We recently connected with Chris Yu and have shared our conversation below.

Chris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

We’re living in the most anxious, depressed, lonely and loveless society so we design comfortable, ethically made, quality clothing to spread mental health and a positive mindset inspiring people to live joyful, purpose-driven lives again.

We believe that love and peace of mind are our most precious resources that when cultivated, no one can take away.

We believe that transformed lives, transform lives and make the world a better place.

We believe that love ultimately is the answer to the most pressing issues of our society. That most problems in this world are caused by negative human decisions…

If hurt people hurt people and our planet, imagine what loved people can do?

By first knowing how to love ourselves and where true love comes from, we can then have the overflow to thinking about and love others.

We believe this is possible and that together, we can change the world for the better.

Promoting mental health, positive mindsets, and transforming lives is just the beginning. When we truly live our best lives from the inside out, we then perform better in every area of our lives too.

That genuine love and positivity translates into our workplaces, relationships, families, dreams, goals, physical, mental, even spiritual endeavors and beyond.

One of our brand slogans is: Love On Our Minds™

Imagine a world where people put love on our minds every day. To put our Thinking Caps on everyday (pun intended). To be filled with peace and love that we are able to stop, pause, and think about solving problems in our own lives yet also be of service to others.

The Thinking Cap is a brand birthed from pain and frustration…

I grew up in poverty, a broken home, and experienced trauma and abuse as a child. All my life, unknowingly, was a chase for survival, affirmation, and belonging. Ultimately, to be loved.

So I learned how to adapt and be a chameleon…

I then began to chase everything in this world I thought could fill that inner void. First I chased success and status as a means to feel fulfilled and desired.

I became excellent at what I did in the marketplace and found short-lived pride and purpose in that. I found myself serving some of the best companies and seeing the world. A taste of fine things of what I thought could satisfy my mind, body and soul.

Everything I chased began to happen, including the blessing of getting married, then everything change… First for the worst…

When my wife got pregnant, I had a crisis.

Because of my inner battles, yes mental, and yes I believe spiritual, I did not know how to deal with this life change. After a fruitful career and business and now a new family, at the time I thought to myself, what now?

Now these thoughts have always plagued my mind when I was young but it they were especially amplified when life required me to step up, again.

I went through a dark place mentally. Past traumas were never address. Wrong thinking and doing led to consequences that could have ended my life or ruined my family.

I believe that before we experience positive breakthroughs or before we reach a new levels in our lives, the devil does all he can to hold us back. To steal, kill and ultimately destroy us. To keep us from true blessings.

At this point in my life, while I thought I had everything figured out, I wore a mask of joy, a mask of success, a mask of “everything is good” whether it be at home, at work, at church, and relationships.

Little did anyone know, including my wife, that I was anxious, depressed, and borderline suicidal… And I don’t take those words lightly. I was in a paralyzing place. So I thought.

I was in the darkest moments of my life and no one knew but me. I did not know what to do. I did not know what to think. I did not know how to reach out. I was stuck in a cycle of dark thinking.

Outside everything was fine. I was even going to church. But inside was still turmoil. No fault of anyone but this part of my life I just did not know how to handle. I had no reference.

I ended up trying 2 recovery programs (places that I never thought I’d be!) and ultimately thought had a positive impact, however, the programs still did not have a lasting effect on me. No blame on those programs (or anyone) entirely. Perhaps I wasn’t ready myself, at the time.

For a few years, I began to study my own life, my mind, mental health and dug deeper into my faith. I wanted to understand what I went through knowing that other people, though we don’t have the exact same stories, can absolutely relate with issues of anxiety and depression.

And much more than dealing with anxiety and depression, I wanted to inspire lasting and joyful change in people’s lives no matter what phase in their life they were in.

See- I learned to perform in this world, to mask everything, to chase success and/or achieving a version of it, and still felt empty. But imagine if we can still have a level of success but from a place of wholeness, true love, and peace of mind?

I believe our world has gotten our values backwards to what’s really important.

And this is why The Thinking Cap ultimately exists. To inspire positive change and life transformation. To inspire people to live their best lives from the inside out.

And yes, to inspire success as well (whatever that means to you) but from a place of wellness so we can ultimately, and effectively impact those around us.

I believed that each and everyone one of us is destined to do something great and meaningful with out lives to also bless others.

What I learned, yet so thankful the hard way, I’d like to pass on so others don’t have to. And for the people who are going through dark times now, we as brand want to champion them and to inspire them that change is possible and there is HOPE.

And we don’t have to wait until rock bottom to start living feel and peacefully! Mental wellness is a everyday practice.

That dark part of my life was mended through perseverance, mentors, obtaining knowledge, the love of my wife, and the love of God. And now it’s time to build something meaningful in this world for others to experience the same.

By the grace of God I am happily married to my beautiful wife, Eliya and two incredible young children, my daughter Elisha and son Cam in Dallas, TX.

In our world where outwardly appearances and competitive performance is glorified (though nothing wrong with healthy sportsmanship) our brand promotes true success from the inside out. A joyful, peaceful, purpose-driven life.

We are The Thinking Cap. We are so much more than fabric, this is a movement, with Love On Our Minds™

We’re on a mission to impact 2 billion lives by 2050. Mental health, mindset, life transformation and clothing is just the beginning…

Join us.

With love and peace of mind, Your friend,
Chris Edison Yu
thethinkingcap.com

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

For over 15 years I served in the creative, media/film/video production, entrepreneurial coaching and business brand strategy consulting space.

A majority of my work and previous business was based in Los Angeles serving start-ups, individual professionals, to global brands such as Nike, Under Armour, Lumin, Gospel Light, Valslide, etc.

I’m currently residing in Dallas, TX as a consultant to entrepreneurs/businesses and founder of a new venture, The Thinking Cap, a quality apparel brand that inspires positive living through mental health, mindset, and life transformation.

The Thinking Cap is a brand birthed from mission and necessity to inspire an anxious and depressed world to the path of achieving true success and transformation from a place of love and peace of mind. Promoting mental health and quality apparel is just the beginning.

We’re on a mission to impact 2 billion lives by 2050. Join us and follow our instagram/fb @thethinkingcapofficial and see more at thethinkingcap.com

FULL BRAND and PERSONAL STORY below:

We’re living in the most anxious, depressed, lonely and loveless society so we design comfortable, ethically made, quality clothing to spread mental health and a positive mindset inspiring people to live joyful, purpose-driven lives again.

We believe that love and peace of mind are our most precious resources that when cultivated, no one can take away.

We believe that transformed lives, transform lives and make the world a better place.

We believe that love ultimately is the answer to the most pressing issues of our society. That most problems in this world are caused by negative human decisions…

If hurt people hurt people and our planet, imagine what loved people can do?

By first knowing how to love ourselves and where true love comes from, we can then have the overflow to thinking about and love others.

We believe this is possible and that together, we can change the world for the better.

Promoting mental health, positive mindsets, and transforming lives is just the beginning. When we truly live our best lives from the inside out, we then perform better in every area of our lives too.

That genuine love and positivity translates into our workplaces, relationships, families, dreams, goals, physical, mental, even spiritual endeavors and beyond.

One of our brand slogans is: Love On Our Minds™

Imagine a world where people put love on our minds every day. To put our Thinking Caps on everyday (pun intended). To be filled with peace and love that we are able to stop, pause, and think about solving problems in our own lives yet also be of service to others.

The Thinking Cap is a brand birthed from pain and frustration…

I grew up in poverty, a broken home, and experienced trauma and abuse as a child. All my life, unknowingly, was a chase for survival, affirmation, and belonging. Ultimately, to be loved.

So I learned how to adapt and be a chameleon…

I then began to chase everything in this world I thought could fill that inner void. First I chased success and status as a means to feel fulfilled and desired.

I became excellent at what I did in the marketplace and found short-lived pride and purpose in that. I found myself serving some of the best companies and seeing the world. A taste of fine things of what I thought could satisfy my mind, body and soul.

Everything I chased began to happen, including the blessing of getting married, then everything change… First for the worst…

When my wife got pregnant, I had a crisis.

Because of my inner battles, yes mental, and yes I believe spiritual, I did not know how to deal with this life change. After a fruitful career and business and now a new family, at the time I thought to myself, what now?

Now these thoughts have always plagued my mind when I was young but it they were especially amplified when life required me to step up, again.

I went through a dark place mentally. Past traumas were never address. Wrong thinking and doing led to consequences that could have ended my life or ruined my family.

I believe that before we experience positive breakthroughs or before we reach a new levels in our lives, the devil does all he can to hold us back. To steal, kill and ultimately destroy us. To keep us from true blessings.

At this point in my life, while I thought I had everything figured out, I wore a mask of joy, a mask of success, a mask of “everything is good” whether it be at home, at work, at church, and relationships.

Little did anyone know, including my wife, that I was anxious, depressed, and borderline suicidal… And I don’t take those words lightly. I was in a paralyzing place. So I thought.

I was in the darkest moments of my life and no one knew but me. I did not know what to do. I did not know what to think. I did not know how to reach out. I was stuck in a cycle of dark thinking.

Outside everything was fine. I was even going to church. But inside was still turmoil. No fault of anyone but this part of my life I just did not know how to handle. I had no reference.

I ended up trying 2 recovery programs (places that I never thought I’d be!) and ultimately thought had a positive impact, however, the programs still did not have a lasting effect on me. No blame on those programs (or anyone) entirely. Perhaps I wasn’t ready myself, at the time.

For a few years, I began to study my own life, my mind, mental health and dug deeper into my faith. I wanted to understand what I went through knowing that other people, though we don’t have the exact same stories, can absolutely relate with issues of anxiety and depression.

And much more than dealing with anxiety and depression, I wanted to inspire lasting and joyful change in people’s lives no matter what phase in their life they were in.

See- I learned to perform in this world, to mask everything, to chase success and/or achieving a version of it, and still felt empty. But imagine if we can still have a level of success but from a place of wholeness, true love, and peace of mind?

I believe our world has gotten our values backwards to what’s really important.

And this is why The Thinking Cap ultimately exists. To inspire positive change and life transformation. To inspire people to live their best lives from the inside out.

And yes, to inspire success as well (whatever that means to you) but from a place of wellness so we can ultimately, and effectively impact those around us.

I believed that each and everyone one of us is destined to do something great and meaningful with out lives to also bless others.

What I learned, yet so thankful the hard way, I’d like to pass on so others don’t have to. And for the people who are going through dark times now, we as brand want to champion them and to inspire them that change is possible and there is HOPE.

And we don’t have to wait until rock bottom to start living feel and peacefully! Mental wellness is a everyday practice.

That dark part of my life was mended through perseverance, mentors, obtaining knowledge, the love of my wife, and the love of God. And now it’s time to build something meaningful in this world for others to experience the same.

By the grace of God I am happily married to my beautiful wife, Eliya and two incredible young children, my daughter Elisha and son Cam in Dallas, TX.

In our world where outwardly appearances and competitive performance is glorified (though nothing wrong with healthy sportsmanship) our brand promotes true success from the inside out. A joyful, peaceful, purpose-driven life.

We are The Thinking Cap. We are so much more than fabric, this is a movement, with Love On Our Minds™

We’re on a mission to impact 2 billion lives by 2050. Mental health, mindset, life transformation and clothing is just the beginning…

Join us.

With love and peace of mind, Your friend,
Chris Edison Yu
thethinkingcap.com

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

We are funding our star-up solely based on our savings. We have been boot-strapping every step of the way. I initially saved some capital over 2 years with my previous business before officially committing to the journey of building The Thinking Cap.

My wife and I decided to put buying a home on hold as this mission and message is too important to not give it a chance.

Sacrifices need to be made a lot of times in the early phases of building a lasting business and we are all in.

We truly want to see a world transformed by spreading love, mental health, peace of mind and inspiring joyful living through quality apparel.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lessons learned and unlearned so far have been mainly principle driven.

There are no shortcuts to building a lasting business. Integrity is paramount. Providing nothing less than our best to give our customers the product and service they deserve.

Principles such as honesty, integrity, to financial responsibility are some of our values we focus on every day. To spend every dollar wisely with intent of a return as I’ve made mistakes on spending compulsively in the past.

Another big lesson is that when times are good, that is when to double down and go full throttle in the business. Whether that is acquiring more customers, innovating and releasing new products, or simply doubling down on marketing efforts. I have made the mistake of getting too comfortable on more fruitful seasons and then stressing in times of drought from lack of preparation. It’s actually a counter-intuitive process and thinking of that when times are good, that is the season to go even harder.

Another lesson is to always develop yourself as a leader and treat people with utmost respect and honor no matter what position they are in. Everyone one has a a vital role to play and important in executing a common goal. Another belief I live by is, humility precedes honor. Treat people well.

Another principle I live by is give first with no expectation of return. Provide value always.

Another lesson is to market, market, market. The best ideas in the world are buried in obscurity. We are now only starting to ramp our social media efforts first with instagram/fb and will be launching our Youtube channel very soon.

Lastly, fail fast and fail often. The more you fail, the pendulum to success eventually swings back. Got an idea? Move on it, test it, and you’ll have your answer. Doubt and insecurity can be deadly. Time waits for no one.

Contact Info:

• Website: thethinkingcap.com
• Instagram: @thethinkingcapofficial
• Facebook: @thethinkingcapofficial