Entrepreneur Donny Harper has dedicated his G(O)OD Company Apparel brand as a daily reminder to be good company to others and to be mindful of the company you keep.
“I’m pushing a message of positivity through fashion,” Harper told Oprah Daily in an interview.
As a 2022 recipient of Spectrum Reach’s Pay It Forward (PIF) program, Harper reflected on his early journey and how he wanted to integrate a message of positivity after losing his mother at the age of 19 to cancer.
“My mom was my best friend, my everything. I started going to church and growing in my faith,” Harper said.
What once began as Harper rapping about things he said his mother was not proud of later transformed into messages about his values as a Christian man. That laid the foundation for the Ohio-based company, and Harper began spreading joy and positivity.
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Harper earned his GED at 26—a promise he made to his mom—after dropping out of high school a decade before, which led to bigger and brighter things.
After becoming a math teacher and putting his music career on hold, Harper began to bring forth his vision for the GO(O)D Company.
“I wanted a brand that everybody could relate to and connect to.”
“In our world, there are so many things that divide us as people,” he told Oprah Daily.
“I wanted a message that connected to all backgrounds, all different walks of life, rich and poor.”
The messages on his t-shirts quickly became popular among his students and fellow staff. Harper left teaching to spread his message in new ways as a pastor and business owner.
“I truly feel that my mom would have been really, really proud of what we’re doing,” he told Oprah Daily. “I’m reminded of her every day.”