A Bully You Will Like

Hi Beautiful People!

Today, I decided to do an interview of a friend of mine - I was so nervous because it was something that I was not used to but once we started talking then it became easier. I think I may feature a few more people, within my sphere, who are worth following and supporting.

Bill Siziba

Sitting down, waiting to make our order at the local coffee shop, Bill starts to tell me the concept of the photo shoot that he has put together later this afternoon - just to start the conversation and calm me down a little. You can view it at https://www.instagram.com/bill_siziba/  later this week. 

I asked about his beginnings, he smiles and tells me that He was born in Bulawayo,Zimbabwe (which shocked me because I had no idea). He moved to South Africa when he was 3/4 years old where they lived in a township for a year and a half before moving to a suburb in Benoni.  He continues to tell me about how he ended up at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University(NMMU) studying Architecture, he explains firstly that he went to primary and high school in Johannesburg and was aware that a majority of his friends would be going to University of Johannesburg, he wanted to get out of the norm and at the time NMMU was rated the best for Architecture. 

My inquisitive side asked him what made him choose Architecture and starts to tell his story : "When I was younger I enjoyed drawing during my free time, especially during school holidays, but I was terrible at it. After a while, My Uncle started to pick up on the amount of time I was spending on drawing and slowly started to get me to focus on drawing still life such as apples etc. My drawing started to improve tremendously that people would start to notice and compliment my work. When it came to picking out what I wanted to study, initially I thought of engineering but I wasn't good at maths( we laugh simultaneously). So after high school I applied to universities but I got rejected by all of the universities I applied to but I decided to apply again- applied to NMMU which I hadn't done before and this time I got accepted by all except WITS University". Since then He has thanked his Uncle for teaching him the fundamentals - those simple moments when someone invests in you and have no idea how much it can impact you later in life. 

"You tend to travel a lot, what is your favourite city?" I question. It takes him a while but eventually explains that Johannesburg because it tends to be more flexible thus quicker for business and prefers Cape Town for pleasure. Taking this time to ask me about my favourite my city which is Johannesburg because of the vibe - nodding in agreement.

Bill at the launch of Bullyz Fitness outside the NMMU Gym & Aquatics Centre

The reason I wanted to interview Billy was because of this brand, when I met him in my first year in 2014 it was known as Bully, now it has become Bullyz Fitness. Billy ( as I call him) mentioned that "The day we met , that was the first photo shoot that I had ever done for Bullyz in Port Elizabeth- now you are interviewing me about Bullyz Fitness before this exciting photo shoot. I can't wait to see where it all ends up in a few years for the both of us."

When did you start Bullyz- How did the concept come about?

Started thinking about the idea back in high school- my friend, Bongani who was very good at coming up with names, told me that we should start a company called Bullyz. I replied that liked the idea but what exactly would be doing/selling. Initially the idea was to have body guards/security and have them at clubs in Jo'burg. I said that they should wear these t-shirts that had the name 'Bullyz' and we could money off that. After a while, we looked at it like this that we are just in high school - how else can we make this work? We decided on t-shirts but didn't want to be like everyone else (who were at the time creating hip hop t-shirts like 'Ama Kip Kip' etc) - that is when we clicked on 'black guys doing extreme sports' and it worked. After a year, we realized that neither one of us did extreme sports however I liked the idea. I started to ask what I am good? Realizing that it was fitness, I decided to branch out on my own and created 'Bullyz Fitness'. Inspired by the American business model of "Live fit"- changing the business model from ordering the item then making the item to having stock on hand based on the answers of a survey that was conducted on those who were gym goers. I launched my new brand in September of this year outside the Gym , for the duration of two days. 

Characteristics of your clientele and apparel?

Originally I expected it to be people who were gym regulars or participated in extreme sports however, it has become wider than that. I found out that some of the customers buy my products to wear for other kinds of active activities. So fundamentally it is for those trying to be active thus I have made sure that the apparel is functional and aesthetically pleasing. 

Partnerships- anyone that you are planning to work?

I had someone that I had work on the marketing of Bullyz from Nov 2015- Sept 2016 but he could not because of university. However, now I am trying to establish a team like the photographers that I will be using later this afternoon- I am using this time to test people and how reliable they are; also the quality of their work - one thing I am not compromising on. 

Networking- how do you do it? Do you go to events such as the Nelson Mandela Bay Fashion Week ( NMBFW) with intentions to network?

Actually, I went to the NMBFW to support a friend of mine. I do not go places with the intention of networking because most of the contacts I have met were chance meetings. A good example is a guy I met at a Construction Management meeting and basically he made an 'app' for construction procurement - I looked at him as business minded so we talking about working on a project. I can use this opportunity to learn from him as well. My tip is always keep your eyes open to opportunities and I say keep making those phone calls and sending those emails - they may eventually reply or introduce you to someone else. 

Recently, I watched a video about sacrifice - sacrificing to achieve your goals/dreams. What did you sacrifice to get here?

In 2014, when I started this venture, i was in third year and I failed two modules because I was putting so much time into the business. However, you know what Archi is like? (I smile and reply #TeamNoSleep) Anyway, this was the first time I failed a year in my life. Thus, I will say I sacrificed TIME. I understand why they say that THIS is the best time to start a business because I can not imagine doing this if I had more responsibilities. I am now able to balance business and university - I recognize it as a give and take situation.

Anything else you would like to add?

The quality of the clothing has improved - I just would like to improve the selling and marketing because currently the way people purchase items is based on whether I am in Johannesburg or Port Elizabeth. I want an online store- 'shopbullyfitness' should be up by early 2017. In addition, I would like to work with Nurtitech to sell our products at the kiosk in the NMMU Gym and Aquatics centre. 

Everything about Billy and Bullyz is really what my blog is about- seizing the day and opportunities thus enjoying every moment you have. It was also lovely learning from him - got me excited about the my future plans etc. Thank you!

Z.

xoxo.