What's Your Brand?


 

So, while stuffing our faces with Port Fonda’s Restaurant Week menu, I got to further get to know one of Landlocked’s newest members, Darrell Vanterpool. He is now the Digital Content and Brand Manager for Landlocked and Marknology, an E-commerce marketing agency. I personally have known Darrell for about a year through mutual friends and recently have discovered how cheerful and inspiring he is.

This man is truly a jack of all trades and brightens up any room he walks into. His story is quite unique and how he became involved with Landlocked actually warms my heart. He knew Andrew and Veronika, the founders, though the church band they both played in on Sundays. As Darrell became closer with the group, he for the first time in his life felt comfortable to be his true self and let his friends know what he had been holding back for so long; He was gay and completely proud of it. To be able to finally share this with someone speaks volumes about who is behind this company. It is so much bigger than a clothing line, it is a brand, it is a lifestyle, it is the people who make all of it up that matter the most.

Darrell was not actually a KC native; he was raised in Long Island, New York and moved to the Tampa, Florida at around age 13, then relocated to the Midwest in 2013. From here, he joined the Army Reserves and his role there was primarily focused upon psychological operations. Translate that to civilian terms and you get a relaxed version of Public Relations and how to influence people’s behavior, whether that be in person through branding, or social media. He would describes his strong suits to be Instagram, stories in particular. Darrell loves that you can check in during your day and keep your followers involved, and after 24 hours it disappears from the world. He adores the creative side that Kansas City has cultivated here recently. It is a city where those in similar fields actually want to help one another and work towards the same common goal rather than against one another. We have a large “hustle spirit” here, if you aren’t doing something and putting yourself out there then what are you doing?

Darrell is filled with goals for Landlocked and personal ones as well in 2019. He plans to help grow a lot of the photo shoots and assist with the up and coming brand releases that will be heading your way in the Spring. He personally wants to create his own LLC by the end of the year and develop his clientele base on the social media side. In addition, Darrell has helped to diversify the brand; recently he got Landlocked to become a partner for the Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, located in Kansas City which he is also an ambassador for. He has been a part of the new movement of Queer Bar Takeover that chooses a bar the second Saturday every month to help dilute and break our somewhat segregated cultures that all big cities start to have. As RuPaul would sass  ”Girl you will own everything by being your true fierce self.” We are all building ourself to create this bountiful idea of who we are, and it is clear after spending time with Darrell that he is on that right track. He emits joy constantly and has absolutely no fear of being himself. It is a refreshing feeling to be in the company of someone so comfortable and empowers you to be the best version of yourself. Be on the lookout for this one, I know he is going to be making big moves here in 2019.