Meet Quinn
Quinn was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up with both parents and a sister in North County St. Louis. Quinn met Justin in elementary school and then they quickly became good friends. Around 6th grade Quinn and Justin met Gary through the gifted program of the Hazelwood School district. Through the gifted program, Quinn developed a niche for drawing and it is still one of his favorite past times.
As a child, he actively participated in athletics. He played basketball, football, and baseball. His love for sneakers began at a young age. Growing up every kid had their hero and for Quinn his was Michael Jordan. With aspirations of being “Like Mike” he only played Basketball in Air Jordans. From then on Air Jordans became everyday wear. Around the age of 12 he focused on basketball and began playing AAU Basketball. Around 8th Grade Quinn met Bryant who had been good friends through Gary. Quickly all four became good friends.
Quinn Attended Hazelwood East High School. To better himself with basketball Quinn, decided to run Cross-Country and Track. During his freshmen year he suffered a knee injury that required surgery. He let go of track and cross country and focused on Basketball. During the season, Quinn suffered another knee injury, but he continued to play. After sophomore season Quinn had another knee surgery. It was then that he decided to let go of basketball. It was then he focused on school and other areas of life. After sophomore year his style switched up. Letting go of the XXXL shirts that he would normally wear he began dressing in clothes that fit a little more. Quinn participated in prom fashion shows as well as high school fashion shows. He was also a junior rep for Prestige Portraits.
He also no longer began wearing only Air Jordans, but dunks, SBs, air forces 1’s, Supras, and other shoes that stood out as well as presented style. Around Quinn’s senior year of high school Cloud N9ne formed with his longtime friends Bryant, Justin, and Gary. It all started with a sketch and then became a reality for them all. Today, Quinn attends the University of Tulsa majoring in Electrical Engineering and minoring in business administration. He keeps in contact with the founders/friends daily to keep the success of their business growing, in hopes of one day actually reaching Cloud N9ne!
Meet Bryant Stewart
Bryant Stewart
Bryant was born January 5th 1990 in St.Louis Missouri, he grew up in St.Louis’ suburbs in the average middle class household. When Bryant was 5 years old he started to develop a knack for clothing whether it was picking his own shoes when shopping with mom or simply refusing to wear certain outfits. It was then he knew that this was something more than a hobby.
In the fourth grade Bryant met founder Gary Richardson and began what is now known as one of the best friendships in the world:)! In middle school he then met Quinn and Justin through Gary. Throughout their teenage years the group grew to love clothing and sneakers often displaying them to each other in the “I bet you don’t have these,” form. Bryant’s freshman year of high school at Hazelwood Central would prove life changing as he emerged into a variety of different styles thus leaving him no choice but to create his own. During his Sophomore year he met many upperclassman who influenced his fashion and allowed him to increase his sub par style.
At the beginning of his Junior year it was then Bryant knew that he was to create something so unique that most would turn their noses up and frown at the possibility of a teenager creating something of this magnitude. Gary and he sat down for five hours and began to sketch out what is now known as one of the most inspiring and emerging brands of today Cloud N9ne Clothing. This placed Bryant at the top of the popularity chart gaining him mainstream attention in school and around St.Louis. By the end of Bryant’s Senior year of high school he was nominated for Hazelwood Central’s Best Dressed male and WON the nomination. Now Bryant strives to make Cloud N9ne one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Bryant also dapples in music recording tracks from home and producing tracks for friends.
Meet Gary Richardson
Gary Richardson was born in Arizona in 1989, after bouncing around the globe for a little while he landed in St.Louis where he attended the majority of his schooling. Around fourth grade he met Bryant, and in the sixth met Justin and Quinn. They all became good friends very quickly. He wasn’t involved in much during his high school career. His senior year however the four decided to embark on an adventure to start a clothing line with him. Gary Richardson is a now a sophomore at Chicago’s Columbia College. He is currently living in the city’s diverse south loop area and considers Chicago his second home. Although he is a participating founder of Cloud N9ne, he is also an aspiring actor/comedian, committing time to various theaters such as iO and the Playground Theater.
Meet Justin West
Justin “Nishiyoko” West born March 23rd in the late 80’s but is definitely a 90’s baby, growing up his main influences came in the form of various cartoons that aired after school and the music his parents listened to, which was everything from Al Green to The Stylistics. His passion for music only grew from there, falling in love with hip-hop at the tender age of 7 he began to spend the bulk of his time listening to Cassettes and Cd’s he stole from his brothers room (Yup he was tainted young).
He was pretty much a loner with head phones attached to his head until the 4th grade when one of his best friends Quinn (I believe he slapped me in the face, he was into that type of stuff.) Justin and Quinn, though inseparable opened their circle in the 6th grade when Gary came along, we became a trio plus one with our other life long friend Laron, and later added a 5th member to our cool crew when Justin was dared to choke Bryant out randomly in the hallway, he obliged and their friendship took off.
Rather it was Fubu, Rocawear, Girbaud or some other brand (Justin does not currently rock anymore), he knew he was destined for something more than just spending his hard earned bucks on these brands he idolized. So a few years later we had an idea to start our own brand, so we did, and it’s called Cloud N9ne.
Oh and I attend Columbia College Chicago, Fashion Design Major, I reside in the West Loop…holler!
-Nishiyoko
