After Mahlique Keith moved to Toledo earlier this year to live with his parents, the family connected with the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, a connection that, mom says “felt like a huge weight was lifted off of us.” He was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2017, at age 23, and was in a wheelchair less than a year later.
“Mahlique is breath of fresh air – his energy, attitude, sense of humor, and resiliency are infectious,” said Candice Landrum, his SSA at Lucas DD. “Working with him is a privilege, and I always leave feeling rejuvenated and excited for his future.”
When Mark McKee, Mahlique’s Employment Navigator at Lucas DD, learned of Mahlique’s love for fashion, particularly t-shirts, he reached out to his connections at Jupmode.
“I thought we could give him a tour and then get him to his screen print his own shirt or something,” said Rob Minor, Account Manager at Jupmode.
The “Or something” was neither planned nor expected by anyone at the meeting.
“There was no plan,” Minor said. “I just wanted to see what we could do to help. This was just a creative opportunity to express himself and see his dream come true.”
Mahlique now has his own page on the Jupmode website with 4 items that he picked out and designed with Minor. The company has challenged him to sell 12 of those pieces of apparel by Nov. 30. Should he accomplish that goal, the page and the collaboration will be a permanent one.
“The most surprising piece for me was the speed and smoothness with which everything moved,” McKee said.
The logo, its colors, shapes, all Mahlique. Because MS has impaired his vision, the creative process was a collaborative one at the meeting. “I’ve lost my motor skills but not my creative mind,” Mahlique said.
“It was all in his mind so I’d sketch it out on paper and then hold it up really close to his eyes for him to see and we’d tweak it from there,” Minor said.
The logo is black, red, yellow, and green. “Those colors symbolize Africa and it really means something to me because, in a way, that’s where I’m from,” Mahlique said.
Two of the long sleeve shirts have a pocket on the chest. This is a tribute to Liqo’s uncle, who only wears tshirts with pockets. It also makes more accessible for individuals with disabilities to have a pocket that is higher up so they can store things, he said.
And the name? A childhood nickname becomes an acronym. As he describes it on the webpage:
- L: Liberation because Liqo's journey represents freedom from the constraints of adversity.
- I: Inspiration as Liqo's story inspires others to overcome challenges and chase their dreams.
- Q: Quality because Liqo's clothing line represents high-quality and unique fashion.
- O: Optimism as his journey embodies a positive outlook on life, no matter the hurdles.
It was a matter of days between that meeting with Jupmode and everything being up on the website.
“It moved so fast once we left Jupmode,” Suepinda Keith, Mahlique’s mom, said. “He had a lot of overwhelmed, “oh, crap!” moments but it was cool how his idea became a reality.”
Liqo is confident in his ability to sell 12 shirts and said an “oh, crap!” ambitious goal to reach would be selling 100 of them.
The price point was set by Liqo and Jupmode is giving him royalties for every shirt sold. Should he meet his goal, the company wants to move forward with a spring collection and adding more items of apparel in 2024.
“We're excited about helping him out and glad we could show him the process,” said John Amato, founder of Jupmode.
Employment, especially through the entrepreneurial spirit, is empowering. “It gives me hope that I will be able to take care of myself through my own means.”
Maybe it was Mahlique’s fun and infectious energy at that meeting. Maybe it was Minor remembering a couple of his old friends that had MS and the opportunities they were not afforded. But out of that chance meeting came employment, a greater sense of empowerment, purpose, and, in the coming months no doubt, financial freedom.
“I didn’t want him to think he was limited by what his dreams were,” Minor said. “This gives him some opportunities and a feeling of self-worth and of not having any limitations.”