SAN ANTONIO – From the struggle of finding your spot on a football team to feeling alone in life, University of the Incarnate Word defensive lineman Devin Grant has been through a lot. In the process of finding a way to share parts of his journey, he created a clothing brand that highlights the struggles of mental health.
The brand is called ‘(i)solated. Through its mission statement, Grant wants to start a conversation and break stigmas while fostering a sense of belonging. Its goal is to remind people that they are not alone and through fashion, advocacy can be brought to those who struggle with their mental health.
UIW’s head football coach, Clint Killough, was seen wearing an (i)solated hat and said what it means.
“Oh, yes. Devin Grant, this is his brand. It’s about mental health and being okay when you’re by yourself isolated,” said Coach Killough. “Devin is, he’s a rockstar man. San Antonio guy, he’s from Antonian High School, which is huge for our program and we’re going to continue to bring San Antonio’s guys back into the fold, and we’re going to continue to support our guys on and off the field.”
Then Grant himself shared why he decided to create the brand and the message behind it.
“Growing up, like, I just didn’t really have the support coming from, like, a father figure and just like, I learned everything kind of by myself,” said Grant. “I just learned things normally like your father would teach you, but I just learn by myself. And I feel like I turned out okay. So I was just pushing a notion of, like, when you’re by yourself, you feel alone, that like, you can take that time to reflect and you can grow as a person. You can learn things by yourself more than like someone telling you something. I wanted to parenthesize the “I” just to make sure it’s everyone has a different story. Everyone thinks that isolated it’s different and has a different meaning for it. So just kind of like the parenthesis is like what I was wearing is that, their own definition for it.”
The UIW football team itself doesn’t seem to show any signs of isolation, as the camaraderie is ramping up before the season begins on Aug. 31, when the Cardinals host Northern Colorado at 6 p.m.