A 19-year-old Clark College freshman’s idea to create a clothing line with a message of equality and diversity stemmed from a TikTok video.
Felix Cuevas started his business, rolldiversity, almost two years ago. He sells sweatpants, sweatshirts and T-shirts bearing his design of the word “diversity” written across the clothes.
Now, he’s balancing running a business and studying business through entrepreneurship and marketing classes in college.
“All of my designs have the message diversity all across it. People may hear it sometimes, but they’re not seeing it a lot,” Cuevas said. “I just want everybody to know we are all one. We should all be together and be kind, because at the end of the day, we’re all just on this big rock called Earth.”
While scrolling on the social media app TikTok one night a few years ago, Cuevas came across a video of someone making a mock-up hoodie. Cuevas said the video inspired him to try it himself. He downloaded a designer app and created rolldiversity.
The road to success wasn’t clear-cut. He said his first designs weren’t the best, but his passion drove him to keep going. Cuevas spent some time refining his designs before finding a manufacturer in Pakistan. Even at times when he had little engagement, he didn’t get discouraged, he said. Instead, Cuevas said he stayed humble and overcame the challenges, which led to opportunities.
“My first sample wasn’t the best. I didn’t stop. I just kept going,” he said.
When it was time to transition from high school to college, he took some time off from the business. He faced challenges balancing school and work, which delayed new clothing releases. But the time off didn’t stop his creations. He released new clothes on Black Friday.
In addition to selling his brand online, he sells merchandise at Mercury League in Vancouver Mall, he said.
Mercury League is run by women of color, with a focus on the Pacific Northwest. The store is “a vibrant ecosystem of creativity and collaboration, dedicated to fostering the dreams and talents of emerging designers, brands and creatives,” the store’s webpage says.
Cuevas has received more than 100 orders locally and out of state, from Georgia, Texas and New York since starting his business. As the number of orders grows, Cuevas expands his business with new releases and marketing through social media, text alerts and emails.
“It’s not just a clothing brand that I’m trying to make money off of,” he said. “It’s really a message that I’m trying to push out towards everybody and a passion that I really like.”
