Monday, March 10, 20 14
Volume L X X V III, Number 4 3
w w w.mus t angne w s .net
Welcome to the
Apoc-alypse Kelly Trom
@kttrom
It all started with a dream and a gnome. John Hall, c0-owner and designer of Apoc Apparel and a graphic communication senior, was sick of going to clothing stores and not finding the look he wanted. “I was kind of annoyed of having an idea I wanted and not being able to see it at different companies,” Hall said. “From that idea came the idea of me designing my own clothing company, a whole brand of what I want and what other people want to wear.” Hall set out to create his own clothing company his freshman year at Cal Poly from inspiration he gathered in high school. The name “Apoc” came to him in a dream where he was wearing “Apoc” brand shoes. The name stuck with him; all he needed were the designs to go with it. That’s where the gnome comes in. Hall’s free-hand sketch of a gnome was the first design that made it onto a printed Tshirt. It was also what warmed Hall’s friends, and now co-owners of Apoc Apparel, to the idea of starting their own clothing company. Electrical engineering senior Mark McNeff, industrial engineering senior Chad Kihm and industrial engineering senior Tyler Nuss joined Hall to make his dream of an original lifestyle clothing brand come true. “From the beginning, we said we didn’t want to make anything that we wouldn’t wear ourselves,” Nuss said. “We are passionate about making stuff that we think is cool. We are just a bunch of dudes and we love making clothes and running a business together.” Once they had their first line of four graphic T-shirts printed, the four company owners wore the Apoc designs all the time to promote the brand. “We would all go to (The) Avenue or Metro and three of us would be wearing the gnome shirt,” Hall said. “We were all, ‘Ya, we are all wearing the same shirt. What’s up?’” Now that they have multiple lines under their belt, Hall, McNeff, Nuss and Kihm — as well as their customers — have a lot more options to choose from. While Hall wears Apoc three to four times per week, the chances of him wearing the same shirt as one of the other co-owners is slim. Since Apoc’s launch in 2011, the range of design has slightly grown, but the gnome has remained — every clothing item’s inside tag displays the gnome as a sort of company mascot. >>
see APOC, pg 5. ANNE KNAPKE | MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST BRO TANKS | Apoc Apparel is a clothing line created by four Cal Poly students: graphic communication senior John Hall (bottom right), electrical engineer Mark McNeff, industrial engineering senior Chad Kihm and industrial engineering senior Tyler Nuss (middle right).
WOMEN’S HOOPS snags No. 2 seed Mustang News Staff Report FULL STORY AT MUSTANGNEWS.NET
OLIVIA PROFFIT | SPECIAL TO MUSTANG NEWS HORSIN’ AROUND | Moonstar is Cal Poly’s new live mascot and may appear at football games next season.
Taming the wild: Mustangs prepare
to take the field as live mascots
Olivia Proffit Special to Mustang News
FILE PHOTO | MUSTANG NEWS GRAND NIGHT | Senior guard Ariana Elegado surpassed the 1,000-point for her career on Saturday.
Senior guard Ariana Elegado’s career-high 32 points propelled the Cal Poly women’s basketball team to a 79-68 win at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Mustangs clinched a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed in this week’s Big West Conference Tournament in Anaheim, Calif.
Residing in stall 13 is the biggest superstar on campus: Moonstar, a mustang donated by a Cal Poly alumnus, is being trained by students to become the university’s live mascot. Equine supervisor Natalie Baker teaches an animal science class about equine management, where her students learn about taking care of horses at the introductory level. In the class, her students assist by helping train Moonstar and other formerly wild horses as they prepare to become Cal Poly’s official mascots. “I think that (having a live mascot) solidifies the fact that we have a ‘Learn by Doing’ program, and it is going to improve student involvement and increase our Poly pride,” Baker said. >>
see MOONSTAR, pg 2.
Bands bring down the CASA for a cause Brenna Swanston @Brenna_Swanston
PREVIEW
Kappa Alpha Theta held its philanthropy event, Rock the CASA, this past Friday. The event featured four bands: Sacramento-based Street Urchinz and local bands Próxima Parada, Louder Space and Moonshiner Collective. >> JOSEPH PACK | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
see CASA, pg 6.
MI CA SA ES SU CA SA | Sacramento-based band Street Urchinz was one of four bands that performed at Kappa Alpha Theta’s Rock the CASA event.
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