We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful A.J. Thomas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with A.J. below.
A.J., appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
In 2013, I was entering my last year at North Central College in Naperville, IL without a clue what I was going to do next. I was entering my senior season playing a sport I loved more than anything in the world, football.l and had no clue what the season was going to hold for the team and me, personally. Any aspirations of going to the league we’re still alive, but dwindling due to the reality of timelines and understanding how the NFL works with recruiting and draft boards etc. My grades weren’t amazing, but weren’t terrible either and Graduate School felt like an afterthought. Fast forward – the season was amazing and the best in school history (at the time) going undefeated before losing by 1 point to go to the National Championship. That one hurt. My mental was shot, body was deteriorating from the 15 plus years of strain on the body, but at this point I knew I wanted to stay in the game. The NFL was slipping through my fingers and I had to come to grips with that reality. Tough. Graduate schools were no longer taking applications for Sports Psychology secondary programs until the next year and I knew if I didn’t continue in school oright away, I’d never go back. I knew for sure I didn’t want to move back home to Winnebago/Rockford, IL and that I wanted to stay in the game. So I made some calls and applied to be a graduate assistant football coach. Time moved on and we we’re approaching the end of the year, but I had landed some interviews to continue my football journey as a coach. Right before graduation, I accepted the Tight Ends Coaching job at Robert Morris University in downtown Chicago! I was set, had a plan, and some direction. Blessed and energized, I graduated NCC and moved onto RMU. I felt welcomed and excited to be there. It was hard work with 18 hour days and full time school, but we made it work and I learned a ton. Along the way I realized that the game I’d loved for decades became sour on my tongue and undesirable. I was looking for anywhere to go but there. My mental health was in the dirt. I was miserable and on a path of loneliness. I reached out to a best friend of mine Ryne Rezac and we spent the last year of my coaching career waking up and doing daily devotionals every day. I believed in God, but didn’t grow up in church so what he was doing for me was something I can never repay him for. Through prayer and understanding, my eyes became open to the realities of this profession and knew it was my time to call it after I fulfilled my duties. Along the way, “Nashville” was popping in and out of my daily thoughts. I’d never been, but there was a massive pull to go. My best friend from NCC, Derek Sanderson, had moved down there a year prior and told me if I wanted to come visit I could whenever. So I drove down from Chicago the majority of the weekends left in my last season and fell in love with the place. I graduated January, 17th 2016 and on January 21st, 2016 I moved south to Nashville to live with Derek and figure out what space i truly fit in. That move can not be understated. That was the biggest risk i had taken to that point. Leaving everything I knew to chase a dream in music in a city that wasn’t very progressive yet and definitely wasn’t very comfortable with hip hop. On my drive to Nashville on Jan. 21st. 2016 I received a phone call and job offer to stay in football that would’ve solved student loan and lack of cash issues lol, but I knew my purpose was in Nashville. In what capacity?! I had no idea, but I had faith and believed Nashville was where I needed to be. Greatest risk I’ve ever taken!
A.J., before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is A.J. Thomas. I’m from Winnebago/Rockford, Illinois. My background is rooted in sports and music which lead me to fashion. I played college football at North Central in Naperville, IL and went on to get my MBA while coaching in grad school! I moved to Nashville January 21st, 2016 to pursue a career in music. Started producing and writing while being a line cook at a pizza place, car insurance adjuster, head chef at a cafe, stylist and insurance specialist for Warby Parker, logistics manager for Arete (a health and wellness company), and then a retail director. All of those things lead me to be, first and foremost, the person I am today, but also the business man and entrepreneur here now. I created “Not A Pipe Dream” with 3 others – Ally Barrett, Kevin Wilson, and Bella Bouma less than a year ago! Below outlines our purpose and premise. Our “Why”. We’re beyond blessed to be here and can’t wait to continue pushing forward and giving back in these spaces.
NAPD Not A Pipe Dream
Founded in 2022 in Nashville, TN
The use of top-of-the-line materials and meticulous craftsmanship allows the primary focus of the brand to be the main vessle for streetwear to intersect at high-fashion.
Not A Pipe Dream in its rawest form is a space and a platform for the underdog and the marginalized minority to scream into, and most importantly, be heard.
Keeping sustainability and a sense of community at our forefront remains a top priority and motivator, along with avant-garde designs and intentions.
With fair-wage facilities and go-green initiatives, NAPD aims to give back to the youth and the community by collaborating with local help centers to provide resources and outlets for the underrepresented youth.
Not A Pipe Dream was founded by four great friends – all with different upbringings – who share similar outlooks on life, fashion, and principles.
The foundations of the brand are built on the following ideals: Comfort, Creativity, Love, Loyalty, and Re-wearability.
NAPD’s vision lasts a lifetime and leaves a positive legacy with a sense of community.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
All work isn’t good work! Just because you feel like you’re busy or your working hard doesn’t mean that you’re working well.
Sports teach us to hustle hustle hustle no matter what and if you get knocked down, bounce right back up and keep running. Elements of that are true. Never give up, keep going, push yourself passed any limitations you or the society has put upon you, but there’s also a major part of hustle and that’s the what and why? What are you hustling for and why are you doing it. That’s something that we were never taught to look at or pay attention to.
Not all movement is forward motion. One step at a time, focused, intentional steps with purpose will get you there most efficiently – wherever there is.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Yes in a way they all did! Music and fashion were my part time jobs that I treated as full time.
I’d be up at 4:30 am, workout until 6, get home and work my first part time job for Arete (a health and wellness company in Nashville) until about 11 am, take a shower and head to Warby Parker where I was on their CX team and work from 12-9pm. From there I’d head straight to the studio until about 12 on my early work out morning days and 2 am on the days I didn’t make myself go to cycling lol. Then repeat. And I did that for years. The studio is where I created and continued that hustle with a purpose no knowing the end goal other than trying to be the most impactful artist to ever live.
Now music and fashion are my full time gigs so I guess yes they have become that for me now which is wild to think about!
I got my first big DJ gig with Brandi Cyrus back in 2019 in Atlanta and we’ve been on tour ever since! When I’m not on the road with her, I’m doing private events, writing, producing, etc. I’ve released close to 40 songs and created merch for the bigger projects! They weren’t anything crazy, but they showed me I could do something in that space, but had no idea that’s what I’d really fully do. It’s not something I grew up around and it’s damn sure not something I was used to. I’m just so thankful that it found me when it did. I had a great opportunity to help open and run a store downtown Nashville which got my feet wet in the space and taught me a ton about how business really works. That opportunity did not pan out the way I thought it would, but it brought the 4 of us cofounders of NAPD: Not A Pipe Dream together and that’s the biggest blessing anyone could’ve asked for.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.napdofficial.com
- Instagram: @alexanderjordanthomas and @officialnapd
- Facebook: @ajrapsofficial
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/a-j-thomas-53b53b222
- Twitter: @ajrapsofficial
Image Credits
Trea Allen