AJ Vasquez founded his own clothing brand five months ago.
AJ Vasquez is like many seniors: eager to get out of high school and experience college and adulthood. At first glance, he seems just like every other—stressed about college applications and resumes. Without talking with him, it is impossible to know that Vasquez is an entrepreneur with his own brand: Product.
Product has been a brand for about five months, but Vasquez said he has been working on it for about a year, currently working
for at least three hours every night. Vasquez said he is inspired by the people around him.
“I was already into clothes and a lot of my friends had brands for years and from talking to them and learning from them it just made sense [for me to start a brand]” Vasquez said. “I use it as a platform to make clothing that I either think looks cool or [is] good.”
Running his own brand comes with many perks, such as, being the sole decision maker and the ability to work when he wants. However, there are many challenges and sacrifices that must be made when devoting oneself to a business. Since he works on Product daily, it is difficult to participate in other school activities or hang out with friends often.
Vasquez also faces difficulty remaining confident in his decisions without other perspectives.
“I [struggle with] making something I know that I might look back on and cringe at,” Vasquez said.
Since starting Product, Vasquez’s hard work is to paying off, as he is beginning to see the brand grow.
“I’ve gone from about four buyers to about a hundred,” Vasquez said. “My buyers are not just friends from school anymore; now I have people everywhere and [I] just [started] marketing in Russia right now, so I’m trying to get people all around the world, not just the Bay Area.”
“I would want recognition for my work, not my name. I don’t care for people to know my name”
When looking for guidance on how to run his brand, Vasquez turned to his friends and fashion role models for helpful notes and inspiration.
“My friend Andrew in Atlanta has a brand called Neverland and I look up to him,” Vasquez said. “I also look up to people like Ian Connor [a 22 year old model and fashion designer working with Kanye West and other influential icons], not for his clothes, but for the way he manipulates people’s minds.”
When he’s not working on Product, Vasquez enjoys playing video games and shopping for clothing.
“I play Fortnite, obviously,” Vasquez said. ”Also, besides this brand, I really enjoy shopping and looking to early 2000 and 2002 [fashion designer] Raf Simons and going to this place on Haight called Wasteland. I go on it every week just to make sure I don’t miss anything.”
Looking into the future, Vasquez does not know if he expects Product to continue to exist. He hopes to continue his passion for making clothes and ensure his actions and brand reflect his values.
“I would want recognition for my work, not for my name. I don’t care for people to know my name,” said Vasquez. “I’d rather people like one of my pieces rather than give me a follow on Instagram. I don’t care about that.”
