MADE IN AMERICA: THE GARDEN STATE GAZETTE LAUNCHES A NEW SERIES ON WORKING-CLASS POWER
Why we’re dedicating a whole franchise to New Jersey’s builders, grinders, and second-gen strivers
By The Garden State Gazette Staff
New Jersey is full of people who were never supposed to be anything special—
and are quietly becoming very, very dangerous in the best way.
Second-gen kids who turned pressure into fuel.
Immigrants who built a whole life out of a carry-on bag.
Working-class locals who turned side hustles into companies.
Most of them will never get a Netflix documentary.
So we’re doing something about that.
Today, The Garden State Gazette is officially launching:
🛠 MADE IN AMERICA – a recurring GSG series dedicated to the people and stories
built from paychecks, not trust funds.
No fluff. No fake “American dream” marketing.
Just real people, real grit, and the kind of long-game thinking that actually moves families, cities, and bank accounts.
What “MADE IN AMERICA” Is About
This series is our answer to a simple question:
“Who’s actually building something here?”
Not in theory. Not in vibes.
In real life—right here in New Jersey.
In MADE IN AMERICA, we’ll be profiling:
- Second-gen founders who took their parents’ sacrifices and turned them into empires-in-progress
- Small business owners who kept the lights on when everyone else gave up
- Quiet operators—mechanics, barbers, cooks, dispatchers, coders, single parents—who built something from “not enough”
- Blue-collar to boardroom stories that show what happens when working-class discipline meets strategy
We are not here to romanticize struggle.
We are here to document power being built in real time.
Why Start in New Jersey?
Because New Jersey is the perfect lab.
High rent. High pressure. High noise.
You don’t survive here by accident.
From Bergen County to Paterson, Newark to New Brunswick, the Shore to South Jersey, this state is full of:
- People working two jobs and a dream
- Families running businesses out of garages, kitchens, and small storefronts
- Students juggling work, school, and side hustles, trying to break a pattern instead of repeat it
Most media only show up when something goes wrong here.
We’re here to show what happens when something goes right—because someone refused to tap out.
Our First Installment: Bernard Van Houten
Every series needs a clear starting shot.
Ours begins with:
MADE IN AMERICA: The Second-Gen Media Baron Taking Over New Jersey – Bernard Van Houten
A Bergen County native, second-gen, who could’ve stayed soft and safe in the suburbs—
and instead chose Paterson as his battlefield.
Built not with venture capital, but with:
- Paychecks
- Long nights
- A refusal to waste money on fake status
That story is our tone-setter:
- No apology for ambition
- No shame in starting small
- No obsession with looking rich instead of becoming rich
From there, the lens widens.
What Kind of Stories We’re Looking For
MADE IN AMERICA isn’t about perfection.
It’s about trajectory.
We’re looking for:
- People who come from pressure, not privilege
- Founders who can show receipts—hours worked, risks taken, money put in
- Students who turned a skill (coding, cutting hair, nails, design, music, mechanics, writing) into something that feeds them or their family
- Owners who refuse to move their business out of New Jersey, even when it would be easier somewhere else
We care less about where you are right now
and more about how far you’ve already come—and where you’re clearly going.
Why This Matters (Especially to the Next Gen)
If you’re a high school student, college kid, or young worker in New Jersey, you are being sold two lies at the same time:
- “If you don’t come from money or connections, you’re stuck.”
- “If you just believe in yourself and buy a course, you’ll magically be rich.”
Both are garbage.
The truth is uglier—and more empowering:
- You can build something serious here
- It will not be easy
- It will take years, discipline, and saying “no” to distractions most people consider normal
MADE IN AMERICA is our way of saying:
“Here. Look. These are people from places like yours, with problems like yours, who are still building anyway.”
Not motivation posters.
Blueprints.
How to Get Featured (Or Nominate Someone)
We’re not waiting for PR teams or polished press kits.
If you:
- Run a business or serious side hustle in New Jersey
- Are a second-gen or working-class story in motion
- Or know someone who is clearly on that path
Then MADE IN AMERICA might want your story on the record.
You (or someone nominating you) should be ready to:
- Talk honestly about where you started
- Share what you risked and what you sacrificed
- Show how you’re building—step by step, not just in “inspirational quotes”
How to pitch us:
Contact us at:
contact@thegardenstategazette.com
The GSG Promise
We’re not here to sanitize you.
We’re here to tell the truth.
If your story is messy, we keep it real.
If your path is unconventional, we lean into it.
If your ambition sounds “crazy” to normal people, we print it in bold.
Because MADE IN AMERICA isn’t about being perfect.
It’s about being built here, tested here, and still standing
—in the most unforgiving, underrated state in the country.
New Jersey, this is your series.
We’re just the ones pointing the spotlight.
**TO NOMINATE SOMEONE PLEASE EMAIL US AT: contact@thegardenstategazette.com
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