To build awareness of our similarities through fashion in an effort to create oneness, regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, faith or sexual orientation, and support non-profit organizations who align with these principals of unifying humanity. One of my favorite quotes of all time is “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” The reason I created UNITY was simply because I could
no longer consciously take a back seat to the many efforts around me aiming to unify humanity and not do my part. The biggest hurdle for me has been trying to comprehend that even though humanity has been present on Earth for hundreds of thousands of years and we all know that life presents itself in a multitude of ways, and the billions of human beings living today all belong to one species, Homo sapiens, we still struggle to coexist peacefully. Let’s not wait for pain to bring us together. What is in our hearts prompts a unique expression of who we are, but not all of us love the same things or do live or love in the same way, but the things we love which truly touch our hearts are OUR gifts to humanity. Whether it be through selfless acts or good deeds, science has proven that giving to others can be instantly rewarding and one of the best ways to improve one’s happiness and health. In my opinion, to be selfless, you need to be selfish by enjoying that life-empowering feeling. Unity is one of the few selfishly selfless acts in life that can bring about positive change; what a recipe for life! Over the years, we humans have created these problems, so I’m optimistic that we humans can also solve them and aid humanity in no longer allowing our differences to overshadow our similarities and common ground. Not many people realize that the DNA of all human beings living today is a 99.9% match. The truth is, we are all remarkably similar despite variations in size and shape, skin tone and eye color. Humanity is black and white, tall and short, gay and straight, atoms and molecules. We all have roots extending back 200,000 years to the emergence of the first modern humans in Africa and back more than 6 million years to the evolution of the earliest human species in Africa. The history of humanity is an amazing story of adaptation and survival, and is written in the language of our genes, in every cell of our bodies—as well as in the fossil and behavioral evidence. As a young man, I personally faced diversity based on the jobs my parents had, where we lived and the clothes I would wear. My mother, God rest her soul, would not only make some of my clothes for school, but she made most of her clothes for work as well. One of the things I remember most about my childhood was how insecure I was around my peers because of the way they made me feel by wearing “homemade” clothing and less-than-desirable place I lived. I vividly recall feeling insecure around my peers, when ideally, I should have been so proud of how hard my parents worked to provide for me. Imagine if we could just replace the influence peers have on us to revolve around unity. As life went on, I was fortunate enough to witness unity in its entirety in so many areas of my life that it sparked something in me. By having this selfless unifying interventions in my life, it created a default passion in me which has me seeking opportunities to pay those acts of kindness forward. What it also did for me was it helped me realize that we as humans subconsciously rely on one another to navigate life and create futures, regardless of how we perceive each other’s opposites. For me personally, there’s no better feeling than when I am presented with an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, even if only momentarily- be it making them smile; or, just making their day a little bit easier. Furthermore, I enjoy how I feel after I have helped someone to recognize their value in this world. Be it to their employer, their spouse, their children; or, just their value as a fellow human being on this earth. Three of my most sought after passions are fashion, making a difference and helping others understand their value. I needed to find a way to incorporate those three passions to create something that truly focuses on, in my opinion, a solution to the world’s largest problem, unifying diversity. This inspired me to create a brand that aides in reconnecting humanity, while helping us all understand that we are more alike than we may think, and we can’t navigate life’s most challenging situations without leaning on one another. We needed a fashion brand that truly unites, not divides. AND THAT’S WHY UNITY MINDFUL FASHION EXISTS…
