverkmichaeldesign and follow him on twitter at foreverkmichael.