Making it his business, Vineland High student launches clothing brand, Strive or Starve

VINELAND – When COVID shut down schools, Antwain Rivera’s mom said he had no business sitting around the house.

So, the Vineland High School student launched one.

Rivera started his “Strive or Starve” clothing brand, clearing $2,000 in profit his first year and acquiring hands-on entrepreneurial knowledge along the way.

“Over quarantine in 2020 when we were all locked inside, my mom actually gave me the idea,” said Rivera during a recent interview where he wore a rhinestone-embellished hoodie from his latest line.

His mom, Richonda Mendez of Paulsboro, was Rivera’s first investor, funding a few T-shirts and an Amazon order for a heat press and Cricut, a computer-guided cutting device.

“We didn’t know how to use it — I didn’t know, he didn’t know,” Mendez said. “We had to YouTube everything.”

“At first it started off with me and my brother,” Rivera said, but his younger brother left the clothing business for the workforce. “I took over full responsibility of it.”

Family members’ support fanned the fledging enterprise and fueled Rivera’s drive to succeed.

Finding his future

Rivera entered Vineland Public Schools in the seventh grade when his family relocated from Salem. After graduating Wallace Intermediate School, he advanced to VHS where he was a three-sport athlete. His name appeared on track, baseball, and football team rosters.

For his junior and senior years, Rivera focused exclusively on football, where he plays safety and receiver.

“My dream, at first, it was football,” he said, but his career focus has shifted from turf to trade.

He is not alone in wanting to strike out with his own venture.

About 60 percent of teens are more interested in starting their own business than pursuing a traditional job, according to a 2021 Junior Achievement USA study of teens ages 12-17.

“Now I have a clothing brand, that’s what I’m pursuing,” Rivera said.

Rivera signed up for an online course hosted by self-described hustler and entrepreneur Dontez Akram. The eight-hour “Zero to Hero” course addressed advertising, production, and distribution related to e-commerce.

“It was a steal,” Rivera said of the $25 course.

Rivera was also one of 30 aspiring business owners selected last year for an all-expense paid trip to a young entrepreneurship program in Miami, hosted by Anthony Goodwin of Philadelphia, known as the workout-landlord on Instagram.

River took what he learned and applied his own creativity. By the end of 2020, he was head of Strive or Starve LLC, running his website and fulfilling online orders.

“I could see people buying from California and Texas,” he said.

Time to strive

“I like being hands-on with my business,” Rivera said, but his more intricate designs required graphic artist assistance.

To keep costs down, he also outsourced his production.

“It was a battle finding the right manufacture,” Rivera said, cautious to sidestep scammers. He is working with a vendor in Pakistan to produce his hoodies. He also sells shirts, pants, hats, and shorts.

His latest drop of hoodies, featuring a hair-friendly satin lining, retail for $50. The Rockstar edition T-shirts are $20 and jogging pants, $30.

Rivera, 18, converted the family basement into his distribution center.

“I feel like I’m an entrepreneur now because that’s where I want to put all my time,” he said, hoping to eventually move into a store.

Rivera is enrolled in the Marketing 2 course with Kari Stockbridge, who chairs the VHS career and technical education department.

Stockbridge recently learned of her student’s self-motivated, extra-curricular project.

“He did a lot of this on his own during COVID,” she said, noting their interaction was limited during their virtual Marketing 1 course. “I didn’t know about this until I had him this year in-person and we started talking.”

“I was so impressed with everything he was telling me,” she said.

“(Antwain) is going to be very successful. He always has his work done early, pretty much perfect, he just gets it,” Stockbridge said. “I feel like the students look up to him.”

Rivera is an accomplished athlete, an A student and holds a retail job in addition to running his own business, Stockbridge said.

“Going back to COVID, it was a horrible experience for kids,” Stockbridge said. But for Rivera, she said, it was an opportunity to apply his own initiative.

“He took that time to research outsourcing, find a graphic designer, find someone to print his stuff, he researched his website,” she said. “I feel like he took lemons and made lemonade.”

When asked about the personal implications of his company’s name, Strive or Starve, Rivera grinned and said he’s not going hungry.

The business is profitable but not quite enough to fund college.

After his Gittone Stadium graduation commencement, Rivera heads to Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania where he has a football scholarship. He plans to major in marketing and business to build his brand.

Rivera’s ultimate goal is to be a role model.

“I really want to be a motivator and have my siblings look up to me,” he said. “I want them to be just like me or better than me.”

Folllow your dreams, he urged.

“If you want to be an entrepreneur, you can’t give up,” he said. “You’ve got to keep pushing yourself, nothing happens overnight.”

Rivera joked about already leaving a legacy at VHS by inspiring football Coach Dan Russo to break with the conservative look of team hoodies.

This year’s workout gear had a more bold look.

“They were a good step-up from what he usually does,” Rivera said. “They were something different for him, he usually stays basic but he went out of his comfort zone."

Rivera hopes he prompted the coach to go bold.

“Absolutely, 100 percent,” Russo said.

Rivera also hopes to encourage other students to be bold in their own lives.

“If you don’t go after what you want, then you won’t be satisfied with what you’ll get,” he said. “I want everyone to go after what they want in life and do it to their fullest extent.”

Deborah M. Marko covers breaking news, public safety, and education for The Daily Journal, Courier-Post and Burlington County Times. Got a story idea? Call 856-563-5256 or email dmarko@gannettnj.com. Follow on Twitter: @dmarko_dj Instagram: deb.marko.dj  Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Vineland Daily Journal: Making it work, Vineland teen Antwain Rivera launches clothing line