By: Jacqueline Lee

At Syosset High School, there are countless accomplished and driven students. However, not many can confidently say, “I own a clothing business as a seventeen year old,” like Brandon Zeller. Syosset is a highly advanced school that consistently ranks among the top public schools in New York State. As a result, it produces a wide range of students, including those focused on arts, academic achievement, STEM, and more. Unlike many other schools, Syosset places a strong emphasis on academic excellence. However, academics are not necessarily the only path to success.  

In the entrepreneurial space, Brandon has focused his efforts on designing clothes for the gym and athleisure wear. As a frequent gym member who works out about four times a week, he began to notice a pattern in people in this current generation wear to the gym. Many individuals, especially teens, often wore baggy clothes or even pajamas rather than actual clothing fit for athletics or designed specifically for training. Brandon said, “The gym is meant for you to be proud of your physique and show off what you’re wearing.” This perspective became a motto, a driving force behind his clothing brand EleventhSet- leading him to create tighter, compression style clothing. His clothing line is meant to highlight the body’s natural features while also providing proper performance. Brandon’s approach was not only based on market observation, but also personal preference. This led to him designing carefully considered details of the brand and pieces that reflected what he himself wanted to wear.

In fact, the inspiration behind the brand also came through collaboration. Brandon partnered with a close friend who he developed this larger project with. “It’s good to have goals and things in mind for you to achieve, and this was something we had been thinking about for a while before we started to do it,” he said. Syosset students are finding things that they are uniquely gifted at and also something that impacts them and using that passion to create something- in this case, a clothing business. This shows the grit and hard work the students of Syosset are putting in and how they can become successful by following their own individual goals. What initially started as an idea has now progressed into a more established stage- a platform where the brand is actively selling products, generating revenue and being worn by customers in gyms. Brandon’s products in fact have been sold and product after product have been continuously shipped out to consumers.

For Brandon, he realized that entrepreneurship isn’t just buy and sell. As a student, Brandon identified a business opportunity. He worked with his co-founder and organized resources and took the risk to start his own clothing brand. Using his innovation, he solved a real problem and sold a product actually being used by consumers. Brandon said, “Word of advice for anyone starting out, I would just say follow your goals and stick to your intuition. Go with your gut, that is the most important thing. If you really believe in yourself and that your idea can be beneficial, go with it. I will really take off.”