{"id":291112,"date":"2026-07-09T05:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/291112\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T05:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:29:08","slug":"ray-lyles-uses-fashion-film-and-care-for-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/291112\/","title":{"rendered":"Ray Lyles uses fashion, film, and care for youth"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a creative strategist, entrepreneur, and mentor in New York City, Ray Lyles understands what it means to design your own future. Through his youth organization, Rose Noire Productions<\/a>, Lyles, 43, has built a foundation that uses fashion, film, and mentorship to help young people build confidence, discover their identity, and boost their self-esteem. The program is now an authorized New York City Department of Education vendor, bringing culturally grounded mentorship to NYC public schools.<\/p>\n

For Lyles, the work is personal and rooted in what he calls \u201cHuman Architecture\u201d \u2014 the practice of building a young person\u2019s identity before focusing on career success. \u201cWe often ask kids what they want to achieve before we help them understand who they are,\u201d Lyles said. \u201cIf the identity isn\u2019t secure, the achievement won\u2019t be sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in Norwalk, Connecticut, and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Lyles says his education began long before the classroom. Raised by his father after losing his mother at a young age, he credits his upbringing for shaping who he is today. \u201cMy father didn\u2019t have all the tools to raise a child,\u201d Lyles said. \u201cHe never gave up anyway; he always kept going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyles\u2019s mother was a victim of gun violence, an experience that permanently altered his view of the world. \u201cI watched what a bullet actually does,\u201d Lyles said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t just take her life; it scarred an entire family. I grew up with a piece of myself missing. One bullet. Several lives. Several generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyles attended Mount Vernon High School and Monroe University, where he struggled to figure out where he belonged. \u201cI was a popular kid growing up, but I wore a lot of masks,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know who I was. I adapted to whatever I thought the world wanted from me.\u201d Even after graduating college, he couldn\u2019t find a career that felt like home.<\/p>\n

After working across photography, film production, fashion, advertising, and consulting, Lyles realized many young people were struggling with an identity crisis. He saw himself in them. Fashion became more than clothing; it became \u201cmy armor, my way of showing the world who I was without saying a word.\u201d He realized that creative expression could become a therapeutic outlet for others as well.<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Ray Lyles<\/p>\n

That realization became the blueprint for Rose Noire Productions. Blending fashion and filmmaking, the organization teaches executive presence, project management, and emotional regulation, culminating in an annual fashion show where participants model clothing that reflects who they truly are.<\/p>\n

Breaking into entrepreneurship wasn\u2019t easy, especially as a Black creative navigating corporate, nonprofit, and creative industries. Lyles said success required remaining authentic, noting that \u201cif you are not a certain type of Black man, then they will try and cast you out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before becoming a leader, Lyles said he first had to focus on his own growth. \u201cI had to learn to control my emotions, one of the hardest things a person can do,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to stop seeing the world only through my own lens and start understanding other perspectives. The ego has to die first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyles believes traditional public school models often fail to engage students. Rose Noire instead teaches young people to become their best selves before they even speak. He calls creative storytelling healing \u201cmedicine,\u201d encouraging students to express themselves through writing and reminding them that their past does not define their future. \u201cDon\u2019t let one chapter define your whole book,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re the author. Don\u201dt let the world write it for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although many institutions measure success through numbers, Lyles measures it through impact. Over 15 years, he said, not one participant has ended up in jail or been lost to the streets. Instead, former students have become business owners, teachers, lawyers, politicians, and parents. \u201cEven if the industry never let me all the way in, I did my job,\u201d Lyles said. \u201cI changed lives. That\u2019s my ROI.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants such as Ja\u2019Lee-Rosemarie Surpris continue to inspire him. \u201cShe was 5 when she first walked into our program,\u201d Lyles recalled. He also credits her family, noting, \u201cHer mother Rosie showed up to every practice. Every single one. Her aunt, too. They never missed a day.\u201d For Lyles, Rose Noire has become more than a program; it is a family.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Lyles hopes to expand in all five boroughs and be remembered for something bigger than fashion. \u201cI want people to remember Rose Noire as the place where someone saw them, believed in them, and fought for them,\u201d Lyles said. \u201cEveryone has a superpower; most people just don\u2019t know what it is yet. Sometimes all you need is someone to remind you how amazing you actually are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a creative strategist, entrepreneur, and mentor in New York City, Ray Lyles understands what it means to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-291112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}