CINCINNATI — As the country looks to recover from racial injustice and police brutality, organizations and individuals are coming up with ways to help bridge the racial divide. University of Cincinnati graduate Jake Knapke is using his new Everybody Headwear business as a platform to make everyone feel included and loved.
“I’ve always loved wearing hats, and I just thought it would be a fun thing to do and then with everything that happened last summer with the racial injustice and the protest, and everything like that. It just really opened my eyes, and it made me want to do good with this platform,” said Knapke.
He made it his mission to make sure everyone felt included, and that’s what inspired him to name the business Everybody Headwear.
“It really kind of encompasses everybody and so my tag line is ‘for everybody. So that’s kind of my goal: To make things that everybody can enjoy regardless of what you look like, or what you like to do,” he said.
Even with his drive to make his business a success, he said he was faced with adversity along the way.
“I had some experience doing some of this stuff on previous internships I’ve had and also a lot of the stuff I’ve learned in my business classes has helped me out a lot, but it really was a huge learning process for sure,” he said.
Baseball caps, beanies and trucker hats are just some of headwear he sells. He also makes pink hats for a nonprofit in Cincinnati.
“I designed this with one of my best friends, Brian, and we give all the profits to ArtsWave Pride,” he said. “They’re a local nonprofit here that supports arts initiatives of LGBTQ+ artists.”
He said it’s so important to give back to his community because he wants everyone to feel heard and valued as a human.
“I think it’s so important to just shine light on all those groups of people just to really make sure that everybody’s included,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, I think the best way that humanity can kind of progress is if everybody gets involved and we’re all together and less divided.”
