Today we’d like to introduce you to Marvin and Samantha Minott.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Marvin and Samantha. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My name is Marvin Minott and I am one of the co-owners of Sankofayah. I was born in Kingston, Jamaica and I resided in Port Maria with my family until the age of six. After moving to the United States, I lived in Connecticut, Florida, and New Jersey. I’ve always had a passion for the arts and sciences as well as education. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Morehouse College. Today I am in my last year of Medical School with UMHS. I’ve always aspired to become a medical doctor as well as an entrepreneur. I have always been a thinker, a visionary and at this point in time of my life, the opportunity to make a change has been offered to me and I won’t let it pass me by.
My name is Samantha Minott and I am also the co-owner of Sankofayah. I was born and raised in New Jersey with Caribbean roots. I am very proud of my Guyanese heritage because I believe it has truly molded me into the person I am today. It has taught me humility, a great work ethic, and an appreciation for humble beginnings. I’ve always had a passion for helping and educating others. By profession, I am a Family Nurse Practitioner and I absolutely love the role I am in. Being able to equip patients with the education and resources that they need to manage their health and help them reclaim a part of their life is truly rewarding. I knew that providing health care was my passion but I also knew that I needed to tap into other skills and interests to truly fulfill my life’s purpose. I have found that through starting Sankofayah, I am in heading the right direction! Sankofayah is not about its creators. It’s about the generations that we plan to impact and uplift!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Honestly, I speak for both of us when I say getting started is half of the battle. Once we created the LLC and created the foundation for our business, we have just been strategizing on how to increase our outreach and seeing what our customers respond to. We want our customers and followers to see that their story can be told through our apparel. We want people to know that this business is bigger then us, it is about coming together to elevate one another.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Sankofayah story. Tell us more about the business.
As cliche as this sounds, it all started with a vision. Sankofayah is a conscious clothing company that started in 2019 by myself, Marvin Minott and my wife, Samantha Minott. I envisioned creating a clothing company that would highlight the teachings of the Sankofa bird. Its unique ability to look backward while flying forward represents the idea of “go back and take.” Based upon this concept, we have adopted the mentality to “Return and Build.” We believe this frame of mind is essential and instrumental in community building. It teaches the importance of not only helping oneself but also helping your fellow neighbor to ensure upward mobilization as a whole.
Our debut line, The Crown Collection, is the genesis stage of a royal people as they find each other and support each other. The adorned crown from this collection is actually a microscopic fat known as a micelle. Through our apparel, we pay homage to a rich history which pushing the culture forward. Our second line tailored off of the Crown Collection is the FAT RICH Collection. This line is a luxury line that makes a huge statement. FAT RICH signifies wealth, abundance, and royalty. When combined, it represents a double portion of blessings.
Our latest line is entitled “Black Welfare” and was recently launched on Juneteenth 2020. It is a declaration of financial freedom… a rebirth… an awakening. Through this line, we plan to continue our efforts to collaborate and support other black-owned businesses. In order to do so, we created an IG LIVE mini-series called “Return and Build Talk.” We have opened our growing platform to showcase other black entrepreneurs while inspiring our audience. During the interview, we discuss their journey to entrepreneurship and talk community building. Thus far, it has been a great success and we look forward to learning about and sharing more amazing black-owned businesses.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Honestly, I don’t believe in luck. Things happen for a reason. People who have come into our lives, whether good or bad, have all been placed there to teach a lesson. Without these encounters, we would not be the people we are today. Paulo Coelho, author of the Alchemist, said, “And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” We find this to be quite true and it is something that we live by. Between this and our faith, we believe those are the catalysts for the successes we have achieved in our personal and professional lives. For example, each photoshoot we organized, with the help of social media, we were able to scout models and a photographer. Using that as our only source for models was quite risky because people are less likely to hold themselves accountable on social media platforms. However, we put forth great energy and that was returned ten fold! The models all did an amazing job, the vibes were right, and other things just started to come together, effortlessly!
Contact Info:
- Website: Sankofayah.com
- Email: Sankofayah@gmail.com
- Instagram: @san_ko_fa_yah
- Facebook: Sankofayah-FAT RICH & MORE
- Twitter: San_ko_fa_yah
Image Credit:
Mecca Clarke
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