Our Story
We’re not just a t-shirt company.
Ivan Ray’s exists as an extension of our family’s legacy and to be used as a tool for witnessing and spreading positivity.
Our lives and our legacy are shaped around three principles.
1. Nothing happens by chance.
My name is Scotty Lewis. I’m a husband, father of two daughters that stole my heart, a son, and a brother. I grew up in Shorterville, AL, a small rural community in southeast Alabama. It’s a place where everyone is related or knows you. I’m a 1994 graduate of Abbeville High School in Abbeville, AL, and 1999 graduate of Tuskegee University.
Family is what drives me. My desire in life is to be a good representative of each of these places in my life. Most importantly, I desire to work each day in being a better ambassador not only for my physical family but also for God.
I’ve never considered myself to be creative, but most of the t-shirt designs that I’ve done were from something that happened in my life. Each theme or category is something that I’m passionate about. Through life experiences, these designs mean so much to me, and I hope they will to you as well.
2. Legacy Living. Legacy Giving.
Ivan Ray’s is in honor of my Dad, Ivan James Lewis, and my cousin, Ray Charles Graham.
Growing up, I honestly feared my Dad and told myself I didn’t want to be anything like him. As we got older, he became my best friend, and I miss him tremendously. I gained so much knowledge from him, but also his ability to help others. He could come off as a tough guy, but he and my Mom helped so many people; when they had little themselves.
My cousin Ray was the same. Both Ray and my parents opened their homes to others when they needed a place to stay.
I envision Ivan Ray’s being the conduit that God uses to allow me to be HIS hands and feet and continue the legacy of my family.
3. Always help others.
Somewhere around March or April of 2017 Kyndra, my youngest daughter, mentioned that her youth leader invited her to go to Honduras later that summer. A week later, he asked me directly as I picked her up. I gave him a fake smile and said we’d think about it. I mentioned it to my wife just in case he asked her, but we didn’t seriously consider the idea because of the cost and fears of her leaving the country. But he was persistent, similar to God just patiently waiting with arms open for us. He told me if God meant for her to go, he’d provide a way. I halfhearted agreed and a week later our Campus Pastor smiled at me while he said “Kyndra, I heard you were thinking about going to Honduras. Wouldn’t it be awesome if your Dad went with you!” At that point I thought, we can’t get $1600. We definitely can’t get $3200 in a couple of months.”
And then the miracles started happening. God wants us to step out on faith so that he can use us to help others. After I committed to letting Kyndra go, a friend called me and said he and his wife had been praying and they wanted to sponsor her entire $1600. Then once I committed to going with her, my part was quickly funded. That initial trip ended up being so much more than us just going to serve others. God poured into us in so many ways. I ask you to sign up for my newsletter and follow my blog as I begin to share life’s experiences. My “why” is to give back to others the same way that I’ve been given to.