Meet Saundrea Sampson | CEO & Founder of Embodied Apparel

We had the good fortune of connecting with Saundrea Sampson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Saundrea, how does your business help the community?

Embodied Apparel is a social advocacy brand that provides a funnel for customers to give back to programs, foundations, and scholarships created by African American pioneers.

The t-shirts are printed by Turn90, a non-profit that provides therapy and job placement for men formerly incarcerated that are on a proven road to success.

Embodied Apparel believes in civic engagement from the creation of the t-shirts to the proceeds donated. Each purchase helps Embodied Apparel to give back to community organizations & helps to keep men out of prison.

Endowments are provided to pay homage to African American pioneers that have laid the groundwork for us today. Each pioneer is celebrated on their birthday and gifted a donation to a project, foundation, scholarship, or memorial fund made in their honor.

Since the establishment of Embodied Apparel in May 2021, the brand has provided 7 endowments totaling in $1,700.

The pioneers and recipients of Embodied Apparel Endowments include:

1. Malcolm X – The Malcolm X & Betty Shabazz Educational & Cultural Center
2. Assata Shakur – Assata’s Daughters
3. Fred Hampton- Save the Hampton House
4. Mahalia Jackson- Black Women’s Health Imperative
5. Shirley Chisholm – The Shirley Chisholm Educational Foundation
6. Nashville Community Impact – Free Community Food Program
7. Angela Davis – Critical Resistance

Embodied Apparel is passionate about providing quality statement apparel and opportunities for first-hand social and civic engagement. Embodied Apparel’s customers are actively changing the world!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

The goal is for people to know that this brand is committed to excellence, endowments, resilience, civic engagement and inspiring others to embody the role of a revolutionary. Embodied Apparel is here to serve and inspire others to give back and make a difference one garment at a time.

What sets Embodied Apparel apart from others is that this brand is more than an apparel line or t-shirt brand… It is a social advocacy brand. Embodied Apparel is committed to being an asset to societal change through consistent endowments and providing support to grassroots organizations. Embodied Apparel is truly intentional about selecting the organizations that receive donations, individuals who help with creative works, and other partnerships.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Friday evening – We would go to 5th and Broadway and have a rooftop dinner

Saturday morning – Brunch at Marsh House
Saturday afternoon – Visit the National Museum of African American Music
Saturday night – Head over to Dave & Busters

Sunday morning – Head to Urban Grub for brunch
Sunday evening – Toast the night at EG & MC

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Embodied Apparel would like to dedicate this shoutout to every customer, activist, and ally embodying the role of a revolutionary and passionately working to change the world. Embodied Apparel would also love to send a special s/o to Turn90, the non-profit print shop that combines therapy, transitional work, & job placement to offer a proven path to success after prison.

Website: embodiedapparel.com

Instagram: @embodiedapparel

Linkedin: Saundrea Sampson

Facebook: @shopembodiedapparel

Image Credits
L’onyx de Vito Eric Jordan