About Us

Gold Standard Brands operates at the intersection of culture, commerce, and community, helping brands, talent, and organizations turn influence into measurable impact. The company collaborates with forward-thinking brands, creators, and institutions to develop authentic narratives, execute high-level campaigns, and build culturally relevant strategies that drive visibility, revenue, and long-term brand equity.

Founded in 2022 by Corey Cleghorn—also widely known as Corey Clout—Gold Standard Brands is backed by decades of experience across brand strategy, media, entertainment, marketing, and community engagement. Corey is a seasoned strategist and connector with a proven track record of building brands from the ground up and positioning them for national relevance.

Corey currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer of Urban Specialists, a nationally recognized nonprofit working at the forefront of violence prevention, public safety collaboration, youth mentorship, and workforce development. In this role, he helps bridge the gap between community, business, and government—designing initiatives that create real-world outcomes while maintaining cultural credibility.

In addition to Gold Standard Brands, Corey is the founder of World Clout Agency, Clout Marketing, and Clout Records, an independent record label he scaled from a small startup into a nationally distributed brand in 2007. He is widely credited with popularizing the modern use of the term “clout” as a measure of influence and power within entertainment and pop culture—well before it became a mainstream metric.