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Kai Cocco, a seventeen year old junior here at Washington High School, is not the average high schooler. Coming through hard times throughout his life, Kai has made a big name and impact. This is due to not only his remarkable mindset but also because of his drive to succeed in this world. Additionally we must not forget the staple that makes Kai himself—AntiLabel, the fashion label he has built from his own hands.
Kai’s passion for fashion came to him at a very young age. It began when his older brothers exposed him to fashion Youtube videos, music and their own personal style. His sense of style comes from his self expression. He also finds creating and designing clothes and styling people to be “very therapeutic.”
Kai began AntiLabel when he was just eleven years old. The name originally started out as “No-Label” before AntiLabel came to play. This was quite ironic because Kai loved to wear designer brands which included desirable labels. After a while of thinking about what to do with the brand, he finally came up with the name AntiLabel. He explained how people and critics often misunderstand the name AntiLabel, and twist it around thinking it means that he is against labels. According to Mr.Cocco the true meaning behind AntiLabel is “my brand is different from all other clothing brands.”
But what truly makes this brand so different, you may wonder? For one, there is the fact that Kai has built such a large company while being only a teenager. AntiLabel has an Instagram following of over 2.8k followers, and has gotten so large, its clothing has even been sold across the world.
Although his dream is nowhere near complete Kai Cocco is still very thankful to be in the position he is in. “It took a lot of sacrifices,” Kai explained in an interview. He went on to explain that he had to end up selling all the clothing he collected and sold over 50% of his sneaker collection to fund his first two AntiLabel clothing releases. That was his first sacrifice to fund his dream. Now that Kai is in this position he is in today the sacrifices have consequently paid off.
From hand drawn designs to finally selling completely out at pop up sales, Kai has been able to come a long way with AntiLabel all while being able to keep a great mindset throughout his ongoing journey. His brand and himself as a person is constantly growing and he loves to see that. “Never give up on your dreams no matter what criticism you get,” Kai went on to say. Kai’s wise words and strong mentality are something that many students should be inspired by here at Washington High School.
Students should understand that they should always follow their dreams even if there may seemingly be so many obstacles. Anything is possible, and we have seen a great example of this with AntiLabel. Just as Kai says, students must remember that they should never give up. In the end, everyone’s dreams can come true as long as they have the fearlessness to pursue them.
Manjinder Singh is a Junior at Washington High School. He grew up in Union City, and he moved to Fremont when he was six years old. This is his first year at the Washington High School newspaper, The Hatchet. He is interested in sports and technology. During his free time he enjoys spending time with friends and family. Additionally, he likes playing sports (specifically basketball). His future plans are to spend two years at Ohlone community college and to transfer to a UC. He has a strong will, and believes he can do anything he puts his mind to.