Interview with Clayton Chambers
Tags: Featured

Follow @claytonchambrs and @sprezza_ on Twitter.

What inspired you to create Sprezza?

I started Sprezza as a creative outlet during the pandemic. It emerged when I needed something to work on that felt like a hobby and not like “work.” Without knowing it from the start, Sprezza evolved into something I’m deeply passionate about, which is creating a corner on the internet that covers menswear, clothing, and men’s lifestyle at large. In over a year, I went from writing Twitter Threads to building a vibrant newsletter audience of readers all around the world.

How did you grow Sprezza’s community?

The community part is a work in progress. But, for the newsletter, I’ve been fortunate to have people who believe in me promote my work, whether that’s plugging my pieces in their newsletters, retweeting what I talk about, or sharing it with friends and family. It’s not a growth hacky answer, but it’s an organic one. Building something good takes time. There’s no shortcut to authenticity.

Who makes up Sprezza’s community?

Sprezza is composed of mostly male readers who are entrepreneurial. They’re generally independent thinkers who work across tech, at startups, in media, or for consumer brands. They’re high earners and they live all over the world in medium-to-large cities, from NYC and LA to London and Tokyo. My readers are intellectually and stylistically curious; they care about how they look. They know enough about their own style to get by but are actively learning and growing in their understanding of brands and products.

What excites you about the creator economy?

As a creator, I’m pumped about the tools and resources that are available right now! Whether it’s Patreon, Substack, or Stripe, we have the power to shift what equitability looks like in this world for regular people. These resources weren’t available to our parents or grandparents in the prime of their careers.

What we’re seeing is that creators are being rewarded for creating value. It doesn’t matter if you write about the weather, cocktails, local news, crypto, book reviews, or clothing (like me), there’s a niche on the internet for everyone to explore and find their community.

The old media landscape was predicated on control and power. The new media landscape has leveled the playing field, and we’ll continue to see that evolve. Creators can finally make a living off of creating content, and that’s a beautiful thing.

How would you describe yourself?

I’m both a curator and connector. First, I’m able to absorb lots of information and synthesize it for people in a digestible way. I can take components of information and curate them in a neatly-packaged format. Second, I’m a deeply social person. I get satisfaction from connecting people together. It doesn’t matter, if those people end up building a business together or they just vibe out over shared interests, connection is foundational to the human experience.

Sprezza is my playground to exercise both of those skills, curation and connection. I round information up the best brands, products, trends, and ideas on the internet and share that info with my readers.

I also just hosted my first Sprezza event, doing a private dinner series in London. It was super validating to know that bringing people together is what it’s all about. There will be more of these events in the future.

How do you spot trends before anyone else?

I can’t give any secrets away ;) but I rely heavily on curation in my own work in order to be in the know with what’s happening.

How do you build authentic relationships with people on the web?

The same way you build them in real life: by being vulnerable and curious. The best friendships I’ve made with people online have come from Twitter.

Tip 1: Leave your ego at the door, learn about others and their stories, find out what makes them tick.

Tip 2: Ask great questions. If they’re a genuine person, they’ll reciprocate that.

Tip 3: Be wary of transactional people who only reach out when they need something from you.

Tip 4: And remember that it’s okay for different people to represent different aspects of you. Some people you meet online will just be your friend, some will become professional relationships, and others will remain acquaintances. Knowing the difference between those three is important.

Where do you see Sprezza going?

I’m building a world around Sprezza, creating different content layers beyond the newsletter. Expect to see audio and video in the future, perhaps a print/magazine element, and a strong collaborative element to it, whether that’s in the form of events, product drops, or deepening community engagement.

What advice would you give a creator who is starting out?

Start. Just start. Figure out the bells & whistles later. After you start? Keep going. Iterate. Experiment. Try shit. And don’t take yourself too seriously. Creating content (of any kind) is meant to be fun, and when you force it to be something it’s not, you ruin the joy that comes from it.