TYLER, Texas — The idea of fitting in has never been Romereo Brown Jr.'s style.
"I was born deaf in my right ear," Brown said. "They called me 'Mushmouth' from Fat Albert, I got bullied a lot."
While most people viewed Romereo's hearing disability as a setback, he used his natural eye for fashion as a come up. It was his senior year in high school where he discovered what his future career would be.
"I went to the mall one day to buy a shirt and I saw a shirt and I was like 'I can do that myself,' and I then fell in love with fashion and designing," he said.
Things eventually took off from there. Romereo launched his brand "Weird and Different" and started selling his designs at a kiosk in the Broadway Square Mall. Fast forward three years later and Romereo is trading in his kiosk for a storefront.
"A kiosk is very small, so all those small problems I had, there are a thousand more challenges here at the store," Brown added.
On top of opening up his first store, Romereo is also preparing to make his debut at New York Fashion Week.
"It's crazy there are people who have been in the industry for 20 years coming up to me saying they like my work," he said.
For Romereo, "Weird and Different" goes beyond the fashion brand. It's a message to be yourself despite what makes you weird …and different.
"I'm doing it for the people who had moments where they felt alone and didn't fit in," Brown said.