Ian Jackson: Gaining More Betting Against The Odds
It’s pouring rain and with a lot on his mind, Ian Jackson is texting everyone in his phone trying to get to the print shop before it closes. Receiving a huge package with blank hoodies, hats, and t-shirts, he leaves the mailroom ecstatic, but also worried. With the rain pouring down on him, he checks his phone. Tons of people on campus have been contacting him about buying his new merchandise. With his spring/summer collection dropping on his website at midnight, it’s crucial that he gets to the print shop. Walking fast pace to his dorm room, stepping on puddles messing up his Jordan 1’s, it doesn’t bother him due that his, mind is set on one thing. He fiddles his fingers, almost dropping his phone due to the raindrops. With success, he unlocks his phone heading straight to his group chat. With the response that everyone is busy he decides to do the unexpected. Instead of waiting until the next day, he decides to walk to the print shop in the rain by himself.
These actions perfectly describes Jackson’s motives, he’s going to get things done regardless of the circumstances. With a lot of perseverance and humbled confidence, he manages to succeed from the low blows life unexpectedly throws his way. From being a student at Morehouse College, to being the CEO of his up and coming clothing line “Ordinary Odds”, it’s evident that he has a great vision and won’t let anything get in the way of it.
Growing up Jackson was always busy, being involved in various extracurricular activities. From playing the saxophone to excelling in sports like Basketball, football, and track, it was evident that he was socially well rounded. Along with his brother and sister, he also was involved in the prestigious youth organization called Jack & Jill where he connected with young teens around his age group. From being involved in this organization he formed bonds with millennials across the US.
“From the first time I met Ian he was very social and determined, so I decided to take him under my wing.” — Daquan May. When it came to college, his heart was set on one institution. After attending an open house, he retained great information and was highly persuade by one of his mentors “Daquan May” about the attending Morehouse College.
“Morehouse was a perfect fit for me due to the prominent alumni and diversity from the college” — Ian. At the end of the fall semester of his senior year of high school his decision was made after receiving his acceptance letter to Morehouse College. With his parents HBCU influence, father being a successful surgeon and his mother being a analyst at Vanderbilt University, and Grambling University Alumni. Morehouse College had to be the perfect fit, since he didn’t want to follow his parent’s footsteps.
Starting off enrolling in the pre-summer enrichment program that Morehouse provides for incoming freshmen to receive a head start in their college experience. The beginning of his freshmen year was great. Jackson started off well ahead of his peers and ready to take on the college challenges. Building bonds, making strong connections with prominent alumni, and being highly involved on campus, Morehouse was a great fit for him. Life started to move quickly, and his social life ended up consuming majority of his time. Time passed and by the time he was a second semester sophomore, deciding the right thing for him to do was to take a semester off to humble his spirit and clear his head.
“It was well needed in terms of mental health. I actually didn’t know what exactly I wanted out of life. I ended up wasting a ton of money and my grades dropped due to this fast lifestyle I was living.” The young CEO managed to be productive, humbling himself by working 3 part-time jobs consisting of working at McDonald’s, Forever 21, and Hollister in his hometown Nashville, TN. This break caused Ian to resign from his SGA sophomore class president position, which he really worked hard for. It was a humbling experience, giving him another outlook on life, and also a vision. A vision that will be the foundation for his future success, this minor setback caused the evolution of a major comeback. During winter break before he took the semester off, he started to think about what he can do to redeem name and showcase his interest.
“I’m very interested in pop culture, music, and fashion. So I thought of a way to use “Ordinary Odds” to be a platform for my interest and likes.” The money that Ian earned from working during the spring semester went towards summer school for Morehouse so he can catch up for the time he missed. The leftover expenses were invested in Ordinary Odd’s. Printing and drawing designs, before he started summer school, the business plans and the first collection of clothing came to life giving Ian a popular platform on Morehouse campus due to his popularity before he left.
“When I came back I wanted the campus to see the true purpose of Ordinary Odds encouraging the creativity to my peers.” Launching the clothing line in June, majority of the students weren’t really receptive due to the fact that everyone was back home for summer break. After the summer Ordinary Odds gained a lot of exposure in the AUC, eventually becoming appealing to everyone around campus. Everyone wanted to get their hands on any piece of clothing.
“When Ian dropped the different colored hats to match Clark, Morehouse, and Spelman school colors, he changed the game. His vision is dope as hell!” — Ravon Miles. From here, Ian did whatever it took to get his clothing seen to the public. At the beginning of the 2016 fall semester, he was able to get his clothing to the hands of big named rappers that visited campus including Swae Lee from Rae Sremmurd, D.C. native Will the rapper, and Lil Uzi Vert. His technique worked so well that Swae Lee posted a picture on Instagram with an Ordinary Odds hat after his performance at Morehouse College’s “Hump Wednesday”.
“We like to explore different avenues and not just limit ourselves.” Ordinary Odds is also a multimedia company exploring different avenues of media that they put out. Besides the clothing, which is the most popular avenue, Ordinary Odds also has it’s own radio station on Soundcloud, titled Double O radio. Releasing monthly radio episodes and mixes showcasing new talents around the Metro Atlanta area, new songs from up and coming artist with buzz, and the hottest songs out on radio right now. Monthly they’re different host, and everything is mixed by the hottest AUC Dj “Dos Dias.” Another source of entertainment Jackson dove into was film. Partnering with clockwork productions to produce a short film titled “King” staring up and coming actor and Morehouse student Ravon Miles. The film was placed at the AUC film festival where the grand prize was $10,000. Keeping the company multi dimensional expanding as a creative brand is the goal Ian is trying to execute.
“I wouldn’t trade anyone in stripes for the world, I love my brothers” — Steven Hill (Member of Stripes). Prior to him coming back on campus, Ian shared the first pieces of Ordinary Odds with his group of friends that go by the name of “S.T.R.I.P.E.S (Students Taking Responsibility in Pursuing Education and Service)”. “You’ll always see me with someone from stripes, or we’re all together at once. It’s about 11 of us and we all been tight since freshmen year.” Another hobby of Jackson is throwing epic college parties with Stripes. Bringing positivity and worthwhile experiences to these parties made them pretty popular on campus from throwing mansions parties, to hosting parties at club venues.
Ian Jackson betted against the odds, the outcome was a well-put together business plan that turned into brand that’s still expanding till this day. Through all of his setbacks he’s back in school on the road to success. Betting against the odds was the best thing Ian has done. Receiving a lot more out of it than he bargained for.
Collins McClain is a rising Senior Sociology Major, Journalism Minor from Milwaukee, WI attending Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA.