Showcase #196: College Student from Morganton, North Carolina

Welcome to the Urban EDC Showcase! Each week, we feature a member of the EDC community and the gear they rely on every day. Want to be featured? Submit your gear photo.

Bryson (@motown_edc) is probably the most inspiring young man you’ll ever meet. A college student from Western Carolina University, he has a fiery passion for helping others and improving the quality of life of as many people as he can. Read on to find out all about Bryson’s mission as well as his timelessly functional everyday carry. 

Featured Tools:

• Hank: ViragoEDC
  I carry my handkerchief every day. I have 3 different ones from ViragoEDC. He is an awesome guy that I met through EDC and was kind enough to send me 3 hanks to feature on my Instagram account.
  
  Not only do they have that sentiment, but I believe with all my heart that they are the best hanks on the market. They are made with high attention to detail and amazing materials. They can take a beating too! I use mine to clean my hands of oil, dry my hands, clean my knife blade, and anything you could possibly think of.
  
  

• Knife: Zero Tolerance
  Speaking of knives, my next piece of gear is my ZT 0550! My inspiration for wanting to even research and look up this knife was after seeing BestDamnEDC’s video that he put out after Blade Show 2019.
  
  When I saw that 0550, I fell in love and knew I had to have one! Mine has amazing action and an awesome blade steel. I have also dressed it up with a beautiful OD green micarta scale, which is developing a nice patina!
  
  I use my knife almost as much as I use my handkerchief. I am always opening packages, breaking down boxes, cutting loose threads and other things of the sort. This thing is a beast and can handle pretty much anything I throw at it, which makes me love it even more!

• Key Organizer: DIY
  Another thing I love is my key organizer. I have carried this thing for a very long time! Longer than anything else that is in my EDC today. It was a DIY project that I made watching Taylor Martin on his MOD channel whenever he made a video on how to make one. If don’t carry anything else, I will always have this! It holds my house key for when I’m home from college, my girlfriend’s house key, my apartment key, and my mail key.
  
  
• Watch: Orient
  The next item I would like to talk about is my watch which is an Orient Mako II. I had a difficult time choosing a watch for my EDC. I was stuck between a Citizen dive watch, Seiko SKX007, and the Orient.
  
  I ultimately chose the Orient because it is the best of both worlds for me. It can be dressed up nicely as well as be roughed up at work! I am more interested in the meaning of time more than the watch itself because we are never guaranteed another second on this Earth, so we need to make the most of it while we are here!
  
  
• Wallet: Trayvax
  Next up is my Trayvax Ascent in Tobacco brown. This wallet was a gift from my dad! It means so much to me that he would take the time to listen to my interests and look for a great quality product. My dad is one of the most influential people in my life. He has taught me the value of hard work, how to take care of the people I love, and how to be selfless. And he chose a fantastic wallet.
  
  It has been able to take the unintentional abuse that I put it through from accidentally falling in the river while fishing to dropping it from 2 stories! 
  
  
• Pendant: Cross
  The final piece of my EDC is my little aluminum cross. It's not the most expensive thing or even the prettiest, but it is special to me! If you don’t know, I am a Christian, and I try to do my best to live a good Christian life and spread the love that He would want me to! There was one Sunday that I was not able to make it to church because I had to work that day!
  
  While I was at work, I was looking through the different oils and other automotive stuff, and I saw something unusual! I moved the stuff out of the way to see what it was, and it was this tiny aluminum cross! It brought joy to me to know that He is still with me even though I wasn’t able to make it to church! I keep it in my pocket as a reminder that He will always be with me!

What's your story:

To start everything off, I am a college student at Western Carolina University. I am studying recreational therapy because I have a passion for helping others and potentially benefiting the quality of life of as many people as I can!

I really enjoy fishing, hiking, shooting guns, spending time with family, and playing video games. I was born and raised in Morganton, North Carolina, which is where I got the inspiration for my Instagram handle MotownEDC!

It’s probably just a Morganton thing, but a lot of people who live here call it “Motown.” I work in the automotive department in a store called Rural King, but I'm getting moved to the gun barn soon where I will be selling firearms and other products of this type.

I don’t really know the exact day when I got into EDC. I noticed when I started college I wanted to carry things that would stand the test of time. I wanted quality products that were made with care. After I had started sort of a budget EDC I came across BestDamnEDC, and it was pretty much a snowball effect from there!

This YouTube channel has actually been a place I go a lot when looking for new gear. It helps not only to have an individual telling you good things about a product but also other people in the community who carry this product on a daily basis.

Favorite EDC Tool:

I don’t really have a favorite piece in my EDC! I love everything because I have a use for each one and they do their job fantastically, but if I had to choose one thing out of my EDC, it would definitely be either my wallet or my ZT!

What's On Your Gear Radar:

Other gear that I have on my radar is firstly, a new pen! I am wanting to add some brass because I think it looks good with OD green! I am thinking about either a brass Fisher Space Pen Bullet or the Tactile Turn Slider! I think I am leaning more towards the Slider due to the fidget factor!

Second, I am wanting to add to my knife collection! I have 3 production grail knives that I want and I have already acquired one of them, which is my ZT! The other 2 are the Spyderco Shaman and the Benchmade 940! I have been in love with these knives for a long time! It’s going to be a while before I get them, though, but they will be a part of the rotation one day!

And third, I am wanting a new watch! I have been looking too hard mainly because I’m not on the market for one right now, but I know I want a new watch!