ROBERTO ANTONIO TORRES

PRESIDENT, BLIND TIGER COFFEE ROASTERS – BLACK & DENIM APPAREL COMPANY, TAMPA

Torres moved to Florida from his native Panama for college, and eventually made Tampa his hometown. He started two of Tampa’s most-followed homegrown brands: Black & Denim Apparel and Blind Tiger Coffee Roasters, which has seven Tampa Bay locations. Torres is a mentor to young entrepreneurs and volunteers his time to community-building efforts. He has served on the boards of University of South Florida’s Latino Community Action Committee Presidential Advisory Committee, the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, Feeding Tampa Bay, the Ybor City Development Corp. and the City of Tampa’s Barrio Latino Commission.

EDUCATION: Florida State University (BS)

MENTOR: Ralph Garcia. I met him when he was my boss in 2006. He was as gracious with his time as he is now retired. He reminds me where I came from.

READING: Built to Last, by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. Dr. Porras created the Latino Business Action Network and has done research on Latino companies and how to make them successful.

MANTRA FOR SUCCESS: 1. No matter what it is, it is never as good or as bad as it is. It just is. 2. We are celestial beings. We emanate light and energy. The power of the universe rests inside of me. 3. Pain comes from wanting things. The minute that we are able to liberate ourselves from expectation, we become free of pain.

IF I WERE GOVERNOR
“Provide a driver’s license to undocumented immigrants. This will help clear the backlog in the court system, allow them the opportunity to mobilize without fear, and ensure that roads are safe.”