By Kimberly “Hollywood” Wilson

Teaneck, New Jersey native Gino Weaver is on a mission to take over the [insert hustle here] game. Clothing line, party promotion company–Royal Life Entertainment and future music management mogul is reminiscent of a Jay Z-esc grind mode. His street wear brand, Chosen Royalty is a certified ‘hood favorite retailing in locations across the U.S. such as New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Texas and Florida (Check out chosenroyalty.com for the latest designs).

Weaver would certainly not credit his success to having worked alone–childhood friends Omari Addison and Darrin Chandler join him in the Chosen Royalty family as the President and Director of Marketing. Amped about the upcoming debut of his new line, Weaver is not taking any summer breaks. A student at Kean College of New Jersey and intern at Jive Records, Gino, along with Darrin and Omari plans to ”infiltrate the system,” by grindin’ and making it to the top in the industry (Think Puffy during his Howard days).

When boasted about his success at only 21 years old, he humbly notes it as being due to hard work and determination, not sheer luck. The quiet one of the crew, Weaver opens up to Streetz about the future of Chosen Royalty and the road he’s paved out for his success.

Streetz- What does the name Chosen Royalty represent?

Gino Weaver- Chosen Royalty means royalty is a choice that you make, you don’t have to be born into royalty, it’s how you choose to live. Chosen Royalty is a lifestyle brand. Everybody wants to be rich; it’s not necessarily a goal….it’s just how we live. Chosen Royalty is the beginning of a dynasty.

Streetz- What makes Chosen Royalty different than any other street wear brand?

Gino Weaver-  It is different because it’s the “realest”. All the t-shirts are a resemblance of our lifestyle. We live this lifestyle. You know how Dipset says it’s more than music…but all they do is make music? That’s kind of like us…it’s more than fashion, its family. It’s our grind.

Streetz-  How has hip hop influenced your creativity with the brand?

Gino Weaver- Hip hop has a big influence on fashion and our clothing. It’s what we grew up and what we based our experiences off of. It definitely shows in the line. If artists wears your sh*t, everyone else wants to wear.

Streetz- What other projects are you working on?

Gino Weaver- A fitted company named Jersey Boy Fitted. It’s going to start off as an online store. It’s going to cater to local ‘hoods in New Jersey; Hackensack, Newark, Patterson, Irvington…etc. We are going to make fitted for each hood, so it can be more personalized. You go to New York and you find a Harlem fitted, a Brooklyn fitted…we trying to do something for Jersey.

Streetz- Who would you cite as your greatest influence? And why?

Gino Weaver- My dad.  He didn’t graduate from high school, nor did he get his GED. It showed me that education is key, but hard work is more important than anything. My dad and I have the Nike motto [just do it]. He taught me that it doesn’t matter what you do, just do it as hard as you can. If you have the right people around you, they’ll help you, if not; you didn’t need them in the first place.

Big ups to Chosen Royalty. You can’t knock the hustle!