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

Hi Troy, what was your thought process behind starting your own brand?
Troy: My thought process was not wanting to work for another person again in my life. I bet I’ve worked 20 to 30 jobs in my life. I started working, putting trash cans on the back of a semi truck in Tampa. That was after I got kicked out of my house at 17 years old, I moved out there [Tampa] 14 days later. That was my first job ever, and from there on out I worked a lot of manual labor job. Nothing was giving me the fulfillment and achievements that I needed so I felt like I needed to do something for myself, bigger then working for someone else.

What’s one thing about your industry that outsiders are probably not aware of?
Troy: Dealing with people on a consistent basis. Everyone wants me to make time for them. Everybody wants me to do that. People who are up and coming, and maybe have less of a following, feel like they know my pain. When I say I get messages all day, I literally get 300 to 500 messages a day. I’ve had to buy prescription glasses just to keep up with reading these messages and writing back.

And what about risk taking ? What kind of risks have you had to take in your career?
Troy: At the end of the day I’ve taken risks my whole entire life. People want to say that I am a risk taker and that everything I have done has been a risk, but at the end of the day everything always worked out because of my work ethic and only taking calculated risks.

Other then deciding to work for yourself what else is the most important decision you made that contributed to your success?

Troy: My kid. Once I has my kid, once that happened in my life, I really honed in on what I needed to do. And people say that all the time, but it’s really true. Once you have a kid everything changes. I went from barely being able to pay 250 dollars a month in rent to being able to have my own crib, being able to get into a house, and making the money that I need to and that’s all the motivation that I needed to get this music career going.

What is the most important factor behind your success?
Troy: Probably studying and work ethic. I take my music career like anything else. I was a two time national champion, 3 times state champion, and I put that same work ethic into my music. How are you going to be the best if you’re not putting everything into it every single day. I practice it every single day. How can you become a surgeon if you’re not studying every day? Its not just making a post and saying “hey I’m the best you should follow me because I want to make music” its making that music, marketing it, putting yourself out there, and doing what you need to do to make it happen.

What is the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
Troy: Believing in myself. That’s probably the most difficult decision because at the end of the day if you don’t believe in yourself in this music industry you’re going to let the whole world tear you down. You will have way more haters than you have followers and at the end of the day all you have to do is have confidence in yourself, do what you need to do, and make it happen.

Work life balance. How has your balance changed over time and what do you think about your new balance?
Troy: Right now its 24/7 work. Since I just started blowing up my music is a constant, 24/7 grind. Right now I’m doing everything it takes. I will wake up at 3 in the morning if I feel some bars [lyrics], if I have a dream about music, because at the end of the day this is the beginning, this is chapter one right here, and I call it the underdog. You know? This right here is me proving to myself that I can make this happen. Proving to the world that I can make this happen.

Do you have a favorite quote or affirmation? And what does it mean to you?
Troy: Honestly, my favorite quote is that you only live once. That quote is so real to me because you really only do, and you have to take your life and do what you want with it. At the end of the day you only have one lifetime to live and then you’re gone. What are you going to print in this world? What are you gonna plant & put into action for other people to motivate them?

Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?
Troy: That’s just always been in me, naturally. I never felt like going with the flow, I’ve never felt like being apart of the system, I’ve always had a problem with conforming. I remember my pops would sit there and be like “why don’t you want to study? Why don’t you want to go to school? Why are your grades bad?” I said because I just don’t want to do it, I don’t care about this stuff.” And he would say thats not a good enough reason
And i’d say that is my reason. All I want to do is write music and I would literally ditch school to make music. I did what I wanted to do. My passion. I’ve never been a person who hears “do this” and I do it. I do my own thing, always.

What do you want your legacy to be and what do you want people to remember about Troy Good?
Troy: I want them to remember that I’ve always been here to help everybody. I want to uplift every single person. I want to bring a different type of culture to the music scene of being yourself. It don’t always gotta be about hood shit, it don’t always gotta be about sad things, fun things, it can be about everything and anything. Whatever you’re feeling is what you’re gonna write about. Be real, be original and be yourself because at the end of the day being original is what people feed into and it don’t matter what you sound like, be yourself and they will attach to it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Garden of the gods, local event scene, movies, brewery, food trucks

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Melodie Harris – Chronic Kisses

Instagram: Troygoodmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/troy.c.good

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCfoh2e74f9y4nW5vwWqYL_Q

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