Engraved Fashion Founder: Building a Christian Brand While Your Faith Is at Its Lowest

On this episode of Untuck Your Cross, I sat down with
Emmanuel Ansongdanquah — founder of the Calgary-based
Christian clothing brand Engraved Fashion. Emmanuel
started the brand at 16 years old, rooted in Isaiah
49:16, and has been building it ever since. We talked
about the Bible camp night that changed everything, the
embarrassment of posting when nobody knows you, zero
sales on day one, a car accident that totalled his
mom's car in his first week of university, the friends
he had to cut off, the moment his brand was called a
duplicate, and what it looks like to keep building for
God when your faith is at its lowest.

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Transcript

Trailer

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You're gonna have people that you don't know support better than the people that do know you. You just have to acknowledge that, you know, all you have is the Lord and you have to be okay with that. There are even people that would call like my business like an anointed apparel, like duplicate. How does the actual like owner support my brand more than like these people? You know what I mean? It definitely was discouraging around that time. I got into an accident and I actually totaled my mom's car. I was at an all-time high because then it just goes all the way down. Maybe for like a month, I didn't read my Bible. If God can deliver me from what I was doing before into the person who I was, then he can do it again. Is your relationship with Jesus where you want it to be right now? If I'm being very honest, as much as I want to say yes, I would say

Meet Emmanuel Ansong-Danquah

SPEAKER_01 0:37

no.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Okay, guys. Uh, welcome back to another episode of Untuck Your Cross. Today I have a new a new guest, Emmanuel. The Emmanuel. Would you be able to introduce yourself for those of uh for anybody in the audience who doesn't know you?

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Yeah, of course. So my name is Emmanuel Ansadankoa or Mr. Engraved or whatever you want to call it. I'm the founder of Engrave Fashion. I started Engrave Fashion when I was 16 years old, around grade 10. So maybe around March 2023, beginning around there. Yeah, man. So I would say I'm a businessman. I'm also in university as well. I go to Mount Royal studying business my first year. And yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

That's awesome. Yeah. Um, when yeah, again, one of the other uh guests that came here, Tristan, he was the one who introduced me to your clothing brand. I've seen that there's so many Christian clothing brands specifically in Calgary that every time I meet one, there's another one that pops up. And um, yeah, the hope is to like be able to interview every single one of them by the end. And I I saw you had your new uh the hoodie that you're wearing out. You started you started marketing that, and then I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna DM him. I don't, I think he's in Calgary, I'm not sure. So I just I sent it and then you responded so quickly. I was like, this is this is great. Um so I was wondering, tell me about the whole what what made you want to start a uh clothing brand and a Christian clothing brand specifically.

Cultural Faith vs Personal Faith

SPEAKER_01 1:51

It's actually connected to my salvation, I would say. Um I would start, uh let me start by saying this. Um I grew up in a Christian household. So both of my parents were Christian, and my parents have always supported me like ever since I was a kid, you know, ever since I was born. In fact, my dad was actually um my dad's a pastor in two different churches, or was in one church here in Calgary, and then he is in a church. Um he pastors a church where he helped build up in uh my hometown in Ghana or in my whole country. And what's it called? I would say that I was always like familiar with obviously Christianity. It's just I would say my own faith was more cultural rather than personal. The church wasn't really friendly to us, I would say, like growing up. Obviously, there was a lot of church conflict and church issues, like there was a lot of gossiping going around. People used to how do I say this, like scam my dad. And you know, people it just wasn't really a good environment, right? And it led it led me to the point believing that, you know, going to church was just networking and not actually like I never really found the purpose of it growing up, especially even though my dad was a pastor, right? And during that time as well, I was also dealing with my own like personal issues, you know. I was dealing, I was struggling with lust, I was struggling with greed in comparison, right? And it wasn't until um I go I went to a Christian private school, like actually near here. It was called uh Heritage Christian Academy. And usually every year we would go to this Bible camp. And this specifically in grade 10, this was like beginning grade 10. Um, we went to the Bible camp, and usually every night we would have people come out and say their testimonies and explain how God is working in their lives, right? And I was just sitting there and I was listening to every single one of my classmates or just people in other grades explain how God has been working in their lives and how God has been using them. And I was kind of sitting there and I was like, wow, like look at how God is using all like my classmates and stuff, and then like, what about me? Like I kind of felt really convicted from it. And I kind of wanted like I was kind of hungry for that because I was like, you know what? Like, I see how God is using all these other people. I know he can use me, but I just don't know how. And at the same time, I wanted to better myself as a person because I was doing many things that you know a six-year-old kid shouldn't have been doing, right? Um, at the same time, I would say that I was very money hungry as well. That's what I was talking about, like in terms of greed. Social media played a huge part of that because around my age, like I would see kids my age, you know, they have a lot of money for some reason, you know, they're going out. And I was pretty jealous of that. Like, I envied that a lot. So, because of that, you know, I I was one of those kids in school where I was, you know, I used to resell candy and stuff, or you know, I had like multiple small businesses, like I had a phone case business that didn't really work out. And at the same time, I also did other things that hurt people as well. Like I used to have this one like side hustle where I'd buy fake AirPods and I'd resell in and scam people, and you know, thank God that God has removed me from that life, right? And thank God thank God that I've improved since then. It's just that that specific night I felt so convicted from all of the things that I was doing, and I I honestly cried genuinely. Like I cried uh in our in our room like that night with me and my friends, and I just cried because I was just like, wow, like I just see how God is working and how God has delivered like all of these people, like just around me, but it's just like what's going on with me, right? And I came home from that camp and I wanted to better myself as a person. I started actually properly reading my scripture, like intentionally, not just because you know my parents forced me to or anything, but because like I genuinely wanted to and I generally wanted some sort of change in my life. And God bless her soul. This girl, uh, she used to go to my she used to go to my school, she goes to MRU as well. I think she's second year business, but her name was Athena. After she helped me with a bunch of scripture and stuff at the time, and actually helped me to better myself like as a Christian, and eventually I did give my life to Christ around that point, and around that same time, we actually wanted to start a Christian clothing brand together. This was like maybe 2022 December or something like that. The actual name was supposed to be Divine. I forgot why we chose that name, but the name was supposed to be Divine, and obviously we were too busy, like high school students, so we just never went forward with plans, and I had the supplies for it because I remember I told you like about my phone case business. I had a heat press, I had um a printer where I can like print certain designs and like heat press it on like blank garments and stuff because I had a bunch of blank garments, and we just never went forward with plans. I don't know why, but you know, we were just probably too busy. But I always had that thought of always starting a Christian clothing brand because my mom's even a fashion designer, you know. I was always around clothes ever since I was a kid, and I felt like that was something I wanted to pursue, I guess. And um, it wasn't until March 2023 where I was like, you know what? Like I'm actually gonna sit myself down and I'm actually gonna devote myself into starting a brand. And one thing I do want to mention, like was so significant about my brand is that I'm not a crazy person that, you know, transitioned to a Christian like in one day, or you know, I wasn't a gang member and then you know I was saved. Like I'm just a regular person that you know had a mission to, you know, do something and actually bring some sort of purpose to people, I guess. Um with my brand, I would say my brand is so significant to me, just not even just to me, but to other people as well. Because I just want people to know that you know I'm not a perfect person and look at what I'm doing in other people's lives. I would say what helps me a lot is that like I know that I'm not perfect, and I know that you know, with my brand, I can um show people that you know, like I'm still growing, like I want you to grow with me. Right. So yeah, I would say that's kind of why I kind of started my brand. The reason why I chose specifically engraved fashion was um I remember one day I was reading scripture, I don't know how I tumbled across this verse, but it was the Bible verse, Isaiah 49, 16, which says, See, I have engraved you on the palms on the palms of my hands, your walls are ever before me. And I was thinking about that verse like a lot when I was reading it because I was like, wow, like through all the conviction that I had, through all the things that I struggled with, like greed, comparison, and lust, it's like God still knew me for who I was, right? And it was just like it was just so significant for me, and it was just such a crazy coincidence that I was also starting a brand at the same time and I didn't really have a name for it. And I don't know, like just the word engraved, like obviously the word engraves means to be inscribed, it's permanent, and obviously it doesn't erase when you make mistakes, and that kind of signifies like the relationship that I have with the Lord, right? So I just felt like that was just the perfect like foundation for my for my brand, and obviously the fashion part, like you know, I've been into fashion. Um I knew like I had like really good graphing designing skills like ever since I was a kid, because you know, I used to have a YouTube channel, like I used to be I used to edit a lot of things, so I was like, you know what, why can't I just merge my talent with like my inspiration and as well with my faith? So I guess that's how it started.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

That's amazing, man. Yeah, especially that a lot of people think that when they come to Christ, that you know, they get baptized, they give their um their faith uh to God and and accept Jesus, their Lord and Savior, that one mistake takes all of that away. And like that is like the biggest misconception that he when he was up on that cross, he died for your past sins, your current sins, and your future sins, and um like the he calls perfer perfection, but that perfection is achieved through his sacrifice and through his holy spirit that makes you righteous, and because if we were supposed to be perfect, like then we would need his sacrifice, and so it's uh I love how that's like a main thing that convicted you to make that you know the the name of your brand. Um, so tell me about the your your first drop. So tell me about that whole process because starting a crit starting any type of business, but starting a clothing brand, yeah, it's hard. There's a lot of stuff, stuff that gets in the way, a lot of new things you gotta learn. So tell me about

Zero Sales & The First Drop

SPEAKER_00 9:56

that.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Yeah. So when I first started, um, if I was actually before I actually created any sort of Instagram account and TikTok account, beginning January 2023, February before like I fully launched in in March. Um I kept researching, like I was watching a lot of YouTubers who had clothing brands already, and I was watching like a bunch of inspiration videos or just like how to like how to run a Shopify and you know how to like actually manage a business and run a business. Um, it was very hard because you have like different people saying different things in your ear. So it's like what helped me the most was to actually figure it out myself and see what worked best for me. Um so I remember I had a notepad. I still have the notepad like somewhere like in my room, but I remember I was just jotting down notes on what to do. I had like a step-by-step process on like make a name, make a logo, um, creature first design, find a manufacturer, you know, your typical like how to start a calling ran checklist, right? And yeah, so I was doing that, and then um I remember I created my first TikTok video because I kept watching videos, I kept saying, like, oh, when you're dropping, you have to stay consistent, drop at least, you know, drop at least one or two videos a day, like stay as consistent as possible. And at first it was very discouraging, and I would say a little bit embarrassing because it's like when you're first starting out something, whether it's a podcast or a brand, or you know, you're an artist and you want to make music and stuff, it's a little embarrassing to like post yourself out there or just post what you're doing out there, yeah. 100%. I don't know. It's just I kind of felt embarrassed because I didn't I was thinking, you know, what are my cousins gonna say? What are my friends gonna say? Like, you know, but at the end of the day, you just have to do it and just force yourself and just post it because at the end of the day, there was so someone said this to me, I forgot who, but it stuck with me ever since I started my brand. You're gonna have people that you don't know support whatever you're doing better than the people that do know you. That's right, yeah. And I I I can't remember who told me this, but I remember that just that quote alone, like it just stuck with me ever since I started my brand, and it just shifted my mentality. And you know, ever since I started my brand, like obviously it was just my closer friends, like my family that were following it, but now like I have like a decent amount of following, and I can tell you that majority of my following aren't from people who are close to me, it's people that I genuinely don't know, and that's so encouraging to me because it's like it kind of takes me out that mentality where it's like, oh, like I'm embarrassed to post this when I actually do have a fan base. And obviously, like it took me three years to get to where I'm at, right? Almost three years, but you know, you just gotta do it, like you just got to force yourself into it, and then once you have those people that support you there, then that's all that really matters.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

I that's something I struggle with is like what are especially just starting this podcast, and when I try to start that coding brand, and hopefully in the future, is what are those my friends back from high school gonna say, or yeah, yeah, yeah. Um my family, are they gonna support it? And it is just you know, I'm gonna make make a fool out of myself. Yeah. But when I was when I was struggling with this, there was one one time when I was going through the gospels, and there was one point when when Jesus came back to his hometown, yeah, and then all of his uh friends and family were saying, like, you how are you like a prophet? How are you um like the son of God? Like not Jesus, but then everybody outside of his hometown, they were dropping to his knees and worshiping him and and giving their life to him. And it's just it's just crazy that the difference between his family that and and people close to you will see you grow up and see you in a certain lens, and they will not want to change that. Like you were one way, and now you're like an entrepreneur. Like, no, that's that's not the real Emmanuel. That he's he's just being fake or performative, or Dennis is being fake and performative, and and you don't want to, and then there's always like a small part of me. It's like, am I being performative? But it's like, no, I actually have a passion for this, and you have your own mission, you have your own goal. So exactly. And it's like, again, like you said, you have a whole crowd of people who you don't know personally that are backing you up, and it's like those are the people that you should lean on because they they know you now, like the the your old friends and stuff like that and your family, they know like an older version of you, uh, but that's not who you are today, and people have a hard time just like adapting to that, or they don't want you to change because they're in their old way and they don't I don't know, look looking at you and what you're doing right now makes them feel bad about themselves. So it's uh that's why I've just tried not to like listen to like the outside voices and stuff like that, and just like really reinforce on the on the good um um reactions when people say like hey, this you're doing well, like thank you for that, and then that kind of blocks out the people who are kind of looking down on you. So I'm giving you negative feedback. So yeah, well, I I appreciate you talking because that's a reality a lot of people have on that. Um, so tell me about the the actual like first first piece that you dropped and just that process.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

Um I actually dropped two pieces of clothing, one was like a generic hoodie. This was like it said faith over fear. I have two versions of it. So the first version was just like it was just text like over the top, it said faith over fear, and then it actually had the Bible verse um Psalms 34 4 on the back and also on the sleeve, but it was just like a simple generic hoodie, and then I also dropped um a T as well, but I used like the Travis Scott like cactus jack. I don't know if you know what I'm talking about, font. Um, and it said like believer versus world, and it had like it was a really nice tea, but it had like um the world symbol like on the back and like a cross on it. And my reasoning for doing that was I wanted to be very different than what was out there because obviously, like at the time there was no good Christian clothing brand that I ever saw. Like, obviously, if you go on Etsy or Amazon, like it's your just your typical, like you know, average like Bible quote or like on a hoodie, and you know, so for some reason I wanted to be extremely different for that specific piece, and that's what I did that. But the cons with that is that you can be very different in terms of like whatever you're doing, like your clothing, specifically your clothing brand, but just because you're different doesn't mean like it's always good, you know what I mean? Yeah, and I just remember I remember um I was advertising for it and I got a lot of feedback, some positive, some negative, right? And I remember the day I dropped it, I remember you know, checking, like, oh, I'm gonna refresh and I'm gonna have like a bunch of sales. I had no sales, like the first day, right? And it was very discouraging to me because I was like, wow, like I put all this effort into it. Like, is this clothing brand stuff even gonna work? And I was just so conflicted. I was just looking at my piece and I was like, what's wrong with it? Like, you know, I think I like it. What's what's the matter? But the biggest mistake I would say that I did make was even though you want to be different with whatever you're doing, at least still make it modern or still make it what's trending, at least. I feel like it's extremely impossible or like very rare for you to start a trend with something. You can, but especially when you're first starting out a business, that's just not the way to go. Like, you might as well like make something that's as similar to whatever's trending now, but still like add your own sauce to it. But if you're just gonna go playing out different on a piece, then especially when you're starting out, maybe if you have some sort of following to yourself prior to you dropping that piece. But if you're starting out, you have no name for yourself. I wouldn't recommend to do that at all. And another thing is that I wish I asked people for feedback when I like way before I dropped it, or even like before I created content and stuff. I think one thing that helps me now is that the people closest to me, like I send them like majority of my unreleased pieces and I ask them, Hey, is this something you would wear? Um, how do you feel about this piece? Could you rate this out of 10? And then obviously I have my own evaluation as well. So if at least maybe 90% of people I ask are like, Yes, you need to drop that, like I'd buy that right now. And as well, I think it's a good piece, then that's when I'll start with my advertising. I'll see what my fans think, or just other people outside of like my niche think, right? And you know, I feel like that's what kind of helped me remain, I guess, somewhat successful now, or like at least not see zero sales on my Shopify like per drop. But yeah, I don't know. When I first started, like that first drop, like I didn't I didn't really see any sales until like the second week, and even then it wasn't enough. I did the pre-order method, so even then, like I'm I just still do the pre-order method now, but even then, like when I first started, if the piece isn't that good, right? Obviously, people aren't gonna invest their money into a piece that they're gonna get, like, probably a month after, right? And yeah, I don't know. I just that drop was definitely a learning lesson for me to like actually like create a piece that people like and then properly advertise it on social media and stuff and actually ask for feedback. So I don't know that entire drop. I'm happy that the drop went the way it did because it helps me shape like what my business was today and stuff. So I guess yeah, it was pretty good feedback.

What Kept Him Going After No Sales

SPEAKER_00 19:29

So tell me about that headspace of when you on that you know first two weeks when you didn't get any sales, because a lot of people would would see that and cry about it, and then just like oh I I wasn't even trying, and I'm just gonna go and then uh do some some something else. Like, what made you to actually keep going and what's that feedback process that like actually helped you improve on the next drop?

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Right. Um, it was just mostly I don't know, my my ambition to become successful as well, and as well as like my whole brand mission, because at the end of the day, even if my drop didn't go successful, I was still happy that I was able to put my stuff out there just to like just as an opportunity for people to invest or people to support. I feel like at the moment that's all that really mattered to me, and also like I was really ambitious because I really wanted this to work out, and as well, I saw so much potential in my business like beforehand, like I envisioned so many things for like what I had and like going for myself and also as well in the future. So I felt like I didn't want to let you know that one drop determine my entire success or you know, my f the future of my business, right? So yeah, I just decided to continue going. I was upset, don't get me wrong, I was very upset that it went the way it did, but it wasn't until I actually had my inventory and I started like networking with people and actually going outside and showing like, hey, I have this, I have this brand, like would you like to invest? That's when people started investing in it and like actually like purchasing my product. So that at that point that started to like uplift me, and I was like, okay, you know what? Like something actually is going right, right? And then that just gave me more motivation, like as if okay, so I guess what I'm doing is going somewhere, it's not a waste of time or all of the energy, sweat and tears that I put into this isn't like you know, a waste. So it kind of gave me more motivation to, you know, keep going and not let that one drop like determine my entire fate, yeah, and stuff. So yeah.

How to Get Honest Design Feedback

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Tell me about the actual when you're trying to, when you're coming up with the design and you're asking your friends and stuff whether or not they would buy it. Something that I struggled with was your friends will oftentimes kind of lie and be like, hey, yeah, this is awesome. I would word 100%. And then you have the thing where it's like people are only buying it because they know you and they want to support you or they might feel bad that you're not selling it. Yeah, yeah. And then nobody outside of your inner circle buys it. So how do you how do you take that um that feedback where you know like actual genuine feedback people would actually buy it and they're not just trying to be nice and sugarcoated?

SPEAKER_01 22:11

Yeah, yeah. Um sometimes I would ask, like obviously, like of course I would ask the people closest to me and I'd ask them like for actual like honest feedback, like what would you do to change as well? I also asked like people I wasn't really close with as well. In fact, I also had um I was into this Discord channel with like a bunch of other people who had clothing brands or just people who were into fashion. And when I first started, like I used to drop my clothing in there and be like, hey, could you guys like rate this out of 10? Like, how do you would you guys wear that wear this piece? Would you guys buy this piece? And I even had feedback from actual like professional designers, and they told me what was wrong with my piece or what was good about my piece. And I feel like you just have to put yourself out there, and like even when you're making content, you making content alone is putting yourself out there because people are going to comment, like, hey, this is trash, or hey, this is good. Hey, I would buy this. When is this coming out? You know, so not even just your necessarily your friends, but you can put it out on social media, you can put it on, I don't know, maybe like a Discord channel, a Reddit channel, or like whatever the case may be, just as long as you put yourself out there to as much people as possible, you can just average out the feedback and you can be like, okay, hey, like majority of people like it, or majority of people don't. And then obviously, when I do get feedback from a lot of people, I'll probably go back into my Photoshop or my Adobe Illustrator and like tweak some things out or like probably fix it so that when I resend it to people, then they're like, Okay, yeah, this is perfect. Like, keep it the way it is. Now, um, I would say that definitely before I wasn't I was a graphic designer, not more of a fashion designer, if that makes sense, right? So obviously, like I knew how to do certain things, I knew how to make designs, but I wasn't really streetwear and like how do I say this, like fashion designer focused. Like it was more like oh, putting text or oh creating a like sketching out a symbol and stuff, but it's just like it wasn't really street weary-y, I would say, right? Now it's like I kind of know what my niche is, I know how to make clothes because that's another thing. Like, you need to know how to make clothes rather than you know, just like making it, if that makes sense. You have to like properly know what's trending and like what's in trend, like what's fashionable, like at the time and stuff. So I feel like now it's a lot more easier to create designs. I still like send it to like my friends and be like, hey, like, is this nice? Or I'll just make the sample. And if I'm walking around school, then people are like, wow, like where did you get this from? This is so tough. Like, and uh, so yeah, I feel like it's a lot more easier now. But for people who are starting, definitely put yourself out there, keep making content, keep asking people you don't know and you do know so that you know you can get the best feedback

Scripture as Design Inspiration

SPEAKER_01 24:48

possible.

SPEAKER_00 24:48

So that makes sense. Yeah. Uh tell me about your actual uh fashion inspiration. So when you're um you said you're excuse me. Um you said that you uh look on what's trending and that draw inspiration. Are there any like big fashion houses or designers? Like just tell me about what's you know what goes through your mind when you're looking at the next collection, the next piece.

SPEAKER_01 25:11

Yeah, so I actually have a kind of process for it. So it usually depends. Sometimes I get um a lot of inspiration from when I'm reading scripture. Okay, right? Um, I remember for specifically one of my hoodies, it was um my devotion, my devotion hoodies. It had like paint splatter and it said like devotion on it. Um, it was actually Romans 12, 11. Um, I apologize. I don't remember the verse exactly word for word right now, but I remember specifically, it said it said something like, Don't be lacking in Zell. Um, I don't know if you know what I'm talking about, but it's um I it's at the back of my head. It's at the back of my head. Here, let me Okay, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect. In fact, let me grab mine too, because it's been a while since I've seen that verse. I have it highlighted on my Bible app. Uh Romans 12, you said 12, 11. Yeah, never be lacking in zero, uh Zel, but keep your spiritual favor serving the Lord. And that was my whole concept of devotion, I guess, keep it like keeping yourself devoted to the Lord, yeah. And for some reason, when I was reading it, I was so inspired to like put paint splatter like over like the word devotion and like on the back of the verse. And my whole thinking process for that was that regardless, whenever we go through like try uh trials and tribulations, like at the end of the day, like still keep yourself devoted to the Lord, keep reading your scripture, keep praying. So don't let those little things like disrupt whatever you have going in your in your faith, right? So my whole concept was like, okay, you know what, I'm gonna put paint splatter all over, like so it's so it kind of like signifies like the disrepancy we have in our lives, but you have to keep devoted, okay, right? So I don't know. I was reading, I was reading my Bible and I was thinking about that. I was like, I can't instantly like I have to do that. And at the same time, sometimes like I'll be on Pinterest and I'll just looking at what's trending, or be on TikTok and see like what's the you know what's trending so far. Like obviously quarter zips are a trend now. I saw that you know Tristan made like the quarter zip and then put the Jesus saves on the back, and I thought that was really cool. There were even times when this was trending, or like it's still trending now, but when I first saw this, like on I saw this on TikTok, and I saw someone put uh I forgot the artist, but I think it was like Young Thug or someone similar, but someone put like Young Thug on like a driver's license and then like put his like his information on stuff, and I thought that was so cool. Like, you know, like what if I did that but in a set of like what if I use Jesus? And specifically for this piece, like if you can see, like I also blurred out the eyes because I obviously believe that we don't know what Jesus looked like. I don't believe that um the images of him now obviously aren't accurate, you know what I mean? So as I still wanted to do the driver's license idea, but it's like I didn't want it, I didn't want it to um to look like where people would think that, oh, okay, I feel like this is what Jesus looks like, or you know what I mean? So I kind of wanted to make it I don't know, so that it aligns with my beliefs, but still like I could still do what I wanted to do. So yeah, I just like blurred out the eyes so that it shows that you know, like we don't know what he looks like, but this is just purely symbolism.

SPEAKER_00 28:21

I I like that. I like that because a lot of people will find, you know, make make icons out of out of Jesus and kind of yeah, just make make idols out of that out of a picture that exactly um necessarily like we're not supposed to. It's supposed to be like a personal relationship and making any kind of statues or pictures, like sure, yeah. Um it starts straying into like kind of dangerous territory. Yeah, it does. Um so tell me about how how has this whole process of you making this clothing brand, how has that shaped and affected your relationship with

How the Brand Shaped His Faith

SPEAKER_00 28:52

God?

SPEAKER_01 28:52

Yeah, so that's another thing. Um, like I said before, like the whole like significance of my brand is that I'm also growing with my supporters as well. Like, I'm not perfect, like what's it called? I do still want to grow every single day. I don't ever want to stay subtle or feel like as if my faith is perfect. Because obviously when I my faith remained, if I think my faith is perfect, then I get more comfortable. And then when I get comfortable, that's when I start to slip away from like what's right, right? And I just want like my supporters to know that, you know, like regardless, like I'm not better than you. I have never, you know what I mean, thought myself as better than anyone, especially because I have my business, and then there's just other people who are just like regular people who don't do anything, they just serve the Lord, right? But I just want people to know that you know, if God can put me in this position to do this, like He can put other people as well. And in terms of like my faith, I still fall, I still struggle sometimes because again, like I'm human, and at the end of the day, like we're all gonna sin and we're all gonna fall, right? That's just how we are as humans, I would say, right? And that's just how like that's just how it is. But at the end of the day, what always stuck with me when I started this business is that you know, before when I had this business, what's God I had all of my convictions and I was running away from it. Now I actually have a platform to act on it, you know. So even though as I'm still like struggling with some of the things that you know I go through in like in life, you know, like I'm just not better than the other person and I want to grow with my supporters, right? So yeah, man, uh I feel like right now I'm in the position where obviously I I wouldn't say my faith is like my faith, like obviously at the end of the day, like Jesus Christ was my is my Lord and Savior, and I I've always acknowledged that. But what's it called? I wouldn't say I'm where I want to be right now in terms of like my actual faith, because like there are so many things that have gone on in my life as of recently, which is just so bizarre, like very bizarre, and I feel like what has drifted me away from acting on what is right is that I tried to fix my situations by myself rather than like giving it to God, right? Um in the past, like I remember like ending 2025, like there were so many things that went on. I was like, wow, like it just didn't feel surreal to me. And it's just like as well, having a business, like I have to stay strong and like show my supporters that you know what, like at the end of the day, I'm still with you guys, like I'm still like you know, and sometimes it's just very hard to combat the both because it's like yeah, sometimes like I will feel down in my faith, and then I still have my brand, and it's like I don't want like sometimes I don't want to portray a narrative where it's like I have to put on a facade, you know what I mean, when I go through like hard times because I want my supporters to like know like the raw me, like you know, when I'm just not feeling the best in my faith, like I want you to know that because at the end of the day, like I just want you to know, like again, I'm exactly like you. Like, just because I have a brand doesn't mean that you know I have to be like this like perfect persona, I guess, to like put on a facade for you guys, but yeah, I don't know. It's definitely hard, and like it's yeah, it's just not easy, it's not easy at all. But you know, at the end of the day, like if you keep yourself devoted and you keep like reading scripture, you keep praying, that's one thing that like I still struggle with today, like keeping myself consistent with prayer. But as long as you keep consistent with that, like everything's gonna be fine, all of the struggles that you have will fade naturally, and that's

When the Brand Competed With God

SPEAKER_01 32:27

just how it is.

SPEAKER_00 32:27

So has the the clothing brand ever felt like it was taking away from your faith? Because I think sometimes being like in an entrepreneurial mindset, um, or you're looking at numbers and money and stuff like that, like that can they you can be a tool or it can start tripping you up in your in your faith, especially um, you know, a lot of the people that have been on the podcast have talked about that where there's been humbling moments. So tell me about that.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

Yeah, no, I would definitely agree. I would definitely say like there is some times where you know I've tried to combat with the both, and like it has made like my faith like difficult, especially when because um there were times where I would be dealing with so much, like especially in like my last year, my senior year of high school, like I was working like almost full time, like obviously at school, I had to balance like basketball because I was on the team, and then with this brand, and there was just so much that was going on, and I just had like so much like different priorities as well, where it was taking away from my faith and taking away what was actually important. And sometimes I would be stressing about like the numbers, like oh, I'm spending too much like on this department, on my marketing department. Let me try to like even it out with like my inventory, or oh, God gave me the gift to like continue dropping and provide people clothes, but I'm not doing that as consistently, right? And obviously, looking like in the numbers aspect, sometimes when I drop, like there's usually a certain goal that I like to meet like each time, and if I don't meet that goal, sometimes that it makes me like wow, like I did all of this like as well. Like, I also put my trust in like my manufacturers to do something right, or like I was also praying about it, and like I was doing so many things, like why hasn't why haven't I met that goal? You know what I mean? And obviously at the end of the day, like the Lord is gonna provide to you what he thinks that you need, not what you want, you know what I mean? And sometimes like that is very conflicting, especially because it's like sometimes you would think like, oh, if you're doing something for the Lord, like he should meet like certain expectations in your life, and obviously, like that's not like the right thing to think, but like obviously like when you're going through so much, that's kind of all you can think. You know what I mean? And at the end of the day, like you just have to recognize that, and you have to recognize and put your ego aside and like humble yourself and be like, you know, the Lord has given me this opportunity to make clothes for people so that people can, you know, go out and like spark conversations and you know, like display their faith outside, right? So I feel like as long as I achieve that, it doesn't matter the numbers, it doesn't matter, even if it's one person or if it's hundreds of people, you know, I'm still getting that job done. Like my mission is still being fulfilled, regardless of how many sales I make or how much money I make. The whole purpose is still getting fulfilled at the end of the day. So I've kind of shifted my mentality now to like, you know what, like I don't really care about the numbers, especially when this business starting out is an investment, until maybe like later on where it's like, oh, okay, I may need more people to assist me in like certain like areas or what's it called? I actually have to open a warehouse maybe to like put in my inventory. Then maybe I can like stress more about numbers, I guess, but still not take away from like the actual mission, like the actual goal. But just like for now, at the end of the day, this is all an investment. I have my purpose, that's all that really matters.

SPEAKER_00 35:54

So yeah, you said you said you you just graduated from high school. Yeah, that's and you've got as a brand for three years, like um that's that's amazing you do that. Yeah, glory to God for that. But again, I it's like the saying where work as if uh pray like it's all in God's hands, and then work as if it's all in your hands. Yeah, yeah. Um, but no, I'm I'm excited to see what God does with that. Of course. Um, you you mentioned that you were going through a bunch of stuff towards the end of 2025. Do you want to talk about that?

The Accident That Changed Everything

SPEAKER_01 36:27

Yeah, sure. Um uh yeah, no, of course. Um, so I graduated from high school and I was getting into university, and that was like a huge, like drastic change. I actually didn't get an offer into Montreal until very late. I was actually anticipating, like, oh my gosh, like I'm gonna have to take a gap year. Like, you know, what's going on? Like they didn't respond to me until like July. I didn't get that like confirmation. So that kind of like was reliefing. And I remember like the first week of uni, I got into an accident and I actually totaled my mom's car. And that was like a whole like process. Like it was just yeah, like it was just a very stressful process. Um, I was driving down the street and someone actually braid checked me. And I was driving like a really heavy like SUV at the time, and they were driving like a Toyota Corolla, and they slammed on the brakes, and then I hit the back of their car, and my airbags went out. Um I I fractured my wrist, and like it was just like a lot of things that like that night, like honestly, definitely shaped who I am kind of today, especially in terms of like I was at an all-time high because obviously, like I got into the university, you know, I'm preparing for my business and stuff, and then it just goes all the way down after that accident. Um, it was very stressful for my family, of course, because like we only had two cars, and then you know, until we bought another one as as of recently, but and as well, it wasn't even long after that um that accident where I actually I got pulled over one day for taking an illegal U-turn. It was it was pretty stupid, but just like there was that, and then I had close I had to cut off like a lot of my close friends because there were some of them where I felt like they were bringing me down just in terms of like they were doing things that you know I would usually never do, and it's like usually you would want to uplift your brothers and sisters, and you would want to what's it called, not really condemn them, but like uh set them straight and like tell them like what's right, but then if they're not gonna listen to you, or if they're not, you know what I'm saying, if they don't really care about that, then it's like I didn't want to put myself in that position where it's like okay, like I understand that you're going through things and stuff and then you do things, but I don't want that to weigh me down as well. So, like there were so many things where there were so many people that I had to like cut off because of that, and it's just like around like the end of 2025, that was just like not, I would say a strong place um for my faith. I would say like I would say like I wouldn't say my faith was an all-time low, but it definitely like plumped a little bit because it's like there was just so much going on, and it's like at the end of the day, like I still had to stay strong like for my business, and I still had to, you know, keep my motivation and you know keep my purpose and keep my why. And it was very discouraging as some as sometimes. Um there were even, I remember there were even some people, you know, this was actually hilarious. I've told Tristan about this, but there were even people that would call like my business like an anointed apparel, like duplicate. Because we were like, I remember when we first started, I think he started maybe January 2023. I started around like March. And it was it was really coincidental, like honestly. But at the end of the day, like we both have similar whys. So it's like I feel like people should like for every single Christian brand, even like around the world, or even specifically like in our city, like in Calgary, like I feel like a lot of people should support all of them as one. If you're supporting one brand, you're literally supporting all of them rather than like comparing like each other brand and be like, hey, like this Christian brand is copying this Christian brand or this, that, and the third, you know what I mean? Because like at the end of the day, it's actually discouraging for a lot of us brand owners, even if even the Christian brands, even the non-Christian brands as well. Like, I've seen it happen for other people where I've seen like people compare other brands as well. But at the end of the day, you know, we live in a small city, I would say, and it's like at the end of the day, like a bunch of us brand owners actually know each other. Yeah, and you know, it definitely was discouraging around that time because it's like, how does the actual like owner support my brand more than like these people, you know what I mean? And I don't know, like I would definitely say that around that period, like definitely wasn't a good time like for me, and like I was slipping away like from doing like what was right in terms of like praying consistently and like actually reading my scripture, you know. But at the end of the day, like I found myself back, so like I am good now. But you know, there was just I just had to like keep myself like focused and in a way where what's it called? Regardless of whatever I was going through, like I shouldn't let that how do I say this? I shouldn't let that like disengage away from my faith or disengage of well what's God what God is doing for me, you know. But I guess yeah.

Emmanuel Before vs After 2025

SPEAKER_00 41:22

I'm I'm glad that you're okay. Because that's that's uh that's very much traumatic. And a lot of people would take something like that, not even just the accident, but everything else going on would be okay. I have to drop this thing that I'm doing on the uh like with with the clothing brand. Yeah uh but you didn't. And a lot of people would see like an accident like that and you know, turn away from their faith and saying that God, why did you let that happen? But um I'm I'm I'm glad that I'm glad you're okay because that's also inspiring the way that you reacted to it for a lot of people, because a lot of people wouldn't have the strength to do that. So I'm I'm glad that God gave you that strength. So I was wondering what would you say is the difference between Emmanuel before all that stuff happened at the end of 2025 and then now in 2026? What's the biggest difference?

SPEAKER_01 42:15

Um, I would say the biggest difference between like those two periods is that me now actually doesn't let those significant moments in my life like discourage whatever I have going on, if it's in terms of my faith or just like in life in general. I feel like because so many things were just piling up, like I got really burnt out really easily. And it caused me to like I don't know, disengage. Like it for I think maybe for like a month, I didn't read like my Bible, I didn't open my Bible once. And I started turning back to like secular music and like a whole bunch of stuff, and it was just a mess. And I feel like me now, like I've kind of shifted my mentality into a way where it's like those things happen for a reason, and then you know, if God can deliver me like from before, like from what I was doing before into the person who I was, then he can do it again. You know what I mean? And I feel like at the end of the day for us Christians, like it's not gonna be like a one and done, you know, like you turn, you turn yourself to Christ, and then boom, you're gonna be perfect for the rest of your life. No, like you're gonna have you know those trials and tribulations like for the rest of your life, you know. You just have to shift yourself to think how you can combat it, you know. And at the end of the day, there's so many things, or there's so many little things that man can do in regards to what God can do for you, right? And I don't know, it's just me staying patient and me trying my best to stay consistent and actually build my personal relationship with Jesus and stuff. So I would say that's what kind of helped me to who I am like today. And I just don't let those things. Like, I don't know, disengage me. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:02

Amen to that. He will he will hold us close to us. He will perfect us and he will complete the work that he started in us. So I'm glad that he's doing that for you. Thank you. For all of us. Um, I wanted to ask in regards to the uh type of person that you need to be to actually start a Christian clothing brand or a clothing brand, what type of person, if there was a list of qualities for that person, what would that list be?

Qualities to Start a Christian Brand

SPEAKER_01 44:28

Yeah. So usually people think you have to be like a perfect, like perfect character, perfect leader, but at the end of the day, none of us are gonna be like Jesus. Like we're not gonna be perfect. Um, but I will say obviously not be a perfect leader, but still be a leader in some sort. Like still put yourself out there and still, um, I would say kind of be a type of person that holds like your friends and holds like people close to you, like responsible for some of the things like they do, or even yourself as well. Like, I feel like if you can't hold your yourself responsible for some of the things or some of the things that you do do, like you probably don't have it in you to start, like, especially the Christian clothing brand. Because at the end of the day, if you know you're struggling with things and you think it's okay, like if you think it's okay to be lukewarm, then I feel like that's like a little bit of a problem that like you probably have to like focus on. But if it's the case where even though you are struggling with those things, you know it's not right, you know that at the end of the day, you still like repent for the things that you do, and that you do acknowledge that you know Jesus died for our sins, you're not gonna be perfect, and you're still working on it, then I feel like you know, like you're straight, like it's gonna be cool, right? Um, I feel like another thing that you would another quality that you would probably need to have to have a Christian clothing brand is that regardless, if if the Lord gave you the idea to, you know, you whether being being a Christian artist or being a Christian brand or again like a Christian podcast, you know, if the Lord gave you that idea, then at the end of the day, the Lord gave you that idea, and the Lord is going to support you, and you just have to continue to stay consistent in what you do, and if that's in terms of prayer, if that's in terms of worship, or if that's in terms of like actually like speaking to the Lord, right? Um, obviously, like there are going to be many people that don't support you initially, right? But at the end of the day, like all you have is Jesus, right? So I feel like you know, like, especially the fact that he gave you idea to give you the idea to start whatever you want to do. I feel like that's just what's the most important thing, you know? Like, you just have to acknowledge that you know all you have is the Lord and you have to be okay with that, right?

SPEAKER_00 46:45

So how would you you mentioned this before, but um, how would you define a lukewarm

Defining a Lukewarm Christian

SPEAKER_00 46:51

Christian?

SPEAKER_01 46:51

A lukewarm Christian for me, and like obviously I would kind of use myself as an example. I would say someone who how do I say this? Someone who what's it called is okay with all the things or all of the sinful things that they do, but at the end of the day, like kind of like the one and done people who like go to church and like they praise and worship like on Sundays when on Saturdays are at the club and stuff, and they're okay with that. I feel like you know, at the end of the day, like again, we're all human and we're all going to sin and we're all going to fall, right? But as long as you acknowledge that you know that you know, with prayer or with whatever that you do to serve the Lord will help you get out of that, then I feel like okay, then like as long as like you know like you're gonna improve and you know that you know the Lord is working within you, and obviously, like it takes time, like you're not gonna be, you know, this perfect person like ever. But obviously you're gonna improve at a certain point, right? But if it's just like, oh, okay, like I'm just gonna go to church on Sundays and then on Saturdays, like I'm at the club and I'm okay with that, or oh, I'm consistently listening to secular music, I'm okay with that, or oh, like I'm okay with using profanity and stuff, but you know, I still go to church, right? Then I feel like that's where you can put those people in those like lukewarm categories. So that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 48:24

Yeah, a lot of people will come to church because uh Jesus says, Come as you are, yeah, but then they don't want to change, they don't want to change. It's it's come as you are, but don't stay as you are. Like if um if you've put your life uh into Christ and there is no difference between you and within a couple years, like you're still the same person, you're still doing the same sinful stuff, like you'll you'll look at that person and ask, where are your fruits? Yeah, and we're we're always gonna be imperfect, but for you to accept Christ and have a relationship and nothing about you changes. It's kind of like yeah, we have that discussion. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And it can be tough because you don't want to feel like you're convict or condemning anybody, um, but you're still called to um, you know, be a good brother and sister in Christ and and call out people in a righteous way, but not in a in a condemning way. And that's that's a difference a lot of people struggle with where it's like Jesus says that you shouldn't judge me, and it's like that's not fully what he's trying to say. It's like he he can judge us, but we can still judge righteously out of love. There's a difference about it. Yeah, but a lot of again, I struggle with that lukewarm thing as well. I thought I believed in Christ and but none of my life resembled that. Yeah. And so when people saw that and I said I would believed in Christ, it's like, do you really? Like it doesn't look like you do. So it's something a lot of people struggle with. And that's one of the things I'm hoping with this podcast is to have conversations with people and help people be more bold about their faith and also realize that being lukewarm isn't an option.

SPEAKER_01 49:58

Yeah, like if we're gonna stay committed, like you have to stay committed and put your all into it.

SPEAKER_00 50:03

Yeah, because there's there's this one guest who who said that um Jesus is either not important uh or the most important thing, but what he's not is not is he's not somewhat important. Yeah, yeah. Like he's the god of the universe, like you can't say that his a relationship with him is just somewhat important that you can do one time a week. Yeah. Um, yeah. I I was wondering in regards to any advice for that person who wants to start a clothing brand, a Christian clothing brand, what are some of the mistakes that you did throughout your process that if you were looking back and be like, Emmanuel, don't do that. Yeah, what would you what would

2 Mistakes Every New Brand Makes

SPEAKER_00 50:39

you say to that?

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Two things for sure. Um, obviously, that designing process, like I'm as I mentioned before, like don't be too different, especially when you're starting out. Um, I feel like at the end of the day, like you still have to stay modern, I guess. Or like, I don't know. Cause like for me, it's like when I created that t-shirt, it's like, okay, like I never seen this before, but I was like, you know, I'm just gonna put this on the t-shirt because you know, I've never okay, like I've never seen it before, right? And like at the end of the day, like people are going to invest themselves, like invest on what's trending. Like, I feel like that's just how I think that's just human nature. Like, if they see their favorite celebrity wearing it, or if they see, you know, like people around them wearing it, then they're like, okay, yeah, I want that too. Right. So it's like if you want to kind of match yourself with those other brands as well, you I feel like that's just kind of how you have to start out. So I feel like that's one thing I would say. The other thing I would definitely say is don't worry about your finances when you first start. Like, obviously, it may look like oh, you're just dumping a bunch of money, you're not seeing any feedback from it, but that's in reality, like a clothing brand is not profitable. It's like it's really not. Um, maybe like after once you're actually getting maybe like hundreds or thousands of sales, then we can talk about it being profitable and you adjusting your profit margins and stuff. But when you first start start out, if your whole purpose of starting a Christian clothing brand or clothing brand, period, is because you want to make money, but as well like serve the Lord as well, that's it's not the way to go. Because there it's just a whole process of you like getting your name out there, and obviously you're gonna have your why of doing it. I feel like your why, especially should be like the strongest reason why you should have your clothing brand in the first place, should be your absolute number one, like when you start out. Obviously, it should be your number one throughout, but it's just it's the only thing that you should have, I guess, when you first start out. But if it's in terms of like, oh, like you want to make extra money or you know, just as like as a side hustle, it's like honestly not the way to go. So I feel like just forget about finances, just put your all into whatever you want to do, and the Lord will give that back to you like tenfold.

SPEAKER_00 52:44

So I guess a lot of people like finance is obviously a huge hurdle to get over in any type of entrepreneurial uh venture. Yeah. So if it if it's uh if you're not making money off it, how are you sustaining this? How are you, how is it not just, you know, after one bad drop like crashing? What what's your process with that?

SPEAKER_01 53:06

A lot of the times I actually I remember like when I would have bad drops, I would actually host like a pop-up shop to like make my inventory or make like some sort of my like money from whatever I spent on my inventory back so I can remain neutral. Yeah, I would do that like a bunch of the times where I'm like, okay, like I maybe put a little bit too much money into my inventory and I receive this much in sales. Let me try to balance it out.

SPEAKER_00 53:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 53:29

Um, as well, I don't I'm not really in the position where like I like to like profit off like whatever I make, like I'm not in that position yet. Um, I don't even make that much to be doing that. Like, right? I do donate a good five percent to the mustard seed. And like, I don't know if you saw, yeah, yeah. I do that. I do like a bunch of insensitives where I do donate to whatever pop-up shop, like I'm doing it. I remember when I did at BP church, like I donated like a good amount of uh a percentage to BP and also um sunny side as well, right? So yeah, I feel like in terms of that, like whenever like I do need to make money back or whatever, like I'll probably go out and probably try to network to see if okay, can I make this back or can I do a pop-up shot to even it out, or maybe you know, I guess keep that business because even all of the money that I make back or from each drop, I just put it back in, right? Because at the end of the day, I do want to increase my engagement and increase like the following base that I do have so that eventually, okay, when I do make a drop, then it's like okay, we can talk about how much money is this gonna make or whatever. But my mentality ever since I started my brand was never to like necessarily like make this certain amount of money so that I can, you know, like it's just always been an investment to me because I know like in the future, like it will pop out. So that's good.

SPEAKER_00 54:48

Yeah, man. It's good to have faith in yourself and faith what God has again. If he if he wants you to keep this in, he'll keep it. If not, he'll take it away and he'll uh show you what he wants. So just have faith in his plan. Yeah, if there was one trend that you wanted to see pop off, yeah, that and then you're hoping that your coding brand can cater to that trend that's not trending right now. What would that trend be?

The Trend He Wants to Bring Back

SPEAKER_01 55:09

That's a good question. I like that question. Probably um if we can bring back what's it called? Like, have you seen those like rhinestone jeans? Like um yes, yeah with uh specifically, I think um I forgot there was this one jean brand like back in the day that I used to see. Some of them would be like in Levi's. I remember when Levi's was still like a thing, and like you know, but just like the concept of having like rhinestone jeans or like gems on jeans and stuff. I feel like if that were to pop back, like come back into trend, like I would definitely hop on it instantly. Cause that's just like something like I've always been into, and as well, like obviously, like my girlfriend as well, like she's been into that as well. So yeah, man, I feel like I would definitely hop on that if that were to come

Is Your Faith Where God Wants It?

SPEAKER_01 55:53

back.

SPEAKER_00 55:53

Okay, yeah, hopefully that happens. Yeah, hopefully. Um now with with every interview I line with these three questions. Um so for the first two questions, I I just want a yes or no, and then the last one kind of want you to elaborate. Okay, yeah. Um, is your relationship with Jesus where you want it to be right now?

SPEAKER_01 56:09

In this moment, if I'm being very honest, as much as I want to say yes, I would say no.

SPEAKER_00 56:14

Okay, and then is your relationship with Jesus where Jesus wants it to be?

SPEAKER_01 56:18

Good question. I think I would also double down and say no on that.

SPEAKER_00 56:21

So why is it a no for both?

SPEAKER_01 56:23

I would say it's a no for both, because I definitely don't believe that I'm at my strongest, I would say. Um, obviously, like I know at the end of the day, like, you know, we're all gonna fall and we're not, we're we're just not gonna be perfect. Like our relationship with God is not gonna be like a scale where it's like this, like all the time. Like, obviously, it's gonna have its ups and downs, right? Yeah, but I feel like as of right now, as much as I would like to stay consistent, I just haven't, and that's just on the honestly the honest truth. And I feel like that's something I've always wanted to, you know, be significant and like be honest with with uh my supporters that you know I just want to show them like the raw me that you know like there are going to be days where my faith is not an all-time high, you know? And as well, I was I was also thinking about this as well. I was also thinking about maybe you know making Christian content one day for like my personal page, right? But even if I do on the days where I'm at like my all-time low, or even if I am a low in my faith, like I'm still going to tell my supporters, like, hey, like I'm struggling with this, like in my faith, like this is not going well, but I would still show them the right thing to do because at the end of the day, like that's just how it is. That's that's how's that's how it's gonna be. And I feel like for a lot of Christian influencers, I would wish that a lot of them would be more honest about their lows as well. I feel like usually when we're on TikTok, like we see like their all-time highs, and that, like, hey, like, what's it called? Jesus did this for me, and you know, he can do the same thing for you, or them um also giving like inspirational talk about like scripture and stuff. But it's like you usually only see their all-time highs. But then it's like when they're at their lows, it's usually usually hidden. And I feel like that's something that I always wanted to like do, like also show my supporters, like, hey, like, you know what, like right now, like I have my own questions in my faith, and like I have I'm also confused with scripture as well, you know. And I would I feel like one thing that has helped me with that is also discussions with other people that are, you know, are like view the same way as me, or like are going through the same things that I'm going through in a way. Like, if I'm struggling, you're struggling, we can talk about it, and you know, maybe we can find some sort of like middle ground on why so-and-so was happening, you know what I mean? And obviously, I feel like my faith can be absolutely better, or like my consistency can be so much better than what it is as of right now. But I feel like that's just what it is. And you know, obviously it wasn't, you know, like before like the end of 2025, where I was like, okay, like you know, I'm doing good, like I feel good, and like me talking to Jesus is like a one-way, like back and forth, like we're good, we're going, we're like besties, you know what I mean? Talking back and forth, but no, I like obviously I'm gonna have my hardships, and I feel like that's just it is what it is.

SPEAKER_00 59:11

So Manuel, thank you for for the honesty. And I know that can be scary, like just being vulnerable about where you're at, and if it's not where you want to be in your relationship with God, but I think that honestly just I don't know, it makes me more human and it makes like the person that people want to be supporting in a Christian clothing brand owner is a Christian, and that person is an imperfect person and who struggles with, and as long as you're not trying to come up with a facade, like you said, and that can be exhausting sometimes because you feel like you have this weight that you have to do it, but you're really a person that's just trying to figure it out and trying to be as good of a son of God as you can, and so I appreciate that. I know your supporters do. Um thank you so much for taking your time for just being on this podcast. Is there anything that I can be praying or the audience can be praying for you as you go into this 2026 and this new season?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:03

Probably to maybe to give me like a clearer mind, man. Like, you know, like there's just so many things that just pile up sometimes, even just as a brand owner in itself. Like, there's so many struggles that you go through. Obviously, like you're gonna have to struggle through that as a brand owner, or even just in life when life like just treats you really bad. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know. I just feel like sometimes I just have to remind myself that you know, like it happens for a reason. Like, I'm not always going to be at this point, like it's always going to improve. And again, like I will get at this point, probably again, like maybe later in the future, you know. But at the end of the day, like I just feel like I have to, you know, probably learn how to maneuver maneuver myself through that and as well also trust in God because again, like I said before, like there's only things that us man can do compared to what you know God can do and change our lives. So amen. Yeah, man. Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:59

Well, I will be doing that. Thank you so much, Manuel. Thank you so much, guys, for watching this episode. I pray that again, it's another episode that just brought you a little bit closer to God. Um, a an episode that hopefully uh maybe convicted you to be uh going to church or putting your life to Christ. He's the only one who can save us from our from our sinful selves, and he loves you and he was thinking about you on that cross. Thank you, guys. Until next time, stay bold and stay blessed.