We were lucky to catch up with Dutchez Collins recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dutchez, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
MENTAL HEALTH is something that we as people don’t like to talk about, so I wanted to do something to help spread awareness. Somy wife and I came up with the “NO XQCZ” brand, pronounced No Excuses. There is a bible verse Jeremiah 29:11 ( I know the plans that I have for you), that we live by because without god where would we be? How NO XQCZ came about: I am a retired Army Veteran who has deployed 8 times, attempted suicide, and battle with PTSD and Depression on a regular basis, my wife is a Police Officer who also struggles with PTSD and Depression.
No XQCZ is a line that spreads awareness through what you see. Motivational quotes, Positive affirmations, and people who are going through the same daily struggle is how we spread awareness. 20% of net sales are distributed equally between the Wounded Warriors Program and BLUE H.E.L.P to assist with awareness and activities to help those who have and are suffering.
The idea of letting others know that they are not battling alone is the end goal. Mental Health has no cure but we can get a grip on it and handle it with a positive mindset. With NO XQCZ we are determined to spread awareness one person at a time. Many people don’t have anyone to talk to or are afraid of talking to someone in fear of being judged, and this is why we started a 24hour text line. This text line gives you an accountability partner. Someone you can talk to who won’t judge you and will also be there to say “I GOT YOU!’ If at any time you or someone you know suffers and needs to vent without judgement text (762)235-5796 anytime of the day or night and “WE GOT YOU”
Helping others with the same struggles is what we are here to do!
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?
My name is Alonna but I go by Dutchez. I am a retired Army Veteran with a passion for helping others. I have a Hair & Photo studio, and just started No XQCZ the brand. I am excited about NO XQCZ because this allows me to spread Mental Health awareness, help others by being an accountability partner and entrepreneur, We are not just a brand that sells items, we do community service, donate, and hold events, When this idea came to fruition, we hit the ground running.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In the beginning I was discouraged because of the fact that others would say that there are other companies that do the same thing. I would go to several pop up shops and community events and nothing.. I almost gave up, I had one more event that I was scheduled to attend. I went to the event as scheduled and there was this one young lady who changed my mind. I saw her and said hi, just as I would do anyone else. From me saying Hi we spoke for almost an hour. She told me that she had been contemplating suicide for the past few hours and something told her to go to the gym (where the event was being held). That young lady is the reason that I continued to push on with NO XQCZ. Telling her my story helped her to understand that she is here for a bigger purpose and needs to stick around.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My wife shared a mutual friend. I knew of her for years and she saw me before. We crossed paths several times and that was it. One day I saw her on Facebook and she posted a workout post, so me being me I (SLID IN HER DM) messaged her with some workout information and that led to talking all day everyday. After getting to know each other more came the moments of transparency, and came to find out we both suffer with Mental Health conditions. This commonality created NO XQCZ.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.noxqcz.org
- Instagram: no_xqcz
- Facebook: No XQCZ