Meet Anthony Sostre | CEO of Black Helmet Apparel and VP of Growth at Instafloss

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anthony Sostre and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anthony, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
One of my character flaws is that I throw myself so fully into anything I’m working on. Early on in my career this led to extreme burnout and a work/life balance that heavily skewed to the work side. I was always aware this was the case, but only when I could convince myself that my work improves by finding a better balance could I actually carve time away from work. Things like vacations have become more common and more spread out as I see their utility in recharging me and giving me the creativity needed to excel in my day to day work. In a way, you can say I’m working hard to carve out a better balance so that I can continue to work hard!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
One of the facts that I’m most proud of is the fact that I’ve either contributed to or been directly responsible for an increase in revenue year over year for every company I’ve worked with. This track record for growth has led to me moving up rapidly within my field jumping quickly into top leadership roles, but was by no means easy! I’ve spent countless sleepless nights unable to get the big picture strategic questions out of my head, and this almost unstoppable tendency to think through every problem has helped me overcome tons of unique and at times frightful challenges. Even just looking back to COVID most recently, when uncertainty plagued us all. I was left to chart out a strategy in a time when I had no personal experience to lean on. Rather than relying on my gut, I spent weeks researching everything I could to set a course for Singular Sound and was able to pivot and gain additional market share for the company in a time when others were pulling back. It was a huge win in an otherwise extremely daunting circumstance.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is a tough question to answer. First off I’ve never been a big itinerary person preferring to take things more by the moment and how we’re all feeling. Second, Miami has so many great spots, and I’m very “Old Miami” in the sense that I enjoy the nature side of things most. Shrimping off of bridges and fishing in the canals for example. A lot of those activities and spots have really diminished over the years, but one thing that’s done nothing but improve is the food. If someone was visiting I’d take them to all my favorite places to eat: Drinking Pig and Hometown BBQ in allapattah would be must visits specifically for Drinking Pig’s brisket and Hometown’s Pastrami Bacon. Other than that we’d probably spend time on a boat in the Intracoastal hitting up the sandbar by Haulover Inlet and venturing out for some hidden fishing spots where the catches are still good!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Growing up, I watched my father, a serial entrepreneur, start and grow business after business. Each business reaching new highs and coming with unique challenges and successes. While I was only directly involved with a handful of those businesses, even just seeing all the effort he put in and overhearing his meetings and work days (he worked from home most days) was enough to give me a huge leg up on most others in my position. Even now, when I’m facing a challenge and not quite sure of what to do I can lean on him to give me his take – something that’s grown only more valuable and varied over time.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sostre.anthony/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-sostre/