As we approach the end of an incredible year, I wanted to express my deepest gratitude to YOU for being a part of the UNYC community. Your support has been instrumental in our mission to inspire and empower creatives to discover and develop their unique gifts. As we reflect on the journey of 2023, I'm excited to share some exciting news with you!

🎉 Year End Sale - Up to 50% Off! 🎉

To show our appreciation, we're thrilled to announce the UNYC Year End Sale, where you can enjoy exclusive discounts of up to 50% on selected items. As a token of our gratitude, use promo code ‘THANKSFOR23’ at checkout to unlock an additional 10% off your purchase. It's our way of saying thank you for being a vital part of the UNYC family.

🚀 Embracing 2023 Themes: "Quitting Is Not An Option" and "MNTL HLTH MTRS" 🚀

As we gear up for the coming year, our 2023 themes, "Quitting Is Not An Option" and "MNTL HLTH MTRS," have resonated deeply with our community. We believe that breakthroughs happen just after those challenging moments when we feel like giving up. It's a reminder that your journey is uniquely yours, and every obstacle is an opportunity for growth.

Our focus on mental health is a testament to the belief that "MNTL HLTH MTRS." I've personally shared my mental health and therapy journey in the hope that it inspires others to prioritize their mental well-being, speak up, and ask for help when needed. At UNYC, we believe in the power of community support and destigmatizing conversations around mental health.

💬 A Message Beyond Merch: Inspiring Change 💬

While our merchandise might not be everyone's style, our ultimate goal is for the message to resonate loudly and help someone on their journey. Your uniqueness is your strength, and we want our content to serve as a constant reminder that you are UNYC - there is no one like you.

🌈 Looking Ahead to 2024 🌈

As we step into 2024, I'm excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. While I can't predict the exact themes, messages, designs, or events UNYC will share, I hope that everyone who encounters our content, whether new or old, feels inspired and reminded of their uniqueness.

Thank you for being an integral part of UNYC. Your support fuels our passion for making a positive impact on the creative community. Explore the Year End Sale now, and let's continue this incredible journey together!

Shop Now ➡️ www.iamunyc.com

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a UNYC-filled New Year!

Your Friend,

Eli

Founder, UNYC

Ten years ago I was getting ready to give birth to an idea that I had been working on for months. I was inspired from my time serving in youth ministry, working on church events as well as watching my family organize a yearly Christian Hip Hop Festival in the Bronx called Rap Fest. 

I was also inspired by other movements/events like BattleCry, God Belongs In My City, Urban Kingdom Youth Ministries, CREATIONFEST and I Am Second. I always gravitated towards these experiences that gathered people, young and old, providing a platform for folks to share their gifts and inspire those in attendance.

Because of the various relationships developed over the years, I began dreaming up ways to gather UNYC individuals that would be able to impact large audiences. Some of these dreams were realized when I joined the Rap Fest staff to help coordinate aspects of the event on their final leg of their 20 year run. 

Working with Daniel Sanabria of GBIMC/UKYM I joined a group of leaders in the Bronx that organized the Revolution Lounge, an event that had local minstries share in various art forms and have special guest speakers. This lead to being a part of the GBIMC Tour staff and helping see the national and local Prayer tours produced and feature National Recording artists.

The desire to use my skills and organize events grew exponentially. I prayed about it and discussed some ideas with those closest to me and began to start planning out what would be my first UNYC event: CONNECT SHARE INSPIRE.

With the support of my Pastor and church at The Sanctuary Fellowship, UNYC held its first FREE event that included Hip Hop & Alternative bands, a local recording studio, a clothing brand, a Basketball organization and a special video production with the help of my brothers at APFilms that featured Andy Mineo, Rich Perez & JCruzProject. 

The success for me initially was thinking “Wow, this place is at standing room only!” But the real satisfaction of a well done event has been learning about the folks that were inspired by the night and went on to create some wonderful things: Events like TheOlogyBx that has provided a space for creative believers to share their heart through various forms of music. Working alongside other creatives like Suleky Roman who curated some very special moments for artists in NYC and across the country. 

Now today on March 3rd 2022 I find myself with new ideas, new desires, new passions but the same Heart. I pray that with everything I do, others can be encouraged and inspired to use their UNYC gifts.

These days it will look a little different maybe for UNYC. 

• We will continue to support The Ology and its monthly events.

• We will be creating more UNYC apparel and look to collaborate with other creatives.

• We will work on creating encouraging and inspiring content for our socials.

• We will look to highlight other creatives that we believe in and support through our socials.

ALSOOO, I have ventured into business ownership and will help run a screen printing company in NYC. So I am excited to help creatives see their visions come to life on apparel and see their businesses thrive. 

And to top all of this, the most special thing happening 10 years later is that my wife and I are expecting our first child this Spring. What a joy to see that new life is on the way and an opportunity for us to raise a child of God and help them grow and develop their UNYC creative abilities. 

Man I would not have guessed that 10 years later, I would be preparing to watch my wife give birth to out child and for a new business endeavor to come to life. 

God is good!

Don’t give up on your dreams. Seek God in all you do. Be patient and give yourself some grace. 

It’s all in Gods hands!!

The work day may be over but maybe you’re still struggling with how to move forward or how to accomplish your goal.
😕
Maybe you’ve felt like a failure so many times this week that you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes, as much as you try to distract yourself, you get easily reminded of the moments you missed an opportunity to get one step closer to your goal.
😔
Many times you find yourself comparing your ideas, talents and accomplishments to others who present a life you think you want, but is the grass really greener on the other side?
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I know that these have been my struggles lately and I KNOW the feeling you may have if you can relate. I’m grateful for the family and friends that have stuck with me and encouraged me through those moments.
🤗
I hope you are encouraged to keep going. God will carry you through!
🙌🏼
Share this with someone who needs the reminder!
#dontgiveup #unyc #iamunyc #yougotthis

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For a couple months I worked on this video project documenting the UNYC x TSF Español missions trip to Puerto Rico in January. I’m glad I finally finished it and released it to the world last week. But to be honest I felt kind of disappointed, frustrated, unsatisfied about the way it was coming out.

Part of me knew I could have or should have done things differently. I over analyzed the details that I missed and the things I didn’t do. I almost didn’t want to put it out. Made excuses to and for myself. 

I found myself easily distracted even after being determined to get home from work to WORK on this video. I tried to learn the program on the go and I would get the hang of some things and then a week or two would go by until I sat in front of the screen again. I struggled with the thought of people criticizing it too much even though I knew I was doing this all by myself. Not because people didn’t want to help me. But because I kinda chose to challenge myself to do it alone.

I also wasn’t sure what to really do with it once I was done. Should I promo it more?? (NO DUDE ITS ALREADY BEEN THREE MONTHS SINCE THE TRIP PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FORGET AND NOT CARE!) Should I make an elaborate announcement for the release? What is the post going to say? Should I add English subtitles/captions? A bunch of questions would keep me in front of the screen for hours sometimes not doing much and being distracted.

Thankfully my wife encouraged and supported me as best she could and tried to give me confidence even if she didn’t know how much I was struggling inside. My mom shared her sentiments every time she reviewed the project to spell check for me. And even up to the last day of editing on FaceTime she helped me edit the CC for the YouTube line by line.

The video has been out for a week now and it’s slowly been a sigh of relief but also has ignited something inside me. I can’t fully explain it right now but I just know that I need to work on myself more. Specifically with my time management and being disciplined about any of my next steps.

I’ll say this; (and everything else you just read...thank you) I don’t want to give up on my creative ideas. I want to learn more. I want to overcome the distractions that try to slow me down. I will be more disciplined. I will manage my time better. I am going to start and finish another project.

I am grateful for the lessons, small or large, that God continues to present to me. I hope you don’t give up on your projects. I hope you continue to believe in yourself. I pray that you find new inspiration and strive to learn more. No matter your age or current circumstances, you CAN.

Like I heard before and repeat to myself, “DO IT AFRAID!”

#UNYC #iamUNYC #DoItAfraid

Check out the video here! #SOMOSFAMILIA