May 4th, 2021
Today is the day I relaunch 1DapperLatino.com and I could not be happier on the final look. The actual anniversary of my business is September 24, which I launched on 2016. The knowledge, growth and the amazing people I have met through this whole process has been bewildering! I can easily state that I am very proud of myself. If I am to be very honest I was afraid that I would fall flat on my face. I truly had no idea what I was doing and partially still don’t but that’s the beauty of it because I continue to learn. Don’t get me wrong there have been numerous times where I wanted to pull my hair out, well if i had any. To think when I had this idea for my business back in 2015 I had ZERO knowledge on how to build a website and how to use social media. I went through four web designers before meeting Mike Fenton with F4Foxtrot. I was hellbent on not having social media, can you imagine? Now I’m pretty much glued to my iPhone along with the rest of the world. The positive side of it is that I have become an “influencer” without even really trying. Back in 2015 I really didn’t know what and influencer was. Like any job though, influencing also comes with it’s own share of headaches. The pros for sure outweigh the cons. Just comes to show you when you really put your heart and soul into something and stay true to who you are the rewards will be abundant. There will be fantastic opportunities that will unexpectedly come your way. I would like to take this time to thank all my interior design clients for believing in someone self-taught and trusting me with your spaces. Thanks all the business who saw something in me and reached out for collaborations/partnerships. There is nothing better than when perfect strangers acknowledge your creativity and want to work with you. Thank you thank you thank you to you all. Now that Covid vaccines are being dispersed and life is starting to normalize, let’s more than ever uplift each other up and enjoy life again!
September 23, 2016
Where to begin…As of this moment as I am typing out my bio I feel extremely grateful and blessed to be where I am in life. For many years I was wearing invisible shackles due to wrong life choices. I’m not one to dwell in the past but its easier to embrace your past and move on with your future. This is why I feel so fortunate to be able to have these dreams of long standing finally come to fruition.
Ever since I was a little kid growing up in the Texas panhandle born to Mexican immigrants, I was fascinated by beautiful shiny objects. Whether it was jewelry, clothing or home accessories. I guess you could say that my inner interior decorator/fashionista was aching to come out. I remember like it was yesterday moving my mother’s furniture around or decorating my “home-made” forts in my bedroom. My mother would always ask me for my opinion when we would go furniture shopping or when she was getting dressed for a special event and she always made me feel like my opinion mattered. It solidified my love and interest in fashion and home decor.
I feel like this is where I should share that everything that you read in my website is strictly my opinion when it comes to fashion or home decor advice. I am basing my body text from my own experience. Not to toot my horn but I like to think I have a good eye when it come to all things beautiful. Hopefully, that doesn’t sound egotistical as I mean for it to sound confident. The reason I decided to put my small print in the world wide web is to share my love and passion for fashion and home decor. For me fashion and home decor come hand and hand in expressing yourself. They both express your individuality and unique nature.
I would also like to mention how I came up with the name, 1 Dapper Latino. Well, one reason is pretty obvious. Ok, not to sound narcissistic but pretty often friends, family and at times complete strangers would compliment me by telling me how dapper I look. Now, thats not to say that I always look “dapper”. I’m just a normal guy who during the week is pretty much in workout clothes, “athleisure”, if I may. When the weekend finally arrives or a special event is onboard, who doesn’t like to “tszuj” (pronounced zhuj) it up. When it comes to my website/blog well I’m a 1 man show. So thats how I became, 1 Dapper Latino.
This is all very new to me but I’m ecstatic and nervous to be going on this journey. What consoles me is that I’ll be going on this journey with all of you. I do want to thank my web designer and photographer for bringing my idea to life. I am excited for what the future has in store for me. Much love.
J. Josue Montes
