Take the 6 train to the Bronx, and get off at 3 Ave and 138th Street, the heart of Mott Haven. After walking through an underpass and toward Lincoln Avenue, you’ll find the Bronx Native, a vibrant shop whose nostalgia transports you to NYC of yesteryear. MTA metro card pins (pre-OMNY), snapbacks, doorknockers, and tagged up street signs, opening the doors to Bronx Native feels like entering a portal.

What began as a passion project nearly eight years ago, is now a community staple. Started by brother and sister duo Amaurys and Rosa Grullón, Bronx Native is equal parts clothing brand and community-organizing hub, promoting and uniting local artists and entrepreneurs, and providing a space for artistic expression. Part of the vanguard of Bronxite business owners, Amaurys activates Bronx Native through artist showcases and countless community events, like food drives, open mics, and artist showcases.

Born and raised in the South Bronx, Amaurys was deeply influenced by his community and family’s penchant for creativity and entrepreneurship. Frustrated by stereotypes associated with the borough, Amaurys co-founded Bronx Native as a way to celebrate Bronx culture and address the sociopolitical issues plaguing the community.

Driven by a desire to counter stigma of the Bronx and its residents by showcasing its beauty, Bronx Native has remained a vital force in its community, and throughout the city at large. For its cultural pride and commitment to addressing the challenges many Bronxites face, October 5, 2024 was officially proclaimed Bronx Native Day” by Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. We speak to Amaurys about his origin story, Bronx Native’s inception, and the importance of using your privilege to show up for those in your community.

*Amaurys Grullón. By Jorge Romero. Courtesy of Amaurys Grullón.*

Bronx Native was an effort started by you and your sister. Can you tell us about the backstory: what was its inception? How did the name come about?
Bronx Native started with me and my sister Roselyn Grullon. We both come from creative backgrounds: me as a designer/filmmaker and my sis as a fashion designer. Around 2014-2015 we started having conversations about Bronx based merch and our community. We wanted to rep our home the BX but we couldn’t find any clothing that truly represented The Bronx accordingly. Clothing that combined Bronx history, culture, community and merch that looked fire! We started asking people in our circles, “Would you wear Bronx based merch?” Most peeps said of course! Some peeps said it was too niche. We saw all the BK merch, Harlem, NY but no Bronx merch. The Mecca of so many things and we didn’t have any representation in the streetwear realm. We started brainstorming, designing and creating this brand that would eventually become Bronx Native. When thinking of a name we wanted to come up with something that was versatile, a name that meant more than just a clothing brand. From the very beginning we knew this was going to be a community based brand with a social component. A multidimensional brand that did many things. We came up with “Bronx Native” . We though it was a cool name that represented us and can be more than just a brand, it could be a movement! We started using “Bronx Native” as captions on our posts when we went out to shoot The Bronx, we opened up our socials with Bronx Native, we started putting it on merch and established Bronx Native as our name.

*Amaurys Grullón. By Laura Fuchs. Courtesy of Amaurys Grullón.*

How did your family land in the Bronx?
My mom and dad both are from Moca in the Northside of DR a place called El Sibao. They both came to NYC for a better life in the 1980s. They both met here at a small apartment that one of their friends was renting in Washington Heights. They were roommates and got together. My dad was a taxi driver and his number was 96 everyone used to call him Nueve Sei. My mom was a hard working Christian woman, both working towards the American Dream and providing the best life possible for me and my sis. We had family in The Bronx, so my mom came to live here while my dad stayed in The Heights. Me and my sister were born in the early ‘90s. Thanks to our mom and dad for doing what they could to allow us to live our dream, and even though we lived in Section 8 and didn’t have much, they gave us the best life we could ever ask for. Love my Dominican background and growing up in The Boogie Down Bronx.

Growing up a Bronxite, when and why did you realize the importance of participating economically in your beloved borough?
Since a very early age I knew I wanted to be both a creative and an entrepreneur. I wanted to do what I love, but didn’t believe in the stigma of being a “starving artist”. I knew I needed to combine what I love with my entrepreneurial mindset and make it happen. My dad was also an entrepreneur. He had a couple businesses and hustles in The Heights. I grew up going to his business peeps playing pool, cards, dominos. I loved the fact that my dad was a self made man, and that stuck with me. When I was 19 years old, I started my entrepreneurial journey learning everything I could, connecting with mentors. Growing up in a Pentecostal church with my mom gave me my community values and taught me the importance of your people. My first business was GET Studios which I started in 2014 right when I graduated Bronx Community College. I decided to dive into my dreams: first, open my business and second, go to the school of my dreams: The School of Visual Arts. The mission of my first business was to provide multimedia services for small businesses in my community to help them succeed and get into the digital age. I was successful in doing so, but I knew I had to do something that I could call my own–a business that combined my creative expression, my entrepreneurial spirit, and my sense of community. I was able to do that with Bronx Native, a business that creates social change and also is sustainable. I love being able to contribute economically to my borough. We buy our merch here, print our merch here, sell our merch here, pay rent here, support locally everyday and more. It’s a beautiful thing.

6th anniversary of the Bronx Native. *Courtesy of Amaurys Grullón.*

As a multi-hyphenate creative, why has it been so important to remain grounded in the Bronx?
I think the most amazing thing in the world is finding something you love doing, you're good at, you get paid for, and that the world needs. I’ve truly found this with Bronx Native. As a creative I’m able to express myself through many different mediums (fashion, marketing, video, photography, design). I'm good at it and love it! With our work, we are creating social change. We are empowering, inspiring. My passion is sustainable. We are selling merchandise, working on partnerships, collaborating, hosting events and more. It’s a win-win for all fields, and it’s not easy to find that. I’m blessed to create, do what I love, get paid for what I love and make my home, The Bronx, a better place!

In a time where many businesses operate online, you're still committed not only to having a brick and mortar business, but using it as a hub for community. Why is having a physical location important to you?
When I was in the beginning of opening up our brick and mortar shop, everyone was advising us not to because everything was going online. We had a clear vision for the shop. It wasn’t going to just be a retail shop, that was too boring. We knew we needed to make the physical shop into an interactive experience. The shop was the best thing that happened to us.

We were inspired by an old school shop called Fashion Moda. It used to be a cool spot for Graff writers and creatives to hang and chill. We saw pictures of it where the Graff artist tagged up the whole shop, and said that’s what we are going to. Make the shop an authentic immersive Bronx interactive experience. Yes you can buy a shirt that represents your home, but it was gonna be more than that. A cultural hub, an inclusive platform for creatives and entrepreneurs and community to break bread, connect, learn, express, elevate and much more!

The shop started as a pop up shop for two weeks. Those two weeks were the most action packed weeks of our life. We did the most: events everyday, collabs, releases, workshops, open mics. We quickly realized that this was needed in The Bronx. We sold out all our mech in one week and got all the press and engagement from our community. After the two weeks were done, our landlord offered us a lease and we took it.

For me, the shop is a masterpiece. When I think of the shop, I think of a heart pumping blood to our borough. We’ve had so many incredible experiences, stories, moments in the shop that I will take with me my whole life. It’s been an incredible eight years having this shop and it’s only the beginning!

Mott Haven has become a poster child for gentrification in the Bronx. With highrises erected along the East River, many are weary about what this means for the future of the Bronx. How do you navigate this?
We were born and raised in Longwood, and started coming to Mott Haven around 2015 because of a couple of events and restaurants in the neighborhood. That was the first time we were first exposed to what was starting to happen in Mott Haven. The developers wanted to rebrand Mott Haven into “The Piano District” around the same time we were starting our brand Bronx Native. Putting together our mission, visual language and what we were going to stand for. That played a part in our branding and we decided we wanted to create a brand that preserved our culture, a brand that highlighted local voices, one that championed the community that poured their blood sweats and tears into The Bronx.

Bronx Native is us putting up our flag and saying, this is still The South Bronx and we will continue to turn up and embrace our people. As a whole, The Bronx was able to stop developers from trying to rebrand The South Bronx to “The Piano District”, but the journey still continues. We aren’t against change, our community deserves beautiful things and economic development. We are against displacement and not having the natives have a seat at the table. Through our brand we keep this neighborhood authentic and elevate our local creatives, entrepreneurs, communities voices.

Most of the businesses in Mott Haven are owned by Black and Brown peeps, Bronx Natives, our people. We work together, collaborate and make sure that anyone that comes here checks in before just coming in here and doing things. We need to continue to have conversations, create solutions and make sure that our people are being heard. The needs of the locals need to be acknowledged and acted on.

There have been a lot of new buildings and apartments that have come up in the past years but a lot of them are still empty because the rent is too high, definitely something that needs to be adjusted. A lot of businesses have come and go. It’s crazy to know that The Bronx Native Shop is currently one of the longest standing businesses in The neighborhood. We have seen many changes and eras in the neighborhood (pre pandemic, pandemic, post pandemic) and now I feel we are approaching a new era.

Hope we can continue to make it happen in this neighborhood. Mott Haven has shown us a lot of love and we are happy to be part of the fabric and history of this neighborhood. We will continue to fight, highlight our Bronx, and make sure we have a seat at the table to be heard, seen and part of everything that’s coming.

*Amaurys Grullón sitting outside of Bronx Native. Courtesy of Amaurys Grullón.*

The Bronx: the birthplace of Hip-Hop, the birthplace of salsa. The Bronx has always been such fertile ground for cultural creation.
These two amazing music genres came from The Bronx. Both conceived around the same decades. African Americans and Puerto Rican people coming together. We wanted to be heard, seen, acknowledged. Our people have always been the flyest, the most creative and ambitious. The environment and state of The Bronx at the time was a factor in the creation of these art forms. A lot of great art and movements come from great suffering. Seeing The Bronx burn, crime, being disenfranchised, neglected and not given resources or help made us come together in community to create our own reality. Hip Hop and Salsa saved us from everything that was happening, and at the same time, we created a movement that went all over the word and continues to create impact in a massive way.

Despite being such an important place for the city, and the world, the Bronx still gets relegated to stereotypes. What do you think people still get wrong about the Bronx?
The Bronx has always been the last place for a lot of things. Harmful stereotypes and narratives are still present. We try to change the narrative and combat these harmful stereotypes through our content, events, shops. We still have a lot of issues that need to be talked about and fixed. We need leaders that lead by example. We need problem solvers with innovative ideas that target issues from the root. Things take time and we are still working day and night to continue to change that narrative and make The Bronx a better place.

For me, being from The Bronx means being a fighter, being real. Being from The BX means a problem solver, someone that makes it happen with what they have. I'm so proud being from The Bronx and being able to represent all of our beautiful people through our movement!

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