Downey man launches 3rd Eye Visions, a counter-culture clothing brand

William Odis Martin, creator of 3rd Eye Visions. (Courtesy photo)

DOWNEY – It was a scenario that could take the wind out of the strongest sails; with coronavirus pummeling every aspect of life, William Odis Martin found himself out of not one, but two dream jobs.

However, instead of falling to his knees, his survival instinct kicked in; it was the beginning of the road to the creation of the 3rd Eye Visions clothing brand.

Martin, 34, previously had studied and worked in the field of Journalism. His future brand namesake was first his photography pseudonym.

“It’s basically what I’ve being doing, covering Southern California through my lens for the last 10 years,” said Martin. “I’ve always wanted to start a clothing company; I’ve always been into fashion and just clothes in general. I used to work for other clothing companies while I was in college getting my degree in journalism.”

At that time, Martin says that he was using his marketing tools for other brands, “telling other people’s story.”

But the tragedy of COVID-19 opened the opportunity for him to tell a new story: his own.

“It’s kind of been the only thing that’s gotten me here this far in life in general,” said Martin. “There’s been a lot of deep tragedies. Losing a lot of close people to tragedy honestly kind of always taught me how to pick up my pieces and stay going.”

“I feel like a lot of people during this pandemic, it was their first experience, their first brush with death and their existential reality. I think I’ve been in touch with that for a long time. So, when other people were reeling, I just kind of went to my survival stage, which was doing what I can control, and not worrying about what I can’t.”

So far, Martin says he has invested about $50,000 in equipment, and $70,000 total.

“I invested in a direct-to-garment printer and I started producing my own clothes,” says Martin. “I source all my clothes, I dye my clothes, and I print my clothes…I pretty much had to do everything in-house, just myself.”

He describes the brand’s esthetic as alternative, “catering to anybody who’s an independent soul, free-thinker, [or] creative.”

“Basically, it has a little bit of surfer aesthetics, some skater,” said Martin. “Just Southern California counter-culture.”

In addition to his own brand, Martin would like to eventually open his printing services to others, helping them with their forms of self-expression.

“It was something I always wanted to have access to as a creative, and never had the means to have access to,” said Martin. “Now, I want to provide it to other creative kids who don’t have access to things like that in the community.”

In the future, Martin hopes to hire staff and move into a brick-and-mortar location within Downey. Of course, he says that will have to wait until the pandemic “chills out.”

“That’s the goal for the brand, it wants to be something that is telling the story of overcoming the odds and telling stories your own way,” said Martin.

3rd Eye Visions can be found on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, as well as at 3rdeyevisions.shop.