By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
Looking back, Marcus Christian can be honest with himself when it came to breast cancer. “I wasn’t serious,” he said.
His mother, Carolyn Christian, had her first battle with the deadly disease at age 21. “She fought it, and she won that battle. Ten years later, I was born,” said Marcus, CEO of Everyday Pink, a breast cancer awareness brand.
Shortly after he graduated from Huffman High School in 2003, his mother was diagnosed again. This time, the cancer was a little more aggressive than before. That same year, she would pass away at the age of 54.
“God blessed me with having her to raise me all those years,” Christian said. “I thank God for that time with her because He led her through her fight when she was 21. She was able to raise me and to see me graduate from high school, and then she went on home. Her assignment was over.”
Christian attended Alabama State University (ASU), in Montgomery, Alabama, after high school, and his life wasn’t focused, he said.
“I didn’t take breast cancer seriously at that time. I didn’t take [my mother] being sick seriously,” he said. “I never really saw her sick until that time. My family members and my sister, [LaTonya Anderson], were calling and telling me, ‘She’s not doing well.’ I never wanted to go home. I never took it seriously, and that really haunted me. I didn’t take it seriously until she was in the hospital. I went to visit her, and she told me herself that [her situation with cancer] wasn’t good. She had that conversation with me, and it broke me down.”
The passing of his mother affected Christian so deeply that he didn’t return to ASU to finish his degree: “I was so messed up mentally because I wasn’t there the way I should’ve been,” he said.
Knowing about the seriousness of the disease, Christian said he wanted to do something to raise awareness about breast cancer but didn’t know how.
“I would always go to the [breast cancer awareness] walks that were held downtown {Birmingham] and try to help people who had different foundations dedicated to the cause, but I didn’t know how to do it myself,” he said.
After the death of his father, Howard Christian, in 2018 from lung cancer, Christian said he felt like he had a “personal problem with cancer,” having lost both of his parents to the disease.
“I Had to Do Something”
He then came up with a plan. Christian combined his love for fashion with his passion to fight cancer.
“I had to do something,” he said. “I always felt like I had a gift of dressing and putting outfits together, so I told myself, ‘Let me try to do something different.’ Every time I saw a shirt, it was plain, it was basic. I started playing around with Everything Pink in 2021, but I got serious about the brand just this year. Everything Pink is a very small business, but the goal is to elevate as much as I can to help as many people as I can.”
Born and raised in Birmingham, Christian grew up in the Avondale and Woodlawn areas alongside his older sister. He attended Gibson Elementary School and Hayes Middle School.
Today, Christian, 40, is responsible for all things Everyday Pink. “[The name] comes from my feeling that breast cancer awareness should be a daily expression. I wanted a name that embodies that message. People battle breast cancer daily, not just in October, so why not bring awareness and the needing of more research daily?” Christian said.
“I do everything myself,” he added, speaking about the company. “I design everything. I pick the sizes and the material I want to use. Everything as far as the embroidery and the printing, I come up with all of that. I found my manufacturers myself; there are three that I use. I send them my designs, and they bring them to life.”
Prior to creating Everyday Pink, Christian worked for 18 years as a production associate for Honda Motor Company.
“Toward the last five years, it just wasn’t fulfilling because I always had it in my mind that I wanted to do something else that would make an impact in some type of way. [Honda] was paying the bills, but it wasn’t fulfilling.”
“Every Little Bit Helps”
Christian hopes to build upon the success of Everyday Pink. “My hope is to one day be able to give back to those effected by breast cancer and be a helping hand in whatever they need,” he said.
About his efforts to raise awareness about breast cancer, Christian said, “I would like people to understand that the fight never ends. [I also would like them to understand that] when someone dies from breast cancer it doesn’t mean they’ve lost the fight, it just means their assignment here was over. So, it’s up to us to keep the fight going.”
He encourages supporters in the battle against cancer to give their time and donations “to the many nonprofits that we have in Birmingham and around the world that are doing major things to advance and elevate the mission.”
“Every little bit helps,” Christian said. “[It’s important to] do self-care work to try and prevent the disease from entering our bodies, starting with our diets, staying hydrated, [reducing] stress. [Also], please stay on top of your mammograms. It’s very important for us to spread the awareness but also do our part on our own health.”
For more information about Everyday Pink, visit the company’s website, everyday-pink.com, Instagram page, @everydaypink_awarness, or TikTok feed, @everydaypink2.
