Essentials: Coltrane Curtis of Team Epiphany

Long before Team Epiphany was formed, Coltrane Curtis was busy forging his path in the industry working as vice president of marketing at Marc Ecko Enterprises. It was during that same time that he would serve as editor-at-large at the rapidly growing publication Complex – putting him in contact with big names such as 50 Cent, Eminem, Mos Def and Timbaland. After eight years with Marc Ecko, Curtis decided to pursue a position at MTV as their first “Style VJ,” and it was from that particular experience when he began to feel that his knack for building strong relationships along with his personality were best suited behind the camera — cultivating what is now known as Team Epiphany. It’s no surprise that Curtis had the urge to pursue brand building — his father, whom he was rather close with, worked as a marketing executive for over 25 years. Toted to various celebrity events across the country, Curtis was exposed to the intensive labor, extensive networking and meaningful relationship building necessary to create a successful marketing initiative. Since the founding of Team Epiphany in 2004, the agency has grown from a one-man shop to a 20-plus person agency, adding a number of influential brands to its roster of clients including Pepsi, Moët & Chandon, Yahoo!, Def Jam, EA Sports and Heineken, to name but a few. As part of our continuing Essentials series, we take a look at what Curtis considers necessary in his everyday. Curtis boasts a refined personal taste as well as a soft-spot for quality vintage goods — seen from his eyewear, miniature Leica M3 camera and classic timepiece, yet at the same time we see a mutual balance between work and family, as he pays homage to the generation before and the generation to come — we applaud him for working just as hard at home as he does at the office.

Photography: John Ong/HYPEBEAST