skate, surf and snow products to independent retail stores in northern California and Nevada. Working for Vans helped me to understand what makes a product sell and why customers buy certain products or our loyal to certain brands. I also learned a great deal about fashion and trends and how to create relevant products that connect with a complex market place. However, I think the greatest thing I learned during that time is the power of a brand and the importance of marketing your brand. So how did I end up with my own brand? One shirt at a time, I guess. I had no masterplan to do this, just had an idea that stuck. You know what they say about the path that you chose, you don't always know where it is going to lead you but when you look back and connect the dots it seems to make sense. What's your inspiration? I'm a goal-oriented dreamer and I'm not afraid to push myself and follow my dreams. I figure if I fail at least I've learned something that will better prepare myself for the next venture. What's your creative process on coming up with new clothing lines? Wow, hard to nail this one down. I get inspiration from all over the place. The underlying current one would be humor. I was at the West St Wine Bar looking out the window and saw a leafless tree with a bunch of plastic shopping bags caught in it, it was just a funny and sad sight to see and I thought, possible Reno eNVy t-shirt? My two Business partners Jay and Dustin are always providing me with ideas too; again it is usually something that we find funny or at least topical. On the flip side, not all of our ideas are good ones and we keep each other in check. I am not a big buffet fan and I though a shirt titled buffraid (afraid of buffets) would be cool, the boys don't hold any punches and this idea was unanimously shot down. You mentioned your first gig as Reno eNVy was at the River Festival 4 years ago, what was that like? Yes, this year's River Festival will be the 5th one that we have participated in and our 4-year anniversary. For our brand this was the perfect venue to introduce our products. We had one style of shirt; it was a Jack Daniels parody shirt, which we are no longer allowed to produce, (if you have one www.clevermagazine.net
of these you are very lucky) and a few ball caps. We sold over 60 units that weekend and it was then that we realized that people liked the idea of Reno eNVy and with the success that we had there we felt comfortable moving forward and building more products. The West Street Market shop has a cool vibe, how did you feel about setting up in there? There is no better place in Reno for our brand. The market is in the heart of downtown Reno and the synergy created with all the other business in there is great. We are really looking forward to the summer when downtown comes alive again. We will be hosting a farmers market every Sunday and are tossing the idea around of a destination Sunday Brunch spot. What is your personal signature style? Casually elegant without the elegance, I'm a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy. Did you always know you were going to have a career in clothing trends? Was it something that just came natural to you? Actually, it is the last thing I ever thought I would be doing. If someone told me 5 years ago that I would be pioneering a Reno clothing brand, I would have just laughed. Even at this moment the idea that we have created Reno's signature brand is surreal. What's your favorite Reno eNVy piece that you would recommend to the fashion savvy community out there? I'd have to say anything with one of our trailers on it. The trailer has become the icon of the brand. It was never meant to be, it was just one shirt that we did and our customers fell in love with it. What's it like seeing people around town wearing your brand? It's the coolest thing for two reasons, one it shows how much people love Reno and take pride in this place and two it gives me a huge sense of accomplishment to see the completion of the product cycle, meaning you have an idea, you build a product, you put it on the shelves, someone buys it and then you see them actually wearing it. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction and always puts a smile on my face.
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