“I didn’t know what to expect — this meeting was only taking place because of a mere Instagram DM. Perhaps that’s how most millennial-run companies operate; maybe it’s just Always True’s organic nature. Regardless, I found myself in a four-man forum on the floor within an hour of arriving. Lo-fi beats played in the background as we settled in — two of us in bean-bag chairs, the remaining two in traditional seats.
While all three of them treat each other with the type of love that only brothers possess, Drew and Sam are the true blood relatives. The pair lost their older brother over six years ago. Brandon Howard, who went under the stage name Always True, was struck by an automobile in Orlando, FL and passed away on August 18, 2012. He was twenty years old.
When Drew, Sam, and Kevin first conceived the idea of starting a lifestyle brand, they weren’t sure what to call it. There were many ideas — one involved starting a fitness apparel company. But once it was settled that they would produce authentic, artistic apparel, a name still had to be chosen. Brandon’s legacy was revived, and the moniker Always True lived on.
Drew shook his head. “Probably ‘peace,’” he said. “Recently we’ve been saying ‘rest in peace’ — based off of Brandon, but taking that and extending it to peace of mind. Everyday. Rest in peace.” In a sense, Always True is out to combat the manic nature of our modern society.
I went down an excited rant of my own, but circled back around and inquired whether they were out to give a message, to change people, to mold others. They conceded that it may be a reaction to society, but they weren’t in the business of preaching to folks.
Never had they tried to induce the highly sought after eureka moment. They unanimously responded “No” when I bluntly asked if they were out to change people.
“I think what we’re trying to do is nothing crazy,” Kevin explained, “We’re just doing us. We’re staying true to our own path. Even though we are doing this together, we do different things every day. We’re not with each other all day, every day.
And that’s with everybody — just stay true to who you are. Follow your own path.”We were beginning to boil things down to absolute base layers. However, with each layer we peeled off, I had more questions that arose. Does being true to yourself lead to peace of mind?
What is the truest form of yourself? If it’s constantly evolving, like Always True, how do you ever know your most authentic self? I had dragged the conversation into the weeds, but Sam was there to attempt to pull us all out:
“It’s about finding yourself through our clothes, I guess. And to just give something for people to feel comfortable with in order to do what they want to do…to use our clothes as a bounce-board to propel the negativity away…to stay true to yourself.
”We were still getting further away from the concrete foundation of Always True, though, into a more philosophical realm that had ideas and answers as slippery as fish lathered with butter. “The world as I see,” Drew said, “there’s everything in front of you, but it’s nothing at the same time.
Whatever your thought of Always True is, whatever you think this is, just is what it is to you. At first, we were like ‘Always True…oh, so that means that everybody has to act truthful,’ and now we’re like ‘Who gives a fuck about that?’ Everyday your mind is like I’m this, I’m this, I’m this and your body is like I’m this way now, I’m this shape now. But who really are you?”
