“Tell me a little about yourself.”
Dozie Osondu laughed before answering.
“This is always the hardest question for me, bro. I’m not gonna lie to you.”
“My name is Dozie Osondu well, it’s Dozie for the short part. Nigerian American, born and raised in Queens, New York. Founder of Fine Wine Series and founder of A Tee Shop. Fine Wine Series is one of the largest cultural wine experiences in the country. The Tee Shop is your modern-day print studio for apparel, swag, and merch.”
But once he began, the story poured out like the wine he’s become known for curating, smooth with layers of depth.
Then he paused and gave the real introduction.
“A little bit about myself is I like to get people together. I like to create community. I like to gather people who want to connect, want to be in rooms of value, want to be comfortable around other people and just build with others. And I like wine. I like anime.”
That sentence simple, honest, unpretentious captures who Dozie is: a curator of spaces where Black joy doesn’t have to shrink, where culture doesn’t need permission, and where community is not accidental but intentional.
From the Kid Searching for Belonging to the Man Creating It
High school and college Dozie wasn’t the polished entrepreneur the world sees today. He was a young man looking for what he now builds for thousands.
“High school, college Dozie was someone who always wanted community himself. He wanted to find people who resonated with him and who he resonated with. I wouldn’t say I had the confidence I do today without the struggles I had to go through.”
He speaks about his younger self almost like an older brother grateful, reflective.
“At the core of it all, he was somebody who took friendship seriously so much so that the person he is today still encompasses a lot of those people. That’s why some of the people in the businesses I have now are from those days. He understood the importance of community for sure.”
That understanding would later become the foundation of Fine Wine Series.
The Light Bulb Moment at a Dinner Table
Fine Wine Series didn’t start in a boardroom. It started at a kitchen table with friends who had already tried everything.
“We’d done club parties, yacht parties, showcases, after-work events everything. We just wanted to do something different, something uncomfortable for us.”
Someone threw out the idea: wine.
“We were like, let’s see how people resonate with it. After the first one, we were like yeah. This works.”
What began as an experiment for 75 to 100 people has grown into a movement that hosts over 5,000 attendees a year.
“We noticed the huge gap. We realized we are deserving of these experiences. A lot of times we wait for somebody in a totally different demographic to create for us but we realized we can do it ourselves.”
That sentence is more than business strategy. It’s a declaration.
Men Drink Wine, We Just Don’t Get the Credit
One of Dozie’s most disruptive contributions is simple: redefining who wine culture belongs to.
“Men drink wine. This is a fact. Whether they know it or not, they’ve been drinking wine since the earliest of days.”
He laughs when he breaks it down.
“Champagne, Moët, Veuve Clicquot, Cristal those are all wine. Ace of Spades is wine. We were the biggest bottle poppers in the club and half those bottles were wine bottles.”
The issue isn’t consumption, it’s identity.
“It’s just the stigma that this is a ‘woman’s product.’ But in reality, men drink wine, been drinking wine, still gonna be drinking.”
Fine Wine Series didn’t just create events, it created permission.
Masquerade, Fashion, and the Art of Experience
Dozie talks about events the way a filmmaker talks about scenes.
“The venue is the first thing people experience when they walk into a space,” he shared. “It has to fit the grand essence of the event.”
That philosophy was on full display during the unforgettable Masquerade experience held during New York Fashion Week inside a historic Brooklyn bank. More than a party, the event became a fully immersive experience that captivated guests long before they arrived.
“It’s not just dress up, drink wine, and have fun,” Dozie explained. “It’s playfulness. People get excited before the event even starts. They’re searching for masks, putting together outfits, talking with friends. The experience begins before you ever walk through the door.”
The Masquerade proved to be a remarkable success, blending fashion, culture, mystery, and connection into a night guests are still talking about. It also served as a preview of the thoughtful creativity and intentional design that will define Dozie’s upcoming series of experiences, events that go beyond attendance and become memories people carry with them long after the final moment.
The Tee Shop: Where Quality Meets Culture
The Tee Shop was born from frustration.
“We ordered something online and the quality was trash. Then we went to a mom-and-pop shop and it felt outdated paper slips and all that.”
So Dozie and his brother Bucci built the bridge.
“How do we combine technology with real quality and real customer service? That’s what we created—modern, but personal.”
Family, Nigeria, and the Village Mindset
For Dozie, entrepreneurship is rooted in heritage.
“Being Nigerian, being Igbo family is everything. From young it was drilled into us: make sure the family’s good. Go back home. Stay rooted.”
He connects that directly to his work.
“I think that’s something we’re losing here everyone wants to be siloed. But life is easier when you have people on the same moral compass supporting you.”
The Truth About Being a Black Entrepreneur
He doesn’t romanticize the journey.
“It’s tough, man. It takes a level of grit.”
And he’s honest about the added layer.
“The path for a Black entrepreneur is totally different. You’re constantly proving yourself. I’ll email venues and as soon as they see our videos, sometimes it’s red flags like, ‘This demographic doesn’t produce these type of events.’”
But his response isn’t bitterness. It’s resolve.
“You just gotta stay the path, push through, and take breaks when you need to.”
Swimming, Stillness, and Becoming
A knee injury led Dozie to swimming and unexpectedly, to peace.
“You can’t use your phone. You’re focused on surviving in this water. The water is calm. It’s physical and mental relief.”
It even made him a morning person something he laughs at.
Everybody Is Figuring It Out
As the conversation closed, Dozie offered the philosophy that might define him most.
“I always want to come across as authentic. I don’t want to sound like everything was perfect. It wasn’t and still isn’t.”
Then the line that felt like a sermon.
“Everybody’s figuring it out. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself because you haven’t figured it out and the next man has you just never know.”
Legacy in the Making
Dozie Osondu isn’t just hosting events. He’s redesigning how Black people see leisure, luxury, and each other. He’s proving that culture doesn’t need an invitation it can build its own venue.
Fine Wine Series is more than wine.
The Tee Shop is more than apparel.
They are proof of what happens when a kid searching for community grows into a man brave enough to create it.
And the rooms he’s building?
They’re just getting started.