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About / John Reyes

About

I build brands from both sides of the table.

John Reyes, known as RICE, is a Creative Director and brand builder with more than a decade of experience across fashion, streetwear, lifestyle, DTC, retail, automotive, apparel manufacturing, financial services and digital products.

That experience developed through building and operating brands directly rather than working within only one narrow creative discipline.

PERSONAL INTEREST is the strongest example of the approach, growing into a multimillion-dollar DTC streetwear business at peak scale.

Orlando / New York / Remote

How it connects

The practical result is a working understanding of how these connect, rather than treating them as separate handoffs.

  • Strategy
  • Creative direction
  • Product
  • Campaigns
  • Production
  • Digital
  • Marketing
  • Customer experience
  • Operations
  • Commerce

Today

The focus now is creative leadership.

  • Defining the creative vision
  • Building the brand system
  • Leading multidisciplinary execution
  • Raising creative quality
  • Connecting creative decisions to business objectives
  • Building brands people care about

Based in Orlando. Open to New York, relocation, remote and hybrid opportunities.

Capabilities

Brand

  • Brand strategy
  • Positioning
  • Identity
  • Creative systems
  • Storytelling

Creative

  • Creative direction
  • Art direction
  • Campaign concepts
  • Photography
  • Video
  • Content

Product

  • Apparel design
  • Collection direction
  • Product development
  • Sourcing
  • Manufacturing

Digital

  • E-commerce
  • Digital experiences
  • UX
  • Product strategy
  • Information architecture

Commercial

  • Pricing
  • Margins
  • Inventory
  • Growth
  • Sales
  • Customer experience

Leadership

  • Creative teams
  • Cross-functional leadership
  • Vendors
  • Production partners
  • Decision making

Experience

PERSONAL INTEREST2016 — present
Co-Founder & Creative Director. Brand, product, campaign, commerce and production owned end to end, with the commercial result to match.
LIFTED GALLERY2026 — present
Creative Director. Creative direction as its own discipline: holding a conceptual point of view and carrying it into collection, graphics and campaign.
RICE LABS2021 — present
Founder & Brand Production Director. Manufacturing and production literacy: creative intent translated into specifications, runs and finished product.
UNITED AUTO SALES2019 — 2020
Marketing Director. Commercial growth work: marketing, merchandising, BDC development and lead management tied directly to sales volume.
RICE MOTORS2021 — present
Co-Founder & Creative Director. Premium brand positioning and luxury customer experience in a category where trust and presentation are the product.
CLEARLINE CREDIT2026 — present
Brand & Creative Director. Brand strategy, UX and service design in a category where credibility is the hardest thing to earn.
RICE FINANCIAL2026 — present
Product Vision & Creative Direction. Product strategy, UX, information architecture and data-heavy interface design at the systems level.

Professional verification

Display identity

RICE

Professional name

John Reyes

Full legal name

John Villaverde Reyes

Open to senior creative leadership
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