Local entrepreneur Taylor Drake is opening up the conversation about mental health with his entirely individual clothing line The Onwards Club, meant to unite and inspire the community to talk about mental health.
Drake launched the brand just over six months ago, fulfilling a long-time personal dream of creating a clothing line and embarking on a whole new project to speak up about mental health.
“Two things that I had passions about and that I cared deeply for was mental health and clothing,” said Drake. “And they came together and clicked, and it just took off from there.”
As someone who has experienced personal struggles with mental health, Drake wanted his brand to inspire positivity for others still on their own journey.
“For myself, I held back who I was for so long due to mental health and I felt lost and kind of hopeless. And as soon as I embraced it, things changed (and) I still struggled, but it does help to get it out there,” said Drake. “Even if it feels the opposite, it really changes your perspective on things (and) you might not know until you have that conversation.”
As a clothing brand, the Onwards Club currently stocks several different T-shirts, crewneck sweaters and hoodie designs for sale through its website — but there’s more to it than just selling clothing.
Each piece of merch is custom-designed and printed by Drake in his home in Moose Jaw, and 10 per cent of every item sold is donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association. There is also an option on the brand’s website to donate directly, without the purchase of any items.
The newest addition to the club is the “Express Yourself” hoodie, which dropped on Friday and is a release that Drake is very excited to share personally.
“That was something I always held back on, I never expressed myself. I was an introvert, afraid to say how I felt and put myself out there, so this is probably one of my favourites,” said Drake.
The Onwards Club isn’t just about being a business, said Drake — it's also about creating a positive community of people and encouraging openness on the topic of mental health.
One of Drake’s goals in creating his clothing brand is to help prompt more genuine conversations about mental health, as well as to give back to initiatives that work with both children and adults.
“I’ve always liked companies who give back, where their main focus isn’t necessarily just profiting but getting out there and doing something (good),” said Drake.
Starting a conversation
But the biggest goal of The Onwards Club, said Drake, is to let those living with mental health obstacles know that they aren’t alone, while also offering an outlet to express their own experiences in a visual space.
“There’s still a stigma and it's a big thing. People seem to think that it's not there anymore, but it really is,” said Drake. “With our logos and stuff, you’ll notice there’s not a lot mentioned about mental health, if even at all, because I hope that people will ask what it is and that will start a conversation, bring up something further than clothing.”
Even the name of the brand is meant to be an important message — it embodies the ideas of continuing to move forward and feeling like a part of something instead of feeling alone.
The response to The Onwards Club has been more than good, said Drake, and he’s feeling great about the future of the brand — which has been shipping orders both locally and out of province since launch.
“It's actually been quite overwhelming, but it's a good overwhelming. It's a good feeling,” said Drake. “I put a lot of passion and hard work into (The Onwards Club) so I hope people see and respect that.”
The long-term goal is to expand the brand to include more types of clothing and maybe even other kinds of merchandise, said Drake, and to keep putting The Onwards Club’s message out there to boost mental health positivity.
Drake is even working on launching a new donation option for customers, where they can specify what mental health charity or branch they would like their Onwards Club donation to be sent.
“If people have a certain cause with mental health, it would be great to help them with that,” said Drake, of the feature he hopes will be available soon. “And I think it would be honestly great for people to know where the donation is going.”
For now, Drake will continue creating good vibes with his brand for as long as people seem to want them, and offering advice to anyone struggling with their own mental health.
“Whoever you are, whoever you may be feeling lost, just know that you’re not alone and there’s always someone struggling as well, who’s out there with you,” said Drake. “There are so many people that you would never think who are struggling day-to-day with the same things as you, so reach out, have that conversation, it’s so important.”
To keep up with The Onwards Club for future launches and news, follow the brand on Facebook or Instagram.
