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Mike: Pretty good. I remember I had multiple shirts in my wardrobe. I had a Pepsi one, I had a Coke one, a 7UP one, and a couple of other ones. I just liked them. It was my thing. I really wasn't trying to be rebellious or a troublemaker when I chose the Pepsi one. I mean, I wholeheartedly believe in free speech, but I wasn't like "Down with Coke!"
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Well, there was a bit the press reports always seemed to get wrong. There was actually another kid who was wearing a Pepsi shirt and removed his coat to reveal it. I didn't have to remove my coat. I was wearing it in plain view—everybody saw it—so there was plenty of opportunity to say something to me privately. A Coke representative actually saw my shirt, punched me on the shoulder and was like, "Ah, ha! Another one."So the Coke people were OK with it?
Yeah. Then, it was during seventh period, the vice-principal came and got me. During lunch I'd switched from my Pepsi to my Coke shirt, so he looked a bit confused when he saw me.Then you were dragged in front of the principal?
She was so pissed off that she couldn't look me in the eye. She told me the school could've lost ten grand because of what I'd done. I think my nonchalant attitude pissed her off even more.Were you upset? Did the injustice of it make you sick?
Not at the time. I got a free day off school, and I got to go to work early and make some money. So I wasn't too upset. But when I told my mom she went to her lawyer and filed a lawsuit for freedom of speech.How did the national media get into it?
Well, that day, I went to work at my job at a small house-planning firm. There was a guy called Austin Rhodes on the radio, who was a bit like Rush Limbaugh, but maybe not as political. They were talking about me. Someone said I should give 'em a call, so I did. Then they asked me to go down the station and talk to them some more. So I did. And that's when the news crews started showing up.
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Somebody called the local newspaper claiming to be my mom.Who wasn't your mom?
No.

Yeah, a lot. I also received around 50 pieces of mail sent to the school for me, from people around the world who were supporting my case.It seems like, 14 years after you carried the flag for this, despite all the huff, everything is, if anything, worse. You still can't wear a Pepsi T-shirt to the Olympics.
Well, with things like the Olympics, I understand if Nike, McDonalds, and Coke want to get their brand out there. Honestly, I don't have a big problem with these corporations donating that sort of money to the Olympics, but I don't think they should have any say over what happens after that. It's supposed to be everyone coming together. They shouldn't be able to dictate to people—if people want to go to the Olympics, they shouldn't have to base that decision on whether they also feel like wearing a Pepsi shirt. I fear concentration of power as much as anything. With Google and things like that, it's getting like Taco Bell in Demolition Man.Did the school ever apologize to you?
Not really. They sort of said they "would have handled things differently," but no one ever apologized or spoke to me directly. How has your life turned out since this early setback?
It's been good. Since I was about eight years old, I always wanted to be an architect. I went up to Atlanta, studied to become an architect and started practicing in 2005. I got laid off in 2009, when the economy went to crap, and decided to go back to school. I just graduated about four weeks ago with my bachelors of fine arts in photography and printmaking. There's an architect's position at the university that I've applied for, but I dunno… it's had its ups and downs, my life, but nothing too bad.
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