For many club promoters, nightlife can be just passing out flyers, getting beautiful women to come out and turning up in the VIP sections but for this nightlife vet, it was an opportunity to become one of the most respected and multifaceted entrepreneurs in New York.
Joel "Naesketchie" Molina was born with the NY hustle spirit. He was a natural born hustler even as a teenager. He would spend his time after school working as an usher at a local college in New York as well as working as a sales associate at Dr. Jay's clothing store. In addition to that, he would create custom spray-painted tee's and sell them. His big personality mixed with his fly style quickly gained him popularity in his community.
That's why a friend of his suggested that he would do well as an event host and party promoter. Young Naesketchie ran with the idea and started hosting the most talked about parties in the Uptown New York community that he held in his sisters apartment. He charged $5 at the door to bring in another stream of revenue and to cover event expenses.
Though there were many ways he could have easily fell victim to his environment and steer down the wrong path, the Bronx native always surrounded himself around the right people who kept him motivated. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, his mother migrated to New York to provide a better life for him and his sister. He always watched his mom work and her work ethic was instilled within him.
"My favorite days were the days that I would hang out with my older cousins and they would always drop some knowledge about how to be successful," he said. "I listened carefully every time."
Naesketchie continued to conquer the NY nightlife scene. As his events grew bigger and bigger, he went on to build relationships with big time artists such as Cardi B, French Montana, A-Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Casanova, Future and Fabolous, to name a few. He used his success in that field to transition into the world of Entrepreneurship. He now owns a successful clothing line Mazco Original and a successful Record Label Sketchie Entertainment, where he manages his niece, Roc Nation artist Angelica Vila. His list of talents doesn't end there though. He's also an aspiring producer and is working towards producing music in the future. When it's all said and done he wants to be known for mastering everything he does.
"InnovAtion is important and being able to create things before anyone is genius. I want to be known for my accountability, action-oriented, trusting and transparency."
The only thing he wished he could do better is take the time to credit himself more and reflect on how his influence impacted his community.
"Throughout my journey I have accomplished many victories and I often cut myself short by not giving myself enough credit for many things. I can say that I was the one who started the Hip-Hop genre events throughout Uptown, NYC and made it known for more than just a Spanish community," he said. "Because of me it's known as an entertainment staple."
To follow his journey, you can add him on Instagram @naesketchie