It was the twelfth of September
That day I'll always remember, yes I will
'Cause that was the day that my Uce posted me!
After the glorious Friday evening on September 12, 2025, a day that has had me walking on clouds ever since, experience recurring feelings of disbelief, and renewed vigor to push forward with this mini Jhea shop, let's start from the beginning.
I've always loved graphic tees, and I think that love developed and blossomed in 2017 when DAMN. by Kung Fu Kenny released while I was a junior in high school. TDE is known for their top tier merch, and that continued when the DAMN. merch dropped.
I wanted every piece of merch I could get and afford because it was an event.
Then, I discovered DGK, and they won my heart by the time I started my 1st year in college with their pop culture, black culture, or simply culturally cool graphic tees like Bye Felicia, Boyz N Da Hood, Jump 2 (White Men Canât Jump), Still Hatinâ (Do The Right Thing), Untouchable (Belly), and Corner Store (Menace II Society) to name a few. [Fun Fact: Jimmy owns the âBye Feliciaâ DGK tee]
Itâs 2019, and I found another shop that produced quality, culturally significant, and closely held to my heart merch, Slow Jamz. I think I've told the owner on occasion or hinted at the fact he inspired me to get serious about having a merch brand, an as I neared the end of my college life in 2021, I created a short list of wants that involved my passions, interests, and a merch brand was 3rd. That originally permeated in 2017 when toying with the idea of publishing a poetry book after my 9th grade English teacher suggested it from listening to my love poems. Gaining inspiration from the conceptual masterpiece DAMN., I developed a concept for said book, and made a long list of merch ideas for it that's collecting dust somewhere today.
Fast forward to 2022, the book is out, and flopping, so making merch is dead in the water. One creative endeavor failed with another creative idea intertwined shelved.
That brings us to 2024 when I was slowly watching wrestling more after a combined 3-year wrestle talks with my valet co-worker who loved Stone Cold Steve Austin, and would not acknowledge Roman Reigns, to finding out Cody returned to WWE, following his beautiful feud with Joker Rollins, the Bloodline storyline from where it was at the time in 2022 via more wrestle talks, wondering if Cody would finish his story, grieved that Jey kicked Sami in the face after he said he trusted and hugged him, upset Cody didn't finish his story, so following him to the next year to see if he would, the Final Boss involvement, all through YouTube highlights that became the norm after 2015, but more tuned in than occasional watches.
By mid-2024, I discovered the dog Bron Breakker who I absolutely adore, and some time before that I'm sure, Rhea Ripley via more wrestle talks. It's September, not the 3rd when Dennis' daddy died or the 21st night to remember when love was changing the mind of pretenders, but it was close. I can't say the exact date I started following Rhea on IG, but in September I was, and early enough to see the plane selfie with Jey thinking it was cute. Then the 23rd day of September hit, and Rhea dropped the selfie with Jey's photo on the production truck. They got me.
Love at second sight or something to that effect. Never had a wrestling ship before, never will again. So from late September to early November, I went down the hole of the entire Jhea saga. While I loved it, I didn't like that WWE's flirty Jhea compilation was a measly 8 minutes, so I decided to make my own. By November 9th, they were done; the compilations with and without social media interactions, one which lives on TikyTok affectionately titled "Angel Eyes," the song Rhea sang on her IG Live after answering if Jhea will ever happen.
Nearing the end of 2024, I'm going through the motions of being a Jheanator like when will WWE stop playing, and put them onscreen? Do they like money because make them some merch, hello? And if they didn't, I would. Well, the glorious day came, January 31, 2025, the "Jey Loves Mami" moment blessed the nation amongst others like him wanting to do a Fanatics live stream with her, which needs to happen.
Next day, I get this comment: âcan someone please make a âJey loves mamiâ shirt pleaseeeeee? yes Iâm begging đ«¶đœâ The catalyst. I didn't think much of it in that moment, but sometime that week, I connected the dots on what a "Jey Loves Mami!" shirt would look like. Designed one myself, got my trustee illustrator Yuan to design the other, found my screenprinter, and eventually a platform that you're reading this on, Shopify. Both "Jey Loves Mami" became available in March, and from March to July, I was shelling out money to get the first 5 designs done because a plan was in motion, and August was my deadline.
Since the beginning, I knew I'd be discouraged, get disappointed and frustrated, but overnight success is only a concept thatâs not realistic, so I prayed God for patience, and that if it was His will, it'd be. I hit a low in July. Read James 4:13-15, and the commentaries to see if I misunderstood the biblical meaning of the text, and that's possibly why things were stagnant, and seemingly failing, if it wasnât a failure already, and I hadnât fumbled another creative endeavor I was passionate about. But I got the reassurance I needed, but everything inexpensive I tried; film shots, making graphics, VHS styled commercial after getting inspired by ECW's, using the right hashtags, posting at certain times, all dead ends.
And then the first plan fell through by August when I was getting "YEE F'N TALITY," "Holla At Ya Uce," and "MonJey Night Mami" shirts back from getting my "Main Event Classics" woven labels sewn on them. So, next and last plan, the Performance Center.
I had the custom boxes made (shoutout to Box Up), letters I wrote when I was deepest in sorrow in July, tweaked in August, a merchandise catalog I made with what I had, and the shirts themselves. Shipped them out the end of mid-August, prayed to Christ nothing would happen to the shipment because that'd really set me over the edge for various reasons. Once it delivered that week, it was a waiting game.
September 1st.
I was in my head again, and it was once again âChin up gangsta,â and sometimes you gotta thug it out mentality. Such is life, and so I spent the night talking to a longtime mutual/friend on IG with her trying to dig me out that hole. I left the conversation feeling a bit better, but the feeling didnât escape me completely.
Itâs Friday evening, September 12, and I was trying to sleep before my overnight shift later that night. Iâd been up nearly 3 hours after my initial sleep coming home that morning, so I needed the remaining rest. My phone was turned over, so when I saw the flash from beneath my closed eyelids, I figured it was my mom calling me to scoop her up from work. I checked, and it was an order of the âJey Loves Mami V2â tee. I flipped. I had the biggest smile, and as I looked for the correct size, and packaged it, I was thanking God incessantly. I checked my phone again, and in my list of notifications, my eye caught Jey's IG profile picture first, so I instinctively press on it...
Yeah, I flipped out. I couldn't believe it. It was surreal, and the time I was holding onto hope, whatever little I had, I knew that if they liked the shirts, and liked them enough to post them, it would change things. And it did because the orders came in one after another, my mentions blew up as I was trying to keep up, and through my haze, I went on TwitterâŠ
Instagram and Twitter?! Blew my mind.
On September 11, from 1:00 to 4:00am, I made graphics for the âJey Loves Mami V1,â and âYEE FâN TALITYâ tees on PicsArt planning to post them all my graphics collectively on Monday, hoping that would generate something. So when I think about how from the morning of Iâm making graphics, and the next night I get the Ucey endorsement, and had those graphics in the tuck ready to post for those tees in the wave of notifications on my socials, that was God, and it has been said, and it is true, Godâs timing.
It's been a week, and I honestly still can't believe it. I couldnât stop smiling that night, and I havenât stopped smiling since. It's sunk in, but every time I see those posts, it blows my mind all over again. I'll never move on from that moment, and nobody can steal my joy. Man... and then to put extra icing on the cake, which would be confetti, or cookies and cream, or vanilla, or chocolate and vanilla, sometimes ice cream cake, all from Publix, he followed me on Twitter?
He called me shawty!!!!
And Journey followed me?????
I'm an Honorary Uce at this point. Nobody touch me.
He said appreciates me?????? I appreciate him!!!! I don't know if Jey sees this, but I know he read the letter because everything he did, he didn't have to do. I was simply hopeful, no expectations, and it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. I'll be eternally grateful and appreciative. He was always my mans, but he's my mans mans now, like my main man. I was serious when I said I'd take all the spears and tsunamis for him and Jimmy against the Bronnies.
So, to close, I sincerely appreciate all the comments and compliments I've received on the shirts, the purchases and planned purchases, the mass email subs, and follows. The chip off my shoulder's been lifted because no matter who doesn't, one half of who the shirts were catered to liked the tees, and that's what stays with me. So as I proceed to serve all your Jhea needs, peruse the shop for the current and future selections because more will come. And I got some heat.
Thank you to all of you who read this whole thing. Thank you, Jey, from the bottom of my heart once again. Most importantly, thank you to my God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Itâs funny the difference a week and some days can make.
Your Jhea's Yeetality graphic t-shirts.
Ucey Jucey Approved đ§