WANTAGH, NY — David Wayne has been a business person for years, turning his graffiti work into a clothing brand. At his I Am Strong Island merch booth in Wantagh, Wayne sells the characters he has created on clothing and items featuring the popular Strong Island logo.
Wayne has also been active in the hip hop scene for many decades, where he was known as DC3.
When Wayne became an entrepreneur, he turned to Tony Wright, who ran a barbershop and owned a clothing store in Freeport.
“He introduced me to the business,” Wayne, who was born and raised in Freeport, told Patch. “He taught me everything and gave me the opportunity to own my first business.”
That first store was in Freeport over 30 years ago and featured mostly 1990s hip hop brands. Wayne also ran a clothing store called Central Station in Baldwin for five years.
The Wantagh store opened in December.
Wayne has also been using the “I Am Strong Long Island” brand as a concert promoter for over a decade.
The phrase was popularized in the 1980s by local rappers such as Public Enemy and De La Soul.
“It stuck and persisted, so I made ‘I Am Strong Island’ to represent Long Island.”
This presentation includes t-shirts and sweatshirts.
Wayne recently completed a special commission for the town of Hempstead and “a lot of rap groups may come by and need merch,” he said. “I’ll guide them and help them.”
The other part of his store focuses on Wayne’s graffiti art.
“I grew up in Freeport and was probably drawing in second grade,” Wayne said. “My art teacher pushed me to do a lot of art. As I got older, I discovered graffiti.”
His interest in art grew out of a passion for comic books; at some point he began to redraw the pictures.
As a teenager in the 1980s, he moved to the South Bronx, where Wayne presented his characters on subways.
“A lot of these characters are from the underground railroad era, but I modernized them and printed them on T-shirts,” Wayne said.
But the presence of Strong Island designs in the store expands his customer base.
“I can take that with me anywhere on Long Island,” he said. “When I came to Wantagh, everyone accepted me. All the businesses came. They all support me.”
The I Am Strong Island Merch store is located at 2084 Wantagh Ave.
