Scotty ATL is not new to this, he’s true to this. The creative artist-turned-entrepreneur has shaped the way the culture rocks grillz with custom-made designs for some of the top people in the game. As he continues to build his own table, the Atlanta native revealed there’s more to him than meets the eye.

“I built my own lane in the grillz industry by being a pioneer,” he told REVOLT in an exclusive interview for Black Business Month. “That’s what a lot of people don’t know. Not only do I do grillz or have my own shops, but I design grillz, so a lot of designs that are out now, that people wear, we came up with a lot of those designs. We have some designs that you can only get at Grillz by Scotty.”

The pioneer said that prior to his vision, the idea of having a boutique-style shop to purchase jewelry specifically made for your teeth was something that had never been done before. Visiting his Grillz by Scotty shops in both his hometown of Atlanta and where the stars reside in Los Angeles is more than just a trip to your average store; he told REVOLT it is an experience.

“It’s always been like the old school classic shop that people go into, but we switched that up,” Scotty ATL explained. “People come in, they get champagne, they get to walk around… They take pictures. It’s a whole experience.”

When Scotty first hit the scene, he was rapping alongside some of the hottest names in the game. In fact, he still carves time out for his first love, which has always been music. His latest album, Candler Road to Melrose, features collaborations with heavy hitters like Pimp C, Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T., and another grillz enthusiast, Paul Wall.

“It feels good,” said Scotty when asked about being able to still pursue music while running a successful business. “In all honesty, I feel like the grillz are way bigger than the music is, but I feel like I’ve been known, that’s how people knew me originally, you know, for doing music. That’s how people found out about the grillz, really. One of my homeboys told me to look at it like this: ‘It’s like having a hit record. You just did it in the business world.’”

What’s more, Scotty ATL expressed that doing music taught him the art of hustling.

“In the music industry, I learned how to hustle by selling my merchandise, and doing my own shows and tours,” he shared. “So, coming into having my own grillz shop, one of the key components that we do is events. We have our own tour coming up, the ‘Show Your Grill Tour,’ but I also built a lot of my clientele through working with PK with Lemon Pepper Wet, which is an LA party. It’s really a traveling party, but we did LA first.”

Over the years, Scotty has worked alongside people like Issa Rae, Jesse Williams, Ludacris, and more to design their custom grillz. Beyond that, he’s partnered with sports franchises like the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and big corporations like Nike.

“I feel like some of the key components are brands that are classic or longstanding, like they’ve been around for a long time,” said Scotty ATL when asked what the perfect business partnership entails. “That always interests me when I look at [brands like] Crown Royal, Puma, even REVOLT, you know; I feel like these are companies that I want to stand next to because people can look at them and say they’ve been around for a long time… That’s how I want my company to be. I want to be around for a long time. Just to see when a brand looks classy to me, it has a certain light to it… like Cadillac, Mercedes, Grillz by Scotty. That’s how I see it, you know?”

In the near future, Grillz by Scotty is taking its talents abroad and partnering with LL Cool J’s Rock The Bells Cruise in the fall, where voyagers can get custom grillz while aboard the ship.

“It’s so dope, to be honest,” said the businessman. “I can’t wait to get on the cruise ship. I think it’s gonna be a surreal moment when I actually get there. But, for now, just to be a part of it, I feel like I’m one of the youngest guys on the whole ship. I’m just saying it feels good and it says a lot, so I appreciate him and his whole team.”

His goal is for Grillz by Scotty to be around forever… This is not just a fad.

“I’m achieving longevity with Grillz by Scotty by working on the details, the small things, the inner workings, the staff, the training,” he elaborated. “I’m just educating myself on a daily basis, so that I don’t get so stuck into what I feel like is right now. I always want to be looking ahead where things are going. How can I get ahead of the curve?”