Today we’d like to introduce you to Mitchell Bailey.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I come from a background in motorsports and action sports. I have always had a passion for style and design. From as far back as I could remember, I had the mentality of “look good, feel good”. My older brother David was a Motocross World Champion and set his own trends creating his smooth look and style. Looking back on everything, he did definitely rub off on me, including his creativity and design skills. In the 80s we both connected with Mark Simo. Mark was also heavily involved in the motorsport world as a professional racer and the owner of an apparel brand called No Fear, which sponsored the world’s greatest athletes. Mark created the brands Life’s a Beach, Bad Boy Club, No Fear, and Spy Sunglasses. All born and operated out of Carlsbad. I and my brother spent some time in the late 90s working as a designer alongside Mark Simo. I went on to create my own design/marketing agency and spent a solid 20+ years working with numerous successful brands and world-class athletes. In 2013 Mark Simo and I connected again and set our sights on a journey into a completely different and challenging industry. We collaborated and studied for many years trying to figure out what we could do differently to stand out in the world of spirits. Both have a passion for creating and marketing brands that people can connect with. We started with a name and a vision that represents much more than just the products we offer. Cocktails and spirits have always been a great way to break down barriers and open up to those around you. There are few things that bring people together and we feel like having a drink can do that. We love names that allow others to give their interpretation of what it means. The name Trust Me vodka was a fun and positive sense of how we all trust our friends and family and socially interact with one another. We have created a unique business model that speaks exactly to that.
Our Trust Me model allows people to participate organically by sharing our story and our product with their friends and family. The biggest challenge in the spirits world is to be called on by name. Brand visibility and name recognition is key. Our extremely large and growing group fights this battle with us every day and they are the ultimate key to our growing success.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Anyone that has a smooth road, I don’t think has much of a story. Life is challenging as an individual and everyone deals with their own personal battles, many much more than others. We have always been blessed with opportunities, but you have to be able to capitalize. Mark has always said he got lucky in past ventures or he was in the right place at the right time. I would agree and then challenge that you have to put yourself in a position “to get lucky”. There’s a lot of hard work and perseverance when launching your own brand. Most people just don’t have the drive or passion when it comes to being an entrepreneur. Failure is inevitable, but what you do with it makes the difference in the ability to succeed. I think the biggest success stories come from people that learn and grow from their failures, not their successes. Trust Me Vodka has been a learning curve every step of the way. We bring knowledge from the past and a different twist of creativity and how we see things, being from a completely different industry.
The spirit industry has rules and regulations that create numerous challenges and vary state by state.
While Covid presented even more challenges, it also allowed a rapid introduction into the ready-to-drink category. We launched 17% ABV bottled cocktails in 2020 where we were able to capitalize on the relaxed laws of spiritis to go.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Trust Me Vodka is a top-shelf Premium Vodka, Made in America. We offer gluten-free and organic vodka. We wanted to limit our product line and focus on making a healthy option that didn’t make you feel bad about having a drink. Literally. Gluten-free has become something that people understand and feel good about. For some, it is very serious and for many, it’s just a lifestyle choice that makes them feel better. Our gluten-free vodka is Idaho potato-based and made farm-to-bottle. With food, you feel a certain way after you eat based on the quality of food and how it’s produced – vodka is no different. From our Snake River water to the potatoes and home-grown wheat used in our organic vodka, our master distiller has a hand in making every small batch the best quality in the market.
We specialize in empowering creatives and giving them a unique way to express themselves.
Every small batch of vodka we create is limited to 20,000 bottles featuring one artist. These bottles sell out fast every time we launch a new artist. We constantly challenge ourselves to raise the bar. In every sense, we’re always searching for new ways to collaborate and feature our artist and their stories in a way that makes them proud.
We collaborate by allowing full freedom to put their art on a unique canvas and express who they are and what their message is as an artist. As a team, every release becomes better and creates more demand than the previous.
We have always been fans of unique art and have had roots in different artist communities. We look to seek out top artists from around the world with primary genres in Contemporary Realism, Surrealism, and Urban Art. Our artists become our ambassadors and family who help to create brand awareness and separate us from our competitors.
Pricing:
- Gluten-free vodka $30
- Organic Vodka $30
- Bottled cocktails $12 (10 flavor options)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.trustmevodka.com
- Instagram: @trustmevodka
- Facebook: Trust Me Vodka
Image Credits
Sprouter Studios
Cole Ferguson
