Tevin Mychal, the visionary behind the Athens Green Card

A new company aiming to support and inspire the Athens community just officially launched this past Wednesday. The Athens Green Card is led by one of Ohio University’s very own, Tevin Mychal, and is just starting its story despite prior experience.

Mychal first attended Ohio U from 2010-2013, he then transferred to Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. 

“At the time, Full Sail was one of the best media arts colleges in the country and it was there that I studied creative entertainment writing,” said Mychal.

While at Full Sail, Mychal started working in the nightclub industry in the Orlando, Florida area. Eventually, he worked his way up to manage a nightclub while still pursuing his degree from Full Sail.

“It was a lot, but it was at that nightclub that I learned a lot of the sales skills that I know today. Selling club crawl packages worked for me, as I left Full Sail after being a student there for two years.”

Continuing to climb the ladder of the nightlife industry, Mychal made his way to Las Vegas, Nevada. There he continued to work in club crawl sales until he eventually moved to selling timeshares.

“I was doing pretty well for myself, and I say I ended up in Vegas, but honestly I was just traveling from place to place with this job. It was pretty cool, but that all changed when I came into contact with a friend from Florida” said Mychal

After reconnecting with what would become his future business partner, Mychal quit his job selling timeshares and came back to Florida. This time, he found himself in Miami where he would co-found and create the idea and company that the Athens Green Card is based on today.

With a partner, Mychal opened El Agua Ocean Nightclub, a yacht that gives customers the same feel of a nightclub, out on the open ocean. With the creation of El Agua, Mychal and his Florida friend created MyCity in 2020. The first version of MyCity was MyCity Miami and ultimately this business model is what is used today with the Athens Green Card. 

The goal of the MyCity Miami card was to link as many local Miami businesses with El Agua as possible while also fostering an exclusive community within the city. Mychal and his partner then sold MyCity Miami cards to locals with the idea that those who purchased a card and used it at a business that was on board with the company could enjoy discounts and other deals.

“Those who bought a card not only enjoyed the discounts at different areas around Miami but also were able to come to exclusive events at El Agua. Whenever we did events at El Agua we always either catered or did something with as many of the businesses under the MyCity Miami card as possible.”

Fast forward three years from the creation and success of the MyCity Miami card and El Agua. Mychal sold 25% of his half of the company to his partner in order to not give up on what he started at Ohio U.

“I realized that I wanted to go back to school and finish what I originally started. Now being back I’m studying political science, English and applied plant biology. Trust me it makes sense, after I finish here I want to head out to Oregon to grow medicinal mushrooms and microgreens on a plot of land I bought” said Mychal.

Mychal had planned to bring the MyCity card to other big market cities such as Las Vegas and San Diego before deciding to come back to school. Thus, the Athens Green Card was born. 

Due to his prior knowledge of the tight-knit community that is Athens, Ohio, Mychal saw an opportunity to create and ultimately leave a legacy with the Athens Green Card. The company was founded with the motto of “stay loyal shop local.” Mychal and his staff want to continue to encourage and help local businesses by having people sign up and pay for the card in order to take advantage of the discounts each business offers. The discounts then in turn help generate business and foot traffic for the businesses that work with Mychal and the Athens Green Card.

So far, Mychal has 15 different local businesses onboard ranging from Big Mamma’s Burritos, Buddy’s Lounge, Brenen’s Coffee Cafe and Athens Uncorked to name a few with “more to come” according to Mychal. 

However, Mychal said the end goal goes beyond doing good business, he wants to do right by the community.

“I want to foster a safe community of people that are able to work together and look out for one another through this card and membership. I basically want to create a living Discord.”

To date, Mychal has sold 128 cards so far and vows to keep driving that number up. To keep up to date with the Athens Green Card check out the link above or follow them on Instagram @athensgc.