Brundidge cousins want to give back to the community that raised them
Published 10:16 am Thursday, July 6, 2023
- Pinedes Clothing was founded by Brundidge cousins Zedric Johnson and Tevin Andrews. (Submitted photo)
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Brundidge natives Tevin Andrews and Zedric Johnson recently launched their own clothing line, Pinedes, and the two cousins say they want to use it to give back to their community.
Andrews and Johnson grew up in Brundidge, specifically on the cul-de-sac known as “Piney Woods,” which is where their clothing line’s name comes from.
“We had this idea sent from the Creator, this clothing brand,” Johnson said. “Pinedes is French for ‘Piney Woods.’ Piney Woods is a small cul-de-sac community here in Brundidge – in the Pike County area – that we grew up in.”
Johnson and Andrews played basketball together at Pike County High. Andrews went on to play collegiately at the Apprentice School in Virginia. Andrews was not only an All-State player at Pike County and All-American in college, but he ended up setting a number of records in college. Earlier this year, he was inducted into the Apprentice School Sports Hall of Fame.
While the two cousins found their own paths – and careers – after their playing days together were over, their family bond brought them back together to form Pinedes Clothing.
“I was living in Texas and I moved to Atlanta to be closer to my mom and dad,” Johnson recalled. “I had lost my job at the time and God gave me something else to do. I called these guys and they were all for it and we came together as a family and put it all together.”
Andrews and Johnson are planning a number of ways to help give back to the Brundidge community, as well.
“We’re going to do food drives and we want to be able to do a scholarship for the youth,” Johnson said.
Andrews said that they’re also planning to host basketball and football camps in the area, as well. Also, the cousins want to be able to give back to local athletes through Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
“One of the goals is to get involved in NIL,” Andrews said. “We don’t know yet how to go all the way with it, we’re just taking baby steps and trying to figure it out as we go. The clothing line is really taking off and we’re doing well and the community has gotten behind us, so we want to give back.”
Bringing athletes to the table, as brand ambassadors, is something that Andrews and Johnson says is a goal for them for the near future but ultimately, they just want to help the community out in any way they can.
“We just want to give back to the community,” Andrews emphasized. “We want to set it up sort of like a pillar of the community and let the community know that Pinedes is a part of the community and make the community a part of Pinedes, as well.”
Pinedes can be found online, at https://www.pinedes.com/.