“Spending time in nature is one of the most luxurious things OUT THERE.”
For generations, rest has been a luxury not everyone is afforded. For founder, Jade Akintola, and her partner, Brandon Brown, rest is not a reward—it’s a right. Through their lifestyle brand, ITA, they are reimagining leisure as a powerful, necessary act of reclamation.
ITA—meaning “outside” in Yoruba—is the first Black-owned outdoor furniture, goods, and experiences platform. “The market is relatively untapped by people of color,” says Akintola. “As far as options, it’s pretty homogeneous, and our perspective isn’t necessarily baked into the offerings.” Brandon’s background is in photography, and his expertise shines on the content side of the business. “We verbally let people know that this is a Black-owned outdoor brand,” says Brown, “but we want to create a visual world as well.” For the couple, this distinction is a critical one.
"We’re democratizing luxury because it should be accessible to everyone."
It was 2020—post-COVID and amid America’s latest racial awakening—when Jade and Brandon began spending more time outside to regulate themselves. Growing up in London, Jade had less of a relationship with the outdoors, unlike Brandon, who was raised in Maryland. “Our different experiences helped me uncover a range of nuances in being a person of color in the outdoors and how to build that into our story,” says Akintola.
During a group trip to a San Diego beach, they noticed something lacking. Grabbing the available chairs and beach items from their Airbnb, the couple ventured out. “We were the only group of color, and I felt hypervisible,” Akintola recalls. “I questioned why I had all of this stuff that made me feel disconnected from my experience.
I felt like I was playing a role.” That feeling led them on a search to find outdoor products made by people of color. “I also was looking for the regular stuff,” says Akintola. “A high-quality beach chair with more of a modern aesthetic, or items that we weren’t going to throw away at the end of each summer.” It didn’t exist until ITA.
“When thinking about what this could be called, what brought me a lot of comfort and confidence were my family’s roots in Nigeria,” shares Akintola. Conversations with her father helped her connect with her origins—where, unlike in the U.S., being outdoors in Europe doesn’t carry the same stereotypes. “To us, spending time in nature is one of the most luxurious things out there,” says Akintola. “We’re democratizing luxury because it should be accessible to everyone.”
They noticed that within their generation, particularly among second-generation immigrants, there was a deep prioritization of rest. “I was looking at the definition of leisure, which is ‘free time,’” she shares. “Pre-abolition, ‘free time’ was not a thing that enslaved people had. And when you look at access to leisure spaces like parks and beaches, segregation further cemented what was not meant to be provided to us.”
"It’s the art of doing nothing, and we’re giving it back to us."
From curating global outdoor experiences to building products, the mandate for ITA is multigenerational. “We have a son now,” says Brown. “We want to leave something for him so that if he wants to get into the arts and he’s making his mood boards, he can find a Black person sitting at the beach.”
Through ITA, Jade and Brandon are not just designing products—they’re creating portals back to peace, rest, and belonging. Akintola says, “It’s the art of doing nothing—and we’re giving it back to us.”
▪️ PHOTOS BY Danielle DeGrasse Alston
Featured in Issue No. 6
In the "Outside Issue", we partnered with REI's Path Ahead Ventures to highlight entrepreneurs in the outdoor industry. Founders of color represent only an estimated 1% of outdoor entrepreneurs. We celebrate founders who are making waves and forging new paths for everyone.
