Owning and having created a clothing brand, let alone any kind of brand in general, can be stressful with all of the responsibilities behind it — especially if all of those responsibilities are in the hands of only one person. However, John Brennan appears to manage it and still be very successful.

Oh wait, he’s still a high school student at Vista, isn’t he?

Having worked on this for two years, he went from drawing on postal stickers to now having four products available, with more soon to come.

“What motivated me was enjoyment, and that the idea kept building on itself,” Brennan said.

He worked hard for a long time before his brand got bigger and better, with many improvements and upgrades along the way.

“I started drawing my own designs for King Cactus on terrible postal stickers, then sticking those around the Folsom skate park as well as around the city,” Brennan said. “Then it progressed to making all sorts of clothing and then promoting it to students here at school and friends at other schools, then I started getting a lot more recognition for my hard work.”

King Cactus, as of today, is a brand seen throughout Folsom schools and is expanding its reach everyday. Brennan wants to keep this brand going and doesn’t plan on stopping until he no longer finds it enjoyable. He doesn’t see that time coming anytime soon.

“What makes my brand different than others that you could find in a store is that it was home grown,” Brennan said. “I had to work hard to get it where it is today, and also that I make all of the designs myself, of course with the help of Nicole Smith, another student here at Vista, my graphic designer that helps me on some of my logos.”

Brennan says he spends a lot of his time during the week and weekends dedicated to King Cactus in order for it to grow.

“I want something to be able to tell my kids about from when I was younger, as well as the feeling of self accomplishment directed toward my brand, and when I felt that feeling it was amazing because I felt accomplished with my goal,” he said. “Hard work and dedication are what’s going to get my brand to grow and be more successful.”