This Philly high school sophomore has his own sweatshirt line

By WAKISHA BAILEY

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — “Instead of me going to buy Gucci and all that stuff, I’d rather just wear my own stuff,” Anthony Caple says.

Rocking his own sweatshirt collection called 5 Star, Caple, a high school sophomore, has always had a passion for business.

“I always wanted to start my own clothing line,” Caple said, showing off a black sweatshirt with five stars on the back. “This was one of my first,” he said.

What started as just a thought on paper is now a full-blown business. It all started here inside Whitley Kels’ business class at Mercy Career and Technical High School.

Kels is a former student, now a teacher and the owner of Spin With Whit, a spin class studio in Drexel Hill, Pa.

In the classroom, she looks forward to encouraging these young minds everyday.

“I hope when they leave my class they know, they have to understand, that life is good no matter what you go through. And just to always stay focused,” Kels said.

As part of the school’s business program, she invites other business owners to talk to her students, like Eric Turner who runs a printing company, Genuine Prints.

“A lot of times you come speak to students and it’s like a time filler for them,” Turner said. “But Ant surprised me.”

“I reached out that same day,” Caple said. “I think right after we got done talking I texted him on Instagram, we exchanged numbers and we started talking.”

The conversation sparked a business mentorship.

“Making sure that he had a good vision, a good plan, making sure that he had a great foundation for the things that he was trying to accomplish,” Turner said.

For Caple, that foundation starts with his father who is also a local business owner.

This young artist’s creation, 5 Star Clothing, was inspired by his late grandmother who inspired him everyday.

“He was going to be the best, be the best in the NBA, be the best at what he do,” Caple said recounting how his grandmother spoke about him.

While Anthony loves to play basketball he loves even more watching his friend rock his 5 Star collection because it’s special.

“I want them to feel like how the name is, 5 Star,” Caple said. “I want you to feel like you are the best.”

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