Noah Torres completes a sale at one of his pop-up events. Photo courtesy of Noah Torres.

Every student in college experiences the pressure and reality of having to manage their schoolwork and personal life. What is it like for students who have to work on top of it all? 

Noah Torres, who’s originally from Albuquerque, is a junior at New Mexico State University majoring in marketing with a minor in personal selling. For the past year and a half, Torres has experienced the trials and tribulations of owning a small resell shop, Guru Clothing, while managing his college life. 

Torres said he’s always had a fondness for shopping at thrift stores and repurposing clothing, but it wasn’t until COVID hit that he started to explore this hobby more. What began as a passion for shopping and sewing developed into a business for Torres to learn and grow from. 

During his freshman year at NMSU, he and his friend, who also had a passion for clothing, began to build Torres’ brand in their dorm room. While using various search engines, Torres came across the name “Guru”, and knew this title was what he wanted for his image. 

“They [his friends] were giving me a bunch of mess about it but, you know, I really liked it,” Torres said. “I mean, people call me Guru now, which is hilarious.” 

A long-time friend of Torres and Vice President of Guru Clothing, Caia Ortiz, said Torres’ brand has actually been in the works since he was a junior in high school. 

During this time Torres was not yet officially running the brand but he was buying clothing second hand and refurbishing the items by stitching or painting various types of fabrics. 

“He started Guru Clothing as doing custom apparel,” Ortiz said. “I know people that did purchase custom clothing from him that still wear it to this day.” 

Torres said Guru Clothing has been the perfect experience for him — he has built his brand from the ground up and loves watching it reach a larger audience daily. He said Guru gives him a chance to build his knowledge in marketing and personal selling. 

“My long-term goal is really to move on and do something different; this is only creating more opportunities for myself,” Torres stated. “It’s a great resume builder.” 

Torres elaborated that his business isn’t just great marketing experience, but it also helps him further manage his time and understand more of what he wants for his future.  

“School is always priority; school will always be number one,” Torres said. “Some days I get caught up and I can’t reach people on my phone because of schoolwork.” 

Torres said he typically handles matters for his business after he finishes up with his school commitments. His method is making sure his homework is done before the weekend, so that time can be dedicated to Guru Clothing. 

NMSU is important to Torres, as the university is where he finds a lot of opportunities and an audience that appreciates the business of reselling clothing. In the last year, with the help of his academic advisor, Torres made Guru Clothing a campus organization. 

“I appreciate all the support that they [NMSU students] have given me every time I have an event or [social media] post,” he said. 

He utilizes a popular social media platform, Instagram, to reach a majority of his audience. He recognizes the traction the app has, and its ability to connect him with people who enjoy what he does. Publishing different forms of media, Torres has learned how to implement excitement into his posts. He uses his Instagram story, feed posts, and videos or “reels” to attract his target audience. 

Torres also reaches his consumers by attending flea markets and small venues, where he sets up racks of clothing and engages with those who attend. 

“I met a couple of people down here in [Las] Cruces and they helped me kind of open up a new gate of flea markets and markets I’d never been to,” Torres said. “It started with me barely having any clothes, now, I have probably like 200 things, which is really cool.” 

Torres discussed his summer internship working in Mayor Keller’s office in Albuquerque. He said this internship and his colleagues have instilled valuable knowledge for him in the world of marketing. Torres is looking forward to using these skills within Guru Clothing and in more future endeavors. 

“They [his colleagues] really helped me develop my skill on any type of social media platform that you can imagine,” Torres said. “I’ve definitely gotten a lot cleaner with how I put out my posts or how I display pictures.” 

The internship in Mayor Keller’s office wasn’t all Torres did this summer. He also opened a booth at Classic Century Square, an antique store in Albuquerque. He said this front was just a taste of what he hopes to have in the future. 

“I’ve always had aspirations of opening up a store, but I mean, the money aspect of it is very expensive, and I found this was a great opportunity,” Torres said. 

Although this booth was short-lived, he gained a larger demographic of customers and learned more of what hard work can do for him. 

Torres said that allows him the chance to give back to the students. He plans to set up his racks around campus this semester to sell clothing for $10 or less. Ortiz mentioned that Guru Clothing plans to have a campus sale next Wednesday, Oct. 23 as a chance to generate an audience and give back to students. 

Torres is a full-time student and a self-taught entrepreneur. He assesses his personal work and manages gathering an audience for his online store. He hopes that his hard work and dedication can be inspirational to anyone trying to start their career while pursuing an education. 

“I’m shooting for people to try their best at whatever they want to do,” Torres expressed.