By Reggie Austin

Former QU soccer player Peyton Ross has found his new calling.

Fashion.

Ross recently released his own line of shirts, sweatshirts, shorts and hats.  A friend saw a business card that he drew on and wanted to start a clothing company just from the design. His company, Toxic Threads, shows off his creativity with designs. Switching his major to graphic design helped him see the bigger picture for his ideas.

“Making these clothes wasn’t even about the money,” Ross said. “It was the fact I wanted my design out there.”

The name stems from a case study done on well-known clothing companies using cheaper materials are up selling them while the chemicals in the cheaper materials were harmful.

“Soon as I saw the name, I had to jump at the bit for it,” Ross said.

The first release of crewnecks, t-shirts and hats went well for business as Ross sold out. By July 2016, 30 of the company’s first crewnecks were bought. He has also partnered with Uptown Barber Shop in St. Louis.  The barber shop quickly sold out of the 35 hoodies that it had.

He released five more items in a pop-up shop in the Padua parking lot and has sold out again.  The latest release for Toxic Threads was two weeks ago. He credits loads of support from his friends and classmates as a large portion of his success so far.

“I’ve only been in business for 7 to 8 months, and business is booming,” Ross said.

He has his own online Easy shop, where users on the site can purchase his designs. Having a great social media presence helps his designs get exposure.

Ross wants to have an online store to create a bigger following for his company. He plans on having his own website for shopping within the next two months. The big plan is to increase his online presence and following.

“There are a thousand small companies just like me that I run into daily,” he said.

Starting a new business hasn’t been the easiest thing for Ross to do while in college. As a newer clothing company, he has hit many walls while trying to expand on his craft.

“In this business, you have to come to grips that clothing is a pricey endeavor and you can lose some of your money that you put in,” Ross said.

Despite this, his spirit to get his designs out to the world is still strong. He hopes to release a second part to the spring collection.