MEFeater Magazine Chief Exec Lands Spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 List

Published by Zara Shepherd-Brierley at December 5, 2022

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Gabrielle Amani has just landed a spot on the latest Forbes Under 30 Media List.

Amani co-founded the lifestyle and entertainment brand MEFeater in 2012 with her mom Simone Clarke when she was just 17. Now with hubs in NYC, Atlanta, and South Africa, MEFeater has experienced incredible growth.

Not only has the brand brokered partnership deals with bigwigs such as Nike, Sephora, and MTV, it has expanded its offerings. Aside from the digital platform, there is also a print edition. The mother and daughter duo also have also recently launched MEF Agency.

MEFeater’s authenticity clearly resonates with a collective following of over 150,000 on Instagram and Twitter. The brand also has its own print edition of the magazine, with celebrities such as Saucy Santana, Jayda Cheaves, and Yung Baby Tate gracing its front covers.

Pre-pandemic, the team also decided to expand the brand into the creative marketing space, with the launch of MEF Agency. Landing clients in the fashion and beauty space such as Nike, Sephora, and NARS, Amani also makes it her business to represent upcoming and emerging brands.

Speaking about the brand’s mission, both as an agency and digital platform, Amani, 27, talks of the need to “showcase and give a voice to women of color and the LGBTQIA+ community. We want to showcase this because people of color are multifaceted, and we want to make sure that we’re seen in a light that we haven’t been seen in before.”

Other diverse founders to watch from Forbes’ 30 under 30 Media List, include Anfernee Robinson, founder of Animebae Studios. Robinson’s studio creates Manga, animations, and TV pilots featuring characters of color. In 2020, he published a Manga series called AKAI featuring characters of color, which was the #1 most-read Manga for four months and is expected to return to Amazon in 2023.

Ashten Smith-Gooden’s brand Swish Cultures was also recognized by Forbes. A University of California, Berkley graduate, who has taken her experience as a Division I volleyball player and Black Student-Athlete Committee cofounder and founded Swish Cultures, a media company dedicated to all things basketball. Smith-Gooden has been able to work with big names in the NBA and WNBA such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Candace Parker, and built partnerships with other brands such as Snapchat, Meta, Nike and Reebok.

Catch up with all of Forbes 30 under 30 here. Find Gabriella Amani, Ashten Smith-Gooden and Anfernee Robinson on LinkedIn and check out their brands Mefeater, Animbae Studios, and Swish Cultures.

The Forbes 30 under 30 lists also included Latin singer Becky G, Black Mangaka Anfernee Robinson, and Influencer Rickey Thompson.