ROMEICH MAJOR Our everyday Santa Baby
ROMEICH Major is a
Santa of all seasons — not just because of his merry personality and formidable stature, but because he is always giving. Though this year has been truly devastating for the entire entertainment industry in which all of his businesses are rooted, Major has managed to keep giving everyday. Whether it was gifting women with cash, groceries and other essentials on Mother’s Day, distributing hundreds of care packages for Labour Day, and most recently, purchasing over 100 tablets for students to participate in online learning, Major and his team have been spreading joy all through 2020. He shared with All Woman that giving is something that he has been doing all his life.
“Every single day is a blessing to me, so every single day I try to bless back somebody,” Major said earnestly. “There is not one day that I don’t give. Whether someone begs me something on the street, or I offer to help somebody, or I do something... It’s not a now and then thing. I’m always giving.”
He recalled being given the nickname Finsac while attending school, because not only was he always finding ways to make money, but he was also finding ways to help those around him.
“I used to do people’s math homework for lunch money from when I was going to prep school. At Ardenne I used to sell glue sticks. I used to sell music CDS. They called me Finsac because I used to try to help people however I could with my little hustling,” the serial entrepreneur shared, chuckling. “I remember when I was going to Our Lady of the Angels Prep School, they made a trophy every year just for me, for just being kind and helpful all the time.”
But while he acknowledged that his generosity is innate, he also shared that he is motivated to give as much as he can as an adult, because he grew up seeing way more people needing help than those who were willing to give it.
“Growing up on Waltham Park Road, I saw a lot of people who had visions for themselves, and people had proper quality talents, but they didn’t have the resources they needed to help better themselves,” he said reflectively. “I saw people work for rich people while they themselves suffered, and they couldn’t even reach out to them for help. So I know that although $2,000 to me and you might not be anything much right now, it can feed somebody for a week. I don’t take anything for granted, and when I can help, even if it’s a stranger, I help.”
It is not just tangibles that the 36-year-old packs onto his year-round sleigh. He also bestows guidance, creates opportunities and invests in those who are willing to work hard to achieve their own. He does this so that others may not have to fight the same battles that he won to become the successful businessman that he is today.
“My father didn’t believe in what I wanted to do. He worked hard and he sent me to school and made sure I wasn’t short of anything, but at the end of the day, I never got any help to do what I wanted to do,” he said frankly. “Where I am now is just the result of me moving forward and working to the best of my ability, and having the belief in myself more than anything else. I didn’t have help, so I want to make sure it’s not like that for those around me.”
Major had originally wanted to become an architect, but after leaving Ardenne High and Preuniversity schools in Kingston, the young man found himself at the Management Institute for National Development, where he pursued qualifications in accounting.
“And then I ended up just being a businessman,” he said. “Nothing that I am today is what I planned on doing.”
Major, who started out in the entertainment field by designing outfits for local celebrities, now runs the most lucrative and all-inclusive local entertainment service boutique, Romeich Entertainment, along with his signature clothing line Romeich Wear. The coronavirus pandemic has been every bit as challenging for his camp as it has been for the rest of the industry, he said.
“The most challenging thing for this year has been just trying to survive, and trying to make an income in this pandemic, because everything is down,” he divulged. “We are in entertainment, and I foresee that entertainment is going to be one of the last things to really resume after the pandemic, so that is a big blow, as all my businesses are connected to entertainment.”
But while he admitted that he has never been much of a longterm planner, it is preparedness, he said, that has kept his team afloat and in a position where they can keep giving.
“We are a team that plans for rainy days. We are a team that keeps working and keeps going on, and we are a team that is on top of what we do,” he said confidently. “Some people might not get work now, but we still get one and two jobs. We came to an agreement that anytime we get something, especially in this pandemic, we are going to make sure that we give back some way, somehow, to people. Because there are people who, it is not because they don’t want to work, but because of how the system is and how things are set right now why they don’t have a job right now.”
Up to last week he had not yet decided what major philanthropic deed his team would be taking on for the holidays, but he anticipated that he would be moved by the magic of the season to help make some more families happy. He also hoped to be able to spend quality time with his own family and those closest to him.
While hunkered down, the creative is currently adding the finishing touches to ‘Major’
— a fresh, vibrant streetwear collection that will be sold under his Romeich Wear label. For 2021 and beyond, Major is looking forward to being able to work in the ‘new normal’ and giving as much as he can.
“I am going to observe as long as I can, but if they say, ‘Look here, for you to go out there and travel and work, you have to take the vaccine’, what am I to do? Mi can’t just stay a mi yard and dead fi hungry. Mi haffi go take it and gwaan go work,” he reasoned.
“My goal as a businessperson is just to keep uplifting my brand,” he shared. “But honestly, my goal as a human being is just to be safe and try to live positively and make a better life for myself and everyone else.”