Checking In w/ Ty Hunter

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams, a production of
My Heart Radio and The Black Effect. Hey, everybody, welcome
to another episode I've checking in. I'm so grateful that

(00:23):
you decided to tune in again. We're at the top
of season three and I am so excited about the
guests we have. Y'all know that I have all the fields,
especially when I get to talk to someone who I've
known for I don't want to say quite a long time,
because I don't want you all to be like twenty years. Yes,
it's been twenty years and it is what it is.

(00:44):
Get over it. But someone who has seen all of
us and we've gotten to see him transition, evolved, and
continue to rebrand himself. He's created iconic looks for Destiny's
Child and then be Beyonce stylist for eighteen years. It's
so weird to say Destiny's Child Beyonce, but it is

(01:06):
what it is. He styled us as a group, he
styled her individually, and from time to time he would
work on me and Kelly individually. He's also designed his
own collections and he currently also works with Billy Porter
as Billy's creative director and had stylist and now he's
an author. Please welcome Ti Hunter to checking in. Thank you, Michelle,

(01:29):
I need to just bring you everybody that I loved it,
Come on, come and thank you for having me. I
am very, very very proud of you, y'all. There is
nothing about Ty that I can say that has changed,
except for his hair has gotten longer, and he is

(01:54):
just aging backwards. And I say he looked the same.
I don't know if that's necessarily a compliment. He looks
the same, but even more better gorgeous aging backwards. I
think our first interaction with each other was it in
bb in Houston Galeria and Houston Galeria, and we just

(02:16):
connected right off, and you know, you was being a
Leo and just being just you know, your spirit was
so gorgeous, and I connected with you before all the
other girls, to be honest with you, it was Miss
Tina and solandres a Kid and Angie. But as far

(02:37):
as the group, me and you connected and whenever you
would come to town, we have our moments and we
would go to Lonch and stuff together. And you know,
being that you knew any no one from there, you
was in Houston, and so we just vibed in just
to see the transitions of where you've been since you
know the girls and where with all the things that
you're doing are so amazing and beautiful and I'm just

(03:00):
you inspired me and I'm so proud of you, Michelle. Really, Tie,
stop it, y'all. Tie has an amazing, beautiful story. We've
seen him talk about it in interviews. We've seen Miss
Tina tell the story. Tie gets to tell the story
as well in his new book called Makeover from Within

(03:20):
Lessons and Hardship, Acceptance and self Discovery. But he also
shares his start. So as far as I know from
about Tie, he's always been working in fashion, whether it's
on the retail side or the designing of looks, but
it has always been fashion. And I think what can

(03:41):
be encouraging is that you started off in retail stores
in the mall. Yes, I actually started in the medical field.
I used to work on artisticial hard vows in Austin, Texas,
and I said, sell a little microscope and work on
artificial hart vows. And I found out one day that
I made really good money and everything. But I on
that one day one of my closest friends had an

(04:02):
about and even though I knew I was making these
hard bounces from other humans, but when things at home
and just changed everything, so this place became a place
that I dreaded. My numbers went down, and the president
at the time had family where you could leave your
job for a couple of months, like three months was
the max or whatever. But I was so cool with
my boss, so I went and I was like, I

(04:22):
made up a story. I was like, I'm having family problems.
Can I need a month to just work on this thing?
And he was like, ty, we love you here and
come back whenever. And when I went from Austin to Houston, Texas,
I knew I was not going back to Austin, and
so I started working at t J mex on Richmond
first and half the day I worked at Office Max

(04:43):
because I was a young father my daughter is now
twenty eight, and just knowing that I still have responsibilities
and stuff, so I needed to work. I needed to
make money. And then I went to the Galleria and
you know, back then, the gallerya Eustn Gallleria was the
place it was pop been. So I started working at
Booya Got first. It was an inexpensive store and Miss

(05:05):
Tina would come in and you know, I would help
her fine look for you guys. And then I started
working at the guest store. I think that's where we connected,
was the guest store. I worked at Guests for a second,
and then I got recruited to work at BAB and
Baby is when things were just happening, because BB was
to sply back then you know, I'll be in the

(05:26):
maybe like we got tight Hunter from everybody at that
Ryan Stone t shirt. Yes, So working at BB is
kind of when things and that's when you guys are
really moving. And Miss Tina was always coming in and
I would call her when things came in. I looked
like the group and we just bonded. And then I
started meeting each girl separately. You know, Me and You

(05:48):
bonded first, and then I think it was me and Kelly.
I didn't meet Being until much later when you guys
walked in when I was working at BB. Together they
were filming you guys, and that's the time I met
Being shoot with that deep boy. She was like, you're
tying her a lot about you and Miss Tina that day,
Miss Tina was like, I'm gonna get you out of
here one day and I didn't believe her, But at

(06:09):
the same time, I know I needed a change. I
had a day off a couple of weeks later, and
I contact her and just seeing if she needed help.
And that's when I immediately started working on you guys
Grammy performance When the Dolls, you know, and the Surviving
video was my first project. And y'all, let me tell
you something, Ti just had this um, I don't know.

(06:32):
You instantly trusted him. You instantly knew that he cared
about what he did at work, like you could instantly
trust him. And I knew. I was scared at the time,
being instant by myself, and so to connect with somebody
that you felt like had your back was really really amazing.

(06:53):
What made you say, Okay, I'm gonna call miss Tina
and tell her I got the day off and let
me help her because you weren't scared to put up
the phone. I wasn't scared, and I was in a
depressed state at the time. I was dating someone who
was strung out on drugs and they had gave the
drug deal with our car, and like some funds are, like,
it was a whole world windows bad. And that's going

(07:14):
on in my life at the time, and I was
really really depressed and I just I know I needed
something that I just that I needed that day off
to relax and kind of put things together. But I
was just like, you know what, just focused on something else,
and she just came into my head, to be honest
with you, and I just recalled her saying, you know,
I'm gonna get you out of here one day, and

(07:35):
you know I need help, because she was like, everything
is happening, everything is just really taking off. Independent women
jump like you guys were like everywhere, and I was like,
this woman is doing all this by herself, from here
to everything here, designing, shopping. Hi. I was like, Hi,

(07:57):
is she doing this? And so something just called and
I called and she was like, yes, maybe I need help.
Meet me here. She had me meet her at hobbies
and I used to live on har One down the
street from him at the time, and I just got
into taxi and I met her there and it was
this NonStop that day. We were in the fabric stories,
we were like putting together the things, and that's how

(08:18):
she came up with those beautiful looks for the Grammys,
and that ended up being your Guy's first Dolls where
it had the same outfit on UH and the Survivor
video is just like, that song is so much to
me because the lyrics and the timing of everything is
just it means so much to me. Wow. The reason
why I asked you about that because by the times

(08:41):
you know Tie, by the time you give someone your number,
that means you want them to use it like your
actual number. But how many people have probably said Tie,
it is probably too busy, I'm scared to call him.
But I'm getting somewhere with this, Like when someone give
you their number and says call me any time. Anytime

(09:03):
you need anything, text me, call me. They really mean it.
So had you not made that phone call, I'm not
saying that you're making that phone call, was your end
all be a We don't know. God could use someone
else for you to be where you are. But was
there any point where you said, Man, what would have
happened if I didn't call Miss Tina? Oh? So many

(09:24):
times I can definitely say when you have those sleepless
nights and that uncomfortable, that the whole part when you
know that there's something greater out there and it's just
time for change, and I've just learned to know no
matter where I am in life, and people were looking
at that job as a dream job, but you know,
looking at my success and I just feel that, you know,

(09:46):
the timing was just perfect, and I knew that my
soul and my spirit needed something at the time, and
I just jumped through it and I took faith in
and just like what could happen? Like she could just say, no,
I don't need help, but she did say I need
help one day, and this is the day that I
need help as well, you know what I mean. My
soul needed to be fed. I needed a jump starting

(10:08):
something and I didn't know what that was, and I
didn't know what was on the other side of that call,
but I knew that where I was at that moment,
something had to give, something needed to be something else.
And so I'm just so blessed and I'm so grateful
that Miss Tina saw something in me that I eventually
started seeing myself. But at the same time, I knew

(10:29):
what kind of person I was, and I knew my heart,
and I knew my craft and my talent, and I'm
glad that she saw that as well and gave me
the opportunity to to grow and show on and and
put me in a place where all of my talents
was just was God just like because you know when
I started, I was helping do here, you know, and
and I was caring. You were doing everything, every single thing,

(10:54):
and you know, it was just a blessing because from
that experience, nothing is much for me, Like it's this
is light work out here compared to what we were doing.
Because let me tell you something. Let me tell you
when we knew TI was stressed, the hands was shaking
and sweating. There were moments where we were to be

(11:17):
on stage in five four, three to one and somebody's
still got a rhyme, stone gun, the glue gun, because
somebody will have a thought at the last minute, or
something didn't fit or just something needed to be altered.
And you were right there. So I am not surprised
for you to say nothing is too much for you,

(11:41):
because that was the perfect training. Yes, and you guys
would do at least four to five quick changes on
one song. Sometimes you know, we have to run outside
and going around the stadium outside so you can walk
down and do your saying this is my breath. We
literally lost breath a bunch of times because no, no, no, no,
no no no no no no no no no. And

(12:04):
I'm gonna get to everything you've been doing since then.
But what made us say on the Grammys say my
name independent women? What made us say we're gonna do
a quick change and we're gonna just snatch our pants
because y'all don't know it was my pants that got stuck.
And I'm backstage like I can't go out there. I
can't go out there, and they're like, you can't leave
your girls out there by themselves, Like what what were

(12:28):
we thinking? And we did it again on live TV,
like pre record versus life. If it's pre recorded and
something happens to your outfit, a do it again live?
It is what a dog on is? Okay, y'all. Ti

(12:50):
has an amazing book, and I'm glad that we could
give y'all some backstory of our relationship. And I hope
we stick to what Tie has been doing since then,
but I know y'll be liking little backstage secrets from
back in the day. So that's all you're gonna get
for right now. His book, which I had the pleasure
of doing a cool endorsement for it, says tis book

(13:15):
is sure to inspire, which I think the first fifteen
minutes of this interview has been just that. And not
only does it inspire, it gives hope. That's who Tie is.
It speaks through all of the work that he puts
his hand to, and so as y'all can be here,
you can see and dibble and dabble from what he

(13:37):
was doing in Austin to Houston, Texas to now global
styling some of everybody. You're even just styling people who
aren't necessarily public figures if they had the coin stop
of course, No, my joy, it's not just celebrity. It's

(13:57):
just making anyone feel good about themselves and just finding
what their insecurities are and getting them to a place
of where they don't have that because I always say, like,
we're not blowing with clothes on. Our first outfit is
our skin. Until you feel right and that nothing else
will matter. So it's just getting to a place of
getting your client to a place of just loving themselves
and all and my eyes, just making my happiness is

(14:19):
just making people feel happy and making them feel good
and feel you know, confident in who they are. I
love that that we were all born the same way
with skin, and I love that you talk about everyone's insecurities,
whether you're a public figure, which seems public figures have
more insecurities than people who aren't considered a public figure.
But I think even when you slash that title off

(14:41):
public figure, everybody has some insecurities. In your book, you
talk about the physical, mental, and emotional obstacles that range
from my gosh, a gunshot wound, to caring for your
parents to simply existing as a black gay man in America. Now,

(15:01):
we want everybody to buy the book, so we aren't
going to tell everything, But what is one message that
you want to leave with the reader? You know, just
anything is possible. You just gotta just go for it
and not and not. You know, I've learned to just
allow the higher powers, you know, the ancestors, to leave

(15:21):
this thing. You know, I might have a vision in
my head of how life is going to be and
it's then a three hundred and sixty and end up
being even greater than what you possibly think, you know,
and just not being afraid to take chance, to take risk,
you know, and don't settle. Don't settle, because I just
don't believe in what a cut a shut up like
I like to just take chances and say, well, I

(15:44):
did give it a shot. It didn't work out, but
let me go regroup and go for it again, versus
me letting so much time go by and and not
at least attempting to knock out a goal of dreams.
You know, and no matter where you are, you could
be at the ideal job that everybody wants, but you're
not fulfilled, You're not fool And I just think it's

(16:07):
okay at certain times to put that time into something
else that you want to do. At least give it
an hour a day, even if you're a nine to
five right now and you have other dreams and goals,
at least an hour a day of just doing research
or putting in some feeding that potential dream some kind
of way, and it just gets you closer to getting there.

(16:28):
So when you're there, you're ready prepared. You know all
the business side of it, you know everything that you
could possibly know about it, and just go for it
like this isn't the rehearsal. I don't have a remarks
to troll to make you happy, man, and said you
have to put this thing called life in your own
hands and pray and you know, just know that there's
better even in dark times. Just know that there's better

(16:50):
in dark times. This is a learning time when you're
in dark times. What am I supposed to learn from
this to get me to the light? And so even
in dark times some times, I know this sounds sick,
but I just always have in my mind something better
It's about to happen, even in the dark time. So
at that time, I'm just praying, Lord, what am I
supposed to learning this time? And it's life? And you

(17:13):
have to just learn to love this thing and just
move forward and just try to do as much as
you can while you're here. M hmm. Yeah, he just
gave a whole master class super Sunday. Because there are
a lot of people who look to you, who probably
call you, who probably damn you and say they want
to get into this fashion industry. I'm sure you mentor

(17:36):
some where you can say, Okay, I know you work
here at this store the mall, but have you put
in an hour a day to like you said, because
people want it? But you said, just at least an
hour a day until you can totally leave where you

(17:57):
currently are, or like you did, you took the chance
on your day off. Checking in is definitely a mental
health base as far as the foundation, but we do
get to talk about other things. Did you ever feel
like any moment where you were like I just want
to quit. I want to man the fashion and go
back to now. I wouldn't want to go back there.

(18:20):
But yeah, but but there are you know there. I
can't say that I was. I never really said I
wanted to quit, but I did want to learn how
to balance everything because of missing out on families, you know,

(18:42):
birthdays and funerals and you know, important pivotal moments in
my family's life, you know, being a young parent. When
we started cell phones, we were like got away two
way pages. We didn't have zoom calls. We didn't want
able to face time like our zoom like we are now.
So I missed a lot of times, you know, import
and things in my daughter's life or important things in

(19:02):
my family's life that I wish I could have been there.
Those are the only things, but just the whole being
a sponge and want to absorb and just like really learn.
This thing has always been just I've always I don't
know the excitement of when you finally get where you're
supposed to be. It just doesn't feel like work. It
didn't feel like work, even though it was crazy. I

(19:24):
I just wanted to learn more, to be honest with you,
I felt like I was playing dressed up with my sisters,
to be honest with you, because we were family and
we were all everything was new to us, so we
were growing together. So it was just learning was excitement
and what's what's around the corner? You know? I was
always that so quitting, never quitting, but just really learning,

(19:46):
wanting to really balance and and be there. Because back then,
a phone call called my daughter for thirty minutes, you
go get the bill at the you know, co cose,
you go check out your hotel. The bills like four dollars.
You know, it was so fencing back then. But that's it.
But never quit, never quit, never quit, because it's the
moment where you quit is when the breakthrough comes. I mean,

(20:09):
like like the past two days here in Georgia has
been so dark, Greg Womy, it's been raining, and today
the sun is shining beautiful right now, and okay, we'll
keep the faith tied. Maybe tomorrow the sun is going
to shine. But even though it's raining, we don't quit.

(20:34):
One of my favorites who you are currently styling is
Billy Porter okay, And I was like, yes, Golden Globes.
What he wore to the Golden Globes was amazing because
first of all, can nobody really comes sit next to him?
Can nobody really come next to him? Because that whole outfit.
Now you want to talk about a socially distanced outmit,

(20:58):
stay away. Is there a difference of impact on you
when it comes to your ability to express part of
yourself through Billy's fashion? And why I say this is
because we know you to be quiet, you'll smile and
your laugh. But Billy has such a big personality. What
part of you is in his fashion when you style him?

(21:21):
I would just say that he allows me to just
do whatever. I'll definitely ask him how he wants to
feel every now and then. But he's been fun like
he's not afraid to take chances, He's not afraid of fashion,
which that's what I like about him, and just being
able to be creative to just go there and go
that extra mile. And it's more to play with because

(21:44):
I have the male side and the female side. So
when I go to the show room, it's like a
bigger array of things to play with and it's just fun.
So I would definitely say being able to be creative
and have fun with it. And he doesn't take fashion
so see is which I love too. And he don't
care what nobody has to say, which I love too.

(22:05):
It's like once were with you're good, I'm good, let's go,
and that's what I like. And so I would definitely
say not worrying about what people have to say and
just allow me to be creative and just go there
and just be creative because there really are no limits
with this man, which makes it even more fun. Mm hmmm,

(22:25):
so good. Yeah. I like how going back to your book,
it talks about you defeating the odds, and what is
your response to people that say, I grew up with
no money, my parents weren't together, I don't think I'm
smart or confident. What do you have to say to them?
Because your book is full of moments where you had

(22:45):
to go through stuff, what do you tell somebody who
we might hear and be like, okay, that's an excuse,
but we have to have compassion and empathy. For somebody
else's life. At the same time, Yeah, it don't take
a lot of money to be creative, you know what
I mean. Like I grew up and my mom was
a single parent, and she didn't she did the best
she could, like she you know, if there are certain

(23:06):
things I wanted your throw, I don't. Let's got old
lay away, get it out when she got it out.
But at the same time, in the midst of that,
there were days between where I would go thrifting with
my great grandmother and my grandmother and find things, and
so I found a creative way to night. Back then,
you know when you said you had on good will
or salvagtionm me, you'll get teased growing up. That just
shows my age. But now it's like it's training to

(23:29):
go thrift, thing inventor shopping and stuff. Yeah, and it's
and it's you have the h and m s. You
have all those things. But you know you it don't
take a lot of money to be creative. And also
being different and special like and don't because you're different,
don't make you less of any Being different is what
makes you unique and special. And so just hold on

(23:52):
to that and keep pushing and moving forward. You're beautiful.
You could do and be anything, and just get to
a place of learning to love yourself. My journey was
learning how to be alone. You know, I was constantly
in relationships. I was constantly wanted to have to have
somebody there with me all the time. And I just
had a moment of just learning to be alone. And

(24:13):
that's where you get most of your answers that you need.
And just that that one little red flag that hits
when you're about to make those stupid moves, the gut
is what I stopped avoiding. I started listening to my
gut and uh, moving forward from there. Um, and you
know you're beautiful. God created you, and just keep holding

(24:33):
on and and you know there's no limit to what
you can do. Wow, come on, I'm so excited, y'all
ties book make Over from Within, lessons and hardship, acceptance
and self discovery. Let's see. Um, some folks that I know,
Billy Porter, Toshina Arnold, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Rowland, Kelly Osborne, myself,

(24:57):
Naomi Campbell, Teena do Beyond. They wrote the forward. Y'all
continue to support Chi get his book. I'm excited for
awards season, because that's I'm I don't know if stylus
be excited when Awards season be Hitten, I'm sure you are.
You know, when it's done and you see your clients
on you know, on the blogs and the the instagrams

(25:22):
and uh red carpets and all that stuff. But it
is exciting for us because there are a few styles
where I know, I'm like, Okay, what did I do?
What did someone also do? So how did they you know,
dress their clients for awards season? And so I'm excited
for you. I know you are out and about getting
prepared for Awards season, and I don't know if you'll

(25:45):
be in l A Grammy weekend, but I'll be there. Yeah,
I'm coming to l A hopefully about next month. I'll
be there for a while. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Amazing, y'all,
Tie is amazing. I tried to keep it professional and
not spilling all the Destiny's Child tour bus team, you know.

(26:09):
So um. I love you, Ti, I love you too,
and keep shining. I'm so proud of you. See Listen,
I think Ty was trying to be on his best
behavior as well as I. We just have had so

(26:29):
much fun throughout the years. I'll never forget on the
Destiny Fulfilled Tour, Destiny's Child's very Last tour, how we
get on the bus with wet hair, right, because y'all
remember the very very last segment of the show was
us in this revolving floor with a waterfall. Many nights,
We've been sick many nights, pneumonia practically, or some type

(26:54):
of infection, viral infection, respiratory, upper respiratory infection. Because we
would get off the stage sometimes running too cold weather
onto the bus and Tie would be there just getting
us dry, blow drying our hair, curling our hair. He
is so instrumental, one of the most personal people that
was in our lives up close, like Ty was in

(27:17):
our quick Change. He's a word of stylist, so he
know us very well, if you know what I mean.
And like I said in an interview, like the moment
I met him, I trusted him. It's like I had
known him for so long. Sounds like what an angel is,
and Ti is an angel to everyone that he comes

(27:40):
across and everybody that he meets. I'm thankful for him,
and I'm so glad that we had this opportunity to
speak with ty and if you didn't know he had
a book, he sure does. It's available wherever you get
your books. Audio books, Makeover from Within, Lessons and Hardship,
acceptance and self discovery. My friend and author Tye Hunter.

(29:35):
Checking In with Michelle Williams is a production of I
Heart Radio and The Black Effect. For more podcasts from
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