Taking a chance just as a general manager does when signing a free agent, Cathedral Catholic High School student Andrew Dow ’17 is rolling the dice with his new clothing line.

Finding inspiration from basketball players, Dow has donned an entrepreneurial attitude with the creation of a clothing company.

“My favorite basketball player is Kyrie Irving, and when I found out he had his own clothing line, I wanted to make a purchase,” Dow said. “After seeing how expensive {his clothing line] was I thought to myself, ‘Why don’t I do this? I know I can and for cheap too.’ “

And Embrace was born.

The nascent company sells sweatshirts, shirts, and other streetwear.  The general public brand already “embraces” the line, with the first shipment almost completely sold out, Dow said. 

These sales numbers are great news to father Mr. Michael Dow, who supplied Andrew with his initial loan.

“I’m very proud of Andrew, coming up with the idea, creating a business plan, and finding equity are all keys to successful business,” Mr. Dow said.

The younger Dow will grow the company during the summer by expanding into other clothing styles.

“I want to sell affordable, nice clothes all while growing my brand, and getting experience with running a business,” Andrew said. 

With his creation, Andrew joins the ranks of many other CCHS entrepreneurs, a group truly unhindered by their creativity, including Ethan Smith ’17, who recently won the inaugural CCHS Dons Shark Tank competition with an energy creating system that uses a simple fan to draw increased volts from a simple battery.

Smith also is developing a laser, magnetic system that will charge electronic devices when someone simply walks into a room outfitted with the device.

Like Smith’s ideas, Dow’s Embrace company shows the power of an idea coupled with drive.

“I put together a vision with the help of my friends and now it’s real and I couldn’t be more excited,” Dow said.