Fred Griffin, founder and creative director of the clothing brand Swish, was recently able to collaborate with sportswear company, Under Armour, to give local American Amateur Union (AAU) teams in Memphis, shoes for their summer season.
Under Armour Next Basketball has a few teams in Memphis, such as P7 Elite and Team Stark, housed under their UA Rise complementary circuit. According to Under Armour, “the league consists of 48 teams at each age group: 17U, 16U, and 15U. Each team plays a 12-game regular season leading into a single-elimination championship bracket to crown the UA Rise Champion.”
Griffin partnered with the P7 Sports Academy, located at 237 Woodland Lake Drive in Cordova, where he explained that many kids come after school to train for sports such as volleyball and basketball.
“They’re already in the Under Armour circuit with one of their teams,” said Griffin. “They have three teams that were getting ready to start the AAU season this past week. They literally had uniforms and everything, but they didn’t have shoes.”
Griffin said that the AAU league played a major role in his formative years, as he and his brother grew up loving and playing basketball.
“I’m happy that my brand Swish was able to take part in that,” said Griffin. “Being someone who played sports my entire life, it is a goal for my brand to have a sports identity as well through what I call my ‘Swish Athletics,’ my branch that makes athletic clothing and different athletic materials. So Under Armour basketball] being able to collab with me on that and being able to provide them with that was really cool.”
Photo credit: Brian Roberson
According to Griffin, the logistics of the event were organized by Chuck Lawson of 901Prepscoop.
This was Griffin’s first major project with Swish Athletics. However, in the past few months, the Memphis Flyer 20 < 30 honoree has been able to work with The North Face and with outdoor and sporting goods company, Merrell.
“I’ve just been taking advantage as a creator to work with these different brands and really explore that,” said Griffin.
With The North Face, the company did a Black History Month collection and collaborated with Memphis Rox, located at 879 East McLemore Ave. According to Griffin, the company uses rock climbing to help kids in the community to discover the activity as an outlet. For Black History Month, the brand built a collection that was based off of Memphis Rox and their colors.
“Kids of the Black and brown community don’t usually get to see something like rock climbing, or even interact with it, and a brand like North Face doesn’t really get to touch them,” said Griffin. “It was a really dope experience, and I was able to come out and connect with them and document that process and be there with them and build that relationship with North Face.”
He also had the opportunity to work with Merrell to help “build a relationship with their streetwear side of things.” The brand sent Griffin a few items and he was able to do some concept content for Merrell on his Instagram page
“It’s really been a blessing, that’s the best way to put it,”said Griffin. “I feel like when you do things with good intent and from a good space, things will naturally put themselves in play. The best thing about my brand is that, of course, I’m not the biggest brand in the world yet, but I’ve been blessed to have these opportunities.
Every year, the Memphis Flyer asks our readers to tell us all about the outstanding young people who are doing their best to make the Bluff City a better place. This time, we had a record number of nominees, and narrowing it down to just 20 was more difficult than ever. Speaking to an immensely talented 20 never fails to fill us with hope, and allows us to introduce Memphis to the leaders who will be shaping our future.
Here they are: Your 20<30 Class of 2023.
Brenda Lucero Amador President, Voices United
“I was born in Mexico and moved to the U.S. when I was 3 years old,” says Amador. “My parents came here to give [us] a better future, something that couldn’t be offered in Mexico.” Amador grew up in Atlanta and came to Christian Brothers University on an Opportunity Scholarship. Under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), she and thousands like her must reapply every two years to stay in the country. “I didn’t really get into advocacy until I got to college.”
Now, she fights for immigration reform with Voices United. “DACA has been around a long time and we haven’t seen any progression, but if we keep advocating, sharing our stories, and organizing, something can happen in the future.”
The education major is now a student teacher at Idlewild Elementary. “I want to be not only an activist, but also a leader, because education is the root of everything. If we can fix the system or make it better, then everything else will fall into place. Because that’s the future generation.”
Dr. Adam Chan Chief Resident Physician, UTHSC Adult Psychiatry Residency Program
“Growing up, mental health was always a taboo topic in my community,” says Dr. Chan. But during his medical education, he saw a need to destigmatize the topic. “I felt the absence of treatment options in low-resource settings during rural Tennessee rotations and international medical mission trips.”
Now, he’s a leader in researching innovative techniques to treat disorders like depression. “Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive procedure that involves using electrical currents generated from magnetic fields to stimulate different structures and connections in the brain. If your brain was a ‘muscle,’ I like to think of it as helping it train!”
But improved treatment is no substitute for building a healthier society, he says. “Prevention is power! Health and mental health are intimately tied to their sociocontextual components.”
“Dataworks is the first time since FedEx started that we started a brand-new operating company,” says Chasteen.
“The goal of Dataworks is to make supply chains smarter for everyone, and really optimize and make our networks more efficient, and offer our customers more products faster. For instance, Dataworks was behind the vaccine distribution. I really knew that Dataworks had that startup environment, and it was new territory for us. So being able to come over and start building something from scratch, and especially in the talent acquisition world, was a great opportunity.
“My passion is bringing people in. I always say, someone took a chance on me, and I was able to build my career.”
“I’m the oldest of four, and my mom raised us all by herself,” says Desiderio. “She’s a single mother, so a lot of my drive and determination, I always credit back to her.”
Desiderio works full-time as a marketing coordinator for a commercial real estate company, while also pursuing a master’s degree in integrated strategic media at University of Memphis. “It kind of encompasses journalism, public relations, marketing, advertising — all of the things that I like in one very long name.” She also serves as vice president of communications for the U of M Graduate Student Association.
She’s a mentor in the STREETS Ministries Pathways program. “It is in the Berclair/Nutbush area. That’s actually where I grew up with my mom and all my siblings. It resonated a lot. They talk about first-generation college students, and how these kids really don’t have a strong support system, and how having a mentor in their life can really help.”
Lily K. Donaldson Miss United States 2022
“I’ve only been Miss United States for two months now and I’ve gotten to go to almost every region of the U.S. so far,” says Donaldson. “It’s been really fun to meet people from all walks of life and all the places across the U. S. and get even more new perspectives than I had before.”
For Donaldson, competing in pageants is a way to flex her communications skills. She holds a computer science degree from American University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in agriculture, focusing on the development of urban vertical farming. With nonprofit Art Technically, she promotes STEM and arts education. “I took a computer science class my first semester and ended up loving it. It wasn’t something that I had ever really had an opportunity to pursue or interact with. … Art Technically is all about trying to present those opportunities to underserved students, so they can see for themselves if it’s something they would like to pursue.”
Shanice D’Shara Dowdy New Ventures Strategist, ALSAC/St. Jude
“I come up with social media-heavy activations to make St. Jude and Memphis relevant all over the world,” says Dowdy. “We’ve been successful, and because social media is not going anywhere, I bring that sophistication to help us stay cool to young people. I bring innovative solutions to advance philanthropy. I study industries that we haven’t tapped into before.”
Dowdy remains active in Memphis’ Beta Epsilon Omega chapter of AKA sorority, recently organizing a benefit for struggling Black-owned food trucks. She’s the mother of two children and, on New Year’s Eve, married Darry Dowdy Jr. at her grandfather’s church in Greenwood, Mississippi.
“I’m a Baptist who went to a Catholic school, and have traveled around the world to do missionary work,” she says. “It’s being able to embrace differences that allows others to embrace your differences.”
Gunter Gaupp Musician, Composer
Crosstown Arts’ 2022 Composer in Residence has a degree in jazz guitar performance from Rhodes College, but you’ve probably seen him playing bass around town with folks like Louise Page. “It’s such a cool place that it’s hard to leave,” says Gaupp. “Immediately, the music community was so much more inviting than it was for me during 18 years in Baton Rouge. … Every culture I can imagine has a music space here.”
Recently, Gaupp has made the leap to teaching music at the Memphis Rise Academy High School. “I’ve been teaching guitar lessons since I graduated high school, but full-time in the classroom is definitely a different beast. It’s as rewarding as it is challenging. … I think with any of the arts, we’re trying to teach people how to be people.”
Fred Griffin Fashion Designer, Founder of Swish
Have you seen those pink U of M Tigers shorts? Those were Griffin’s idea. “I started making apparel in middle school,” he says. “Anything that I do, I always try to have meaning behind. My mother and my father are really both big into community work. We’ve always done things with breast cancer awareness.”
Griffin designed and made a limited edition of the now-iconic streetwear in 2020 through his brand Swish. “I shot a commercial and put it on Instagram, and I couldn’t turn my phone off because the reaction was crazy. And that was in the middle of a pandemic! I love the fact that the people of Memphis appreciated it enough to where they still talk about it. People still love them, people still wear them.”
Griffin has parlayed his success with Swish into jobs with Nike and the Memphis Grizzlies. “Fashion is really tough because there’s so many people doing it,” he says. “I still keep at it because I’ve been doing it for so long, and I have such a passion for it. The ideas that pop in my brain and the concepts I come up with are able to stand alone by themselves.”
Sarah Jemison Director of Strategy and Services, Alco Management Inc.
Finding affordable housing is an increasingly difficult problem for low-income Memphians. “HUD [United States Department of Housing and Urban Development] has defined affordability as 30 percent of your income or less going to housing — but plenty of people are spending 50 to 60 percent,” says Jemison. “We have the added issue in Memphis of out-of-state and out-of-country investors who are buying up rental properties to make a profit on them. These are people’s homes, and they can’t live there because their rent goes up or the property’s not well-maintained.”
Alco Management is committed to providing quality, low-cost housing to those who need it the most, with rents based on percentage of income. “We have a Memphis that works really well for people like me who went to private school and are white and privileged,” says Jemison. “I think we need to deeply examine the ways in which that system makes the rest of the city not work for so many people.”
Dante Lizza Lawyer, Bass, Berry & Sims
Originally from rural Pennsylvania, Lizza came to Memphis during his first year of law school in 2019. “I fell in love with the city instantly,” he says. “I think the thing I like the most is just the culture of the city, the spirit of perseverance, grit and grind. People are very proud of the city and want to make it a better place. I’m from a small town, and I went to law school in Washington, so I’ve had the big city experience, and I’ve have the small town experience. For me, Memphis is the perfect balance.”
He currently practices healthcare law, helping pharmacies and clinics comply with regulation, while also providing free legal services for elders in Orange Mound. “I really enjoy getting involved in the local community in Memphis and helping people have access to resources and advice that they otherwise may not be able to get. I know I’m in an incredibly privileged position, and I feel it as my duty to pay it forward.”
Meghan Meadows-Taylor Pre-Award Coordinator, University of Memphis School of Public Health
It was coincidence that Meadows-Taylor earned her Ph.D. in epidemiology just as the coronavirus pandemic was exploding in March 2020. She quickly found herself in charge of a $13 million CDC grant to the Shelby County Health Department to serve under-resourced populations. “It’s been extremely rewarding, seeing the impact of what we do in the community,” she says. “There’s some challenging aspects for sure, dealing with the political aspect. There’s a lot of resistance to change, but I think Memphis is open to making sure we have a healthier community.”
An author of 20 published research papers, she’s only getting started. “Violence prevention is another aspect of public health. We’re trying to build a violence prevention center within the school. … I want to make sure that we can all come together. I think diversity is important, everyone has their place, but we all need to take care of each other.”
Moth Moth Moth Drag Performer
Two weeks after graduating from Memphis College of Art, “I put on a wig and dress and started performing at nightclubs. I’ve had part-time to full-time work doing that ever since my very first gig. I’ve been very lucky.”
That first pro drag show was a benefit for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. “Drag for me is much less about being fierce or whatever. Plenty of people are really good at that. Drag for me is like being a nun or something. It has a huge community service component. The most important people I serve as an entertainer are the lonely people and the people who need connection.”
Moth Moth Moth has become the most recognizable drag figure in the Mid-South, doing events for the Focus Center Foundation and hosting a podcast, Musing with Mothie. But that visibility has come with an increase in harassment and threats from conservatives, and now the Tennessee Legislature is considering legislation that would ban drag performances in public. “Y’all should be focused on making sure that mamas and babies are not starving across the state. They’re mad at me for reading stories to children in a yarn wig? Please.”
Kayla Myers Programmer & Black Creators’ Forum Manager, Indie Memphis
Myers had always loved film, but it wasn’t until she was studying digital storytelling at the University of Missouri that she wanted to make a career out of it. Now, she’s preparing to program short films for her fourth Indie Memphis Film Festival. “I’ve learned so much in my time with Indie Memphis, not just as a person, but thinking a lot about what it means to be a programmer and to advocate for independent filmmakers and especially filmmakers from marginalized backgrounds,” she says. “I’m constantly thinking about ways to expand my own taste, or recognizing that this [film] may not be for me, but I think there’s someone in Memphis who may really enjoy this experience and get something out of it.”
Working on the Black Creators’ Forum has been an especially meaningful experience. “I think it’s really important for Black filmmakers to have a space where they don’t feel like they need to be representing all Black artists, all Black people. … We’re always trying to make sure the Black Creators’ Forum is a space for connection and gathering and warmth, but also honesty about the ways that this industry really works.”
Daniel Stuart Nelson Actor, Director, Choreographer
Since he first auditioned for Playhouse on the Square seven years ago, the Kansas native has appeared on Midtown’s biggest stage 27 times. In the process, he discovered a talent for choreography, made his directorial debut with Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and earned three Ostrander awards. “I got to fill a dream role last season,” he says. “I got to be Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors!”
These days, he splits his time between Playhouse and his position as advertising manager for the Orpheum Theatre. “It’s interesting to have these calls with marketing reps who are from LA or New York or Chicago,” he says. “They want to know about the Memphis market and what’s the best way to spend ad money here. I tell them, try as much as you can to make a personal connection with Memphis. That’s the way to go. Never be fake here.”
Alex Robinson Educator, The Collective Blueprint
“I teach young people about the art of getting jobs,” says Robinson.
A Memphis native, Robinson went to college in North Carolina and decided to enroll in Teach For America when she graduated. “Teach For America sent me back home, which ended up being one of the best things I think could have happened to me.”
After her TFA hitch was up, she moved to The Collective Blueprint. “We work with young adults without college degrees. We help them train for a job field where they’re able to make a living wage. That was really important to me after being an elementary school teacher. I saw just how big an impact poverty has on absolutely everything. You can’t learn if you’re hungry. You can’t learn if you’re stressed. It was really important for me to get into a space where I was able to help combat that economic inequity in this city.”
Kelsey Seiter Project Engineer, Memphis Light, Gas & Water
The Mississippi State graduate is the president of the Memphis chapter of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. At MLGW, she’s a mistress of all trades. “Basically, I do process improvement projects,” she says. “If there’s something at the company that they don’t really know who could tackle it, they ask our group to do it. I’ve done a lot of different types of projects, from workload studies for staffing to cost analysis. Right now, I’m doing a company-wide truck inventory.”
She also finds time to volunteer for the United Way steering committee and MLGW’s Mobile Food Pantry. “When it comes down to it, our biggest mission is to serve the customer,” she says. “I don’t think everybody even realizes that we are not a private company; we’re a public [utility.] We try to do a lot of stuff in the community, like our bottled water drive when we had the boil water advisory, our mobile pantry, and the Share the Pennies program, where we ask people to round up on their bills, and we use that money to weatherize people’s homes.”
Amber Sherman Political Strategist
While Sherman was a student of political science, legal studies at University of Tennessee, Martin, the UT system tried to outsource the jobs of the schools’ maintenance workers. “I organized the first protest there in like 20 years,” she says.
That was the beginning of a lifetime of scholarship and advocacy. “I took an unconventional path from my parents and my family in general,” Sherman says. “They work in government or have stable corporate jobs. I just knew that that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I was really passionate about making a difference in people’s lives, beyond being a teacher or something like that. I really wanted to like be in the action, and be the reason a policy was changed, or writing new laws, or advocating for people. I wanted to be right in the thick of it.”
Sherman has worked on campaigns all over the country, but her greatest visibility is her podcast, The Law According to Amber. “I created the podcast because I like to talk, and I’m passionate about policy and law. It’s a great way for me to explain stuff to people in layman’s terms they can understand, so they don’t feel like they’re being left out.”
Jazmyne Tribble University Relations Coordinator, International Paper
When she was a struggling college freshman, a mentor from STS Enterprise helped Tribble stay in school. Now, she pays it forward as a mentor herself. “I love STS. They’re like a second family to me,” she says. “A lot of young adults in Memphis just don’t have that positive role model who could tell them the ins and outs of what life is like really like after high school, after college. I like being that voice of reason sometimes for students because I think, especially now, you see students who have big dreams and aspirations, but no real guidance, no road map to get there.”
In her role at International Paper, she’s always on the lookout for fresh student talent. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity, and I see Memphis growing all the time, especially in the work that I do. There’s so much potential here, and I want to pay it forward by staying here and doing what I can to help bring the city up.”
Ana Vazquez-Pagan Ph.D. Candidate, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
A native of Puerto Rico, Vazquez-Pagan decided to dedicate herself to medicine after a pregnant family member died in the 2009 influenza epidemic. Now, she researches the effect of pregnancy on vulnerability to infectious disease in one of the most prestigious Ph.D. programs in the country. After defending her thesis this spring, she will be traveling to Ghana as a Fogarty Global Health Fellow to study malaria in pregnant women and infants.
“I’ve always just been innately curious about everything around me, from nature to the way things work. Science allows you to ask questions, the most basic questions we can think of. And research allows you to answer those questions. I love that I get to be creative and ask the questions I’m most interested in, that we think have potentially a very big impact globally as well.”
Oakley Weddle Founder, Jubilant Communications
There aren’t many people Weddle’s age who have started their own PR firm, much less work full-time as marketing manager for an IT firm as large as ProTech Services Group, all while still in school. “I majored in public relations as an undergrad, and I’m getting my master’s right now in journalism and strategic media. So I’m all about communications. I think it’s incredibly important.”
Weddle was homeschooled, and now he runs a theater program for other homeschoolers. “I’m teaching these kids at a young age that it’s important to stand up for themselves, to use their voice,” he says.
The PEYitforward Foundation is a nonprofit he founded with his family after the 2016 death of his brother Peyton, and it recently established a scholarship at the University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business and Economics. “That’s where he went to school,” says Weddle. “He unfortunately was not able to finish college, so we have a scholarship there for people who want to pursue higher education but may not be able to afford it.”
The term “sneakerhead” is not a name that is designated lightly.
Those who are privy to this moniker may be familiar with standing in long lines to obtain the newest release, or scouring online marketplaces and groups to secure some of the most enviable kicks. It’s an industry taken seriously, especially in Memphis.
“A lot of people don’t know, but Memphis is actually the sneaker distribution capital of the world,” explains Dominique Worthen. “Nike is the No 1. sports footwear company in the world. When you order a pair of shoes and you’re in Alaska, then it has to touch Memphis.”
Worthen is the founder and owner of Snkrr Bar, a shoe restoration store located in Midtown, with locations in Atlanta and Houston.
“It was very interesting to me that there was no place that refurbishes, cleans, and restores Nikes, when they all come from Memphis,” Worthen said. “We’re strategically placed in Memphis. It’s been crazy.”
Worthen has long taken pride in his sneaker collection. In fact, his sneakerhead days date back to his childhood, which was formative to Snkrr Bar’s inception. As a child, Worthen lived in Flint, Michigan, where he he grew up “extrememly underprivileged and poor.”
“I always cherished a nice pair of sneakers,” Worthen said. “I didn’t have much growing up, and that’s what kind of got me in this business.
“I always knew how to maintain a pair of sneakers for a long time. … I wasn’t able to afford a bunch of sneakers when I was younger. So, I had to make it stretch; I had to make it work. I picked up a bunch of tricks of the trades and tips before I opened up my business. As an adolescent, I was just trying to stay fresh.”
Worthen recently partnered with Fred Griffin, the founder and creative director of fashion brand Swish, to host “Sneak and Link,” an event for Memphis creatives to “collaborate” last month.
The event was advertised as a “sneaker art experience” at The Hendrix on Walnut Grove. Patrons were encouraged to grab some kicks, grab a friend, and partake in a sneaker customization experience. The event promised “swish vibes,” with the dress code being “put that shit on.” Creativity was in the hands of attendees, with the option to either paint a canvas or a pair of their favorite kicks.
The event itself was born out of collaboration. According to Worthen, Jones visited the Midtown location and sparked a conversation on ways that the two could give back to the community, and “invoke change.”
“It was a brainchild of both of ours,” Worthen said. “I don’t think either of us can singlehandedly take credit for it.”
Griffin founded Swish during his days at Mississippi State University, but relaunched the brand during the pandemic.
“It’s a brand that looks to uplift through sports and culture,” Griffin said. “Through this brand, different events [like the Sneak and Link event] allow me to tap into the culture and give back.”
Giving back plays a major part in Griffin’s creative purpose, as he initially hoped for the event to inspire not only creatives in the community, but children in the community who are aspiring creatives. In fact, the name “Swish” pays homage his to his early years as an athlete.
“They used to call me ‘Swish,’” Griffin said. “It kind of just stuck. When I got to college I started playing around. … I’ve always played around with fashion. In fact, my brother and I had a brand in middle school where we sold stuff in school and what not. In college, I just took the name Swish and put it on t-shirts and what not.”
While it started out as a creative pastime for Grffin, it didn’t take long for him to realize the brand’s potential. He credits his signature pink Memphis Tiger shorts that flooded our timelines for so long as Swish’s first big break.
“I’ve had NBA players wear my stuff,” Griffin said. “Bow-Wow came and did the Millennium Tour and I styled him for that. I’ve grown so much from there.”
Griffin explains that the defining aspect that made Worthen a viable partner was their shared intention to accomplish their dreams, while also giving back tot the community.
“We’re grinders,” Griffin said. “We both have a goal and a mindset to try to be great, and to do that in a way where we can accomplish our goals and dreams while giving back to the community.
“We’ve been able to connect in that way. … in doing some marketing work for the Grizzlies, I was able to bring him in and do a lot of different work there. We both had the same ideologies and the same goals as far as where we want to go and what not.”
The event was modeled after sip and paint, but instead of canvases, patrons took their creativity to sneakers.
The creators had always planned on giving the funds raised from the event to schools in some capacity. In fact, one of their sponsors, T-Mobile, helped them halfway. However, a week prior to the event, they visited Cummings Elementary school, who recently had a ceiling cave in.
“In trying to be the most effective, and really reach those who needed it the most, instead of doing several schools, we just focused on one school. We all felt like they needed that help right away.”
In combining their donations, Griffin and others were able to show up to Cummings’ open house, held at the Boys and Girls Club, to hand out donations and supplies to 250 students, as well as teachers. Griffin says that he hopes to hold the event again, and keep it going.
“I think the event has potential to reach a lot of people in the city, but also give back as well,” he said. ”Everything I do, I try to — in some way — make it loop into giving back. At the end of the day, yes, I’m starting to garner a name for myself, and influence others, and the city, but none of it means anything if I can’t help others or help the ones that come from my community come up.
