After leaving IU Southeast, Brandon Anderson, who had already had dreams of owning his own businesses and producing his own brands, decided to start his own clothing line, Purpose Vision Lifestyle Apparel and A Kings Vision Photography.

Fresh out of Western High School in 2007, the Louisville native, said that he was like any other high school graduate. The goal was leaving home and going away to pursue a college degree.

Coming from the West-end of Louisville and living with his grandmother, he knew she didn’t have the means to pay for his college education. So Anderson turned to basketball.

After graduating high school Anderson went on to attend Shawnee Community College, a small junior college in Illinois where he pursued both basketball and higher education.

While attending a junior college, Anderson was only allotted two years to play basketball for them. After those two years were up, other colleges would then begin recruiting him.

Anderson had the option to attend Western Kentucky University, but before he could make his final decision, he had received the exciting news that he was expecting his first son.

IU Southeast’s men’s head basketball coach, Wylie Brown, contacted Anderson while he was still in Illinois to come play for the Grenadiers.

The opportunity had come at the right time for Anderson, who wanted to be closer to home so that he could be around for his son.

“When my son, Braylon, was born I wanted to be closer to home, so IUS was a good fit for me,” Anderson said.
Brown said that he saw a lot of potential in Anderson.

“You knew that whatever he wanted to do in life he would be successful because he was just that type of young man,” Brown said.

While IU Southeast offered Anderson a reason to be closer to his son, his home and the opportunity to continue playing basketball at the collegiate level, it didn’t offer Anderson the field of study he wanted.

Wanting to pursue a career in graphic design, Anderson talked with his academic advisor about the different options he had.

Anderson credits his advisor and different resources at IU Southeast with helping to point him in the right direction.

In 2010, Anderson transferred to Sullivan College Technology and Design. Anderson said that attending Sullivan helped learn more about graphic design and becoming an entrepreneur.

“That was one of the best decisions to go there, to learn those skills,” Anderson said.

Although Sullivan was the college that taught him the tools he would soon need for his businesses, he said that IU Southeast helped guide him there.

“IUS pushed me in that direction,” Anderson stated. “I’m glad I went to IUS.”

On July 11, 2011, Anderson began his first project as a designer.

Only The Fly Survive was Anderson’s first time being a designer of his own clothing brand. He partnered with his cousin, and they sat down collectively to design and fund the project.

“We got some good support from people around the city,” Anderson said. “I could see people wearing my stuff.”

While still enrolled at Sullivan College, Anderson took the resources he had learned about and designed the product for OTFS.

Using the photography skills he acquired from Sullivan, Anderson used them to do the photo shoot for OTFS, which kept them from having to come up with extra money to pay someone to take photos.

“If I knew how to do it, then I wouldn’t have to pay nobody to do it. That’s how dedicated I was,” Anderson said.

After starting OTFS, Anderson who was doing most of the photography for the clothing line decided to start two other solo projects: A Kings Vision Photography in 2011-2012 and Purpose Vision Lifestyle Apparel, which was first released in 2013.

“Purpose Vision is to inspire people to chase their dreams and to go after what they want. All wrapped around faith, love and hope,” Anderson said.

Anderson describes Purpose Vision as an athletic brand, built for young athletes.

He remembers reading the book “Purpose Driven Life,” by Rick Warren and says that the book inspired him to start his own brands and to be in the position to help other young people.

Anderson said that one of his favorite quotes is from the Bible and it goes as follows:

“And Jesus said unto them, ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’” Matthew 17:20

This quote is important to him because he said it exemplifies his faith and how far his faith has brought him in life.

“You don’t have to have a lot of it, just enough to make things happen,” Anderson said.

Reginald Smith, a longtime friend and current business partner of Anderson, praised Anderson’s faith in God and the example that he sets for young fathers.

“He’s taught me a lot. He’s a great father figure and he motivates us other young fathers,” Smith said. “He’s a God fearing man, and he’s successful because he puts God first.”

Smith explains that he’s always looked up to Anderson because of his humble personality and feels that, because of him, he is now one of the best.

Smith works alongside Anderson as a photographer. The two have only been working together for a few months on projects like: the Coca Cola Talent Classic at the Kentucky State Fair, the Kentucky State Fair Step Show, and alongside a New York promoter photographing the artist Post Malone.

Anderson has worked with artists like: T.I., Future, Nelly, Paul Wall, and Fabulous.

For the future, Anderson hopes to inspire people and be able to give jobs along the way.

Anderson says that he wants current student athletes to know that to become successful, they have to start putting in the work now. That means giving whatever it is that they are doing, nothing less than 100 percent.

To teach his children the same lesson, Anderson is currently working on a project with Braylon called “Braylon’s Ten-thousand Steps to Greatness,” a short documentary featuring his son, working hard and practicing his basketball skills.

“The goal is to show growth through repletion,” Anderson said.

Recently Anderson’s work ethic and faith has served him, allowing him to purchase his very first photography studio.

Smith said that his faith was strong enough for him to give his last to purchase the studio.

For the future, Anderson says that big things are in store for him.

Anderson said that he is releasing a visual album sometime in 2016 that is full of his work and featured artist that he’s worked with.

He has hopes of having a huge company, going on a photo tour and hiring young photographers to provide jobs within the community to those that look up to him.