Andrew Jonathan Eells is my birth name, but I prefer Shaggy.
I have this addiction to being underestimated. It pushes me to accomplish more than I normally would.
So when someone realizes my name is Shaggy and looks at my dreads, they think I am a stoner and have no goals in life. I get this all the time.
Here’s an example:
Not too long ago I was attending Sierra Nevada University and skied for their freestyle team.
Most professors would take one look at me and then assume that I was going to be a terrible student. Fair enough, I looked like I was going to ditch class every day and not contribute in any way.
Most professors thought this until I spent the entire semester sitting in the front of the class asking a ton of questions. Then the test would come around, and I’d always score in the top 10%.
Fast forward to the end of college, and I graduated a year ahead of schedule, took a double major of marketing and ski business, earned 1st place overall freestyle male at college nationals -- all while paying my own living expenses the entire time.
It’ll be just the same in the business world, they’ll underestimate me until I prove myself. The good news is that I find most of my clients from networking and referrals.
All in all, being called Shaggy is another reason for me to prove myself.