John Thomas wakes up every morning at 4:30 a.m. and doesn’t stop working until the job’s finished.

Thomas is the founder and designer of JT Made That, an independent clothing brand that specializes in high-quality sports merchandise. He is also a University of Southern California graduate and a former Division 1 baseball player for the Trojans. The company’s current line of clothing centers around college apparel, featuring designs for a number of schools, including UCLA. All of his pieces are cut and sewn as opposed to blanks or pre-made pieces that are branded after the fact.

“We wanted to create something that looks a little bit different,” Thomas said. “The inspiration is recognizing what’s already out there and then recognizing through what I’m good at with cut and sew, how we can make it better.”

Like all student athletes, Thomas said he had dreams of becoming a professional. But as much as he appreciated the process of improvement within sports, Thomas said he didn’t care for how much it took over his life. With little to no breaks, Thomas said he wanted to finish what he started and continued to play for the team for the remainder of his time, hoping to stay in Los Angeles until he could figure out what worked best for him.

Thomas said he’d been interested in fashion since he was old enough to think consciously about it, inspired by UCLA alumnus and NBA player Russell Westbrook with his run of outfits during the 2012 NBA playoffs. This interest became much more tangible after meeting Patrick Christopher of Sloan and Bennett, an ex-NBA player turned high-end menswear designer, he said. After shadowing Christopher in the summer of 2018 by going to knitting mills and dye houses, Thomas said his strength as a natural leader compelled him to pursue a career in fashion.

“My whole thing when I was an athlete was I was always going to be the hardest worker,” Thomas said. “That’s what I love about what I’m doing now so much is that there’s still that opportunity. When you’re running your own company, it’s going to go as far as you want to take it.”

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Starting with his personal interests, Thomas said he’d always had a deep admiration for the WNBA. Because the WNBA is a smaller league, he said it’s easier to hear the stories of individual athletes more intimately and be part of a welcoming community. He also said he greatly revered athletes who used their platforms to push social issues beyond basketball. As a result, he added that he started out making custom pieces for WNBA players. He attended the 2021 All-Star Game on his own with the goal of making as many connections as possible, he said.

Through a series of connections, Thomas said he was then introduced to Michaela Onyenwere. Onyenwere is a UCLA alumnus, a forward for the Washington Mystics and an assistant coach for UCLA women’s basketball. After meeting Thomas, she said she was one of the first WNBA players who wore his custom piece during the pregame tunnel walk. Not only does she appreciate his long-term dedication to the women’s sports space, but she also said she deeply believes in his level of drive to carry out his plans.

“He understands the moment, he understands what he wants and he understands what he wants out of this life, and I think that’s super important because not everybody’s disciplined like that,” Onyenwere said. “I helped him set up his UCLA pop-up. … He could have had somebody else do it for him, but he was like, ‘No, I’m going to do it myself.’”

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Since then, Thomas said the brand has only grown larger. He added that his frequent collaborations with players had led to a partnership with the WNBA and March Madness and eventually filtered into the current focus on collegiate apparel and licensing. He said he has been able to achieve the fresh take on college merchandise that he set out to accomplish.

One of his best friends, Ethan Baer, said he had been there for Thomas since the age of nine. Baer currently works as an artists & repertoire director for Warner Chappell Music, responsible for finding and handling new artists for the company, he said. The two grew up together playing baseball, Baer added, and he started to grow in the music industry at the same time Thomas embraced his career in fashion. Above all, Baer said he admires how Thomas does everything by himself and how far he is willing to go without cutting corners or debasing himself.

“Everything that John does is from his brain,” Baer said. “Everything that he’s making, everything that he’s doing, it’s originating from him. Some of these jackets that you’re seeing are literally made by him, by hand. … I think what’s going to continue to help him stand out is the fact that he pays attention to his craft unlike anyone else.”

Thomas opened up about the biggest challenge working in the industry, calling it a lonely endeavor. His support system, however, has helped him feel valued and keeps things in perspective, Thomas said. Though he said it’s difficult to have his work be judged by licensing directors, he added that he uses his drive to outweigh his feelings of doubt and potential unhappiness.

In the future, Thomas said he hopes to put more emphasis this year on non-licensed apparel, aiming to eventually have both lines offered side-by-side. He anticipates releasing his debut collection and expanding to more retailers, he added. Thomas also plans to remain in the women’s sports space, he said.

When asked to give aspiring students some advice, Thomas said to embrace the work, as a business or any kind of venture will only go as far as one is willing to take it.

“I’m in the pursuit of being great at what I do, and that’s something that I’ve completely bought into,” Thomas said. “Embrace the stuff that sucks, because if you can get through that, then obviously you won’t have a problem getting through the fun stuff.”