Story & Lesson Highlights with Jada Renee of Cleveland

Jada Renee shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Jada, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I believe I am definitely now walking a direct path instead of wandering as the wandering process may sometimes feel stagnant to artists and creatives along their journey to figuring out whats next or how to get started on their journey.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Jada Hobson, and I’m the founder of INDI, a creative lifestyle brand and community platform that blends fashion, art, music, and mental health advocacy. Through INDI, I design streetwear that celebrates individuality and self-expression, while also curating events that bring artists and communities together—like the Be Happy Block Party, INDI Vibes SXSW Showcase, and mental health awareness pop-ups.

What makes INDI unique is our mission-driven approach—we’re not just selling clothes or hosting events, we’re creating safe, inspiring spaces for creatives and youth to connect, heal, and grow. We’ve worked with both emerging and celebrity artists, and we’re currently building INDI Art House, a creative hub and youth program in Cleveland’s Buckeye neighborhood, alongside our short-term rental concept for traveling artists and entrepreneurs.

At the heart of everything I do is the belief that art has the power to change lives—and my work is dedicated to making that transformation happen in real, tangible ways.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling powerful has to be the first time I ever hit a half court shot in elementary playing for Our Lady of Peace vs Saint Dominick Elementary here in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the 4th quarter and I believe I was around 9 or 10 years old and just remember having a lot of energy around that time and channeling it all into basketball and art. At this time nobody really knew I was an artist because basketball took up most of my time during my childhood. I remember playing basketball more than the average teenager in my neighborhood and I was mostly always the only girl playing whenever I would play outside of school so I had lots of time to practice cool basketball tips and tricks lol.

I remember when we played Saint Dominick the gym was a bit smaller than normal, but it felt like the gym had a long history of success. Our school had a gym but we didn’t have home games at the gym only practice, so I made it a point to always show out at our games lol I remember every game someones parents would yell in the stands ” WATCH NUMBER 14!” and it just always boosted my energy even more. I was a point guard and shooting guard and I took those positions very seriously as a kid lol.

I remember I hit the half court shot at the end of the game during a 2 point lead that Saint Dominick had on us. Our team was exhausted, their girls were taller , faster but we kept up the pace. I honestly don’t know why I chose the shot because I had a clear lane for a 3 pointer to simply be closer to the basket lol but I just went for it. I shot from half court and it hit the backboard and went right in and I was in shock but overcome with some much energy and confidence. Definitely the first time I felt powerful!

Basketball taught me how to control the room , how to feel the energy of whats coming next, how to use intuition to make quick sharp decisions and how to use strategy. I became a student of life based on the teachings of the game and use them daily in my business life as an adult.

When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
I wouldn’t say I experienced a lot of sadness during childhood but I did have lots of emotions to shift and sort through and what helped with this process was art and sports. I grew up in a single parent household and witnessed my mother work very hard to take care of my brother and I so I definitely felt the stress and undertone standard of hard work in our household, but I always leaned into the arts and sports as a child to distract myself from those negative emotions.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Definitely! I would say I created my brand INDI from the basis of self love, self awareness and creativity as the name INDI stands for “individuality”. My “persona” on social media is literally just me being myself and showing my personal talents and growth through my art , projects and experiences. I think in person I can still be a bit reserved and have been shy since I was a kid although now I have learned that this is because I am an empath and am very sensitive to the energy around me so I like to take the time to scan the energy of places and spaces along with the people in those places and spaces. If everything has a positive energy check then we’re good to go!

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I do believe that I am doing what I was born to do and that is to simply be an artist and create art in any form that I see fit. I believe that mindset takes a lot of courage , patience , confidence and action and I have worked diligently and consistently to create the lifestyle for myself that I have envisioned since I was a child.

Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 90’s – 2000’s there wasn’t too many options or opportunities available for creatives , artists / the cool weird kids lol . We had cliques in school of course, your casual art class or arts & crafts extracurricular activities but there weren’t any art communities , art districts , creative studios, craft clubs , art festivals or art based social media content communities like there is today, especially for inner city youth growing up on the east side of Cleveland. We had a few art schools, but back then the tuition for art school was insane, rather high school or college so becoming a self taught artist in any category of my choice was my only option.

With these disadvantages stacked against me I knew I was still born to create. I knew that if I wanted to become a successful artist that I had to identify what that meant but I unfortunately didn’t have the resources or education to figure all of that out. That was until Myspace was created =)

Myspace changed the game for millennials because up until then I was an athlete by day artist by night lol since art wasn’t pushed to my demographic my natural talents stayed hidden and I moved my athleticism to the forefront hoping to get scene by a major school to play college ball. Once I realized that my basketball journey didn’t give me the same excitement as my art talent I knew I had to make a shift. Basketball was also not working out how I had hoped and with a lack of scholarships, resources or the proper coaches , my dream of college and professional basketball became more distant.

What never left my side was the feeling I had towards the arts. Similar to basketball, both self taught, both very natural abilities but one I can have more control over in terms of the narrative and the other I have to wait for opportunities to be given when I am more than qualified. The arts showed me how to take control of my purpose and basketball taught me how to create the strategy behind my art. Art taught me that I don’t have to box myself into one specific category and that I can be multifaceted in my interests, basketball taught me how to create the plan, and how to execute each of those interests into a win.

I believe If I would have did what I was told or listened to the advice of others then I would be forcing myself to do something maybe in corporate America that I truly would be unhappy doing. I have always had a very loud inner voice and have always known how to listen to that voice and that voice has never allowed me to stay in any place or situation that I do not feel comfortable in.

Time, space and energy are very valuable to me and when it comes to my career path , I would like that time , space and energy to be filled with things that I love to do. Things that bring me so much joy that they don’t even feel like work.

Finding myself in entrepreneurship and becoming the CEO of my own company gave me that confidence to allow that inner voice inside of me to finally rest because she isn’t screaming to be comfortable or fighting to be truly seen. She is happy, secure, free in her choices , abilities, creativity and even through the many up’s and downs that entrepreneurship brings , that inner voice still has the time, space and energy to do what she wants.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @indi.arthouse.studio

Image Credits
INDI Media