Senior Essa Brooks and sophomore Jake Rimmel steadied their hands and prepared to cast their fishing lines off of a small wooden boat. Eagerly waiting for a tug on one of the lines, they indulge themselves in conversation, as the tune of a local musician blared from a speaker placed on the bottom of the boat. Catching more than they expected, they returned home with some fish and a big idea. 

On Sept.20, Brooks’ and Rimmel’s idea became a reality when they bought the domain for their budding website, Eternal Y0uth. The new entrepreneurs created the site with the mission of helping local hip-hop artists grow into their full potential. 

“We are all about positivity,” Rimmel said. “And our biggest goal is to help others find their love of music and help artists find their loving fan bases.” 

Especially motivated, they rushed to interview local hip-hop artists and create a name for themselves in the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia). They have a diverse spread of content ranging from music video edits and opinion articles on new music and playlists to photoshoots and features of local artists.  

Their expansive media is slowly gaining the attention of their peers. 

“By the end of 2020, we hope to have gained a decent amount of traffic on social media and hope to have worked with some big-name artists,” Brooks said. “[As well as] grow it into a multimedia marketing website and brand name.”

In addition to helping local artists, Eternal Y0uth has specific merchandise drop dates. The profits from their merch drops are donated to critical organizations. 

“Right now we are donating to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and American Red Cross,” Brooks said. 

In the future, they hope to establish a presence on other social media platforms to grow their brand. Rimmel, having a passion for videography and music, hopes he can continue to merge the two through Eternal Y0uth. In the meantime, the pair is focused on making their goals become a reality. 

“I love that I am able to start a path to my dream,” Rimmel said. “I am able to watch myself grow and be able to see our success as a team in Eternal Y0uth.”