Class of 2022 alum's "hunger" for success helps launch a new wellness movement

06/26/2024

Dishing out apparel from one high school to the next while spreading love all over social media, Community College of Rhode Island class of 2022 graduate Eddy Vieira – a.k.a Eddy Swerve – is turning his catchy slogan into a lifestyle brand.

Vieira, 24, an East Providence, RI, native, and current Rhode Island College student, is a budding entrepreneur, fitness coach, and the brains behind Hunger Breeds Success and Success Loves Consistency. The best way to describe Vieira’s venture is a state of mind manifested as a slogan splashed across T-shirts, tank tops, and hoodies, all which Vieira totes from one high school or college sporting event to another in the trunk of his car while recruiting student athletes, coaches, and even parents to adopt the lifestyle.

Since printing his first piece of apparel in 2022, Vieira has secured partnerships with the basketball teams at his alma mater, East Providence High School, and Lincoln Middle School to wear his official Hunger Breeds Success warm-ups. His network on social media has grown from a handful of followers to several thousand within the past few years as word continues to spread.

Tattooed on his arm, the slogan is the perfect description of Vieira’s hustle; he’s become a fixture at local sporting events passing out apparel and conducting post-game interviews with student athletes about what motivates them to succeed. He even hosts his own podcast and posts workout tutorials, all while working two jobs and taking four courses per semester at RIC so he can graduate on time in 2027 as a Wellness and Exercise Science major and Business Marketing minor.

“One day at a time,” Vieira said. “This has been a 10-year journey for me. It’s all part of the grind. I’ve come this far and want to finish what I started.”

Hunger Breeds Success and Success Loves Consistency is truly a labor of love and an idea Vieira came up with during the COVID-19 pandemic while studying to be a therapist and “the world’s best social worker” at CCRI. Vieira, whose long, winding, educational journey began when he graduated East Providence High School in 2017, soon switched paths upon realizing “not everybody takes advice.”

Therapy, for him, was going to the gym, so he began his foray into the fitness industry, motivated in part by his own upbringing as a “socially awkward, insecure, and unconfident kid.” Hunger Breeds Success and Success Loves Consistency just happened organically; he came up with the slogan in his head, had it tattooed on his arm, and hasn’t looked back since.

Having watched his father launch a concrete business, Vieira decided he, too, wanted to work for himself. Once he found the right manufacturer – and a designer to create a logo – he began printing his own apparel, covering the costs by working myriad jobs from Dunkin’ Donuts to Dick’s Sporting Goods.

CCRI played a key role in taking his business to the next level. The college afforded him the flexibility to switch majors from Social Work to General Studies and gave him the confidence through one-on-one advising and guidance to transfer to a four-year college. With course offerings online and in person, Vieira could work and finish his associate degree, helping him fund the first few batches of apparel to turn Hunger Breeds Success into a reality.

“That CCRI experience really set me up to be able to walk around a four-year school and be like, ‘Hey, I’m prepared for this,’” he said.

Since enrolling at RIC, Vieira has continued the grassroots effort to make Hunger Breeds Success a household name. He creates custom apparel for schools based on their colors and special designs for Rhode Island Interscholastic League championship events, never with the intent to sell – at least not right away – but to build relationships, build the brand, and help spread the word on the Hunger Breeds Success movement. He’s constantly on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) scoping out the high school athletes announcing their college choice and messaging them with designs for custom apparel. He’s even shipped shirts to professional athletes who’ve discovered the brand online.

“Everyone that sees the message, they feel it – they truly do,” Vieira said. “Hunger Breeds Success is the most elite health wellness brand that will offer people not only coaching, motivation, or personal training – anything that you can think of – but also the apparel that is just super, super genuine and motivating to people.”

The shy, awkward kid who couldn’t do a pushup or pullup until he was 20 has found his purpose giving back to the community and spreading love through a growing social media initiative that has helped shed light on some of the state’s most unheralded student athletes while bringing attention to the power of “hunger” and “consistency.”

“It started out with me wanting to own my own gym. Then I wanted to make shirts. Now it’s turned into a brand because people started saying it themselves,” he said. “I never envisioned it being a brand until people started referring to it as one. My purpose now is to give it all back, as well as help myself. Hunger breeds success and success loves consistency. It's so true – and it's whatever you want in life.”

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