Meet the Birmingham teen who founded his own vibrant clothing brand

Your personal style is an important way to express yourself, and J’Corion Johnson helps others do that with colorful pieces. The Ramsay High School student is part of the growing fashion industry in Birmingham and started his own clothing line, Raw Abiding Citizens. If you’re ready for a dose of motivation and style inspiration, keep reading to see what J’Corion’s planning next.

From passion project to thriving business

When we saw J’Corion’s story on The Birmingham Times, we were instantly impressed and wanted to know more. IDK about you, but I definitely spent more time scrolling Netflix during high school than founding businesses.

J’Corion’s experience as a business owner started as a project for the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School (JCIB). For his passion project, he created “Trending by J’Cor” to share tees with his designs on them.

J’Corion transferred to Ramsay High School during his sophomore year and relaunched his business under a new name—Raw Abiding Citizens. This time around, he started selling different pieces of clothing, so people could buy full outfits.

Of course, the pandemic affected J’Corion and Raw Abiding Citizens. After finding major success in the spring, COVID-19 and online school meant J’Corion had to change the way he approached the line. He started reaching out to local influencers and YouTubers to share the brand and holding creative photoshoots to display the designs.

Backed by Birmingham

When J’Corion walks through the halls of Ramsay High School, he sees his classmates wearing his designs. His friends motivate him to continue putting out new products.

“The support from my high school classmates has been astronomical. They are the reason I keep going. I’m definitely grateful for them.”

J’Corion Johnson, Founder, Raw Abiding Citizen

He finds support outside of school, too. This March, he presented a fashion show at the Palmerdale Homesteads Community Center with his brand, three others, 15 vendors and a hair show. The show’s models included his friends and customers, and there was a great turnout.

“For Birmingham as a whole, I appreciated having my first show and reaching out to certain people and them getting into contact with bigger people and radio and TV stations. It makes me happy to see that our work is paying off.”

J’Corion Johnson

“Why stop now?”

Next year, J’Corion will be a senior at Ramsay. While he and his classmates decide what they want their lives to look like after high school, J’Corion knows that his entrepreneurship will be a part of it. His goal is to open a storefront either in Birmingham or on his college campus, and we’ll be first in line.

“Go for it. People make entrepreneurship seem really easy, but it’s much harder than that. You’re going to get to a point where you go months without sales or where your mom is the only person buying your clothes at one point. You have to keep pushing.”

J’Corion Johnson

Want to keep up with J’Corion and Raw Abiding Citizens? Be sure to check their Instagram and website for updates.