Hey! We’re Gene and Jas, the founders of Melanin Is Life. We met at Florida State University in 2008, got married in 2015, and founded Melanin Is Life in 2016.  

In 2016, we'd had enough of Black people being mistreated in the U.S. (racism, senseless police shootings, etc.). We'd had enough of the poor representation of African-Americans on certain "reality" television shows and websites. And, we'd had enough of the negativity on social media. 

We believed that the Black community needed more positivity and inspiration, so we created Melanin Is Life.

Melanin Is Life is a Black-owned, socially-conscious, lifestyle brand. It was founded to promote the POWER of BLACK UNITY and the BEAUTY of MELANIN. It was founded to remind you that we are descendants of ROYALTY and to honor the greats that paved the way for us. It was founded to encourage all people of the African diaspora to be UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK AND PROUD. 

Our goal is to educate, motivate, and celebrate our people - past and present. We strive to empower Black people without showing any negative feelings towards others. We create products that give people a voice without them having to speak.

Melanin. Is. Life. And we are proud to represent and preach this. 

Thanks for supporting Black business!

- The Melanin Is Life Team