Ross Caperton, CEO
Ross Caperton, Project Manager, Chief Executive Officer of Research & Development and Sponsor, Owner and Creative Director of RockDaddy Trademark .
Caperton has had many incarnations. Whether as an actor, athlete, designer, artist or corporate executive, he continues to challenge the conventional notions of what a man in his early mid forties can become. As the driving force behind RockDaddy Trademark, he has embraced the ideology of sustainable and responsible business and manufacturing practices in addition to having a keen grasp on trends in style and fashion. He is proud to have been involved in the development and implementation of Los Garmentos with sponsorship by his RockDaddy label. He is also well known in the nonprofit community for his work with the AIDS Emergency Fund, Positive Resource Center and the Lazy Bear Fund. His personal pet project is the San Francisco School of Rock which provides music education to youth 7 to 18 years of age.
A native of West Virginia, growing up in Appalachia instilled in him a strong sense of independence and self sufficiency seldom seen today. Descended from intrepid explorers and cartographers, his sense of adventure and attention to detail is what drives him to achieve his goals. Other dominating factors of his upbringing are his senses of responsibility and community. “Growing up way in the mountains in an extremely rural community, you experience closeness to everyone, even those you don’t particularly like so much. You have to learn to separate your disdain of someone and embrace their humanity during times of crisis.”
This kind of upbringing instills a diplomacy and compassion that has made him successful in his career and personal life. His ability to conceptualize the big picture has earned him respect from those who have worked and played with him. “He can be at a business meeting, keeping things on task while remaining light hearted, as easily as he can turn a potential bar fight into a Helen Keller joke fest”, comments an associate.
His fashion industry career began in 1986 when he took Marc Jacobs old job at Charivari in New York. A year later, he beat out FIT and Parson’s graduates for a coveted design position at a textile design firm which led him to work for Anne Klein. During the holidays he worked for venerable retailer Bergdorf Goodman in visual merchandising, often putting on quite the show while installing window displays at night in full view of the public. “That was such a fun job,” Caperton notes. “We would be installing windows after the store closed and there was a whole legion of followers that would come and watch because we didn’t obscure the process from them. There would be design students, couples walking off their dinner, all kinds of people. It was the only time I was ever comfortable being on display.”
Prior to moving to New York, he worked for the De Laurentis film studios in Wilmington, North Carolina. With 10 feature films under his belt, two appointments with professional classical ballet companies and off Broadway revivals of Oklahoma! And The King and I, he certainly is no stranger to being on display. As the front man for his label, RockDaddy Trademark, he seems to have developed himself as a brand. He has been a very public face representing several San Francisco based non-profits. Speaking on behalf of those disabled and disenfranchised by HIV/AIDS, he has earned the respect of his peers and his community. “I have always believed that if one is not part of the solution then one is part of the problem,” he says.
His philanthropic pursuits factor into his business ethos. With portions of his profits going into the Los Garmentos Fund, he is dedicated to making a difference while turning a profit. The four organizations that benefit from his efforts are The Lazy Bear Fund, the ACLU, the Global Literacy Project and the San Francisco School of Rock. “If everyone did a little, collectively we can do a great deal.”
His long-term plans include development of style-daddy.com into a monthly online magazine with continual updates which he hopes will gain enough momentum to sell to a larger media outlet. The proceeds of which he will use to devote more time, energy and money to the development of RockDaddy Trademark to include two tailored clothing and accessory collections a year and gain a larger footing in the marketplace with aspirations of developing his clientele abroad.
For more and continuing information about Caperton and his endeavors, stay tuned to style-daddy.com and RockDaddy Trademark on Facebook.com.
All designs, images, brands and names are copyrighted by Los Garmentos