Marcus Troy: I’m Coming Home Again

here have been many codes documented throughout world history, some that decipher formulas, while others break down the composition of the human body. But when it comes to blogging for a living, Canadian-born Marcus Troy was knee-deep in the platform which has now changed the way people think, act, dress and consume information. Mr. Troy, which has been dubbed the Marcus Troy Experience, has become a household Internet name with brands from all over salivating at the opportunity to apply a piece of his consulting brain to their brand.

Incredibly humble with an understanding that he still has much to learn, Troy has made a global and permanent impression in an extremely fickle market where with the next 140 characters or post written, everything could potentially take a devastating turn for the worse.  What stands out most about the young consulting tastemaker is his etiquette and approach toward his craft. Yes, there are rules to this matrix and Troy has played a quiet, yet pivotal role in the design of it all.

Not claiming to be the originator of what I’d call lifestyle blogging, Troy was definitely one of the first, “Back at that time there weren’t many blogs or websites doing what we were trying to do. Before the Hypebeasts’, High Snobietys’ and SlamXhypes’, it wasn’t long after, but it was definitely before.” The son of West Indian parents, blogging came about very naturally. He happened to land upon a medium where he could touch everyone aside from the people in his immediate circle, “Blogging came about organically; I had a friend who at the time who was trying to start an online magazine. We wanted to let people know what was going on in our city. We partnered up and started an online mag. At first it was really local, I proposed that I come on board and make it global, I’ve always been the guy that tells my friend what to wear, where to go, who to see. So speaking about it online was kind of a natural progression.”

Troy saw the world from a global perspective early on, “I guess first having a love for planes, I would travel to my parents hometown of Trinidad and Tobago as a youngster and I remember driving down to New York and having this fascination with seeing other places.” He discusses an experience that changed it all, “I flew to London and I remember getting upgraded on that plane. They bring you all the accessories that come with a first class flight, the food was incredible and I was thinking ‘Man, this is the life.’ When I touched down in London I was like this is what it’s about, discovering new things. It really solidified what I wanted to be doing and how I wanted to be doing it. That’s when I decided the world had so much more to offer than my neighborhood.” Unlike other individuals who pridefully boast about their native roots, Troy sees himself as a global citizen and sometimes he catches negative feedback for it, “I’ve been able to see Asia, Europe, North America, and Canada and it’s been a great experience. I didn’t feel like I was going to be tied down to Montreal as a city and I get flack for that because people feel like I should be repping my town or my borough, but for me, I rep the world, I would move to Japan tomorrow.”

A lot of people ask me how I do it. They think I press send and then the UPS guy arrives.

With the onslaught of success Troy has rightfully garnered, it would be easy to see him grow into an egomaniac that brags on social media about what said company sent him said product (for free), while his following has to drop their hard-earned finances on said product. However, as Troy explains, he understands the idea of perception versus reality, “A lot of people ask me how I do it. They think I press send and then the UPS guy arrives and I get that product in the mail. There’s no real secret to what I do and how I do it. If you go on my blog posts I mention things like, ‘I work hard at being lucky.’ I’m about working with like-minded people. But I also say I’m blessed to work with the people I work with and do some of the things I do.” He adds, “Marcus Troy is a brand and I treat it as such. That brand is what you see online. My personal life is not on my blog. I’m very cognizant of putting all my information into the world.” In a period where the Internet has given a myriad of people their 15 minutes of fame, Troy defiantly believes the Internet has not made him, referencing a classic film as an example, “I treat this blog like the film Heat. Tomorrow I can shut down everything I’m doing and I will have a life outside of this. This has not built me, I have a résumé and skills that allow me to live in the real world. If you allow the Internet to build you and that’s your claim to fame, what happens if the government decides to shut down the Internet for whatever reason? Then some people are faceless or nameless. I do believe if I wasn’t online, I would still be working with brands and getting products in the mail because my life is set up that way. I’m able to walk away from this at any given moment and not worry and I think most people should set themselves up like that.”

Failure is such an integral part of life, I think we underestimate it.

What I find sadly refreshing about Troy is the perception people have about him is actually his reality. Where others have to put on the proverbial make-up, Troy can remain Troy at any moment in any setting. He elaborates, “When you see my timeline and you see my Twitter account, I hope it’s really a reflection of who I am when you see me in person. I want to be an example of how to conduct yourself online as a blogger or an authority. “I never set out to be an “influencer” but people have deemed me as such. So I need to harness that responsibility and act accordingly.”

The founder of the Nike Maverick Project amongst other collaborations has a solidified place in the World Wide Web, but that success came from an important role model (his father), who left him with three pillars of practice, “Number one, the importance of education. Number two, always acting like you belong no matter what; a lot of times being African Canadian or African American, we don’t feel like we belong. We walk into a room and we always want to stay in the corner and speak to who we are and what we’re about. Number three, knowing your value and the value of things.” Troy also adds that failure is something to be experienced, “Failure is such an integral part of life, I think we underestimate it. You have to lose and it’s the people who never “lose” who get a harsh reality check later on in life. You have to lose to know that you can win.” Marcus Troy is, for lack of a better word, winning, and he doesn’t appear to be on the verge of a losing streak anytime soon.