{"id":2599,"date":"2021-12-09T20:11:20","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T20:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2599"},"modified":"2021-12-09T20:11:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T20:11:20","slug":"6-year-old-champion-wants-his-clothing-line-to-help-people-feel-better-about-themselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2599","title":{"rendered":"6-Year-Old \u2018Champion\u2019 Wants His Clothing Line To Help People \u2018Feel Better About Themselves\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lem Satterfield November 11 , 2021<\/p>\n

For young entrepreneur Champion-Ikaika Nettey, some days are busier than others.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn my days off, I like to play soccer or go running, or I might go on my scooter and stuff,\u201d said \u201cChamp,\u201d who also makes time for his \u201colder by a couple of days girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cOn another day, I might also take a nap, just in case I\u2019m tired. Or I might have my downtime \u2014 my TV time. Today I\u2019m going to go to the pool and swim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Champ might be all business on other days, selling T-shirts from his Aloha King Champ clothing line for \u201c$25 a pop\u201d in sizes for kids on Alohakingchamp.etsy.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cAloha means, \u2018Hi,\u2019 in Hawaiian. I\u2019m Hawaiian and of African descent,\u201d said Champ, an Olney, Maryland, resident who primarily operates out of his mother Neki\u2019s,\u00a0KaribFit<\/u><\/a>\u00a0dance studio in downtown Silver Spring.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re still working on developing jumpers, hats, jeans, maybe some kids shoes or something. You can buy them by checking out my website or getting the address to the studio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not bad for a home-schooled 6-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy shirts are affirmations. Like, \u2018You\u2019re excellent,\u2019 and, \u2018You\u2019re a rock star.\u2019 I remind children to know how great they are,\u201d said Champ, whose\u00a0business began when he was 5. \u201cI design my own shirts. People tell me they\u2019re awesome and cool. When people wear my clothing, I want them to be happy, excited and generally to feel better about themselves.\u201d (Using Champ\u2019s designs, the apparel is produced by a shop whose name Champ\u2019s mom declines to disclose.)<\/p>\n

Ask Champion-Ikaika about his own name, and he not only knows what it means, but why he\u2019s named the way he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means that I\u2019m powerful and that I\u2019m a survivor, because when I was a baby, I couldn\u2019t breathe or anything,\u201d he said. \u201cThey [doctors] had to put this little mask thing on my mouth and my nose, so I could get some oxygen. It was a little scary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Champ\u2019s two elder siblings are loving role models.<\/p>\n

Rei Nettey, 14, is a distance runner who is a nationally ranked, 11-time All-American who competes while barefoot. Rei is learning to support himself, making \u201cextra cash\u201d cleaning the properties owned by his uncle, Tetteh, a physical therapist.<\/p>\n

Armon, 19, is a former high school wrestler who placed third in each of the Montgomery County and Maryland public school\u2019s state tournaments with a regional championship earned between the two. Armon is now a college sophomore wrestling at Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, West Virginia.<\/p>\n

Beyond his T-shirts, Champ has other responsibilities at the KaribFit studio. He plays drums on Mondays and Tuesdays during esteem-building-themed children\u2019s classes for all ages.<\/p>\n

\u201cKaribFit empowers, encourages and enlightens through fitness and dance. Champ does some African drumming alongside the adults that are drumming for the kids and the adults\u2019 classes. We use movement to connect our people and to connect the community to the cultures of Africa and the Caribbean, primarily,\u201d said his mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our classes start with affirmations of gratitude for what our bodies can do and gratitude for what they allowed us to do that day. We have yoga classes that focus on healing, mentally and physically. It\u2019s a means of helping people to feel grounded, energized and to relieve stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Champ spent a recent Tuesday studying Hawaiian and Yoruba, a Nigerian language spoken in West Africa.\u00a0The length of time he spends on his schooling depends on his interests and the unit of study, according to his home-schooling mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we were working on phonics \u2026 . We also worked on different things to incorporate science, math and things like that,\u201d said Neki Nettey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t go on time, it\u2019s more about what he\u2019s interested in and what he wants to work on for that day. For example, today, we were supposed to stop after doing a few things, but he wanted to keep going, so we wound up spending an extra 45 minutes on assignments for the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a 7-year-old, Champ\u2019s brother, Armon, began an annual Christmas-time gift-giving tradition to the homeless.<\/p>\n

\u201cArmon has many times visited Washington, D.C., whether it was the museums or my mom or the different festivals and things. But with all of those big things going on around him, Armon\u2019s focus was on those who were in need. He always sees and always has been someone who roots for the little guy. So he wanted to do something to give at Christmastime when everyone else was getting,\u201d Neki Nettey said.<\/p>\n

Armon, Rei and Champ do the gift-giving every year, with last Christmas the most successful, despite the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, we had so much given to us before Christmas that we needed two days, so it was on Christmas and the day after Christmas,\u201d Neki Nettey said. \u201cThere were sandwiches, there were chips, there were treats, water and also some masks and sanitizer and things like that. There was a lot of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Champ enjoys helping Armon.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiving food to people helps them to survive more,\u201d Champ said. \u201cThat makes me want to do more good things for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for Champ, the real motivation is something else.<\/p>\n

\u201cI make a lot of money,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m selling shirts right now. I\u2019m a piggy bank pioneer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Zenger News<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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