Move Maker Spotlight: Ashantai Waugh Founder and Ceo OTPV

There's a strong possibility that if you are walking around the College of Charleston's campus you will see some dope street wear designed by Ashantai "Tai" Waugh. We had the lovely opportunity to chat with her about not only her brand but what makes her black girl magic glow daily!

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself!

My name is Ashantai Waugh, better known as, Tai and the Founder/CEO of the OTPV Brand. I am nineteen years old and currently a junior at the College of Charleston studying Communications with a minor in Arts Management. I’m actually from New York, but my family relocated to Summerville, SC a couple years ago which is not too far from Downtown. I’ve pretty much always had a passion to create whether it was through clothing, painting, or music growing up. It brought me peace. It wasn’t until my later years in high school that I really wanted to create something that would have a tremendous impact on people, and what better way than to start a movement? Especially given the current political climate and the racially charged killings that swept the nation, I needed to somehow train my mind to look to the positive despite the negativity that seemed so overpowering. I combined my love for streetwear/clothing & positivity of course, and OTPV was born two years ago, in 2015.

2. What is your brand and what does it stand for?

The OTPV Brand is a multi-faceted company that works to promote positivity through the means of clothing, community service, journalism and music. ‘OTPV’ stands for Only The Positive Vibes and has quickly become a movement aimed at promoting positive energy, no matter the situation. Starting off as solely a clothing brand, it later grew to be a vessel for all things positive, a movement. We added a ‘The Positive’ section to our website last year that basically gave a platform to any individuals that saw our vision and were doing something positive for the community through their own creativity (if interested in being featured, email: otpvbrand@gmail.com). Then a little later we created a Soundcloud (OTPV| Radio) that would feature our #NewMusicMonday playlists that would consist of not only the popular music out, but some underground artists that we really vibed with as well.There’s so much power in the music! At OTPV we strongly believe that “the energy you give is what you manifest”, it all comes back to you. With our COO Darryl Scott joining the team this year, we felt that in promoting positivity we had to do something to give back to the community as well. So in an separate entity, OTPV will branch out into becoming a Non-Profit Org that will allow us the opportunity to really get involved and give back to the Charleston community especially.

3. What inspired you to create your brand?

There’s so many things that inspired me to create the brand.

People always are like “Man, I don’t know how you stay positive all the time” or “Why are so level-headed when it comes to things?” and believe me when I say this sh*t is not easy and it took me a LONG time to get to the point I am now.

A lot of people don’t even know this about me, but I actually struggled a lot in high school with my mental health. Like looking back, I was in such a negative space. I went to a predominately white high school back in New York before I moved down south, and you know growing up I didn’t quite understand micro-aggressions and race. You can never fully grasp the headspace I was in unless you lived through it yourself. People have no idea what it’s like to grow up feeling like an outsider because your skin is different, your hair is different, your family is different, etc. Everything about you is noticeably different and there was literally nothing you could do about it. So even as a young kid, to be white was naively associated by me with wealth in every aspect of life. I really did struggle with my racial identity and loving myself to the fullest. I think the only way I got through high school up there was because of best friend Kiana, we both were one of the few African-Americans and were able to confide in each other. I also lost my Grandma back in 2012 and that took the biggest toll on me. We were very close, so she really took a piece of my heart with her. But so much of the wisdom she instilled in me is why I am the person I am today.

Weirdly, moving down south was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Not so much because it was down south, but because I desperately needed to get out of the space I was in.

Everything changed.

I was determined to work on myself, to love myself wholeheartedly. I cut all ties with the person I was back home in New York, I’m not even going to lie. Like you start to see things differently looking from the outside and you’re like “damn, that’s what he/she meant when said that” or “that’s why they treated me like that”. I basically just built myself up and applied all things that my mom and grandma had said to me growing up. You reach a certain point where you’re like it’s not okay to think like this, somethings got to change. My mindset was just evolving, I couldn’t be around the same stuff anymore. I became focused on protecting my energy and focusing on my growth on the daily. There’s too much life to live at the end of the day. My aura just changed as a whole, It got to a point where people started coming to me for advice and needed me to be that light for them. I was really that friend that gave these whole lectures about loving yourself, and keeping that positive mindset. That’s when I found my purpose ya know? I felt like that’s what God wanted me to be, a light. So I actually started the Goddess Brand which was committed to promoting empowerment for women through the principles of mind, body and soul (real ones remember and possibly have some pieces from that collection). Then males were like “ayo, when you going to make some stuff for us” and I was like dang you know, it would be pretty dope to spread positivity to everybody so I needed to find a way to make my movement versatile. Then that’s when I came up with ‘OTPV’, like we really Only The Positive Vibes, no negativity on this end. I was inspired to make an impact on someone, it was what I felt I was meant to do. I drew up some designs, got some hats printed and that’s when the movement/brand took off.

4. How do you see OTPV making an impact on the campus and the campus community?

I feel like OTPV is making and will continue to make a large impact on the campus community, but more so everywhere. For me personally, the brand always makes me think twice about my actions and who’s looking up to me…it really forces me to be positive, to always look to the brighter side of things. We want to go global with the movement man. There’s so much negativity out there, and it’s so easy to get sucked in. We want to spread love and positivity any chance we can. I feel like people will turn to us to help them find their light as well.

5. Where can we learn more about your brand and order some of these amazing pieces?

If you want to get involved with the movement in any way you can email: otpvbrand@gmail.com.

You can also visit our website OTPVBRAND.COM where you can stay up to date with our blog, community service events, and new clothing drops.

Follow us on Twitter/IG: @OTPVBRAND

Follow myself: @lulshawtai on Twitter/IG

6. Final words of wisdom?

There’s this piece by R.M Drake where he says “You have to find that place that brings out the human in you, the soul in you, the love in you”, and I’m so thankful to have found that place. OTPV is my baby.

So when you wonder how I am able to constantly spread love & positivity so naturally, just know you have to soul search. You have to put yourself first. You have to wake up every day and claim it’s going to be a good day. You have to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you’re beautiful. You have to let go of the deadweight, the people/things that don’t bring value to your life. Surround yourself with genuine people, with genuine energies.

And most importantly, don’t let a damn soul have the power to determine your worth. Believe me when I say, there is no greater love than the love you can give yourself. Once you reach that point, you’re untouchable. Nobody and nothing can break down a person who built themself up.

Being a positive person requires you to be strong when it comes to a lot. You become the person everyone turns to be their strength in addition to being strong for yourself, people often forget you’re still human. You still go through things. It doesn’t mean you don’t have bad days or moments where you have to release the bad energy in order to get back to a good space. It’s naive to think that a person is just a perfect ball of sunshine 24/7, I am not perfect. I’m allowed to have my moments, it’s not about dwelling on the negative, it’s really just about how you bounce back from whatever attempts to break you. I always bounce back.

I don’t want anyone to think it’s easy (from a business stand point as well) because it’s not. It takes time, but it’s not unachievable.

You just have to search long and hard to find that “place".

Shoutout to everybody rocking with the movement, only way is up!

Spread love and positivity always,

Tai & the OTPV Brand

Photography by:

Graffiti background: Kola George (@sir.kg on Instagram)

Battery: Darryl Scott (@dscott_lenz on Instagram)

Pool setting: Dontre Major (@dxpe_svndwxch on Instagram)