One memorable afternoon about five years ago, I was window shopping with my mom along the strip of Edgewater Mall headed towards Auntie Anne’s when I noticed we were approaching the Scuba Steve kiosk where the coastal local Steven Johnson sold his iconic T-shirts for his One Tee at a Time campaign. Around the same time “that face logo everyone loves” had flooded the Gulf Coast plastered on numerous t-shirts and tank tops. I mentioned to my mother I had always wanted one of his shirts. We continued walking another 10 yards when someone called after us. I turned around and Steven Johnson tossed me my first ever Scuba Steve shirt. When we returned with a pretzel and lemonade to show our gratitude, we saw a grin stretch across his face and heard him say, “Wow, you have just made my entire day. Thank you so much”, this made me realize what a true artist is. When I said, “No, thank you for even tossing it and acknowledging me,” I never would have thought five years later we would have a similar conversation, especially considering the roles were reversed, as I was the one who reached out this time around. My initial intention was to expose the southern artistic scene, but I decided to save that for a more appropriate time and focus on this southern artist particularly.
Steven Johnson is one of many genuine artists amongst the southern United States who not only takes pride in what he does, but is passionate about the lifestyle he lives. The reason for his Giving Back: One Tee at a Time campaign, in which Steven clothes the homeless of America ‘One Tee at a Time’ by donating a t-shirt with each Scuba Steve t-shirt purchase, derived from a distant memory that consisted of a negative bank account, the depths of an ultimate rock bottom and the need to not let the less fortunate get stuck while pursuing their own dreams.
Another purchase is not another dollar with Scuba Steve. Steven believes each purchase is a lifeline because each allows him to invest in the people who keep his dream alive and constantly inspired. His love for people and clothing inspire him and in return have inspired many others to provide him such a rewarding lifestyle. I believe it to be true on the account of two separate evenings. The first evening was Nov. 3, when Steven Johnson decided to tell everyone in a public media platform that he was recently diagnosed with stage 3 Colorectal Cancer.
He mentioned getting home after being diagnosed and driving around the community that has shared so much with him over the years and shutting everything down due to the news. After his announcement, the last thing he expected was over 3,000 e-mails, 1,110 texts and 3,000 Facebook messages.
The next explosive evening was Nov. 12 when Domino’s Pizza had a night for Scuba Steve where each pizza purchased helped contribute in the donation check that was later personally delivered to Steven himself equaling $12,500. He said they crashed the computers because there was such an intense flux of orders. Johnson said, “My goal in life has been to make one person smile a day over the years, and that has been reciprocated in the last two weeks.” Why? Because his actions speak for themselves as a local artist to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. When he started seven years ago, the industry was not nearly as saturated as it is today.
So, he would typically tell another artist who is interested in pursuing a career within the industry that keeps him going is the drive, determination and willingness it takes to wait through the storm to finally reach your dream and watch it become a success. He struggled for the first three years by borrowing money, learning to build an audience the hard way, having his car repossessed and ultimately ending up on the side of the road trying to make his dream still happen.
However, it was not long until local news saw him and his dream walking along the road, wrote a story and got him a kiosk in the local mall. It was rocky at first as he adjusted to the full work schedule, his mom generously driving him back and forth, and using money sparingly to get by without selling anything the first two weeks. That’s until, as Steven put it, “One night a girl bought a shirt and I have her a huge hug. That night she put my story on Facebook and the next morning I had a line that allowed me to connect with the community and sell over 60,000 shirts, and that’s how Scuba Steve was born.”
Steve Johnson has proved through Scuba Steve the only way he knows how to be a true artist is to invest into the community by giving back to his supporters, other local artists, appreciating and feeding off of their talent. Johnson said, “If someone would have thrown me those Air Jordan’s back in ’96, the feeling would have been immeasurable. I want to give that feeling.” I still have the shirt he gave me five years ago. He has given others and myself that feeling. Now, it’s our turn to reciprocate. If you would like to give that feeling back, you can go to ScubaStrong.com to donate or contact him personally to help the Scuba Steve community beat cancer.
