Christina “Chriss” Rogers is currently somewhere between cities in the middle of a national tour that runs from March 21 to May 3, 2026, and it’s exactly where she’s supposed to be.

The Guard Ya Grill Spring 2026 Tour is produced by EASE, a jewelry brand based out of Los Angeles that’s Black-owned, woman-owned, and self-funded.

It is also a testament to how far Chriss has come since 2021 when she invented an innovative product the industry had never seen before: the Protective Mouth Grill.

Chriss grew up in Houston, Texas, which means she grew up surrounded by grill culture. She understood and respected its place as a form of self-expression rooted in Black creativity. But it was a deeply personal experience that sparked the invention.

“I was going through a teeth straightening process, and I just remember feeling like the whole thing was so… boring,” she shared with Queens At Work. “It didn’t reflect me at all.”

At the same time, she became keenly aware of an oral concern that’s long existed in grill culture and isn’t exactly ideal for long-term dental health: prolonged metal contact with teeth. She found herself staring at two problems and no idea how to address either.

“On one side, you have people coming out of orthodontic work with no real options for expression. On the other side, you have grill culture, which looks amazing but doesn’t always prioritize protection. I started thinking, why doesn’t something exist that does both?”

That question became the brand EASE.

The Protective Mouth Grill, known as the PMG, features a thin, non-toxic protective layer, creating a barrier between the metal and the wearer’s teeth. The protective layer is clear and bonds to the metal so it does not come out. The protective layer is not detachable or interchangeable.

It’s patent-pending and the first of its kind. Developing it took eight months of relentless work. No days off, no roadmap, no one to look to for guidance.

“I spent about eight months troubleshooting it, and I didn’t take a day off. Every single day I was doing something — testing, thinking, researching, adjusting — just trying to figure out how to make it work,” she shared on the development process.

“I was honestly very headstrong during that time. I didn’t really give myself space to be discouraged because I could see the idea so clearly in my mind. I knew it was supposed to happen. I started moving like it was done before it was actually done. I hired a graphic designer to create a 3D model of the product, and once I saw it visually, it helped me understand how to actually bring it to life physically.”

She also started the patent process before the product was fully developed. She was constructing the future before it was ready…and it worked!

“That process really taught me that sometimes you have to build things a little out of order. You have to trust your vision enough to move forward, even when everything isn’t fully figured out yet.”

The PMG’s reach extends beyond grill culture entirely. It is also designed for people transitioning out of braces or a teeth-straightening process, offering what Chriss describes as “a glorified retainer” that doesn’t ask you to choose between protecting your smile and expressing yourself through it.

EASE has built a growing network of dentists who now carry the PMG in their practices. This distribution model supports the theory that this is as much an oral health innovation as it is a fashion product.

But, getting those dentists on board has been a long game. “Coming in as a jewelry founder into a dental space, I understood early on that I wasn’t going to be immediately embraced. Dentists are trained to prioritize oral health in a very specific way, and grill culture hasn’t traditionally aligned with that. So there was naturally some hesitation,” she says. “Respect in a space like this doesn’t happen overnight — it comes through consistency, results, and education.”

Before EASE, Chriss moved to Los Angeles in 2011 to pursue songwriting. The city opened other doors that led her into entrepreneurship and she spent nearly a decade learning the architecture of building a brand, running an online clothing store.

“Running a clothing store taught me how e-commerce really works,” she says. “It also taught me customer psychology. Understanding how people think, what makes them buy, what makes them hesitate… Even now with EASE, the product can speak for itself, but I still have to be mindful that it’s an investment for a lot of people. So I think about how to make it feel accessible and how to guide customers through the process in a way that makes sense to them.”

She also learned work ethic as a practice, not a personality trait. “I think I’ve always had it in me, but running that store really strengthened it. It taught me consistency, discipline, and how to keep going even when things aren’t perfect.”

That whole chapter, she says, shaped how she runs EASE today.

Since launching, EASE has sold over 4,500 Protective Mouth Grills. The brand is entirely self-funded. No investors. No institutional backing. No outside capital. And this is by choice.

“Early on, I knew investors weren’t the right move — especially because I was introducing something completely new to the market,” Rogers explains. “I want to make sure that as the product grows, it’s done on my own terms, with my own vision, and in a way that feels fully authentic. I created something from nothing, so I want to have the space to shape it without too much outside influence.”

She describes her relationship with money in terms that reflect a deeper philosophy: “I don’t really see it as just a physical thing — I see it more as energy. As long as I’m making smart decisions, learning, and staying consistent, I trust that I can reinvest back into the business and keep it moving forward.”

The most unexpected challenge, she shares, has been managing a team, learning how to communicate in ways that actually land and how to bring people in without losing the brand’s integrity.

And the most unexpected reward? A Nike pop-up at Crenshaw High School during All-Star Weekend that was a full circle moment. “When I walked in, I realized that I had either started alongside some of those vendors or looked up to them at one point — and some of them are major players now.”

She recalls the moment feeling surreal and says it really put things in perspective for her.

Now, she’s on the Guard Ya Grill Spring 2026 Tour.

When asked about an average day on tour, Chriss shared, “We usually hit two cities in one weekend, and we’re a small team, so everything we do has to be really intentional. Every role matters, every move matters — there’s not a lot of room for error.”

She continues, “A typical weekend looks like flying out on Friday, landing in a new city, getting settled, and preparing for the pop-up the next day. Saturday we’re fully in it — meeting customers, doing molds, walking people through the process, really being hands-on… And once we’re back, it doesn’t stop. We’re immediately processing orders from the tour, organizing everything, and preparing for the next one. So while the tour is going on, there’s really no break — we’re working all week to stay ahead.”

What she wants people to leave with goes beyond a product, it’s an education.

“A lot of people are new to grillz, and there’s so much more to it than they realize. It’s not just the protective layer — it’s design, tooth anatomy, fit, pricing, all of it. There’s a whole educational side to grillz that hasn’t really been made accessible to the public.”

Her goal for every interaction: “I want people to leave feeling informed, secure, and taken care of. I want them to feel like they learned something they can carry with them, and also like they just had a genuinely positive interaction with kind people.”

Beyond entrepreneurship, there is a cultural weight Chriss carries into this work.

Grill culture belongs to the Black community. And Rogers, who grew up surrounded by it in Houston, takes seriously her role in the space. “To me, the Black community feels like home. And when you think about home, you take care of it. You nurture it, you protect it, you make sure it feels good, looks good, and stays a safe, positive environment. That’s how I view my role in this space.”

Traveling the country on tour has deepened that feeling. “You go to cities where you might not expect it, and there’s a vibrant Black community there, showing up, supporting, connecting. That’s always surreal to experience. It reminds me that this culture is everywhere, and it’s strong.”

When asked where she sees EASE in five years, she gave an answer that is more honest than most founders are willing to be: “Honestly, I don’t.” She continues, “I’ve learned something recently — I have to take things day by day so I don’t miss what’s happening right now. Every step I take now is shaping those next five years, whether I map them out perfectly or not. So instead of forcing a specific outcome, I focus on doing my part today — and trusting that it’s leading me exactly where I’m supposed to go.”

EASE accepts in-person consultations in Los Angeles and Houston. The Guard Ya Grill Spring 2026 Tour runs through May 3, 2026.