We had the good fortune of connecting with Trey Bates and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Trey, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I have always had an immense love for all things geek (anime, gaming, comics, etc.), and always wanted to also have an outlet where I could create and showcase the things I love. The more I read and the more I learned, it made me realize that not only can I create, but I can monetize and create an income stream doing so as well! It’s taken far more years than I thought it would to create a presence like I plan on doing in the future but you also learn that the true joy comes in the process and I am LOVING this journey.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My goal is to simply create a lane for the casual geek. So I like to create minimalistic style designs of my favorite fandoms. I believe that’s what sets me apart from other geek brands. I like to keep it simple. Rather than having a large design on your shirt or hat, why not have something more simple and low key. So that if someone that also knows the show or game can give you that silent nod of respect with a smile. An ‘if you know you know” type of vibe.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Thats tough! Just because Houston has just about everything! Being the nature boy that I am, we would definitely check out some parks and trails on our down time to start. Discovery Green, Edith Moore Nature Sanctuary, Buffalo Bayou to name a few. In the afternoons we would have to hit up some of my favorite outdoor bar spots. Axelrad is a must as well as going to Eado to see the all of the street art and then something like Truck Yard, 8th Wonder Brewery, and Pitch 25. The gamer in me that also loves classic console games would force me to take them to Neil’s Bahr to game out with some inexpensive brews. During the weekend during the day, we could do some shopping in Rice Village with some nice weather. During the weekend evening’s, living in Midtown is very advantageous as well. We could hit the block of Little Woodrows, Electric FeelGood, Wonder Bar, and Dogwood. There’s a lot more but I am really a go with the flow so it would never be a dull moment!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give LOADS of credit to my family. My mom, dad, and brothers have always been in my corner an I feel like that is vastly underrated in todays world. No matter how far out or wild my dreams and aspirations have been, they never even flinched at them and even encouraged and have had zero doubt I would be successful in whatever endeavor I set my sights on! So aside from my own personally strong self motivation, I want to prove them RIGHT!

Website: TheCreativeGeekShop.com

Instagram: @creatvgeek_trey

Twitter: @CreatvGeekTrey

Youtube: The Creative Geek Edits (for your LoFi Playlist needs!)

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