Who Are We & Our Why?

Aloha, my name is T.J. Nii, I’m a 41-year old husband and father of two boys (ages 8 and 5). I created Elite-Level Dinos (ELD) because it's a brand that I as a parent wish existed.  ELD is primarily driven on making the world a better place though the creation of children’s books that are not only entertaining with cool art, but most importantly deliver great messages or ways of being/thinking that I wish I knew as a kid and didn’t have to wait till my mid 30s to learn.  Each book will feature a unique dino that is elite in a specific trait or way of being that has had a huge impact on my life and my personal growth as a human being.  In my single humble perspective, the children’s book market seems flooded these days with so many lazily developed low quality products and it seems I can never find books that discuss the topics and messages that I really want to emphasize with my children to set them up for success in life. My wife and I try our best to regularly talk about these ways of thinking and being with our kids, but I’ve always felt it would be awesome to double-down on exposing our children to these mindsets and traits through children’s books before bed.  For myself, story time before bed has always been that sacred time as it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind of commuting to work, kids’ school, and extra curriculars, but the one time we can still usually connect with our children is when reading a book before bed and if the book is good, it usually spurs great conversation.  I’m hoping that through my books, I can help other parents by at least taking one item off their crazy list of things to worry about.  They’ll at least know that they have one book on their shelves that is not only entertaining, but also teaches a great message to set their kids up for success, and hopefully spurs conversation to bring parents and their children closer together.  

Overall, I’m also hoping that ELD eventually becomes cool and appealing to the point that grownups such as the parents, uncles, and aunties of children also want to rock our merch.  

Aside from solving a personal pain point, creating ELD is also my way of living without regret, following my dreams, and showing my children that you can create something meaningful to help the world from nothing but your own thoughts and belief in yourself. 

I'm also hoping that through ELD, I can be an inspiration for others that it's never too late to follow your dreams despite the setbacks in life and challenges thrown our way.   

Hope you'll join us on this journey of changing the world through these dinos <3