When the world first met Petiri Reed, he was navigating the sunny social landscape of Los Angeles as a cast member on Issa Rae’s critically acclaimed HBO Max reality series, Sweet Life: Los Angeles. To the casual viewer, he was a charismatic young professional balancing dating, friendships, and business. But behind the screen, the Harlem native and Fordham MBA graduate was quietly building something far more permanent.

Today, Reed is in his home city of New York, operating as a full-time entrepreneur, model, and the co-founder of Off The Grid (OTG), a rapidly expanding community-driven lifestyle platform. Alongside co-founders Tondi, Josh Ford, and Joe Cash, Reed has transformed what began as a series of post-television events into a highly curated cultural movement.

The Quintessential Gentleman’s Editor-in-Chief, Eric Keith, spoke with Reed about the reality of leaving corporate finance, building genuine Black spaces, the beauty of fatherhood, and his highly anticipated YouTube docuseries, The Pivot.

For two seasons, Sweet Life: Los Angeles stood out as a rarity in reality television, showcasing a tight-knit circle of young, ambitious Black creatives and entrepreneurs. While normal reality structures thrive on toxic conflict, Reed emphasizes that the core mission of the show was always centered on empowerment.

“Regardless of where people want to place it in the taxonomy of the type of reality show it is, behind the scenes, it to me at least was extremely intentional on trying to showcase how modern day young hustlers, specifically Black people in popular cities, can be multifaceted, but also be entrepreneurs,” Reed shares. “If you miss the fact that that show was really about empowering people to start businesses and showing examples of that, then you kind of miss the whole point.”

While Reed fitted right in on the West Coast, his heart remained tethered to the fast-paced grit of New York. Following his stint on television, Reed and his friends decided to throw their first event in September 2022 during New York Fashion Week. Originally, they called themselves “Gang Did,” drawing inspiration from DJ Khaled’s hit album God Did.

“We realized that calling ourselves a gang… probably wasn’t the best choice,” Reed recalls. “Thinking about it from a more a corporate perspective, like trying to explain that to investors. And when we take it to the place where we want to take it, which is to be an international brand. It might not smooth over so well. So we were like, how do we still remain true to us, but also have a name that is true to the culture? And we picked ‘Off The Grid.'”

Today, OTG thrives because of the distinct professional verticals its four co-founders bring to the table: Reed is in finance, Tondi is in tech, Joe Cash is an artist and entrepreneur, and Josh Ford is a basketball coach and educator. This interdisciplinary approach has allowed them to capture a highly coveted audience of young Black professionals looking for more than just a party.

“For young professionals that have stuff going on, we truly have created a space for them to come be themselves,” Reed says. “relationships they’re symbiotic, right? They’re reciprocal. So all we’re doing is creating the space for people to be the stars that they are.”

Instead of viewing “off the grid” as an act of isolation, the founders have completely flipped the definition on its head. It isn’t about disappearing into the woods and turning your phone off; it is about stepping into a curated room of like-minded peers and leaving energized.

Last year, Off The Grid partnered with CultureCon to host their official kickoff party. During the weekend, Reed sat on an entrepreneurship panel titled Power of the Pivot. Looking around at his fellow panelists, he felt a sudden spiritual nudge.

“I noticed myself looking around like I’m kind of the only person that’s like half in half out. Right looks my left, looks my right. Everybody is doing their thing full-time… And I was like, ‘this is interesting.'”

The universe took that realization and ran with it. Just two weeks later, Reed’s corporate manager scheduled an unscheduled meeting on his calendar. He was being laid off from his stable finance job, handed a severance package, and thrust entirely into the unknown.

Instead of panicking, Reed recognized the divine alignment and decided to record the entire process. The result is his upcoming five-part YouTube docuseries, The Pivot. The new series doesn’t just show the glamorous, curated side of entrepreneurship. It explores the reality of family, navigating his role as the oldest brother to seven sisters, dating, and providing for his two-year-old son, Jelani.

Becoming a father has completely shifted Reed’s perspective, demanding a level of personal growth, patience, and emotional regulation he didn’t realize he possessed. “He’s really, really showing me how to work on my patience and even regulate my own nervous system as I’m showing him how to regulate his. So it’s like we’re both in here meditating together.”

Growing up in the city, Jelani is already getting his “city miles” in. But the most beautiful aspect of Jelani’s upbringing is the village Reed has intentionally built around him, particularly through his Off The Grid co-founders. “To see my friends step up as uncles is truly amazing. So Jelani has a lot of Black male role models in his life that are all doing cool stuff that he is looking up to; he’s going to emulate, he’s going to pick swag from each of us.”

As Reed prepares to launch The Pivot on YouTube, he leaves a two-part blueprint of advice for Black entrepreneurs currently navigating their own transitions.

“Never be too proud,” Reed shares. “Throughout this process, things may look a certain way. People post what they want to post. But I will very much go do an odd job if it means that I could pay for daycare, get my son’s diapers. You got to do what you got to do… You aren’t too good for anything.”

“And the second part of never being too proud is: Don’t be too proud to ask for help,” he continues. “Really humble yourself. Reach out and ask for help because otherwise people don’t know how to help you. So you have to really put yourself out there in order to get the help that you need to get you to that next level. Don’t be too proud.”

Check out the full interview below.

Photo Credit: Durrell Hospedale