![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.yobeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/commonmain.jpg\" "\\"commonmain\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nCommon Apparel<\/h2>\n
Established: September 2010
\nLocation: Duluth, Minnesota<\/p>\n
common-apparel.com <\/a><\/p>\n Yobeat: Why would you start a snowboard company in this economy?<\/strong><\/p>\n Nate Blomquist: I started off small and just used my own money I had from working. I am pretty young for a business owner which means I have few bills to pay so the risk wasn’t too high to start up this business. I just feel snowboarding is going to get bigger and it seems like a good idea to get in to this market. It would definitely have to be the exclusiveness. I don’t print too many of the same designs and I have more color choices. I make sure that my clothing is high in comfort and quality. My brand is based around a taller fit because it should just be the common fit anyways.<\/p>\n No really, why should people support you and not some other independent brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think people should support Common Apparel because its uncommon but common at the same time to wear our products. As a rider operated company we notice the change in style in snowboarding and Common Apparel adapts to the changes. Everything made by our company is made by riders.<\/p>\n Who are you and why do you think you’re qualified to run a business?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well I am Nate Blomquist and I am 18 years old. I am from Plymouth, Minnesota but am currently living up in Duluth. I have been selling stuff on the internet for years now such as broken technology I get from people I know and other items. My main business was when Nike SB Dunks were hot and were limited. So I would just buy a few pairs of each shoe that came out and sold them for more on eBay. The way I think is usually business related. I just thought, why not combine what I love to do and a career choice of business. All I do everyday is skateboard or snowboard. I just thought it would be cool to start a business in the market I fit in to. I think I am qualified to run a business because I keep track of all my records and I manage money well. I notice what sells and what doesn’t at the same time figuring out what people want. I take suggestions from people which is cool because big companies don’t get the little talk of what the riders want. I like being able to make what I want and pick the designs.<\/p>\n Rumor is snowboarding is shrinking and skiing is the next big thing. Do you plan on sponsoring skiers to make more money?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don’t think I would really because money isn’t everything. Skiing has its whole different style and that would be difficult to keep up on all the trends of skiing while focusing on what snowboarders want. Common Apparel is targeted for snowboarders and skateboarders. If Common Apparel does get big that means I would get to ride a lot more and that is what I want. If business does increase I will just keep making the quality better and better. That would be my dream to make it big in snowboarding because I could pay my school off and not be in debt for years to come.<\/p>\n Established: October 2007 epochapparel.com<\/a><\/p>\n Yobeat: Why would you start a snowboard company in this economy?<\/strong><\/p>\n Kyle Macdonald: Really, we didn\u2019t start it in this economy. Truth is we\u2019ve been a \u201cstart-up\u201d for going on 4 years, but four years ago we didn\u2019t know that we\u2019d love sewing and hooking people up so much, so we keep doing it, regardless of what some big Wall Street stuffed shirts tell us about our money. We make clothes that are fun to make and fun to wear, and we make them. Everything we make or ever have made was made by one of 4 people in a basement or a barn, by hand.\u00a0 Because its all made by hand by one of us, we try to keep everything original and different, so no two people ever look the same.<\/p>\n No really, why should people support you and not some other independent brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n We don\u2019t want people to just support us. I think that in \u201cthis economy,\u201d passion and creativity is all we got, and independent brands are putting their hearts into what they love, so I say, support \u2018em all! Don\u2019t forget about us, though.<\/p>\n Who are you and why do you think you’re qualified to run a business?<\/strong><\/p>\n We are John Goetz and Kyle MacDonald, and one day, we decided to learn to sew. We love sewing, so you can count on being your hoodies second lover, because we probably loved \u2018er for 3 hours before you even set your eyes on it. If it fits a little weird or smells like us when you get it, it\u2019s because we wore it already, because we love it. Is that enough? And John is a business major in college, for what it\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n Rumor is snowboarding is shrinking and skiing is the next big thing. Do you plan on sponsoring skiers to make more money?<\/strong><\/p>\n We would love to be able to live off of what we do, but it\u2019s not about the money for us. We have been supporting people of all kinds for a long time, because we don\u2019t want to just recognize people killing it in the snowboarding industry, but we want to show our appreciation for anyone who is making it happen for anyone or doing anything rad.<\/p>\n What will you do after you get rich off snowboarding?<\/strong><\/p>\n Keep sewing.<\/p>\n Established: November 2009 gnarlyclothes.com<\/a><\/p>\n YoBeat: Why would you start a snowboard company in this economy?<\/strong><\/p>\n Jon Francis: TO BE CLEAR WE ARE ONLY MAKING CLOTHES, NO SNOWBOARDS.\u00a0\u00a0 BUT IT DIDN’T NECESSARILY\u00a0 MATTER TO US WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE ECONOMY OR SNOWBOARD INDUSTRY AT THE TIME.\u00a0 BOTH THE ECONOMY AND SNOWBOARDING WILL ALWAYS BE CHANGING.\u00a0 THE BIGGEST THING WAS THAT WE WEREN’T REALLY BACKING THE DIRECTION OF A LOT OF THE OTHER CLOTHING COMPANIES OUT THERE AND WANTED TO SHOW THE WAY WE SEE SNOWBOARDING, AT THE SAME TIME MAKING CLOTHES THAT WE ALL WANT TO WEAR.\u00a0\u00a0 SO A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, KEEGAN, DYLAN, AND I GOT TOGETHER, PUT OUR FRIENDS ON THE TEAM,\u00a0 AND STARTED ‘GNARLY’ WE ARE SNOWBOARDERS AND SKATEBOARDERS MAKING CLOTHING FOR SNOWBOARDERS AND SKATEBOARDERS.\u00a0 NO CORPORATE BOSSES TRYING TO TELL US WHAT IS COOL OR HOW WE SHOULD MARKET OUR COMPANY. No really, why should people support you and not some other independent brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n I DON’T EXPECT EVERYONE TO SUPPORT US.\u00a0 THERE ARE LOTS OF HATERS, COOL CLIQUES, AND IN AND OUT TRENDS IN SNOWBOARDING.\u00a0 WE ARE JUST GOING TO STICK WITH WHAT WE LIKE, AND THE KIDS WHO SUPPORT US CAN COME ALONG WITH, THE REST CAN DO THEIR OWN THING AND THAT DOESN’T BOTHER US EITHER.<\/p>\n Who are you and why do you think you’re qualified to run a business?<\/strong><\/p>\n MY NAME IS JON FRANCIS.\u00a0 I WAS THE MARKETING DIRECTOR AND TEAM MANAGER FOR A CLOTHING COMPANY CALLED AMBIGUOUS FOR THE BETTER PART OF 7 YEARS. I WAS A NATIONAL SALES MANAGER FOR ONE OF THE LARGER CORPORATE COMPANIES IN THIS INDUSTRY (WHICH WAS A JOKE), I’M THE SNOW EDITOR FOR BL!SSS MAGAZINE, I’VE BEEN SNOWBOARDING SINCE\u00a0 THE YEAR KEEGAN WAS BORN, AND I HAVE THE SUPPORT AND HELP FROM MY PARTNERS KEEGAN VALAIKA AND DYLAN FAIT.<\/p>\n Rumor is snowboarding is shrinking and skiing is the next big thing. Do you plan on sponsoring skiers to make more money?<\/strong><\/p>\n NOT SURE IF THAT IS TRUE OR NOT, BUT I DO KNOW SOME KIDS WHO RIP ON SKIS AND I COMPLETELY BACK IT.\u00a0 FOR US, WE WILL NOT BE MARKETING TOWARDS SKIING THOUGH, MONEY OR NOT.<\/p>\n What will you do after you get rich off snowboarding?<\/strong><\/p>\n I WILL STILL BE SNOWBOARDING.\u00a0 TRAVELING AROUND THIS AMAZING WORLD!!!<\/p>\n Established: 2007-2011 www.operatorusa.com<\/a><\/p>\n Yobeat: Why would you start a snowboard company in this economy?<\/strong><\/p>\n Steven Kimura: We didn\u2019t start Owner Operator in this economy. \u00a0We began working on what eventually became our company in 2007, maybe year before the bankers managed to destroy the global economy. \u00a0Pete was freelancing for fancy fashion brands in NYC. \u00a0His unease about how reliant the industry was on exploiting cheap overseas labor ended up becoming a driving force behind how we conduct our business. When the economy crashed and he was put out of work, he finally had the time we needed to get started sewing.<\/p>\n We\u2019re also fortunate that all the giant companies are dropping their pros for double-corking, energy-drink guzzling kids. \u00a0We figure that there\u2019s an entire untapped market of former pros that still need gear to ride in, but don\u2019t want to buy anything from the mega-corporations that put them out to pasture.<\/p>\n What’s different about your brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n We design all of our products for ourselves, our friends, and our families. We\u2019re not chasing the same naive teenage market that the rest of the business world is ever scrambling after. \u00a0Our business is not to attempt to package \u201ccoolness\u201d for re-sale to insecure kids. \u00a0Owner Operator is about providing a classic product at a fair price.<\/p>\n No really, why should people support you and not some other independent brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n People absolutely should support other independent brands. \u00a0If every dollar is a vote for how you want to the world to be, consider what you\u2019re voting for. \u00a0There was a time when practically every brand was independent, and we were all the better for it.<\/p>\n Who are you and why do you think you’re qualified to run a business?<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re just two people, with some help from our friends. \u00a0I\u2019m a frustrated artist living in Providence RI, with my wife and baby girl. \u00a0I work in Boston all week, and spend the train commute trying to figure out how to keep Owner Operator running. Pete is an out of work menswear designer living in Hell\u2019s Kitchen, NYC living on food stamps.<\/p>\n Our business plan is simple. We scrape together whatever cash we can, design and manufacture our products locally, and mark them up enough to hopefully keep our company running. \u00a0We\u2019re just trying to do the right thing, the only way we know how. Hopefully that\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n Rumor is snowboarding is shrinking and skiing is the next big thing. Do you plan on sponsoring skiers to make more money?<\/strong><\/p>\n I plugged my TV back in last winter to watch Downhill in the Olympics. \u00a0The women\u2019s Downhill ended up being the only part of the Games that I saw, and it was amazing. \u00a0If we could sponsor them, we\u2019d do it in a second.<\/p>\n What will you do after you get rich off snowboarding?<\/strong><\/p>\n If I was suddenly rich, I\u2019d use the cash to build Owner Operator into the best snowboarding company in the world. \u00a0I\u2019d quit my full-time job. \u00a0If we ended up really flush, we could get Pete off of food stamps.<\/p>\n Established: 2007
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\nWhat’s different about your brand? <\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nWhat will you do after you get rich off snowboarding?<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.yobeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/epochmain.jpg\" "\\"epochmain\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nEpoch Apparel<\/h2>\n
\nLocation: Tacoma and Bellingham, Washington<\/p>\n
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\nWhat’s different about your brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.yobeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/gnralymain.jpg\" "\\"gnralymain\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nGnarly Clothing<\/h2>\n
\nLocation: Laguna Beach, Ca<\/p>\n
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\nWhat’s different about your brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nWE GET TO PUT OUR FRIENDS ON OUR TEAM REGARDLESS OF THEIR STATUS ON THE TW EXPOSURE METER, AND FOCUS ON SUPPORTING THESE KIDS THAT WE BELIEVE IN.\u00a0 THERE ARE A LOT OF UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED WITH ‘GNARLY’ AND WE GET TO TAKE EVERYONE’S IDEAS AND IMPLEMENT THEM INTO EVERYTHING WE DO AS A COMPANY.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.yobeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/ownopmain.jpg\" "\\"ownopmain\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nOwner Operator<\/h2>\n
\nLocation: Providence, RI and New York, NY.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.yobeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/upstatemain.jpg\" "\\"upstatemain\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nUpstate Clothing Co.<\/h2>\n
\nLocation: Brooklyn, NY<\/p>\n