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The G-List is TheUrbanDaily.com’s annual celebration of 40 influential men from various walks of life who define what it means to be a trendsetter with style in their field.

Name: Coltrane Curtis

From: Brooklyn, NY

Occupation: Managing Partner

Affiliation: Team Epiphany

Coltrane Curtis was raised with style. If you ask him who inspired his or how he got his start in the business, he will credit his dad. As managing partner of his own marketing and communications agency, Coltrane Curtis is responsible for executing consumer engagement strategies for companies like Nike, Moet & Chandon, and others. A Brooklyn-native who is also proud to have been influenced by his college years in Atlanta, Coltrane’s natural ability to spot trends and strategize marketing opportunities is a direct result of his upbringing. Quite frankly, his parents gave a damn. Now a father in his own right, Coltrane is working to inspire the next generation–new baby boy included.

Comedian TMor: “Every Time I Get Dreadlocks, I Go Broke” [EXCLUSIVE]

How did you get your start in the business?

It’s funny because I’m one of the few kids that the industry has seen grow up. I became the VP of marketing at Ecko at 23-years-old. What’s great about that was the fact that they gave me an opportunity to swim or sink. Most of the time I swam, but I did sink too. So I carried the brand on my back. It allowed me to build deep-rooted relationships with artists, which became the backbone of the Team Epiphany business.

You’re a very stylish guy. Who influenced your look?

Style and grooming is the space that I kinda lived in. My parents created my look. It was my dad’s idea to have dreads. I’m from your typical Black family, as much money as they made, they used it to invent who I was. I was born on Monroe Street in Bed-Stuy, but I also went to a private school in Park Slope. I was turning into a little preppy White guy. I was losing my way. So [my dad’s] place was I couldn’t be an 11, 12-year-old brother walking around like that. His idea was ‘I’m gonna make you wear dreads.’ It was his effort that made me understand who I was.

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Let’s talk about grooming and maintaining the dreads. Who is your barber?

My man, Marshall. Marshall got his own barbershop, BTS Grooming. He’s the kinda barber of record. He pretty much does everybody. He makes sure what few dreads I have stay in my head and don’t stink. He understands grooming, how you don’t get little razor bumps. His clippers are heaven-sent, I’ve never got a nick or bump. Even when I was doing crazy beard designs, he’s been the driving force behind my grooming. Your barber is more than a cut. On your worst day, he makes you feel great.

Are there any celebs whose style you admire?

Yannick Noah, the tennis player, the cat with the wild crown of dreads. His style on the court and off the court was amazing. His son, Joakim Noah, the NBA kid with the bowtie, the wild hair. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to meet artists and understand them. I’m really close with Dante (Mos Def). When I think about him as a person, he’s just a dude like me, born in the wrong generation of style. We look to those jazz legends to dictate how we dress. He’s another one of my style guys. He’s effortless with it. From a hip-hop perspective, Slick Rick is one of my go-to guys. Growing up and watching how he effortlessly rocks whatever it is, a suit, with gold chains, pure swag. It’s comical to watch current rap icons think they have these looks, but literally couldn’t dress themselves out of a brown paper bag if you gave them a million dollars.

Have you ever worn anything you’ve regretted?

Oh yes, styling gone wrong. Now I got my look together. But at one point, I was so styled out and so swagged out. I’m competitive, so I wanna out dress people and look the best. For a long time, I was competing against myself and it looked like it. I found a suit maker, making me crazy blazers with floral prints. I had this plaid blazer, with yellow socks, a big rope, a small rope, 8 pounds of jewelry, sunglasses, a ring and I was interviewing everyone on the red carpet. T.I. came up to me and told me, ‘you my man, but you look crazy right now.’ Your personal look is yours and you gotta own it, quality and simplicity and identifying a genre or look that you are going for. It’s more classic Americana, from here on.

The G-List is TheUrbanDaily.com’s annual celebration of 40 influential men from various walks of life who define what it means to be a trendsetter with style in their field.

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