Nationwide, more than half a million people are released from prison every year and each person faces challenges for reintegrating into society. With faith and determination, someone like Thomas Jackson is flourishing.
Two years following his release from prison after serving a four-year sentence in 2013, Jackson started his branded clothing line, Carry My Own Weight — and began selling T-shirts out of his car. The name of the business has two meanings: a phrase he always said growing up in Southbridge and also, a personal mantra for taking accountability for one’s actions.
“When I would talk trash to my boys, I would say, ‘I carry my own weight,’ and after I was released I was still saying it a lot … then I decided, I’m going to put that on a shirt,” Jackson said.
The story of his release and the message that the clothing line conveys quickly began taking root in his neighborhood. In 2015, the clothing line’s first T-shirt sales made $5,000 in an hour, Jackson said.
After continuing to see early success, he kept it going.
“It got to the point where I couldn’t keep the clothes in my car, and I had to have a separate room in my crib that was full of racks [of merchandise],” Jackson said. “I was like damn, maybe I got something here.”
Setting up shop
In 2018, Jackson, who is also known as “Gash,” opened up a storefront for Carry My Own Weight in his Southbridge neighborhood. It’s a community where he once sold drugs, which landed him in prison. He has now transformed his life and is in the business of transforming others as a positive figure in his community.
And he hasn’t looked back since.
“Going to prison gave me a chance to just sit and look at my life and look at the direction I was going in and understand my purpose,” said Jackson, who has since been pardoned for his charges.
The storefront, located at 411 New Castle Ave. in Wilmington, made $400,000 in revenue in its first year of opening.
While most of the brand’s sales come through the store, its apparel is also available online. It includes T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, joggers, hats and shorts.
Jackson said it was especially important to open the store in his community.
“It’s the same place where I was doing wrong, and now I’m showing people you can do something different,” he said. “It also feels good making sure everybody is good.”
Idea and design
The clothing line’s logo features a crown with four prongs at the top in the shape of CMOW, which represents Carry My Own Weight.
“I wanted my logo to symbolize a crown,” Jackson said. “When I made my first logo it wasn’t for sale it was just something for me and my friends … but people started seeing me wear it and they were like bro, I need that.”
In addition to items emblazoned with the signature logo, the store has apparel with other phrases like “Honor Over A Dollar” and “Slow Motion Better Than No Motion.”
The phrases that Jackson uses are all inspired by something he went through in life. He hopes that his story will inspire others to not give up on their dreams and “carry their own weight.”
“I like to think of the Carry My Own Weight as more of an ‘emotional connection type of brand’ because people understand the meaning and they relate to the messages,” Jackson said. “Every one of my shirts has a saying and has a meaning to it.”
Brian Valmond, an historian and filmmaker who grew up in Bear, agreed.
“The brand is so impactful because it represents redemption and what it means to carry your weight despite what life throws at you,” Valmond said. “His brand gives life to the city of Wilmington because it creates a sense of identity to the culture there and embodies what the city is about.”
More:This small, Black-owned business was honored for work in mental health, substance abuse
Future goals for the business
This year mark’s Carry My Own Weight’s fifth anniversary. Jackson’s goal is to continue to push the brand and purchase a warehouse to store his inventory.
He also wants to build up his community.
Jackson’s entrepreneurial aspirations led him to venture into real estate and create a new bar in Southbridge, Big Tom’s Tavern. But it’s his clothing line that he credits for changing his life and jumpstarting his business career.
“[Carry My Own Weight] opened up the door for everything for me,” Jackson said. “I have so many people counting on me … and without it, there would be nothing else.”
To learn more about the clothing line or to view the apparel, visit carrymyownweight.com.
Contact local reporter Cameron Goodnight at cgoodnight@delawareonline.com, or by calling or texting 302-324-2208. Follow him on Twitter at @CamGoodnight.
