December 1, 2014
Travis West
Editor-in-Chief
Whether he is promoting his company, “Local Gold,” working on his new hip-hop album, ‘The Son of Mona Lisa’ or at his day job as a community liaison at Home Garden Elementary, Alfredo Pulido always wears the same hat.
His presence in the community has brought together people that otherwise wouldn’t normally have any connection and his connection with kids he oversees make his 3 degrees all worth the work.
“Its fun. It doesn’t seem like work,” Pulido said. “Today I wore a batman shirt with a cap. It was superhero day.”
Society is quick to judge people with tattoos, listen to certain music and shave their head, but Pulido is part of a generation that continues to prove that productivity is not define by their hobbies.
“It works to my advantage to have tattoos, shaved head and plugs because the kids look at me and still identify with me,” Pulido said with a smile.
He began working with Home Gardens Elementary in 2007 as a 19 year old and since then, his colleagues have seen him grow into the man he is today, inspiring young children to work hard and be respectful and you’ll get where they want to be in life.
On a night where he plays softball with a group of friends, most he has known since childhood, Pulido recalled a situation where ice cream vendors would hang out at the school he works at and wait for the students so they can sell them some ice cream. He went on to say that some teachers were under the impression that they were harassing the students and bringing a bad image to the school.
“I middle man a lot of situations where I smooth things out,” Pulido said. “By me befriending the vendors and going out there everyday to see how they were doing helped the teachers see that they must not be bad people.”
It has been a year and a half since Pulido’s last music project, “Potential and Procrastination” and he has been collaborating on songs since with various local artist and is in the process of working on his next album.
“The release of his next album will be titled ‘ The Son of Mona Lisa,” Pulido said.
“The painting is called ‘Mona Lisa,’ but the actual woman in the painting was named Giaconda and that’s who my mother was named after … that’s why I am the son of Mona Lisa,” he explained.
It was something he knew for a long time, but after thinking his mother’s name was weird, she responded with my name is art.
As we were walking to his car after his softball game, he recognized a car parked nearby and made a call to see if his friend was around. There was no answer, but he did mention that because of the company he owns, ‘Local Gold’ he has met people who have a mutual friend because of hats he has produced with the word “Local” on the front.
“I was at the Camp Flog Gnaw show by myself and this guy looks at me and walks away. I’m just listening to music not here to be a tough guy so I shrug it off. He comes back again and says, “is that a Local Gold hat?’”
Pulido replied, “yeah” and the two conversed. And after a short while, the man asked, “Are you Alfredo Pulido?”
Because of the production of music and hats, Pulido’s reach has gone further than he expected. Although he is happy with his success, he wants him and his friends to become successful together.
He described Local Gold as an umbrella and as it starts with him.
He wants everyone involved in the process to find success.
“I wanted to do something where I could involve everybody … the friends that tattoo and the friend who does photography and my cousin and his bar. It’s about growing. If I can promote everyone and what they do, it will work in all of our favor,” Pulido said.
With the popularity of the hats and Pulido’s reputation growing, it looked as though he may have gotten a break when shops and boutiques asked for supply of the hats. After getting word that a shop in Las Vegas located next door to one of the most popular clubs wanted a supply of his merchandise, Pulido decided to not go through with the deal, or any deal for that matter.
“It defeats the purpose,” Pulido said. “We will get that set up eventually, but it has to represent, everyone has to be under that umbrella … otherwise I’d put naked girls on shirts and sell them like some other brands do.”
Making a living off his company is not Pulido’s goal. He counts his blessings everyday, knowing that he has a job that he does not consider work. For him, everything else is for the fun of it. That perspective gives Pulido the freedom to experiment with his company.
“It’s tactical fun,” Pulido said.
The concept Pulido wants his brand to exude is membership. The idea is that you have to know someone, have your own passion you are following or know Pulido to get a hat or “membership.”
“We are just connecting dots,” Pulido said. “That idea of 6 degrees of separation is only 3 in the Inland Empire.” He explained.
When it comes to success, many people attribute that to how many people you know, Pulido’s network of friends has every base covered and he is motivated to make it happen with or without you, but he prefers that you join him.
Follow Pulido on Instagram by searching @xfredo