Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher A.J. Sanders Jr..
Hi Christopher, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The story that started everything; I am Christopher A.J. Sanders Jr., a 21-year-old dreamer. I am the owner of Kingship Apparel L.L.C., and the background of this business goes back to 2016, but I started Kingship first in 2018 (unofficially), buying embroidered shirts from a company called ‘Logo Up.’
Rewind to 2016 with me, and you’ll see I always planned on making t-shirts as a business idea, thinking up designs with some of the guys I grew up with. We came up with many different ideas (a result of inspiration from my entrepreneur mother), but they seemed to need to ‘click’ or fit together. The problem was the motivations. Fast forward to 2018, and I am working on my first logo design in Gravit Designer, tired of not taking action and full of inspiration from my Faith in God that I’ve been called to do something great. And then virtually silence. I spent upwards of $300 and sold one clothing item. The confidence still needed to be improved. My faith in myself needed to be improved.
To save the dramatics:
- 2019: Entered the first year of college with high hopes but not enough spark to make things ignite.
- 2020: The Global Pandemic brought me to a new low (like many people). But in the darkness, I was given a light of inspiration and vision that I wrote down, made plain, and continued to follow, leading us to-
- 2022: The launch of Kingship Apparel L.L.C., a fully realized Sole Proprietorship from yours genuinely, purposed with inspiring men to express their inner king and take on virtues to improve their life, something I need just as much as every other man out there.
- 2023: I continued working on the vision behind the scenes while pursuing a “real career.” With a fully-fledged website through Shopify (Kingship-Apparel.com), a new line of Queenship Apparel being released, and a growing social media presence on Instagram @KingshipUS, the word is getting out.
All of this happens on the front end, while the true vision for Revolutionary Inc. is still loading on the back end, where we will inspire all through our media, fashion, and more.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In the previous text, I posed some of the struggles, but to go in-depth, it has been a mix of confusion about how I should approach ambition while also allowing God to do his thing in my life how he wants to. The values I try to hold dear are counter-cultural, so walking out my purpose can look different for me than what many may think. I also find it hard to allocate time to the business while also being highly involved in other spaces, from college when I was president of our National Society of Black Engineers organization on campus to helping my mom run our non-profit Solo Nos (Only Us) in another country, and even helping my step-dad and mom run our Airbnb business. It’s a lot. But I don’t focus on the numbers; I try to do what I can each day to fulfill that day’s call on my life. It all depends on how the spirit moves me at that moment and what is at hand to accomplish.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Kingship Apparel L.L.C.?
My business has one goal: Reach one man or woman, give them value, and inspire virtues. I currently design apparel, from shirts, hats, accessories, shorts, etc., that embody or reflect values given to me by my creator. Kingship Apparel is purposed to inspire all through these virtues and encourage love. The way we plan to do this is to coordinate with local non-profits and philanthropic business partners to give back, even as a for-profit institution, because that’s how we should all operate.
For example, we have a list of virtues that we embody (and that are part of our Virtue Collection, each design being unique):
- Process
- Faith (that good > evil)
- Belief (in the power of vision)
- Respect
- Determination
- Righteousness
- Virtuousness
- High Morality
- Discipline
I want readers to know that the future of Kingship doesn’t stop at clothing. I started this business because I didn’t see a purpose in life, and through time I understood that all men have a right to know they don’t have to be bound mentally (whether it be from self-placed limitations or outside influences) and that they are given freedom through virtues that come from Jesus Christ.
Any big plans?
Once again, Kingship Apparel is purposed to inspire men through our virtues and encouraging love. We plan to coordinate with local non-profits and philanthropic business partners to give back to the community. Practically, this will be through workshops, informational sessions, free events, and more. I am proud to say that the very first event Kingship Apparel was able to participate in after becoming a Limited Liability Corporation was a partnership with some of the Greenville, SC members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. to volunteer and donate t-shirts for their annual Project Alpha event. This was a free all-day event where young men participated in workshops, food, and of course, got free t-shirts.
Upon scaling our partnerships, these kinds of events will be regular fashion for Kingship, and we plan to eventually lease compact buildings in small towns (ideally partnering with local non-profits) where these buildings will serve two primary purposes:
- Host free events (haircuts, finance classes, etc.) for young men.
- A space for creatives (poets, photographers, videographers) to express themselves & gather.
- Partnering with other organizations, allowing them a space to be creative and loving.
Contact Info:
- Website: Kingship-Apparel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingshipus/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KingshipUS
- Other: https://linktr.ee/revrolution
Image Credits
Ryn Sels
