Welcome to ITOLJA! My name is Darryl Bridgers. I am the owner and founder of the ITOLJA brand. I am a former educator/social worker/coach who has evolved into an entrepreneur.
In 1996, I survived a near fatal car accident where it flipped on the expressway in which I was a passenger. I’ve adjusted my life in an attempt to coexist with my injuries from the accident in which I was paralyzed momentarily. With concerning injuries to my spinal cord, head and brain, I lost faith in the system when I was denied disability. I think it was because of my confidence at the time because I initially refuse to apply for disability (but my late father begged me to try) or it may have been because I didn’t pay the psychiatrist the additional $135 before the court proceedings, in turn, he adjusted his findings. The bullshit! Nonetheless, that is a totally different story. Put in a position of having to adjust, I tried to continue life as it was before the accident. Each phase of what I found normal seem to be challenging and stressful to the new me. Anxiety kicked in often, and I secluded myself to dig deeper to figure out what God really had in store for me.

I have to say I was thankful for the fraternity that I am a member (Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.), whose cardinal principles Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance, and Uplift, guided me and allowed me to still be productive. It allowed me to believe that I can overcome any adversity placed in front of me. Overtime, I found myself trying to figure out the ways of life and how I will adapt. And during this phase, I searched for answers, explaining why was I put on this earth? Why did I survive this near fatal car accident? How can I sustain an income for my family? And other frightening thoughts towards the future.

What I recognized was, I became a conspiracy theorist in part. Moreso, I questioned everything! I peeled back layers of basic answers and got to the crux of the matter for my comfort. I found that such a process, eased my anxiety and relaxed my stress. I utilized my learnings and what physical attributes I still had and became an independent contractor. What seemed like odd jobs were really significant jobs to others who couldn’t be available because they had their responsibilities and they had faith in me completing the task. I recognized a 9 to 5 brought stress every morning and I conditioned myself to avoid that feeling.

From my home, I’ve come up with many ideas/prototypes some of which have been designed by others and some still sitting on the table. For example:

◦ EZRADIO~ Where I researched and plotted every radio station in proximity of 10 miles of every major Interstate, for example I-95, I-10 into a pamphlet to be sold through vending machines. (Sirius)
◦ Christmas lights net/web
◦ MYOBITUARY.com – actually I haven’t seen anything similar to what I’ve designed so I may attempt to complete this project in its entirety (pending)
◦ A dry stand for sneakers
◦ Foot scrub caddy
◦ Poetry and a Children’s book “Don’t Knock It Til You’ve Tried It“
* Not to mention a twenty-five-year-old Philadelphia Eagles Collage that sits on a 5′ X 3.5′ poster board (image on home page)

Some great ideas, in which I’ve watched other folks with similar like minds manifested and became successful because of my procrastination. A friend once consoled me when I was discouraged because I saw one of my ideas (Foot Scrub) being sold on television. He said, “you may not be the first, but you can definitely be the best, “ and it eased my stress. So, you ask…

HOW DID ITOLJA COME TO BE?
In the beginning, it was a fantasy football league that a childhood friend invited me to. At this time, we were young adults and If I had an email address, it was most likely for a job and most certainly I didn’t use it correctly. At the time I wasn’t savvy in technology. Shit I didn’t even get a smart phone until 2022 (I still miss my flip phone life was so simple then). I would’ve rather go to the library and still walk pass the computers and look for the book. There’s something special in the search. I was a little slow during the cusp of the computer age, even in college. I actually wrote my senior paper at North Carolina Central University on how computers were not good for schools. In which my professor gave me a C grade initially but later changed it to a B after my exit interview. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Education with a minor in Mathematics.

All in all, I didn’t use computers a lot or get “on the web” as many people did back then (mid 90s). My friend Lamont, was ahead of the game as far as computers went and as well as computer games and the sorts, reached out to me wondering if I was interested in joining a cool online challenge. It was fantasy football. Once I joined, I chose as my handle “28 ZigZag”. Because that was an actual play we had in high school when I played quarterback and it sounded kind of cool. During my experience with fantasy football and because it was a smack talk league. I took a real liking to fantasy sports therefore I did a lot of trash talking in a poetic tone. I ended up changing my handle to ITOLJA to let those guys know that I was winning and was the smack talk champ. That’s where it all began. ITOLJA …The Smack Talk Champ!

As I continued to play fantasy football with Lamont, I realize that the activity itself was fulfilling my analytical void, and the results were instant.

In time, ITOLJA took on a whole new vibe. It became a stamp of approval, a confirmation of due diligence, a medal of completed knowledge. The letters arranged representing the statement ‘I Told You!’ As for the motto, Inquire Truth Over Lies Just Ask, I just took the time to make it make sense where I will have an answer if someone asked me, what does it mean? But seriously, I really thought it was self-explanatory, but now it is! An outward sign with meaning. Eventually, with limited income, I got trademark protection on ITOLJA, a business license, learned how to design images, built this website from scratch and began selling T-shirts and hats to family and friends and now you, trying to find a way. Another great idea, another attempt at success, another attempt to try to put one of these great ideas to practice. Mind you, I am learning, peeling away and trying to manifest an idea that will possibly reach millions of people and make me stress free. And more importantly, something where the world would remember…ITOLJA!