As the great Canadian philosopher Aubrey Graham (aka Drake) once said, “started from the bottom now we here.” For Greensboro, NC native Brandon McEachern, that could quite possibly be the theme song to his rise in the entrepreneurial world.
The North Carolina Central University grad was always known as a “connector” among his peers. He hosted events and threw some of the area’s hottest parties, including ‘Why Not Wednesdays.’
“You really start finding your skill sets while in college,” Brandon McEachern, founder of Broccoli City told The Block.
After NCCU he loaded up his car and drove across country to begin a new life in Los Angeles. Like many, he hit the ground running by taking a job at retailer American Eagle to earn an income as he figured out what he ultimately wanted to do.
“My sister’s friend, James Dubose, was a well-known producer in the area. He took a chance on me and gave me a job as a production assistant. I started out as the guy getting people’s coffee orders, but I was able to work on some pretty popular show sets, too. From College Hill to Keyshia Cole’s reality show, I literally started at the bottom.”
During that time in L.A., there was a rise in street wear brands hitting the markets. McEachern witnessed these brands set up shop on Melrose, and was instantly inspired to do something similar. So, he set out to create a t-shirt line that would pay homage to his hometown, Greensboro.
“Many people don’t realize that Broccoli City is actually an ode to Greensboro,” McEachern explained. “Right after launching the t-shirt brand we were featured on Bossip, and we got a ton of traction. Honestly, it was all about just being myself, but it also became a movement.”
As the Broccoli City brand continued to make waves, people began equating it with Earth Day and healthy lifestyles. Rather than kill the buzz, McEachern rode the wave and kicked things up a notch.
He decided to turn Broccoli City into an events brand.
“Trying to secure capital for that first Earth Day event in 2010 was hard. I was able to pull in big names like Dom Kennedy, Kendrick Lamar, and others just off the strength of everyone trying to build their own brands and names at that time. They actually participated off of “GP.””
The key to McEachern’s success can be credited to his willingness to collaborate. He invited other brands in to help make the event even bigger, because for him, it is all about community at the end of the day.
“Collaboration is key. You have to get out of your own way.”
McEachern explains that your ultimate vision of where you want to go, should always be your compass. You have to get upset when things don’t turn out exactly how you saw them the first, second, or even third time. That anger, that frustration, is what will ultimately propel you to push toward your dream.
“As Black people, we’re so dope,” he said. “Be true to your vision and the brands and sponsorships will come to you. You can’t waste time looking at other people’s vision, because comparison is a disease. Stay true to you and only you. Also, as you climb, be decent to people. I can’t say that enough. Being decent to folks will take you so far.”
McEachern’s willingness to do all the things above has allowed him to now own one of the only Black-owned music festivals in the country. Did we mention it’s also backed by LiveNation? The BC brand has grown to also include an entire convention (Broccoli Con) and a drive-in movie experience in Washington, D.C.. While COVID-19 paused the 2020 BC Fest, you can guarantee that when things are safe again, they will come out the gate swinging.
To connect with McEachern and his team, you can follow along on Instagram at: @broccolicity.
