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Why hugging your homies is good for your mental health with The Reign Shop
14 Plays1 month ago
In this powerful episode of The HOPE Mindset, we sit down with entrepreneur and community leader Steven King, founder of The Reign Shop—a brand built to uplift and celebrate Black excellence among entrepreneurs in the Cincinnati area. 💼✨ We dive deep into the importance of Black men’s mental health, the story behind the impactful "Hug Your Homies" t-shirt initiative, and how Steven is creating space for healing, pride, and purpose through fashion and conversation. From entrepreneurship to emotional wellness, this episode is a raw, honest look at what it means to reign with purpose. Keep up with The Reign Shop: 📱 @TheReignShop on all platforms Learn more and grab some merch: thereignshop.com
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Transcript
Investing in Mental Wealth vs Mental Health
00:00:00
Speaker
Not mental health, mental wealth. Are you investing in things that bring you peace? Are you spending your time with things that are gonna enrich your life? Are you saving?
00:00:11
Speaker
you know, are you saving those experiences that are gonna make you a better person? And then it's gonna pay you dividends. That's so good. what I'm saying? Yeah. So, yeah, mental health is important, but are you actually investing in your mental wealth?
00:00:23
Speaker
Mm-hmm. So that's kind of what this is, and I think black folk in general, people of color in general, um it's really important because ah we understand how hard it is. Yeah. Welcome to the Hope Mindset Podcast.
00:00:35
Speaker
I'm Mikayla Hugh Shaw and 10 years ago, I started a movement called How About Hope and the hope stands for helping others and providing encouragement. Our goal is to challenge negative beliefs and experiences and to break stigmas about what goes on in our minds and to live in the sunshine, especially after overcoming dark times.
00:00:59
Speaker
The Hope Mindset podcast is all about telling stories of struggle turned strength.
Stephen King's Rain Shop - Art, Culture, and Community
00:01:10
Speaker
so I'm Stephen King. I'm the founder and owner of The Rain Shop, and The Rain Shop is an eclectic retail shop that is powered by art and culture. And we do a lot with the community, multiple schools, a lot of local wear.
00:01:27
Speaker
We also work with business. i don't why should look. Should look right here? do Yeah, you can just look right there. right, all right. We do a lot of work with the community. We do also do a lot of work with the schools and working with the bands, the sports clubs, student councils.
00:01:43
Speaker
We work with entrepreneurs to give them a place to put their items. So the rain shop is kind of a one-stop shop for all of your needs, whether there's culture, music, pop culture, local, sports, everything, just Ohio. yeah Yeah, absolutely. And you know, what is it that made you want to open the rain shop in the first place? Is it because you felt like this was something that was missing in the community?
00:02:09
Speaker
Yeah, well, that and um my inner child. When I was 15, I used to work at TJ Maxx. And I worked there for years. I said, you know, one day going to have my own TJ Maxx.
00:02:21
Speaker
um But I wanted it to be black, though. you know So ah that that was kind of my thing. I wanted to make sure that that that childhood passion amount of mine retail and fashion and and just being in a place that has customer service, that's important to me. So that's why I got it going. That's awesome. How old were you when you were 15? I was like fifteen about 15. I was 15. Okay. 15. I kind of lay dormant for years. And then the opportunity came. cause My mom used to own this shop.
00:02:46
Speaker
And then she was done with it. And said, you know what? This is my opportunity to go back and chase that dream. And I did it. and And I've been doing it ever since. Did she own the shop here? She owned this exact shop. What did she sell? She sold clothes for the saints.
00:03:01
Speaker
What? but for For church folk, yeah. Really? Absolutely. What? was a drabby purple and dirty ah pink. It was a different decorum, I'll say that. definitely. I had no idea. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so ok so yeah you're like a second generation entrepreneur. That's right. Okay. That's right, absolutely. that Yeah, this is a little different.
00:03:22
Speaker
This is a little different. A little different. So some of her customers come back sometimes and say, where's the dresses? I'm like, ah. We do not carry those We don't carry those anymore. Yeah, yeah. That's a previous owner, but she's my mom. So I usually just you know share the number and nate they contact her. But yeah.
00:03:38
Speaker
No, that's that's very cool. I had no idea that it was the same ah the building. Same building. That's cool. I love learning something new. Absolutely. Yeah, that's awesome. yeah And really, you have kind of accomplished that dream in a way ah with this space because, ah correct me if I'm wrong, aren't all of the vendors black on businesses? Yes. so all the vendors here are black. So all the businesses that I started with and I'm currently with are ah small business owners, entrepreneurs that are minorities. Mm-hmm. So that's our focus to make sure that those people that are ah don't have the access to funds to open their own retail store, I'll do it for you at a low cost. You come in and we promote your stuff for free, give you a small percentage of you know of the sales. But yeah, that's our goal to push forward those folks that may not have the vehicle to put their stuff out there. Yeah, because I'm sure it is just a lot really to get a brick and mortar up and off of the ground and to keep it going. Yes. And, you know, how has it felt to get ah really like positive um response from the community?
00:04:44
Speaker
Oh, it's it's humbling, truly humbling. I still, some days I just look at my IG over the last two years and I'm like, man, like this is this was ah an idea. you know And now it's here like in fruition. like So for me, it's I still get chills. I still you know look at my IG and all the things I've done and all the people that are wearing the clothes that out that I've made and the the children I've inspired.
00:05:05
Speaker
ah It's truly humbling still to this day. It's like expanded from just being a school or a culture shop. Now it's like I can make anything for any industry. And that's our goal to make sure that we put a stamp on everything, no matter what. we know It could be schools, it could be um a janitorial service, or it could be a nursing company. Whatever it is, let us make your stuff for you and make you look good while you're doing business. Well, and one of the clothing lines that you have released um or one of the projects really, Hug Your Homies.
Hug Your Homies Initiative - Mental Health Awareness
00:05:38
Speaker
Yes. So we were talking about this during my day job when I came to um do a Black History Month story about the rain shop.
00:05:46
Speaker
But tell me, where did the idea for Hug Your Homies ah come from, would you say? Well, ah I can't take the credit for it totally. ah My best friend, he actually came up with the idea of Hug Your Homies.
00:06:00
Speaker
ah But the good thing about it is once we sat down and talked about it, and he explained to me the the meaning behind it. Because at first when I first saw it, my first thought was, that's an LGBTQ.
00:06:12
Speaker
That's what i first thought. That was your first. And we love them too. We do. We do. it we We roll with everybody. So when people see it, and it's supposed to be a conversation starter. When you see it, you're like, okay, you know what? Okay, well, what's that? But what it is, is it's a mental health awareness shirt. And it basically just is a way for us to send a reminder to people that, hey, no matter how strong you are,
00:06:33
Speaker
Hug your friends because that embrace, that touch is important. No matter if you're gay, straight, we should all be hugging our homies, hugging our moms, hugging our sisters, hugging our our husbands. Everybody deserves a hug. So that's kind of um kind of what I kind of took from what he told me. Really in this time too, there's just been so much going on. That's right.
00:06:55
Speaker
Generationally, like intergenerationally, really, we have struggled to talk about mental health yeah in a way that is not like directly connected to the church. Right.
00:07:08
Speaker
So it'll be a, oh, you can pray away your demons. Yeah. But there are therapists out there. There are. And there are people that, you know, God gifted with the ability to connect with people in that way. And so I guess in a very long winded way, my question to you is where does mental health and minorities kind of fit into the Hug Your Homies initiative too? Right.
00:07:32
Speaker
So for me, my mom was actually a she has her master's in social work. So I grew up in a in a household that was um the focus was your mental health. So she she was a counselor. She was a therapist. We saw it.
00:07:47
Speaker
And it was right in our ah front, um you know, at our kitchen table. And she would tell us about, you know, things that that she went through at work and things like that. and how important it was for people of color to actually dig into their mental wealth. Not mental health, mental wealth. Are you investing in things that bring you peace? Are you spending your time with things that are going to enrich your life? wow Are you saving? you know Are you saving those experiences that are going to make you a better person?
00:08:15
Speaker
And then it's to you dividends. That's so good. what I'm saying? Yeah. So, yeah, mental health is important, but are you actually investing in your mental wealth? So that's kind of what this is. And I think ah black folk in general, ah people of color in general, um it's really important because ah we understand how hard it is. ah We understand how hard it is just to be um in America or be any country right now.
00:08:39
Speaker
So right now, with all the things going on in the world, everybody needs to just sit back and hug somebody. Yeah, so just hug your homies. Just hug somebody. what Your mom sounds like she needs to also be releasing quotes and things. Definitely. Mental wealth? Mental wealth. That's beautiful. Mental wealth, absolutely. That's so good. But what what's been the response when you wear this out in public or with your friends? Yeah. Are you just walking around like, bring in? a conversation starter. Yeah, I mean, it's a conversation starter. People, yeah most of the time, they look.
00:09:07
Speaker
and Do you know what that knot was for? Yeah. I said, I don't know, bro, because ah some of them were like tie-dye. Some of them were black. And then when you throw in the. You see I'm saying? So you can have to spin it how you want to spin it. So in June, I'll release some tie-dye ones.
00:09:20
Speaker
Okay. All right. We're supporting pride. We're all encompassing. That's so good. But so you get like nods, you get acknowledgments. Absolutely. Yeah, definitely. Has it started a conversation with you? Okay. So a lot of times when I work to work, people say, hug your homies. And then they give me a hug.
00:09:38
Speaker
You know, just give me a hug. Like, okay I'm a hug you. So that right there, you know, that alone is is what I wanted. I wanted a conversation starter and I wanted something to kind of make people talk about the importance of mental health. People ask me, I say, well, it's a mental health wellness shirt.
00:09:53
Speaker
yeah It's important to um embrace your people, those strong ones, the ones that are going through things. A lot of times people that are strong, like myself, we may not say what's on our mind or we may not convey what we're going through. Yeah. So we need sometimes to just be hugged and say, you know what, I feel good because you're actually showing me care and compassion. You know, so i think that's that's the importance of this line is making sure that we hug our homies.
00:10:18
Speaker
I wear it proudly. And I always tell people, ah no matter what age you are, a person of color, make sure you make your ancestors proud, make them proud and and make sure that you show ah proudness by your actions and things you do, your mannerisms and how many people you bless, you know, because I always hear that.
00:10:35
Speaker
um you can tell how blessed you are by how many people you have actually blessed. So my blessings come from helping other people. That's kind of how I i look at things and that's how I gauge my success.
Honoring Black Excellence and Cultural Support
00:10:46
Speaker
Making your ancestors proud.
00:10:48
Speaker
And that's the kind of coming back to the close for a second. That is also a line that you carry here in the store. That's right. that' I love that. I just love that line, making your ancestors proud. We're coming off of Black History Month. It's all about making your ancestors proud. That's right. That's right.
00:11:04
Speaker
And that's a line that we also cherish because it's just a reminder that everything that we're doing today is a celebration, is jubilation of all those people that came before us. You know, those Fred Hamptons, you know, those are Richard Pryors.
00:11:20
Speaker
ah Those ah Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, those people, Frederick Douglass, all those people that came before us that laid the foundation, they did it because for for me. They did it for the rain shop. They they did it for me to be here, to be successful, to be promoting black excellence. They did it for me. So that's why I'm doing it. They did it for you. They did it for me. They did it for the rain shop. So thank you very much, Malcolm X. I appreciate you, bro. Thank you, MLK. Malcolm is like your favorite. Malcolm is my favorite. malcolm is that My first book that I ever read was Malcolm X, um the autobiography. That was the first book I ever read cover to cover.
00:11:53
Speaker
How old were you? Do you remember? Had to be about... Is that like when you finally read like your first chapter? First chapter book. Now, I've read like, you know, like, you know, elementary books. I mean, my first novel that I read without being forced.
00:12:09
Speaker
And then I saw the movie and it was just like, oh man. And yeah then I forced my kids to read the novel. You're like, you are going to learn. You're going to learn about ah Malcolm. Because, you know, Malcolm, he doesn't get the praise, you know.
00:12:21
Speaker
And I just want to make sure that he gets the praise that he deserves. So, everything that I do, even my work email, I have a picture of Malcolm as my as my thumbnail. Do you? Really radical. i don' but I don't I love this. I don't care.
00:12:34
Speaker
I'm learning so much and I love it. Yeah, i don't care. Well, and, you know, i think we kind of just kind of keep coming back to the times that we're living in right now. And I just know, I mean, prior to...
00:12:48
Speaker
this most recent election, things were already, we were, mean, we were just kind of in a rough spot. um ah But now like I hear from friends of mine that work maybe in like higher education, right? And you see like DEI getting, um,
00:13:07
Speaker
diminished or flat out just canceled and all of that. And i think now is really an important time to embrace that culture and to check on your people and to hug your homies because everything just kind of feels heavy every at the moment. Yes, it is. It is. Yeah, it definitely is.
00:13:30
Speaker
What would you say has been your favorite part about this line? I have goals for this line. So I would love to go like a programs where we can actually come out and do some workshops. We can also teach the ah either the clients or the company about ah what it means to make a shirt what the hug your homies ah push is. It's really beautiful. Definitely. And you know, I did not know that your mom had her master's in social work. So I'm sure that your take on mental wellness is wildly different than even some of like your friends. I'm Oh,
Personal Growth Through Mental Wellness and Self-Care
00:14:07
Speaker
definitely. Yeah. Cause I even think about generationally, like going to therapy and thinking about those things that were like good for our mind. Like, I don't know, like yoga, mindfulness, all of those things. um
00:14:22
Speaker
Like even the generation before me, I don't know that it was nearly as big of it or that there was nearly as big of an emphasis on it. So do you feel like that has kind of set you apart from your peers as you've, I don't know, walked through life kind of having that, that mental wealth that your mom had talked about, would you say? Yeah, I think so. I think so because having a mom that understands the importance of peace of mind, of tranquility, serenity, yeah a normal child, I guess what is normal, but a a childhood where my mom was there and my dad was there, they both worked.
00:14:57
Speaker
And my mom made sure that we understand the importance of of God, the importance of working hard, the importance of family, ah those cornerstones, those values, those morals ah she instilled in me. My friends, um they they admire that. And I think that's what makes us a good ah group of friends because I have that understanding.
00:15:16
Speaker
and I focus in on my ah my mental health. I call it the peace train, is what I call it nowadays. But I wanna get as many folks on that peace train as possible. This is a life short, it's borrowed time, so we don't have time for stress.
00:15:29
Speaker
And this is a reminder that you know we have to make sure that we ah vacation, take care of our bodies, eat right. And make sure and all that is all encompassing with hugging your homies. It's a mental health holistically. So, yes, you should should be doing some for your body, what you put in your body, what you eat, what you drink, what you listen to, um the news you watch, everything that you are encountering should be to have a positive spin to it to actually enrich your life. Definitely. And I'm sure the people that you have around you as well kind of falls.
00:16:01
Speaker
The peace strain. You have so many good, like, I don't even know what they're called. Just so many good little taglines, I guess. Thank you. Thank you. What do you do for self-care? What do you do for your mental health?
00:16:11
Speaker
I love to travel. I'm very busy, but I love to travel. I love, i always say that California is my second home. I've always loved California since I was little. I've been a big fan, like Men's Society, Boys in the Hood. That's what i grew up on as a kid. So when I actually went there, like i you know I glorified it as a kid. It was a fantasy world. Then I went there.
00:16:30
Speaker
and just of the the weather, the beaches, the food, the the minorities, um just being in a place where it was a true melting pot. I've never seen so many cultures, so much entrepreneurship.
00:16:42
Speaker
um So California is my number one destination for a vacation. Other than that, music. I'm really big on music. I listen to a lot of old music. I read. I'm a father. I'm a husband. So that takes a lot of my time. And I also am another entrepreneur. I own another business. So Yeah, I don't know where you find the time to travel. Like when you just said that, I'm like, wait, but don't you own like four businesses? Yeah, I own ah own a daycare as well. And that's actually the the the mothership to all this. ah When I was working at CPS, still am, I sat in the classroom wait one day and I said, you know what?
00:17:14
Speaker
I'm sitting here and I have this knowledge and I'm doing it for CPS. I could do this myself, get the credentials and the certifications and do it myself. And eight years later, I'm still doing my own daycare by myself. And then that funded the rain shop is funding all the you know the kids and my my bills and it's everything. So um but yeah, so working, um reading sometime, i'm getting more into reading. um I'm still old fashioned. I still need a book in my hand. My friends are like, man, you're old school. I'm like listen, man, I need to hold a book in my hand. can't listen to an audio book. Oh, so no audio books, no Kindle. No, I can't. I'm old i'm old school. i need to have I need to see it. I need to visualize it. I need to touch it.
00:17:54
Speaker
I'm a five senses type of guy. You know what I'm saying? I need it. You know I'm saying? So, yeah. But your friends call you for that? Old-fashioned. They call me old-fashioned. That's so funny. They call me old-fashioned. They call old-fashioned. They say, why are you still holding books? I'm like, you listen to five books? Like, how are you? I said, nah, man, I need to read it, digest it, sit back. I can't listen to it. I'm the same way. It has to be. I very much am not an audiobook person. I've listened to couple Yeah. A couple of audio books, but I love having. I gotta hold it.
00:18:25
Speaker
Yeah. I gotta hold it. I will do a Kindle though. Yeah. That's where we differ. I got you. I got you. That's cool though. um What is it that you would say to somebody or like if a friend came to you and they were maybe struggling, what would you say to them to kind of just give them a bit of encouragement?
00:18:45
Speaker
Well, I always put myself in their shoes. So I say, how would I handle the situation? So if i if I handle it, how I will handle it that I know is consistent with ah giving good advice, because i'm not going to give myself bad advice.
00:18:57
Speaker
So the first thing that I would do is I would say, well, what I would do is that I would think about the outcome. Like I told my my kids all the time, you got to think before you act. So yeah, you want to act, but what's going to be a result of that action?
00:19:10
Speaker
So, yeah, so I'm really big about thinking about what's going to happen as a result of something that you do. So I'm really big about that. So making sure that you understand however you handle the situation, it could be good for you or can you can make it a lot worse with your actions.
00:19:25
Speaker
Definitely. That's so true. That is so true. ah And sometimes we do not think that far in advance. Right, right. And then we pay for it later. We all struggle, absolutely. We all struggle. And then we all need a hug. Back to that again. We need a hug. Do you hope that Hug Your Homies kind of just continues this conversation that we're having here today?
00:19:46
Speaker
Yeah, i think I hope it does. My hope is that everybody at some point time has one of these shirts. ah My goal would be to someday, some point, ah connect with an agency that does work with ah with youth or adults or anybody that's in need of mental health services. And we would love to like partner with them and give ah give a scholarship, donation, royalties. We don't want to...
00:20:11
Speaker
I guess make money off mental health. Yeah. We want to encourage the people that are helping people struggle with mental health. If that makes sense. ah We have some ideas that I don't want to say right now that are that are around hug your homies. But we got some things in the pipeline that we're working with that we want to really We want to dig back into the community. You know, that's that's my big thing. um i've I've conquered all my goals.
00:20:34
Speaker
ah Every list, everything that I've made as far as a list, I've checked them all off. So now it's just, now I'm playing with house money. You know, so now I can do these these ventures that I have that are fun that I think will be enriching for the community or give back to something. yeah That's kind of where I am now. Like, I've i've reached my goals. So now the fun begins.
00:20:53
Speaker
You know, now the fun begins. There's no more work. Now it's just like, you know, now I'm... Now I'm on victory lap, as you could say. Yeah. Now you can just really have fun with the creativity of it all, too. That's right. And yeah, I mean, like, we focused a lot on this ah specific yeah line within the shop.
Creative Collaborations and Mental Health Conversations
00:21:08
Speaker
But I mean, you are always putting out something new. That's got to be fun.
00:21:13
Speaker
It's definitely fun. It's definitely fun. that's the That's the good thing about this. I can really flex my creativity. I have a lot of creative friends that help me along. What I may not be good in technically or media wise or technology wise, they help me out on.
00:21:28
Speaker
I have the mind. i have the ideas. And then they make it come to life. And then they're like, okay, we can take these ideas and let's make them happen. Exactly that. And having those people are like that Brandon, Brandon Hoff and Michael, those are my those my top two inspirations and my help for a lot of things you've seen here are either inspired by them or made by them or they had their hands on it.
00:21:49
Speaker
Yep, so ah good friends. Good to have good friends. Get some good friends. Get some good friends. some good friends. And then you can hug your homies. You can hug your homies. And it'll be great. owe them like a thousand hugs. Like they've, they've, they've. You're like, I owe them a lot of hugs. owe them a lot of hugs. They've, they've really helped out. No, it's cool. It's really cool though. Your one best friend was here.
00:22:07
Speaker
The last time that here. actually a Leron. I've known him ah the longest. I've known him for about, Let's see. Since was 13. Oh, that's so sweet. Yeah, he was our our audience yes the last time. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:22:20
Speaker
He's a funny guy. He's a funny guy. Funny guy. Great guy. ah And all my friends are are great guys. The same group of fans I've had for over 20 years. saying that They're all fathers. They're all career men.
00:22:31
Speaker
They're all good. good humans you what i'm saying and i think that's that's important for me because i couldn't be where i am if the people i hang with are like not good guys like all the guys i hang with are are solid young men and and they all have goals and they all are doing things positive things And within those friendships, too, because I think what society does wrong a lot of the times when it comes to talking about mental health or, like, feeling comfortable about opening up about it to the people that are in your life, I feel like we always tell men that they have to be strong or, like, they can't have a bad day or...
00:23:08
Speaker
um And specifically like black men, like you got to stay strong and just keep pushing all of those things. Do you and your friends have really real conversations about mental health, would you say, or just like things that maybe you are dealing with on the dayto day to day?
00:23:24
Speaker
Definitely. I think I have a group. We have a group text. And that's our form of communication. And we really laid out in there. Yeah, oh that's really therapeutic for us. We also, ah for the first time in 20 years, went on a guys trip, just us four, Chicago.
00:23:40
Speaker
And that was so therapeutic for us just to get out and just talk. And it was like it was a high school again. And those type of things, is when we can really talk about what's going on in our life. uh... our successes our struggles uh... i'm very transparent with with my best friends that i'm very transparent i think that's important if i hold back from those i love most the whole of the confiding if the people i love the most i can't tell saw we talk a lot and i think is black man is important for us to uh... for do those things my best friend brandon he actually has like a tenor like a mental health wellness uh...
00:24:13
Speaker
Seminars in different states and he's really big on like mindfulness and yoga. I'm a little heavier than he is so gonna say no um um um must say no I'm say that I'm a firm believer in it and there is some benefits to it. I had back surgery and a lot of the things that I was doing was yoga, and ah yoga like based. So I'm a believer in it in that aspect of it. But a lot of the things I would say I'm not physically able to to do. would say that.
00:24:49
Speaker
under Understood. But Brandon brandon is? Brandon absolutely is. He's he's he's he's ah he's more nimble ah than I am. So yeah, he he can does he does it. He does the mindfulness. He does the meditation and he does a lot of that stuff. that ah So kind of he kind of introduced me to that that side of mental health.
00:25:07
Speaker
I honestly, this is just a complete sidebar. It could be a side quest for the rain shop. You should totally host some sort of like little yoga retreat with like R&B
Innovative Community Events at Rain Shop
00:25:20
Speaker
music. That would be nice. I've been looking for that. That would be nice. Yeah.
00:25:23
Speaker
And they have some, but it but it's not cultural. I'll say that. No, exactly. yeah That's why I'm saying I think it could be. yeah Yes. And thank you for that because because I want to do more workshops here. And that's that's something that would be really good to do here. You got to go out there. You got to show us how to do it. de Well, and God willing. We will be safe. You know, we'll give it a try. But now I've actually loved to host things here.
00:25:48
Speaker
And that would be good. i actually want do a plant and sip. All those things therapeutic. All things. Plant and sip. Yes. So all those things. should totally do that. definitely want to do it. Everybody keeps saying that. Everybody keeps saying that. I'd sign up tomorrow. I know.
00:26:01
Speaker
Everybody says that. But um I don't want to. What I've realized is ah there's a thousand paint and sips. There's thousand of them, okay? And they have many different variations of them now, too. I want mine to be the best.
00:26:13
Speaker
Oh. So in that regard, I'm like Dr. Dre. I'm a perfectionist. So I'm going to to keep producing producing and creating and creating. But I don't want to release it or say it's ready until I know it's ready.
00:26:24
Speaker
Oh, okay. So, yeah, I don't want to just. So we don't know when this is going happen. You don't know what's going happen. I've been planning this since I opened the shop. And the shop has been open for? Two years. Okay. Two years. So that's how methodic I am about planning this because I can't fumble it.
00:26:37
Speaker
I cannot fumble I can't fumble because lot of guys don't do planning steps. A lot of them are women-centered. lot of them are women-led. So i want to show them that guys have green thumbs too. Yeah. I mean, you do. yeah And that's another big aspect of this. And like you said, that's another therapeutic thing.
00:26:54
Speaker
I think, too, one thing that I've tried to do more of recently is just like do more things that bring me joy. Yes. And peace. That's right. And like that tranquility that you were talking about, like I've been coloring.
00:27:06
Speaker
That's right. I've just been coloring. A dog coloring book is a thing. My husband's over there in the corner. He can attest to that. I always fall asleep with the marker in my hand. That's good. um But like plant like, you know, doing things with plants or like painting. Yes. i'm I mean, I'm no artiste by any means, but it's just very therapeutic to have something it is like that. Like doing things with our hands, doing things off of our screens. Yes.
00:27:30
Speaker
Because that's what we lock into all day, every day. Yep. Yeah, yeah. Okay, a plant and sip. Let me know if I can help. Definitely. I definitely will need a lot of help. I'll need a lot of help because I want to make sure. I've seen, like said, I've seen a lot of them. I've seen a lot of them. yeah a lot of them are good.
00:27:46
Speaker
but a lot of them are good, but i just think that we could take it to the next level. I think we could, too. The next level because lot lot of them that I don't see, which I'm going to go ahead and say it anyway, lot of them that I don't see is I don't see plant merchandise being given to every attendee.
00:28:02
Speaker
Mm-mm. Every attendee should have a plant shirt that they leave with. Oh. I just believe that. Yeah. And then you just have that, and then you just keep that going. Every time you have an event, you put out a ah new plant shirt.
00:28:15
Speaker
And the plant shirt will be tied to whatever plant that we're planting. And then we're not just going to be just grabbing a plant from Lowe's and then just throwing it into a pot. We're not doing that. we can't do that. We're going to understand what the plant is. Yes. What the purpose of the plant is. Yes. Understand what it would do for your space. Like, want to really dig in and dissect and understand, not just put a plant from.
00:28:36
Speaker
I love it. Yeah. I love it. It's nothing more therapeutic than putting your hands in fresh soil. Your actual, no, no gloves. I'm talking actual soil. Like, feel the earth. I'm telling you it's so... The grounding. There's nothing better.
00:28:50
Speaker
Nothing better. No, I believe you. I believe you. Okay, so we have an event planned. Yes, definitely. have big dreams for the shirts. Yes, yes. For Hug Your Homies. u um Anything else that you're really excited about that's kind of like on the horizon at the moment?
00:29:03
Speaker
ah Right now, we continue to keep expanding ah into different schools and in small businesses. Like i said, we want we don't care if you catch raccoons. We don't care if you own a laundromat. We don't care what you do for your small business. We want to make your stuff for you.
00:29:22
Speaker
That's what we want to continue you to do. want We want to make, we we don't care. We want to make it for you. And that's that's kind of where i I want my stamp everywhere across the the nation. So in order to do that, I have to tap into every business. So no matter what the business is, let us make it for you.
00:29:40
Speaker
Whether you catch raccoons. Yes. what would they call What is that? Critter getters. Critter? Critter getters. We can make your stuff. Stop. No. We can make their stuff for them. Is that a real business? I think so. Okay. And they catch raccoons and things that, yeah. yeah I can make their stuff, though. You know i beat i could. I can make their stuff. Okay. Well, critter getters.
00:29:59
Speaker
Give me a call, critter getters. I got you. Yeah, give me a call, man. That And also, if people want to learn more about the rain shop and also keep up with everything that you have going on, because obviously you have so many wonderful things happening, not just here in Cincinnati, but I mean, you can ship your shirts anywhere.
00:30:17
Speaker
All over the U.S. Tell me all about
Rain Shop's Online Expansion and Branding
00:30:19
Speaker
that. Free show. You can shop online. That's a good thing. So our motto at first was brick and mortar. We're not going worry about retail. People don't want to shop online because they want to come in and touch it and feel it.
00:30:31
Speaker
And then I was convinced that you're totally wrong. And I pivoted and I said it's time for a website. So even if I'm not here, um which we're not here throughout the week, but we're open every weekend from 12 to 7. and Sunday from 12 to 4, we're online at therainshop.com.
00:30:46
Speaker
Not rain like rain, precipitation. Not that rain. R-E-I-G-N, like king, royalty, majesty, opulence. That rain. So therainshop.com, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ah during Ramadan, during Easter, during Christmas, no matter what holiday, the rain shop is always open online.
00:31:09
Speaker
Oh, that's true. Always online. to say, I was like, are you going to be here during all the holidays? But we're always open online. You're always open. Always open online. Every day. Every day. And I know you just kind of touched on this briefly, but I should have asked this at the beginning. Tell me about the name for the store, because there is significance. there is there is so the local has a hidden meaning and the a store name has a hidden meaning so the local uh... missy rocket so local it has a crown that's for opulence excellence as a lion the lines king of the jungle right and at the bottom holding everything up is the tree the trees the foundation of everything we don't have air we're walking around data we don't have air because the oxygen comes where trees
00:31:50
Speaker
trees true the family tree. You know i'm saying? So the tree is very important. So that's the symbol. And rain just sounds better than king.
00:32:02
Speaker
marketing-wise the rain shop sounds better than the king shop yeah the king shop sounds that sounds pornographic so the rain shop just sounds a whole lot better it does right it sounds way lot better right the king shop just sounds larry larry what's his name larry blarnt larry this man larry flant larry fla anthony maybe be larry flint larry flynt you know lay flynn okay i'm like i don't know who that is yeah you like look him up look look em up but Yeah, we don't want that to sound pornographic. That's not what we're going for. Yeah, the ranch shop is is just, like I said, marketing-wise, and then is it looks better um on clothes than then king. So we just went with that. I feel like it just kind of comes with a certain essence of like excellence as well. Absolutely. Which very much speaks to yeah what you're doing here.
00:32:51
Speaker
Yes. Yes, thank you. i appreciate that. No, thank you. Thank you for talking with us. We really appreciate it. Definitely. um Remember, Hug Your Homies. Hug your homies. All your homies. Mom, dads, uncles, grandmothers. Hug them all. Everybody just has hug. Yes, partners. That's the first thing I thought about. No, that's good. We need that, though. People need to know.
00:33:17
Speaker
Thank you again for tuning in to the Hope Mindset podcast and be sure to get connected with us on social media. You can find us anywhere with the at name at HowAboutHope and stay tuned for more episodes.
00:33:30
Speaker
And once again, I'm so grateful for you being here. Thank you so much. You are not alone. Your story matters. And remember, you can use your experiences to help others.
00:33:42
Speaker
Go out there, spread some love, spread some light, and you'll hear from us soon.