Born and raised in the Favelas

Unlike most people, Diego Rocha did not grow up in a sheltered home in a safe neighborhood with friendly people. His life began in the favelas of Sao Paolo, in the southwest of Brazil.

Diego in one of his T-shirts

The favelas are the slums, the shanty towns of South America. So the young man did not have a good start in life by any means. But before things got better, he fell even further. His parents divorced when he was just eight years old. Until that day, they had lived together as a family in a house on the church grounds. But because the church wanted to distance itself from his parents' divorce, his mother and her two sons were put out on the street. She was now solely responsible for the small family. Some of the relatives expressed their resentment at this. Diego says that they accused his mother of bringing up her children in the favelas. It was too dangerous and the children would sooner or later come into contact with drugs and not become good people. But as his mother had nowhere else to go, she continued to do her best and invest in her sons.

When Diego talks about his mother, who is currently employed as a cleaner, he does not hide his admiration for her. His love, admiration and gratitude towards her are clearly noticeable. To this day, he still gives her credit for her dedication. “My mom is a cleaning lady. But she built more than I will ever manage. She built a family, a house, children.” Diego's love for his mother cannot be overheard in these words.

Despite his mother's efforts, his life did not go well even after the divorce. After being kicked out of the church, he turned his back on the church and also on Jesus. He wanted nothing to do with people like that.

A good ten years later, his life was to change abruptly on several occasions. Visibly moved, Diego recounts: “When I was seventeen or eighteen years old, I felt that I had to change something in my life. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that something was missing from my life. And that something is Jesus.” Bad experiences with the church also made him shun Jesus. But now his whole face lights up when he says: “One encounter with Jesus is enough to change me. I only needed one encounter.” He continues: “I lived in the church and had never experienced what it was like to live with the church. But when I went out, all it took was one encounter with Jesus. And I love that.”

At that time, the young man was working in the office. He remained there for some time after his conversion (turning from his own path to a life with Jesus). The Brazilian doesn't have particularly fond memories of this time: “I worked in the office. The work wasn't good for me. The people were bad. That also had a bad effect on me.” What Diego didn't know, however, was that God already had plans for him. “My brother Philipe fell ill. So I stayed at home.” During this time, he repeatedly came to the realization: “I have to change my life and I have to change my environment.” So, without further ado, the Latino decided to launch his own brand and make a fresh start. This was to bear the name “King D”.

He started designing T-shirts in 2017 with 240 reals (the equivalent of €46.15), which he and his fiancée Camila had put together. The brand grew steadily through a lot of prayer and hard work. Today, Diego looks back on the last five years with amazement and gratitude. “Everything I've achieved has just been Jesus. I am not good. Without Jesus, I'm a bad person,” the young entrepreneur clarifies.

Diego (at the front) with some of his friends

“King D” continues to grow steadily. Today, ten to twelve friends help Diego every day with the production and distribution of his products. Of course, he also pays them for this, although Diego is keen to emphasize that these helpers are not his employees, but friends.

If “King D” was just another fashion brand through which the owner wants to make money, then we could end the story here (or not even start it).

Diego Rocha's mission, however, is thankfully different. “King D is more than a brand for me,” reveals the Brazilian ”It's more than a job for me. You know, it's like my testimony. God has entrusted me with a little something that I can now use to be an example for the children, friends and people who hear about me. [...] I can speak to people without words.” To illustrate what he means by this, he pulls out a T-shirt with a yellow smiley face and a big smile printed on it. “I had moments when I was very sad. During that time, I heard a song that said You look so much better when you smile. That song made me feel better. So I thought to myself: I'll design something to go with it. The result was: the world looks so much better when you smile.”

His aim is to bring hope to the hopeless, to make a difference. “It's not good to live in the favelas. It is dangerous. Life here is not good. [...] Life is hard, but [my mom taught me that] I can [still] be a good person, a good worker, a good friend,” Diego recalls. His mother gave him hope in a hopeless world. He wants to pass on this hope through his work and especially to the people in the favelas. “There are a lot of favelas in Brazil. There are also a lot of diegos in Brazil. People need to hear about the good things. [...] I hope that hearing about King D will change people's lives.” But since there is no hope without Jesus, Diego uses his brand for one thing above all: “I can use King D to share the gospel, to share Jesus.”

“Yes, I have to get up and work hard, but Jesus [gives me] the strength and the faith.” - Diego Rocha

So the Brazilian has a clear mission, a clear goal. Day after day, he does his best to get closer to this goal. Laughing, he admits: “Yes, I have to get up and work hard, but the strength and the faith...even the faith - Jesus even helped me with the faith. I thought to myself, 'Oh, I don't know. It's so exhausting. But Jesus said: Keep going! Don't stop!”

Diego doesn't give up. He keeps going and, against all expectations, the fatherless boy from the favelas has actually managed to not only build up a business, but also positively influence the lives of others.

His work does not make him rich, but it is enough to live on and pay the rent. That is enough for the young man, who is still aware that none of this would have been possible without Jesus. “It's not down to me. It's not because of my family. It's not because of the people. It's simply a miracle. When I look at every day, I can see how Jesus does it all for me.” The gratitude in his voice reveals how much this fact touches him.

Diego gives people hope through both his designs and his story.

Born and raised in the favelas - Diego Rocha did not have a good start in life and yet God uses the boy from the slums of Brazil to give hope and change lives right there.

God also wants to use you. Will you allow that?

Click here to visit the King D. website: https://www.kingd.com.br/produtos/?mpage=3