THIS THAT AND A THIRD

Darrin Nobles, business management senior, was obsessed with Bill Gates.

“I always thought it was because Darrin liked computers, but I think of it more so now that Bill Gates did something for himself — something great,” said Nobles’ mother, Kim.

Now, Nobles has done something for himself — he’s created his own company.

“I never had aspirations to just sit around,” Nobles said. “I always wanted to start something different.”

While hanging out with friends one day Nobles said, as a joke, that the opposite of the apparel store Banana Republic would be called Watermelon Democracy. Though it might have been nothing at the time, the idea of Watermelon Democracy kept Nobles up all night. He began to develop his idea about what Watermelon Democracy could mean.

One of the T-shirts available on WatermelonDemocracy.com, the Web site for Nobles’ T-shirt company has a picture of a sliced watermelon with the words “Hard body, rich soul.” The watermelon represents “the development of the our core and strengthening of our outer surface we can achieve the success, power and true freedom that we desire,” according to the site.

Evolution, power and freedom are the three key ideas of Watermelon Democracy, Nobles said.

Nobles has a vision. Watermelon Democracy is not just a T-shirt company, even though it currently only sells T-shirts. Nobles said he wants to make Watermelon Democracy a brand. Within the next year he hopes to sell jeans and collared shirts. Eventually, he wants to open his own store.

“I want this to be something that your grandkids will wear,” Nobles said. “In the mall you’ll walk by American Eagle, Banana Republic, and then Watermelon Democracy.”

Nobles works with Rudy Mullen, a designer who is a friend from high school. If Nobles has an idea he’ll call Mullen, who attends school in Dallas, and Mullen will create what Nobles had envisioned.

Nobles said his favorite shirt is black with a picture of a skull sprouting a flower. The words “We are the creators of our own evolution” are emblazoned across the front.

“The leaf from the top of the head symbolizes that from our brains we spawn growth,” Nobles said.

Nobles and Mullen attended a fashion trade show last weekend in Dallas, where they showed their designs in the “urban street wear” floor.

“Buyers wanted to know why we were on that floor,” Nobles said. “They thought we were more contemporary and modern clothing.”

Because of the success at the event, some Watermelon Democracy T-shirts will be featured in, Red’s Swagger, a clothing store in Dallas.

Since Watermelon Democracy clothes will soon be available in the store for around $35, Nobles said he will have to raise the prices on his Web site by the end of the week.

Nobles said he decided to start Watermelon Democracy while in Norman, even though it would have been easier if he was in Dallas and around more people.

“We need our own stuff here,” Nobles said. “I wanted to use OU as the campus to get us off the ground. I wanted to give students a chance to get the shirts before the prices go up.”

http://www.WatermelonDemocracy.com

http://www.myspace.com/watermelondemocracy

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Watermelon-Democracy/25723557851