Ishmael Mayhew of SAVISH: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
The biggest weapon in my arsenal of resilience is compassion for self. You MUST be kind to YOU! Even if that means stepping out of your comfort-zone to set boundaries. An example of this is to speak good things about yourself and even verbalize something uplifting to yourself daily and especially when you have a negative thought that comes to you.
As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ishmael Mayhew.
Based in Los Angeles, CA, Ishmael Mayhew (Ish) is one of the newest young minds in the verticals of digital media, entrepreneurship and creative branding. He’s spent the last 10 years educating others on the forecast of digital applications, social influence and impacting younger generations with knowledge on entrepreneurship, culture and realizing their dreams. Ish has used his expertise to creative direct projects for professional athletes, TV personalities, music professionals and brands. Ish recently founded his newest venture, SAVISH, a vegan, cruelty-free wellness & lifestyle brand committed to mindfulness and promoting a message of access and representation for all and beautygiene, a skincare and hygiene brand focused on providing simple everyday hygiene products at affordable prices.
His hope is to continue to impact people globally with wellness access, design, digital platforms and information to inspire others and improve intra-societal relations and standards. Ish is constantly looking for new ways to use design & digital media as a way to cultivate & impact communities.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?
Well, I was born and raised in Tallahassee, FL by my grandmother and mom. Tallahassee is a college town and I never felt the pressure to venture too far from home but always wanted to. Like many people, I faced a lot of unique challenges. I struggled to understand my sexuality, my place in the world as a Black person and a kid with a learning disability but one thing I knew is that I had something to offer the world and that I was exceptionally gifted nonetheless.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes! I’m currently working on elevating my self-care and wellness brands as well as working on creating free tools to help other people become entrepreneurs online themselves. In addition to that, I’ll be sharing my journey to how I got involved in real estate investing.
In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?
I think the most meaningful part of my companies is how we got started. No private or public investors and no large capital laying around to jumpstart my businesses’ needs. Just sheer grit and consistency and those things go a long way.
Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?
Yes, about 3 years ago I was in a very toxic relationship. It wasn’t the first time nor was it the last time that I experienced an abusive or toxic relationship but it was the most teachable one. At the time, I mentioned wanting to start my company, SAVISH and my dream to offer more vegan and cruelty-free skincare options that included images of people that represented so many walks of life. I remember one of the last things my ex-partner at the time said to me was that I could do nothing without him and that my businesses would fail. Initially, it fueled something in me that hurt so much it made me want to focus on proving him wrong. Overtime, I realized that I had nothing to prove to him at all and what drove me to stick to my goals changed from painful rage to determination to not believe what I heard him say. When I made that shift, it helped me realize that this person was only saying what they felt about themselves. It completely changed how I dealt with people in the future and how I even handled myself. It made me want to have compassion for everyone and especially for myself.
In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? :-)
Since then, I’ve not only successfully launched SAVISH, but it’s stood the test of time for over 3 years now and I’ve already launched another brand, beautygiene. Today, I’ve seen my dreams realized time after time with patience, consistency and a lot of compassion for myself.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are so many people who have played a significant role in my success. My grandmother, my mom, my uncle who’s been like a father to me, my friends and yes, even the naysayers themselves. Ultimately, I’d have to thank them all equally and I’d have to thank myself for using the good and the bad of the world to develop my character and give me the bravery to create my own success story.
It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?
I would always get teased for being gay. I didn’t understand my feelings or how I identified growing up. I also remember getting bullied for being Black during my time at an all-White private Catholic school. As I grew, I developed incredible resilience that caused me to change my perspective about the kids that gave me a hard time. I realized that my differences were exactly what made me amazing. I realized that the things I was being teased for were really gifts and amazing blessings that gave me a unique and magical viewpoint in the world and although these differences came with challenges and ridicule, they also came with an awesome opportunity to push me closer to embracing myself.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)
- The biggest weapon in my arsenal of resilience is compassion for self. You MUST be kind to YOU! Even if that means stepping out of your comfort-zone to set boundaries. An example of this is to speak good things about yourself and even verbalize something uplifting to yourself daily and especially when you have a negative thought that comes to you.
- Get organized! One of the most helpful things for me has been personal organization and an unapologetic commitment to it. Everything is labeled, everything is put in containers, I have lists, I have planners and everything that I spend time on is on my calendar. Staying almost obsessively organized has helped me overcome many feats. It has increased my productivity and cleared my mind by having an aesthetically pleasing and orderly environment. Good habits go a long way. Being organized has made me nearly unstoppable.
- Put yourself in uplifting environments. When it is time to be around others, I make a point to only interact with people and situations that are uplifting and edifying. This doesn’t mean I need to be around ‘yes people’ all the time. This means, I need to be around people who genuinely respect and care for me and make a point to guide me closer to my success. I absolutely close the door of access to negative people, gaslighting people or people who only offer criticism with no solutions and no positive input. Clean house and get picky about who gets access to you.
- Take care of your mind, body and your emotions. I can’t stress how important it is to stay active, get sunshine and pay attention to your mental and emotional health. Your businesses and finances can be doing well but if your mind or body have a breakdown, it’s all for naught. The beautiful thing about taking care of yourself is that it’s all connected. Going for walks and getting some fresh air not only does my body some good, but it also improves my mental and emotional state.
- Trust your gut. Every time I’ve ignored that internal pull or push, I’ve regretted it. You must absolutely trust your intuition. It’s a gift that we all have and you must pay attention to it. I would have avoided a lot of negative experiences, pitfalls in business and mistakes if I had trusted what I knew the first time. Believe the character you see in people’s actions, not their words, explore your hunches on decisions to make in business and don’t ignore the way you feel.
What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?
Dream big. Do bigger.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
It would absolutely be to improve our climate. I believe there are so many opportunities to not only save the earth we live in but save millions of human lives by addressing the crisis of toxic waste pollution and climate change. It could create jobs, stabilize economies, improve disastrous weather and improve the air we breathe. I really think it’s time that large corporations be required to significantly reduce their carbon footprint and implement more ways to reduce toxic waste pollution. They are making so much money and there is plenty of revenue to do this. It’s time to stop being so greedy that we ignore easy solutions.
Can our readers follow you on social media?
Yes! You can follow me at @ishcontent @beautygiene & @shopsavish
Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!
