Today we’d like to introduce you to Antonio Ennis.
Antonio, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started out drawing super-heroes, musicians and famous athletes. Along with my childhood friends, we formed a band and made instruments out of Tupperware bowls, fishing wire, boxes, shovels, tin trash barrel covers and more. We performed every day for the worlds biggest audiences.. in our minds on our back porches lol.
In my teens, I got into sports (Basketball & Football), and where I’m from, with sports comes girls, with girls, come cars, with cars come weed & liquor, with weed & liquor comes drugs & money, with drugs & money comes guns & jail and with guns & jail comes life or death.
My story is not immune from the temptations and setbacks of trial, error and oppression faced by minority inner-city youth and young men growing up in the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s and even still today. I believe that trial builds ‘character’ and error builds ‘will’. The will of your character and the character in your will personifies the life of your existence.
From middle school through high-school I excelled in Sewing, Cooking, English, Reading, Art and Physical Ed. I wrote my first rap at the age of 13 and got it played on Boston’s WILD radio station. Soon after that, I formed my own group called The Body Rock MC’s.
We performed at many local venues and made a name for ourselves for our creative harmonizing and rhyme routines. I wrote all of our routines and designated bars for each member to perform. We battled other local rap groups and put our first record out (Power In Our Rhymes) on the Boston Goes Def brand/label.
After a few years, we disbanded because I left to join another group called The Almighty RSO. RSO had a member who just got locked up for murder. He was the best in their group and they wanted to replace him with me. RSO was our friendly-competition and we were from the same neighborhood so we rocked with each other a lot, even rehearsed together. Of course, the members of Body Rock were devastated.
I viewed it as an opportunity for growth, exposure and money, to ultimately put myself in a position to come back for Body Rock. I had aspirations of doing big things and joining RSO made sense on many levels. We won the heart of the city and put the world on notice. The music industry was our playground. I had plenty of success with RSO. We signed (7) major record deals with Tommy Boy, Epic, Virgin, Def Jam, Restless/BMG, RCA and Interscope.
I’ve written hooks for and recorded hit songs with platinum artists Faith Evans, Dionne Warwick, Montell Jordan, Monifah, Monica, Pink and also featured on songs with Ray J, Master P, Big Pun, Mase, Mobb Deep, Nas, Dogg Pound, Tha Eastsidaz, Scarface, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, M.O.P, Gang Starr, Eightball & MJG, Queen Pen, Foxy Brown, Total, The Lox, Teddy Riley and Tupac Shakur’s group Outlawz among many others. We released a bunch of singles, a few EP’s and a full-length album (Doomsday: Forever RSO).
In 1996, we were blackballed by the music industry because of our affiliation with the now-defunct Source Magazine. During all the smoke, we changed the name of our group to MadeMen and we also changed our stage names. I changed my name from E-Devious to Twice Thou. MadeMen (a hybrid mature RSO, seasoned, wise and ready-to-go-mainstream) had respectable success. We recorded two albums but only released one (Classic Limited Edition).
At the time, gun violence was at an all-time high in the bloody streets of Boston. we sought out all the “impact-players” of 16 street gangs to help stem the tide of gang violence. We formed a historic group and called them the WiseGuys.
All the gangs were enemies and some were fresh off gun battles and homicides so getting them to put their guns down and come to a recording studio was virtually impossible, however, we pulled it off and proved we could do what the BPD couldn’t. Shootings, robberies and murders dropped to an all-time low. President Clinton took notice and visited Boston to inquire about the formula. Mayor Menino, the BPD and local clergymen took full credit and called it “The Boston Miracle”.
The City played no part in curbing the gang violence, the impact players themselves should have received that credit. The WiseGuys enjoyed national success however, egos and misunderstandings got the best of some members and the WG’s ended up disbanding as well. I created Antonio Ansaldi Clothing Company with my partner Roseanna Ansaldi. We specialize in custom leather & suede apparel.
We took the fashion industry by storm as we were the first urban contemporary designers to make unique or familiar items fashionable. We’re most commonly known for our signature replica bullet-proof vest (Raid Vest in leather & nylon), leather & suede football, basketball, baseball and hockey jersey’s, classic t-shirt graphics and denim with distinctive leather accents.
Today, I’m a community organizer at City Life/Vida Urbana (www.clvu.org).
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t believe there are any smooth roads to success. If there are I haven’t journeyed down them. My struggles have been inside jealousy, financial stability and my will to help others before myself. Those things have created hurdles that made me stronger, wiser and have matured me.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Antonio Ansaldi story. Tell us more about the business.
Established in 1996, Antonio Ansaldi Clothing Company is a CORI-friendly employer that employs local at-risk teens, men and women. We support and sponsor social causes and give back to the community through the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaways.
We’ve sponsored an Aids Awareness campaign with the BPS/Boston Public Schools administration that encouraged young adults to practice safe sex. In 2004, I wrote a hip-hop song titled “I Play Dirty” that influenced over 800 local high school students to get diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.
We specialize is customized leather & suede apparel. WebStore, retail, wholesale and manufacturers of ready-to-wear garments. 2001, marked the grand opening of our flagship retail boutique in the heart of Dorchester’s Codman Square neighborhood where I grew up. The first year in business I received the prestigious Small Business of the Year Award from DBEDC/Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation.
Our brand consistently develops compelling new designs that have generated a worldwide customer base and has been featured in blockbuster films like Paramount Picture’s “Shaft” starring Samuel L. Jackson and “Save the Last Dance”/ Julia Stiles, Warner Bros. “Exit Wounds”/Steven Seagal & DMX and “Torque”/Ice Cube & Martin Henderson, plus countless independent movies, sitcoms, videos, reality tv & award shows.
Our clientele list of satisfied celebrity customers include Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr., Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, Willie McGinest, Trick Daddy, 50 CENT, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris and JaRule just to name a few, as it literally reads like a “whose who” of the hip-hop, professional sports and entertainment industries.
We’re known for being ferociously cutting-edge. The first designer to make a bullet-proof vest fashionable with our signature replica (Raid Vest) in nylon, suede & leather. The first designer to make sports jersey’s in leather & suede (football, basketball, baseball & hockey).
Also, we’re internationally known for being the creators of the infamous “Stop Snitchin” t-shirt. America’s Most Wanted’s John Walsh came to Boston to confront me and my product. The publicity was non-stop for 7 months. I used all the free coverage to my benefit. I forced a one on one with the mayor of the city.
I’m most proud that I’m still able to give back to my community 22 years later. I’m proud we made history not only in Boston but in the world. I’m proud we created items that other designers who were bigger than us copied and were inspired by. I’m proud that we have inspired, trained and mentored countless designers in the city of Boston. I’m proud that we kept our brand exclusive enough to allow it to still be relevant today.
What sets us apart from others is our ability to make custom leather apparel. One of the first if not the first urban contemporary designer in Boston to open a retail store and only carry our brand. Our longevity. Our journey. Our guts to design things other brands would be scared to do because of potential controversy. Controversy sells and we satisfy customers.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We were lucky to have the power of the Source Magazine at our disposal. Double-Page monthly advertisement spreads for 4 years helped us build our brand.
Also, being a recording artist I know a lot of big name artist in the music industry that helped me sell my brand to consumers through their celebrity.
I got loads of help from Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots as well as other professional athletes from other pro-NBA, NFL and MLB teams.
Without those things, some could be viewed as ‘luck’, it would have certainly been a much tougher road to building an international brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: AntonioAnsaldi.com
- Email: TwiceThou@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twicethou/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/antonio.ansaldi
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwiceThou617
- Other: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/twicethou
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
