We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Luis Mendez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Luis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

Mental Health is something that I personally struggle with on a daily basis. I had a bad car accident a few years ago that left me in a bad state physically and mentally it was then I realized how important having support was from my family and loved ones. My brother Jose and girlfriend Shannon helped me see value in myself again they were the two people that helped save my life. I wanted to be that support for others like they were for me and create a community that helped others that were silently struggling. Learning to live with PTSD and depression soon followed that incident. I not only found out how important physical therapy was but also how crucial mental therapy was as well. Shannon suggested using the name “You Are More” it was the song I dedicated to her at the time of her trials. It’s a song that reminds you that you are more than your past mistakes and choices that you made. I thought it would be fitting to pay tribute and remind everyone in our community. They are more than a stigma. You are more than any obstacle in your way. We truly believe trials are your future testimony. The 988 in our name is in tribute to the suicide prevention lifeline that you can call or text when you are experiencing a mental health emergency. I knew that I could use my pain for good. To give people hope that it gets better. Whatever it is that you’re struggling with whether it’s depression, anxiety or addiction. You are more.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I was inspired from Marc Mero. A mental health advocate and a well known speaker for schools all over the US. He posts semi-daily affirmation videos that focus on not just mental health but lots of other helpful topics. I wanted to focus solely on the mental health aspect of the affirmations. My hope was that someone would takeaway something different from each video. Every day I get at least one message from our community member about how badly they needed to hear what I just posted. This gave me confirmation that what I’m doing is helping. We don’t shy away from discussing suicide prevention. This is a topic that’s heavy on so many hearts. So many people are struggling silently. Our community helps remind them they are not alone in how they feel.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We are big believers that it’s okay to ask for help. We have had a lot of it from our friends and ambassadors. My team members Melissa and Jordan helped take our page to the next level. Melissa with her artwork that is mental health focused helped create big buzz on the brand by designing clothing that was not only cool to wear but displayed powerful messages like “keep going” and “the storms will pass” the goal that the messages be clear and concise was important to us. Jordan Kross is a professional wrestler on the independents. He helped me get connected to some big names in the pro-wrestling world. With the support of some reputable names in the entertainment industry we were able to grow the page on each collab we have done. Each post sharing what mental health means to them and encouraging their followers with their own testimony. We love connecting with mental health advocates and have been blessed to work with huge names from WWE, AEW, MTV and even a couple of iconic Power Rangers. All of who have asked for nothing from us in return and have used their reach for good. We all have one thing in common. We all want to help others stay here for as long as possible.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

We didn’t start off as a clothing company. The demand for that came later on once trust was built with the audience. The early affirmation videos I filmed I always wore a “you are more” branded shirt. Those videos then became a commercial for our clothing. We believe in giving back so we donate a portion of our net profits on our clothing monthly to charity. In the past we’ve also donated to the National Breast Cancer foundation as well as the American Foundation for suicide prevention. We know that there is strength in numbers. And when you have people behind you and believe in what you’re doing, the sky is the limit.

Contact Info:

• Website: Youaremore988.com
• Instagram: @youaremore988
• Twitter: @youaremore988

Image Credits
@infamous.photos