Becoming the Perfect Gentleman With Herberto Horne

Herberto Horne, known affectionately as Berto, is a native of Detroit, MI. Reared by a single-mother who taught him perseverance, love and fairness, gave him a strong foundation to do his life’s work. As a child, Berto’s dream was to receive a scholarship to play college basketball. After deep consideration, a full-ride awarded by the Daniels Foundation changed his life’s trajectory and led him to enrolling at Morehouse College in 2011.

Arriving at Morehouse, Berto was immediately impressed by the astuteness and traditions ingrained in Morehouse Men to become servant leaders with a social consciousness. Though Morehouse presented many opportunities, obstacles awaited Berto upon his arrival to Morehouse registering him in Remedial Reading and English which triggered timidity and uncertainty in his confidence, and a list of questions pertaining to his life’s purpose.

Now, Berto works as a Brand Influencer and President of his marketing company, TPCurators. When traveling across the country, Berto is speaking with groups ranging from schools and universities to Fortune 500 companies, equipping men and boys with the proper tools and formalities to present oneself in both formal and informal settings, and teaching them the nuts and bolts on speaking eloquently and dressing exquisitely. Even though TPGent is targeted towards men, women are heavily influenced, indirectly, as men evolve into challenging the stereotypical images of manhood and embracing chivalrous notions that uplift women.



TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHILDHOOD AND HOW IT WAS GROWING UP?

Berto: I’m from the West Side of Detroit. I grew up with my mom in a single-parent household and we bounced around city to city, state to state. Growing up, I saw my mom always working. She always had more than one job, but always put in time and energy with me no matter what it was.

WHAT WAS YOUR COLLEGE EXPERIENCE LIKE?

Berto: I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I wanted to grow up. I figured I’d go to Morehouse. Not for academics or because of the business program but because of the conditioning and becoming a man. I needed that in my life. I knew if I went there, I could figure something else out. 

When I got to Morehouse, I joined this promo team called Hit Squad. These guys were well known in Atlanta. I knew that joining them was an easy way for people to know me on campus. I was selling the most tickets. I had all these different tricks to get people to buy and that’s how I became known on campus. I was always dancing like the little baby Diddy on campus. I wasn’t doing too well academically, but I had a great social life. One thing that helped me was working in the admissions office. I wasn’t the smartest in the classroom but I knew a lot of times operation shows how people got stuff. That’s how I was able to land an internship my sophomore year with Coca-Cola Foundation.

WHAT WERE THE FIRST STEPS YOU TOOK IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL CAREER?

Berto: I took a job with Coca-Cola. I started off as an intern personal assistant then became assistant brand manager. I was a wardrobe advisor for Commonwealth Proper. I did custom suiting, was certified in tailoring and design. I probably had like four different hustles while at Coke. And that was my way of having flexibility at Coke. I didn’t have to work for my office. I worked in the Leadership Program and Sales and Marketing. Then I got promoted a couple years later into a marketing manager.