Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Best Clothing Company in the World...and Not a Slight Bit Slutty


When I was thirteen years old I started a clothing company. It was your average clothing company started by a thirteen year old. But the company really started when I was nine and in the 4th grade. I started to doodle the name of my future company on my binders and notebooks. My friend Kyle was big into drawing so I had him design me a pair of Yonks shoes that I was going to make someday. The extent of my clothing company knowledge was a little less than what the average person knows about supply-side economics.

My dad knew a guy who printed on some tees so I made a design, took it to him, pulled together $200 from my KFC work money, and launched the greatest clothing company in the world. My goal...to be on the backs of 1 in every three people...in the world. I know I know I should of set my goals higher. The first design was nothing amazing but yet people started to buy the stupid white shirts with red letters. The front said Yonks clothing co with my logo and the back had my logo even bigger and underneath said Sknoy...which if you haven't figured it out by now is Yonks backwards. I was pretty creative when I was thirteen. I instantly became, "that tee-shirt guy."

After I sold all those I came out with another shirt. This time geared more towards ladies, the real clothing shoppers, and then another and another and another. By the time I was a senior in high school I had two investors, one salesman, a handful of articles in the school newspaper written about me, a legit website, and girls from every grade rocking my tees...and, of course, a crap load of people who knew me as "that tee-shirt guy."

Into college I continued running my company taking off a semester of college every year to run Yonks full-time. My friend Bryan started helping me design the clothes and by this time I was only making woman's clothing and I had some real awesome crap. As you can see from the intro pic. Black sleeveless hoody with two-tone lime green lines.  I lived, breathed, and ate Yonks Clothing. I had a photographer, a model, a web designer, a graphic designer, a salesman, and brought my brother on to handle the money side of the business...all working for me for free. (all of whom I owe a great debt of gratitude) I eventually was in five stores in three different states, girls everywhere rocking my gear. "This is my friend Page, he owns Yonks clothing." "Oh you're that tee-shirt guy. I've heard of you." I'd look at them and say...I do make tee-shirts.

Nine years had passed...and I gave it all up...never to be "that tee-shirt guy again."

For nine years of my life people knew me as a tee-shirt guy. I never saw myself as that.  I saw myself as Page: the fun loving, spontaneous, good friend, let's find ways to break the rules, kid. I always wondered if a tee-shirt guy really encapsulated me. As if to say oh John you're that retard. I'm not a retard, I'm just a person who happens to be retarded. But that doesn't define me. "Oh you're that orphan Sam." "Oh you're that crazy girl Sarah" "Oh you're that slut Jenny." I know all about you.

As if the one thing we've done defines everything that we are. 

Having been out of the tee-shirt game for three years now I look back at Yonks as a very interesting time in my life. It was with me the majority of my adulthood. Even though that's true Yonks isn't who I am. This is who I am...
A man looking to spread the love of Jesus to the four corners of the Earth.

and if you don't understand that maybe you have some soul searching to do. love. war.

Things to think about:
-Who is a wedding reception for: the guests, or the married?
-Should a woman break up with a man over video game playage?
-What can't you live without?
-Bryan Costello is an awesome graphic designer.
-Contra dancing.

Things to watch:

1 comment:

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