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Anthony Dimitrious Peniche (born April 28, 1986) is a Portland, Ore.-based inventor and entrepreneur with a rich history in fashion design and photography and a passion for charitable endeavors. He is the co-founder of NXT Industries, CEO of Time & Oak and co-founder of WeArePDX.

Early life and education
Peniche was born in San Diego, where he and his older sister and younger brother were raised by a single mother, LeeAnn, until the family moved to the Portland area when he was 13. Peniche graduated from Portland Lutheran High School before briefly attending Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore., where he focused on exercise science. From there, Peniche moved back to Portland and enrolled in the Art Institute of Portland, studying apparel design for four years.

Career
While in school at the Art Institute of Portland, Peniche launched a menswear clothing company called “Killing Beverly,” which he described as “an anti-Los Angeles brand for Los Angeles.” The company’s designs were featured on Howard Stern and worn by various celebrities.

In 2011, he released another new menswear line, “Peniche,” in 2011. Focusing on accessories and fashion, it was featured in more than 120 stores in the U.S. and 30 more in China. At the same time, he served as creative director at HNH, a company specializing in the production of reality television, documentaries and video media, creating a partnership of sorts between the two companies.

The partnership dissolved in 2012, leaving Peniche without a job at HNH and a clothing line. He was, however, honored as a member of the “The PDX 30” - 30 individuals of note under the age of 30 in Portland. Faced with little options, forced to sell everything including his car, Peniche contemplated leaving the country. But agencies began calling to ask if he’d photograph their clients.

A new career path was forged, one that whisked him to Milan to shoot for Inked Magazine and eventually led to the opening of a studio in Portland in 2013 - “The Loft” - under the auspices of NXT Industries, an organization originally created by Peniche and co-founder Micah Cruver to offer collaborative work space for creative individuals.

Another studio, “The Lab,” a futuristic-looking converted auto body shop, opened in January 2014, just 12 months later. It meant there were more 60 entrepreneurs and small businesses more or less under two roofs, all hand-selected and approved by Peniche.

“He’s a force of nature,” KXL RadioActive co-host Jamie Mustard said of Peniche during a October 2014 show. “(His) Rent-A-Desk for creatives has turned into a gaelforce of artistic projects and innovation… The Lab is an amazing space… (It’s) a pressure cooker over there.”

The latest venture is Whiskey Elements, small sticks of oak that are placed in whiskey and expedite the aging process through a method called “accelerated transpiration through capillary action.” The idea came to Peniche in December 2013, when he walked into a liquor store with a budget of $20, hoping to score a deal on something single-barrel. It didn’t happen, which caused him to wonder what the difference really was between top shelf and well whiskey.

He filed patents immediately. In April 2014, the brand and the company - Time & Oak - began taking form, using all in-house resources at The Lab. The product’s Kickstarter campaign launched Oct. 1, and Peniche’s team raised $195,000 in the first 30 days.

Philosophy, mentors and influences
Creative by nature, Peniche derives great joy in motivating and coaching others. He forgives but won’t forget, promising to protect himself and the others who set up shop inside his studios from the miscues he experienced previously.

His mother was his first professional role model. Peniche has said his work ethic and drive are derived from watching his mother’s rise from a single mother raising three children to her present role - a leading orthodontic business consultant and the president of her own company.

Another major influences is Jose Solis, who has designed fashion for Ralph Lauren and Oscar de la Renta.

Personal life
Peniche actually went by Tony Dimitri for a while in an attempt to distance himself from the family name. His sister, Kari Ann Peniche, was an overnight sensation when she won the Miss United State Teen pageant in 2003 but was stripped of her title after she was photographed nude for Playboy. She moved to Los Angeles and eventually starred in a slew of reality television shows, in which her drug use is discussed.

“Killing Beverly” was Peniche’s reaction to his sister’s situation.

He is single.

What's N(E)XT?
Stay tuned for Project FootPrint.