Dreams take courage. After all, they are a desire for an unguaranteed future. Just having a dream is like sticking your leg over a cliff simply to feel alive. But we could stumble off the cliff. 

     Freshman De’shawyn Long didn’t have to linger long over the edge of his dream. The second he tasted it, he acted. “I just decided one day I wanted to do something, so I acted upon it and actually did it,” he said. 

     Because of that thought, Long started his own clothing company. Long began his clothing journey at a young age in June 2023 where he sold beanies using Shopify. Just after the first few months of his business, he saw progress that could serve as momentum to improve his brand, Make That Move (MTM). He used this momentum to diversify his brand, branching out from beanies and bracelets to a larger variety of clothing like sweatpants and sweatshirts. 

     Since this growth, his brand has only become more successful. Around the start of the new year, Long reached 14,000 followers on Instagram–his main source of advertising–and 42,000 sessions on his website for all of 2023. He attributes his success to his mother and grandmother, as they have supported him in both his extracurricular and academic life.

     There is absolutely no doubt about Long’s passion. Even when he isn’t directly working on his brand, he enjoys scrolling through Instagram to see others’ clothes. By doing this, he has met other brand creators with similar passions and journeys. 

     Long’s clothing brand isn’t solely about dressing in style, but it’s also about the message that comes with the clothes. All of his designs are centered around “making that move,” as the brand name suggests. He encourages people to take action and chase their dreams instead of letting their leg hang over the cliff. 

     His most recent drops have brewed a more “controversial” message, according to Long, since they encourage a message of moving with Jesus Christ into the future. Nevertheless, whether the message is oriented around religion or making dreams come true, the main theme of moving towards something is intentionally apparent in each design–seen through his use of phrases like “Jus Move” and “Brotherhood” plastered across sweatpants and hoodies.

     Through his designs, Long expresses the actions he wishes everyone would take despite their fears. When asked about the message he would like to continue to manifest with his clothing, he said, “Just act. Don’t waste all your time thinking when things can expire the next day. If you feel like you can do something, try to work towards it, build up on it.”