When Tsali Lough, ’16, gazed at the audience gathered for the 2015 athlete talent show at Indiana State University, he completely forgot that he was supposed to introduce the next act. He had locked eyes with Cole Marder, ’17, GR ’20, a photography student snapping pictures of the event from the front row, and all other thoughts flew from his mind.
“Wow,” he whispered, awestruck, into the microphone. Marder lifted her eyes from behind her camera, stunned and slightly confused, but nonetheless touched. The rest, they say, is history.
Five years later, the two are happily dating and hope to spread love to others as well. In the same way that the flash from Marder’s camera lights her frame, she and Lough work to light up the world around them. Together, they operate Swashbuckler’s Joy, Inc., a nonprofit organization seeking to bring a little happiness into their community each and every day. “We found it best to create our own nonprofit with the sole purpose of making the world a better place,” Lough explained. “We do that by creating our own programs that spread love and positivity into the world, or by raising money for other organizations that are already doing that.”
Swashbuckler’s Joy, Inc. sprang out of Lough’s zeal for life and love of adventure. After discovering that selling insurance was not his passion, Lough re-evaluated his goals. “I started to think about what I want to do with my life and what makes me happy,” Lough detailed. “For me, personally, that was traveling, snowboarding, going to the beach, and helping other people. Basically like an adventure. I Googled adventurer, and the synonym was swashbuckler. I thought that sounds exactly like what I want to be.”
Love of Life
Lough and Marder see the world through a shimmering lens, hoping to make the world a better place, even if only for a moment. Marder’s photos help them preserve that moment forever. “I just love capturing something and having that as a memory and holding on to it,” she explained. “People say there’s something about enjoying a moment but there’s also something about getting an awesome picture of that moment that I’ve always loved – just capturing people in their element and doing what they love.”
Love for Others
Right now, Swashbucklers operates primarily through Instagram, selling merchandise through social media. Soon, however, Marder and Lough hope to travel and become vendors at major events, including music festivals and snowboarding events. They’re currently in the process of converting a trailer into a mobile store.
“We just want to create an outlet for people to care about others,” Lough explained. “We want to help people help others.”
Swashbucklers serves as a vessel for kindness by donating their proceeds to other organizations. In June, the nonprofit raised money for the family of George Floyd and for The Trevor Project, a national resource for members of the LGBTQ+ community; earlier in the year, Lough traveled to Ghana on a mission trip, where he donated soccer jerseys and balls to schools.
Love of Safety
At Swashbucklers, Marder and Lough work to fix any problem they see facing the community. In the midst of the pandemic, they hope to help slow the spread of COVID-19. This summer, for every mask Swashbuckler’s Joy has sold, they have donated a mask to protect an essential worker.
Love of Home
Home is where the heart is, and for Lough, this phrase rings true. The Terre Haute native can’t imagine his life without his roots. When Lough isn’t managing Swashbucklers’ or coaching the Terre Haute South football team, he works at his family business, Lough Bros. Roofing and Siding. “Not only do I get to go to work with my family’s name on my chest and take a lot of pride in the work I do,” he beamed, “I feel like I did something to help somebody’s life.”
He and Marder live everyday trying to help the people of his hometown. “People dog on Terre Haute, but it’s all about who you hang out with and who you spend your time with,” Marder explained.
Love for Each Other
Marder and Lough’s love of love is evident, not just in their philanthropic endeavors, but in their relationship as well. They push each other to grow to be their best selves. “I’ve always been a person who naturally wants to help people, but I feel like I’ve become more of that because of him,” Marder smiled. “He’s probably my biggest inspiration.”
Love conquers all – even hatred or injustice. Amidst the summer’s racial injustices, Swashbucklers gave away over 400 shirts that proclaimed, “I Love You. If they can hate you for no reason, I can love you.” The shirts spread positivity, reminding everyone that “Only Together, We Are Better Than Hate. Black Lives Matter.” Marder and Lough strive to brighten Terre Haute through their work and their infectious enthusiasm. Their actions show that they are not only the change they want to see in the world, but the change others want to see as well.
“There’s a lot of evil in this world. Some of it is completely random, some of it is caused by ourselves or other humans,” Tsali shrugged. “The only thing that makes a difference is love – loving yourself, loving others, loving your pets, loving what you do. The only way that we are going to come out of this pandemic and these crazy times is coming together as one community that just loves each other.”