We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jahshawun Youmans. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jahshawun below.

Hi Jahshawun, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission? 

The story behind The WEiRDO Collection is amazing. So at a young age, I used to be called “weird” or a “weirdo” because I didn’t confide to social norms so I used to do things like wear mix match shoes or not match because no one ever told me I HAD to be a specific way or dress a certain way. Time goes on I start to see those very people who called me weird starting to do the exact things that they called me weird for. I learned then that all people want is something that they can go off of to embrace their inner differences so I took all of that into consideration and started my business “The WEiRDO Collection”

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 back background and context?

My name is Jahshawun Youmans but my family calls me “Jah” I am a southern country boy from the small town of Sparta, Georgia. I grew up watching my whole entire family become entrepreneurs and hearing them talk about the challenges it takes to become one. I officially got into the clothing industry in 2017 when my mother taught me how to make a shirt for the first time. I took exactly what she taught me and applied it, I still do to this day actually.

When I was growing up, I used to absolutely love wearing mix-match shoes! Kids at my school used to always say “hey man you’re weird” and at first I took it as an insult and realized they were only saying those things because I was different. Later on the exact same people that were calling me weird started wearing mix match shoes and it shocked me because I didn’t understand why talk about me and copy me at the same time. I talked with my mom and she informed that I was a “trendsetter” a term that ultimately means that once I do something that’s not usual with confidence other people with gravitate towards that and likely start doing it also. From that day forward I embraced my weirdness and understood that everybody is weird and different also. Even twins and weird in their own ways. No two people are alike.

I am most proud of my clothing being sold to every state in the US. It means that someone in each state of the US is embracing their weirdness and it means so much to me because that is what I set out to do. Change the world one weird at a time.

What I think that sets The Weirdo Collection apart is it isn’t like every other clothing brand. Its stands for something bigger than just the name, it helps people feel good and start to figure out who they are as a person.

TWC isn’t just a brand about “looking good” its about when you wear your weirdo item you are embracing your differentness to the fullest and understanding it totally okay to be different

Have you ever had to pivot?

In college, I used to make weirdo t-shirts literally off of my dorm room floor with a hand iron (the iron we use to iron our clothes” I end of making a name for myself on campus as the “t-shirt guy” or “the weirdo dude” after making a name for myself for 3 years we all had to go home due to covid. Coming home me and my mother had a discussion and it ended with me dropping out of college to focus 100% on my business. That was a major pivot because all I knew was going to school. Now I am leaving one future possibility for another and that was totally fine because I never liked going to school. That pivot changed me because it made me rely on my hustle more.

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

A lesson I had to unlearn was that everyone doesn’t think like me. When I started weirdo everyone looked at me as if I was crazy for wearing that word on my shirt but I knew the meaning and it wasn’t bad the way people made it seem and I wanted to help the younger kids like I was to embrace being different.

I had a major problem in the beginning and I still do sometimes because I wonder why so many people are stuck in their ways and scared of being looked at as different. I feel as if the people want to think of themselves as different but doesn’t really mean it.

Contact Info:

• Website: theweirdocollection.com
• Instagram: @theweirdocollection & @jahdavinci