This whole venture started as a very idealistic and naive attempt
to change the world through education.
I was fortunate enough to have been a product of an inter-racial
couple and to have been raised in a culturally diverse setting.
This has embedded in me a sincere desire to understand the people
around me. I was also surrounded by great teachers my whole life,
including my mother, which ingrained in me the belief that the
backbone of our society, of our youth, is our school system.
So the day after high school graduation, the summer of '95, I
set out to follow in the footsteps of all my mentors by becoming
a teacher myself.
Fast forward to 1999, I have been assigned my senior thesis of
writing a new teaching curriculum for the National school system,
a handful of concept clothing lines had recently penetrated the
market and I was about to enter the real world. It wasn't until
I had developed my senior thesis, entitled "Sameunderneath",
that I realized I was going about this all wrong. Kids had already
stopped paying attention. They were more focused on what the
latest pop or rap star was wearing and driving than what was
going on around the world. I had to use a pop culture medium
to get my message to them.
It seems so easy, to make up a word like "Sameunderneath",
it almost seems as if the word should have already existed. The
name, the logo, and the brilliant people I work with have helped
this company survive over the years. It has been a rough ride
and I have definitely learned through trial and error. I have
sat down with everyone from retired executives and bank managers
to professors and attorneys. I have taken the time to really
develop a loyal company and customer base. I don’t see
this as just another clothing line. I still see this as my chance
to stand in front of the classroom. I have built a strong foundation
and we are ready to turn our one room school house into a university.
Thanks for joining Sameunderneath 101.
Ryan Joseph Davis Christensen
Sameunderneath is a concept, belief,
and a way of life that we carry through personal fashion. We
feel that Sameunderneath is not only a clothing company,
but also a belief in life itself. Society must
not focus on the things we don’t have in common,
but should magnify the things we do have in common. We
realize not everyone is going to like the same type of
music, speak the same language, or crave the same taste
of foods; however we do know that we all want to feel
good about ourselves.
Our objective is to unite
those who don’t judge others by religion, race,
hobbies, color, creed, and/or sex. Sameunderneath
supports the largest race in the world, the HUMAN RACE. Sameunderneath
speaks the loudest language, that being love. Sameunderneath
sponsors the greatest hobbies and sports of today, LIFE. We
are not a clothing company for one specific group; we’re
a product lifestyle company for the world.
Sameunderneath’s mission is to change the way people
look at each other.