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Define industry veteran and Managing Partner of Creative Brand Marketing Group Derek “Chuck Bone” Osorio as an influencer. The 43-year-old Bronx native has maintained a career in entertainment wearing a number of different hats.

Whether it’s in marketing, promotions, consulting or running his business, Chuck stays on the cusp of what’s hot. Now as part of the cast of BET.com’s reality series, “8 Days A Week,” Chuck Bone is breathing new life into his already established career. Multi-tasking his new acting role with being a silent partner in a New York City hair salon “Stylez,” (which was started by his wife and another partner), Chuck is doing the one thing that he’s best at: Everything.

How did you get your start in the industry?

I started in promotions. I had one of the first street teams in NYC called “The Gas Station.” We used to do a lot of street promotions for the labels. I did a lot of promotion for Puffy and Bad Boy. Then I became a promoter and started doing parties, and then I started doing parties for labels. Mercury hired me to do a party for the movie, Jason’s Lyric. I was able to secure Studio 54 for that, and back then that was a big deal.

Street teams were such a big part of hip-hop culture back then, but now it almost feels like they’ve died down. What happened to the “street team?”

The street team is still there. It just diminished when social networking and the Internet came in. You [don’t] really need the street team anymore. The Internet made that go away. You will always need it, but it won’t be the same.

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Have you ever gotten grooming advice from a woman?

Absolutely. I’ve been getting grooming advice from women my whole life. A woman is always gonna give you their straight advice. My wife, she gets me my facial cleanser to keep my skin smooth. She bought me the men’s kit, to get the hair out your ears and your nose…all that stuff.

Before marriage, were you very particular about your grooming style?

I don’t think I am. Everyone says I am. I look at the guys around me like Puff, Wendell (Haskins), Mike B.; they are real meticulous about how they look and what they wear. I do care about my style. My mom would always make it a point when I went to see her at her job, she would say, “Don’t come down here looking crazy.” I’m not the guy who gets mani/pedis though.

Any grooming advice for young men?

Don’t cut your own hair if you don’t know what you’re doing. Don’t let your brother or family member cut your hair if they’re not licensed. I remember my brother told me, ‘Boy, if you don’t start brushing your hair forward! You starting to look real Puerto Rican.’ Being I was growing up in the Bronx, I was around a lot of Latin guys who were brushing their hair backward. You want this hairline to grow in forward.

I have to ask this next question because we actually share a last name. Can you enlighten me on its origins because I really don’t know–are we related?

The name “Osorio” has roots in Sicily. Once I was in Hawaii and they told me there was a royal family with the name. This summer I was in Ebeza with Puff and there was some African dude that was staring. I was telling security because I thought they kept looking at Puff. Then I realized he was staring at me. He just walked up on me and said, ‘Do you know about your African heritage? I study African heads, and just by looking at your side profile, I can tell you are from the Mali tribe in western Africa. The Mali tribe was one of the first civilizations of kings and queens. Just by looking at the shape of your head.’ Meanwhile, I was like, I’m from the Bronx. (laughs)

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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