Tommy Reamon Jr. was living his dream working in the NFL as a scout, but the power of community led him home to launch a business brand in Newport News.
He launched a clothing brand called City On My Chest and opened a store in Patrick Henry Mall. He also expanded his community involvement by launching a nonprofit called Uplift Your City.
Reamon Jr., who initially envisioned playing in the NFL like his dad, previously pursued football as a career. He worked as a part of the football coaching teams at the University of Miami, University of Virginia, Christopher Newport and Virginia Tech before landing a coaching internship for the Pittsburgh Steelers that led to his role as a scouting assistant for the New Orleans Saints. The Newport News native had played football for Old Dominion University, where he earned a bachelor’s in recreation management in 2012, and had been a star player at Gloucester High School, where he graduated in 2008.
But several years into his coaching career, he couldn’t ignore the business bug anymore. While at ODU, he had started a custom T-shirt line highlighting individual cities and, before long, customers were ordering shirts from across the country.
“I started with Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk and Virginia Beach and the idea just caught on through social media,” he said.
Some people wanted area codes and others wanted their street names, he said.
“It was whatever they were proud of,” he said. “And it was almost like the smaller the town, the better, because a lot of small towns don’t have any kind of merch that can represent, so people were extremely proud to finally have something to show people where they come from even if it was the smallest town in the state.”
The product inventory expanded to include hats, shorts, jackets, pants, sweat suits, flip flops, workout tights, socks, sunglasses and football accessories. And as a way to incorporate his passion for community, the apparel now includes the term CITY standing for “creatively inspiring the youth” or quotes about community empowerment.
Like many successful small businesses, Reamon Jr. initially operated out of a garage — his father’s in Newport News. After two years, in November of 2020, he moved City On My Chest into a 600-square-foot space in the food court of Patrick Henry Mall. From there, he quadrupled his square footage and relocated the business into another section of the mall. He has five employees.
The business owner’s dad, Tommy Reamon Sr., showed him the power and importance of community. His father is in his 35th season of coaching high school football in Hampton Roads and mentored hundreds of players, including former NFL quarterbacks Michael Vick and Aaron Brooks. Reamon Sr. had been drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and played for the Kansas City Chiefs and briefly for the team now known as the Washington Commanders.
Reamon Jr. plans to instill the same lessons and values he learned from his father in his almost 1-year-old son, Tommy “Trey” Reamon III. And like his dad did, he’ll encourage his son and other youth in the community to pursue their dreams.
Through the Uplift Your City foundation, he plans to help people get involved in numerous ways, including with a youth football camp, mentoring, festivals, school pep rallies, financial literacy classes, entrepreneurship seminars and community service programs.
“The community part is just the icing on the cake for me,” Reamon Jr. said. “It’s one thing to buy my merch, but it’s a whole different level to impact young lives.”
Marcellus Harris, Newport News City Council member, said Reamon Sr. was his high school football coach years ago and he has known Reamon Jr. since he was a toddler.
“I’ve seen Tommy Jr. develop into what his father was for so many, ” Harris said. “He’s sharing the wisdom he gained with the next generation.”
For more information, visit cityonmychest.com.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com
