Meet Ronak & Keyur, Founders of This Is It Collection!

How many of you have had a brilliant idea and failed to execute it; only to see someone else breathe life to a similar idea and have a major come up? *Slowly raises hand.*  Well, thank goodness not everyone falls victim to procrastination.  Meet twenty-something Ohio natives, Ronak and Keyur, founders of This Is It Collection.  All Sports Everything recently had a chance to speak with these emerging t-shirt designers and learned how they smartly discovered a way to leverage social media, and slowly turn their passion and love of the Cincinnati Bengals into profit!  


All Sports Everything:  Introduce yourselves. Share how the two of you met, and how This is It was born. 
 
Ronak:  Keyur and I shared mutual friends and they introduced us in undergrad.  Keyur attended the University of Cincinnati and I attended Ohio State.  I eventually moved on to Grad School and received my Master’s Degree from the University of Dayton in June 2010.  My 9-5 job was becoming very mundane and I knew I wanted something a little more.  Once I completed grad school I knew that I had the security of education underneath me so I decided I wanted to start something of my own.  I’ve always been pretty passionate about apparel, I shop at thrift stores and try to keep up with trends, etc. so, it just kind of made sense.  At the time, Keyur was kind of in the same boat, so we linked up and started brainstorming different ideas.  You know apparel, a chai stand etc, so that’s kind of how it came about.

All Sports Everything:  That’s great.  Keyur, do you have anything you’d like to add?  Is this your full-time job now? 
 
Keyur:  I was a dreamer and thought it could be my full-time thing but I don’t think it’s there yet.  Initially, I took a leave of absence from my job to focus on this.  Like Ronak said, we linked up and were brainstorming and throwing out all of these different ideas.  We were trying to make money off of our hobbies and passions, basically.  Apparel...chai was another one and I’m a huge Bengals fan so we connected on this and kicked it off!  At the time, I was on a leave of absence from my job so I could fully commit time to This Is It, but at the end of October I had to make a decision about whether I wanted to return to my job and balance the two, or just focus on this.  But, this still wasn’t stable enough, so I’ve gone back to work. I do my 9-5 and focus on This Is It at night and on the weekends. 

ASE:  When did you guys officially launch This Is It?

K:  Mid-August.  It's been about six months.
 
ASE:  How did you come up with the name This Is It?  I immediately thought of Michael Jackson.  Was he the inspiration?

K:  Although we're huge fans of Michael Jackson, it really didn't have anything to do with him. One day we were racking our brains at Starbucks trying to come up with a bunch of ideas for designs and our company name.  And then we decided we needed to break for lunch, so we went to this Mexican joint and it just kind of came out of nowhere and I think Ronak just mentioned, This Is It.  And we both kind of looked at each other like This Is It! That’s It!! 
R:  It was kind of a moment for us.

ASE:  What made the t-shirt line rise to the top of the list of all the other ideas you brainstormed?

R:  I’ve also worked with photoshop and have always been interested in design.  I didn’t go to school because at the time my parents were like this is probably not the way to go. So, I always did it on the side.  I also DJ on the side so I was always making fliers and promotion materials in photoshop, indesign, and illustrator so I mentioned that to Keyur and he suggested we should do something in design so that’s how that idea came about.   
K:  For me it was a little different.  That’s why we make such a strong team because we both have different reasons for wanting to do this.  I’m a huge Bengals fan and we have a lot of fair weather fans and it was just idealistic in thinking.  I wanted to create some merchandise that our fans could get excited about, wear, and support our team, so I was into the t-shirt line for that reason.

ASE:  This Is It has received a lot of press with the T.O. and Ochocinco Batman and Robin themed t-shirts, in a short six months.  It was even featured on ESPN First Take.  How did all of this happen so quickly?  

T.O. meeting Ronak and Keyur for the first time.

 R:  It was around August when we finished the first t-shirt without anyone’s approval or knowledge. T.O. and Ochocinco didn't even know anything about it.  Once the design was finished, we posted it on our twitter page and we sent it over to T.O., not expecting him to respond because he has over 700,000 followers, but we sent it over to him and we received a tweet back from him saying, "Holy fresh t-shirts! Can you send me a couple of those to the Bengals facility and include one for Robin too?" So, we flipped out at that point and said oh man, this could be something!  We ended up going to Georgetown, Kentucky where they have training camp and we decided we were just going to go straight to the source and brought the t-shirts directly to T.O.  We arrived at the front gate, introduced ourselves and told them we were there to give T.O some t-shirts.  They looked at us like we were crazy.  But long story short, we ended up getting into the facility and the team's PR rep came out and asked why we were there.  We showed her the tweet and told her the same thing.  She said ok and told us he was busy but we could leave them with her.  We told her that we preferred to personally deliver them and she said we could hang around until practice was over and try to get his attention then.  We said ok and waited.  We were in the stands, front row.  There were like 400 people behind us.  Practice ended and T.O. came out.  Keyur lifted up the t-shirt and yelled, yo T.O. we got your shirts man!  T.O. turned around in the stands, looked up and asked if we had one for him.  We were like yeah dude, we have a bag full!  He told us to come down closer.  So, we jumped the fence, went down to the field, and left behind 400 jealous fans wondering how we were getting down there.  So we met him and he said the t-shirts were fresh.  And that was it.  He didn’t have too much time. That was like our 30 seconds with him, if that long.  We told him we had so many other designs and he said yeah, yeah, yeah, just tweet me, just tweet me!  That was the initial contact so throughout the next few months we kept trying to reach out to the right people. We finally got our package into his assistant's hands and we setup a meeting with her.

K:  Re: ESPN First Take, we thought our shirts would be a perfect fit for the show since it's a pretty comical show.  They have this one segment where they feature funny news headlines.  So, I tweeted the First Take team and suggested a funny headline to go along with a Skip Bayless t-shirt that showed him tied up with T.O. and Ochocinco saying, What Skip? Can't hear you!"  They loved it and contacted us to tell us that they'd include it on the show.  We sent them some t-shirts and they gave us a date and time to look out for the feature. Everyone on set had a good laugh about it.  It was pretty funny.  
 
ASE:  Two awesome stories!  And since then, Ochocinco’s also been supportive, right?

R:  Yeah, that one took a little more time because we had to go through Chad’s whole marketing company, but we finally got him on board about a month or so ago.

ASE:  Right.  I saw Chad tweet the Pepe t-shirt you designed for him.  Was that his idea or did you guys just decide to create that t-shirt and hope that he would respond well to it?  

R:  We follow Ochocinco's tweets on a daily basis just to see where he’s going with his brand and he's been referring to himself as Pepe a lot.  He also visited Spain not too long ago, so we thought it would be fun to create a Pepe t-shirt.  We designed it, sent it over to his marketing company and they immediately loved it.  They said it was cool, so we actually sent him a reco of what he should tweet about the t-shirt and he posted it!

ASE:  I know you guys also have a Lebron James t-shirt.  What’s the inspiration behind that design?

R:  I follow all of these athletes on twitter to see what they’re talking about, what their new nicknames are and to see if it could help our business.  I was a huge and still am a huge Cavs fan so it kind of hurt for me to do this design.  I’ve gotten a lot of heat from my friends in Ohio like dude are you seriously going to create this t-shirt?! But it comes down to our brand. So, I basically wanted to see what the Big 3 were calling themselves and Lebron referred to them as the Heatles.  From there, I thought it would be hilarious if we could incorporate the Beatles and Heatles together.  I designed the t-shirt and right now we're trying to get the attention of the players, city, and local media. 

ASE: Overall, it appears that your strategy is building upon an idea that originates with the athletes i.e. their alter egos, and developing a product that speaks to the athletes as well as their fan base.  Would you agree?  

K:  Yes.  That's essentially our business model.
 
ASE: OK, and how would you describe your marketing strategy?  It seems like twitter’s been huge but is there anything else beyond twitter and social media that you use to build awareness?

K:  Twitter is a component of our broader marketing strategy.  We have it broken up into several different channels. We do social media, google adwords, facebook ads, promotions through celebs, call outs on blogs, and we kind of got lucky with ESPN and the T Ocho show.  It’s a combo of the paid media, free social media, and grassroots.  At Bengals' home games,we just get out there during tailgating with our street team, sell our t-shirts, and take pics of fans wearing our t-shirts.  We tell them that we'll post their pic on our site and to visit the next day, so it drives traffic back to our site.  No matter what, we make sure we're everywhere the fans are!

ASE:  As entrepreneurs what has been the biggest challenge for you guys?

R:  For me personally, finances.  I actually will be starting a 9-5 so I’ll be moving to Cincinnati.  It’s tough explaining it to your parents.  You know saying hey mom, I have a Master’s Degree but I’m going to sell t-shirts now.  For me that was a huge thing.  They’re more supportive now...the ESPN feature helped, but it's still been tough financially.    
K:  For me, the key challenge has been being able to put all of the pieces together at the right time to maximize and capitalize off all of these opportunities.  For example, when we first received the RT from T.O., our site wasn't even up at the time.  So that was a huge lesson learned.  I'd say that's been the biggest challenge, but it's also been huge fun!

ASE:  What's next for This is It?  What other designs do you have in the works?

R:  The Heatles, and thinking very big, we’d love to do a Kobe shirt. We’re also trying to reach Christiano Ronaldo...
K:  Michael Vick, the Cincinnati Reds and eventually branching out into jerseys or anything else.

ASE: How can my readers get their hands on a t-shirt? 
R: They can go to our website, www.thisisitcollection.com, follow us on twitter @thisisitbrand or like us on facebook at facebook.com/thisisitcollection.

As a Knicks fan, I can't help but wonder what design they'd come up with to represent Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.  Maybe we'll soon find out! Keyur and Ronak, good luck with the line and thanks for speaking with All Sports Everything!

Exit Melodrama! Enter Melomania!

Exit Melodrama. Enter Melomania!

Honestly, I had no idea how I'd feel after hearing that Carmelo Anthony to the NY Knicks was finally approved.  The nonstop drama certainly tainted my judgment a bit.  I spoke with my Dad about the tentative deal early Monday afternoon, and he was convinced that it was only a matter of time.  Although I followed all of the back and forth, I detached myself a bit.  I refused to involve my heart in the Melodrama because as a Knicks fan, I know far too well what it feels like to be letdown.  I refused to set myself up for the fall...again. 

Fast forward a few hours.  I received a two-word text from my Dad saying, "It's done!"  I stood emotionless.  The trade was officially official and not in a "sources say the deal is 90% done we just need Carmelo to approve it kind of way."  I called my Dad so he could fill me in.  Although I was hesitant to celebrate, he didn't allow me to rain on his parade.  He was pumped.  So pumped that I convinced him to guest blog his reaction later this week.  Stay tuned for that!  But I digress.

Sensing my lack of enthusiasm, my Dad suggested I go home and listen to WFAN.  He convinced me that the energy from the fans calling into the station would be so infectious that I'd have no other choice but to get hype.  My funk would immediately wash away. After listening for a while and reading twitter, I was still unmoved.

But! A short while later, it hit me!! I finally started to get hype.  It didn't have anything to do with the callers on the radio, or tweets on my timeline, or ESPN commentary.  Instead, it had everything to do with me having flashbacks to Melo's Syracuse days in 2002-2003 and the previous success he'd had in New York.  My mind suddenly started racing with memories of how he used to light up MSG as a college freshman!!!  The last time New York had a reason to celebrate anything basketball related, was all due to Carmelo carrying Syracuse to an NCAA Championship.  I recalled watching Melo in the Big Dance and thinking he was virtually unstoppable.  I remembered how he went to work in the Final Four against Texas.  I remembered being pissed that Lebron James was the star of the 2003 NBA Draft based on a high school highlight reel.  At the time, I thought C. Melo should've been #1, no question. And I can't help but think that Melo's pairing with Amar'e Stoudemire presents one more hurdle for the Miami Heat to overcome if they want that rock. 

And not to overlook Melo's NBA career, but taking it way back to the days when I first admired his game is what has me most amp'd to see Melo in a Knicks uni.  He knows what it means to win in New York and this is more than I can say for anyone else within the Knicks organization, aside from Walt Clyde Frazier.  OK, maybe I'm reaching a bit with that statement, but let me get that.  No one is messing with my high right now.  Not even the fact that Mike D'antoni is still the coach or the rumors that Isiah Thomas' grubby little hands were all over this trade will prevent me from counting down the hours until Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony team up and light up MSG on Wednesday.  Well done, Knicks.  Well done.

So Long Andy Pettitte.

 

As whispers of Andy Pettitte's possible retirement grew louder, I selfishly hoped he'd return.  Despite last season's injuries, he left little doubt that if he returned to the mound this season, he'd have his A game with him.

But unfortunately, the 38-year-old, five-time World Series Champion closed that chapter of his life today and officially announced his retirement at Yankee Stadium.  Even the self-imposed pressure of feeling needed by the Yankees wasn't enough to bring him back because, quite frankly, the drive that's sustained him throughout his 16 year career was suddenly no where to be found.  At today's conference, Pettitte said, "My arm feels fine. My body feels fine. But my heart’s not where it needs to be.”

After hearing Pettitte's sincere words, there's no way one can argue with the left-handed pitcher's decision.  He has served the Yankees well for 13 seasons; producing better than any other pitcher in the postseason with 19 wins.

Despite his performance enhancing drug admission, Pettitte remained a favorite among Bronx Bomber fans.  With a career that has yielded a 240-138 record, there is no doubt that #46 has left his mark on the game.  Whether or not he's inducted to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown remains to be seen, but he'll certainly go down in Yankees history as one of the best.

What a bittersweet moment.

It's obvious no one's career lasts forever, but it's always sad to see one of your favorite's say goodbye.

It's also bittersweet because I'm now left wondering, what we gonna do now?!?! *Diddy Voice*

While pitchers and catchers report in ten days, I am extremely uncomfortable knowing that our starting pitching rotation includes one and a possible, CC Sabbathia and Phil Hughes.  My fellow spades players know that's a weak hand and winning is nearly impossible.

I'm eager to see how Brian Cashman intends to transform an anemic pitching rotation into a World Series Championship contender because so far he's batting .000.

Brian Cashman, if you haven't noticed, you are now on the clock. 

Related articles

• Pettitte calls it a career after 16 years, five rings (mlb.mlb.com)

Photo Credit:  Keivom/News

Apple x Jordan: You Can't Stick Jordan

 

So, this ridiculously sick sticker of Michael Jordan palming the Apple logo pretty much speaks for itself!  Seriously. 

Regardless of whether or not you're a Jordan fanatic, it's impossible to contain your lust for this image. Even if it is fleeting.

This is exactly what happened to me last night while on Twitter.  @shegotgame RTed @suga_shane and the rest is history.  Eventually, tweeps (mostly NBA heads) had a RT fest trying to find the mastermind behind this idea.  Minutes later, because that's how fast twitter works, the creator's identity was revealed.

All props to Jirobot of Jirobot.wordpress.com for this brilliant design.  After I checked out his site, I learned that this Michael Jordan design isn't new at all.  In fact, it's the second installment of his year old sticker collection.  

Who said never late is better? LOL.

Check out a few other designs from my new hero.

The Original MJ

The King of Pop

The Goonies:  Never Say Die!

Mr. Steve Jobs

To see more, head over to his site.

The Michael Jordan sticker costs $13 plus $5 shipping for US residents.  If you live outside of the States, shipping is $15.

The other stickers vary in price, but don't exceed $20.  

If you're interested in purchasing a sticker, leave him a comment on his website and he'll get back to you. Or email him here.

When I upgrade my computer in the near future, I'll definitely be hitting him up! That Michael Jackson sticker has my name all over it!

P.S. To all of you non-tweeters, this is a perfect example of why it's the ish.  Everyday a star is born!

Get involved and follow me:  @sdotrenee!

Did You Hear? Charles Barkley Launched a Site, Mike Fratello Blogs, and Stephen A. Smith Returned to ESPN!

Did you hear? Sir Charles Barkley, one of the NBA's most colorful personalities "quietly" launched a personal website this week.  Now he has his very own platform to speak his mind on anything he wants.  Brilliant!

Charlesbarkley.com, powered by Turner Sports, has five videos posted with Charles commenting on various topics ranging from Auburn's Top 5 Athletes to Ted Williams: Man with the Golden Voice to Charles' Oscar pick for Best Actor.  And in true Barkley fashion, he rants & raves about folks putting rims on their car.

As if that's not reason enough to check out the site, it also appears that Barkley will be regularly chatting with fans. According to the site, his first chat will take place tomorrow at 9:30pm/et. Tune in!

I just have one question.  What took Charles so long?!?!  I don't know why, but whenever he talks I listen.  No, I don't always share his point of view, but that doesn't interfere with me being thoroughly entertained by this man.  I expect great thought provoking, ridiculously over-the-top and timely rants from Sir Charles.

 

Another TNT favorite of mine is analyst Mike Fratello.  If you haven't checked out The Czar's blog, do yourself a favor and get on it! The YES Network and TNT vet does an incredible job of breaking down the X's and O's of games; while also dishing out fantasy basketball tips and choosing his top plays of the previous night.  Basically, Fratello delivers the goods basketball fans care about.

For example, today he polls fans asking who would win a 3-point shootout contest between Ray Allen and Reggie Miller.  My pick?  Jesus Shuttlesworth, but you can cast your vote here.

MikeFratello.com offers such great insight and coverage one can't help but wonder if he'll be making his return to the sidelines as a coach anytime soon.  Hmmm...

To keep up with The Czar, follow him on twitter and facebook.

In other news, ESPN's merry-go-round relationship with Stephen A. Smith continues.  After parting ways with the network two years ago, yesterday it was announced that Stephen A. is returning as a radio host and columnist. 

Spanning the two coasts, Smith will provide commentary on ESPN 1050 NY from 7-9 p.m. ET and ESPN 710 in LA from 6-8 p.m. PT.  Smith, another polarizing personality, is expected to focus on the Knicks and Lakers, but I guarantee that he'll discuss whatever the hell he wants, because that's what he does.  No censoring this guy. 

ESPN's Norby Williamson, EVP of Production welcomed Smith back to network by saying, "Stephen A. consistently offers strong opinions on a wide variety of topics.  He has a proven track record as an authoratative voice, which will lead to insightful conversation leading into Knicks and Lakers game coverage."

When Smith announced his Fox Sports Radio morning show was ending, months ago, I wondered where he'd land next.  Over the years, the outspoken Independent has become a popular and respected voice in the world of politics, but I'm glad he'll be back on the radio talking Knicks basketball.

It's unclear when Smith's radio show launches, but you can keep up with him on twitter and his site, www.stephena.com.

Is Subway Biting Off More Than They Can Chew?

It was recently announced that Subway added Olympian speedskater, Apolo Anton Ohno, to their roster of clients which include fellow Olympians Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin. 

With the addition of Ohno, Subway has managed to secure the top athletes from the Summer and Winter Olympics guaranteeing they have the biggest sports windows covered.  What appears to be a great strategic move by Subway, could be a greater indication of what's to come in the next year and a half-- a headache for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and United States Olympic Committee (USOC).  Here's why.

The IOC prevents non-Olympic sponsors from running spots that feature competing Olympic athletes before and during the Olympic Games.  In layman's terms, if you don't pay for the rights to benefit from Olympic brand association, then you have not earned the right to run a Michael Phelps ad during the Summer Olympics, regardless of your partnership with him.  Although it's not the most ideal situation for an unofficial sponsor who has partnered with an Olympic athlete of Phelps' caliber, it's imperative that the IOC and USOC enforce this rule as an attempt to protect their official sponsors.

I say attempt because unofficial sponsors and brands like Subway continue to circumvent the system by resorting to the bold tactics of ambush marketing.  Although it's generally viewed as a negative practice, brands can't resist the positive buzz it generates among consumers; thus impacting their bottom-line.  For example, Nike is unashamedly guilty of repeatedly ambushing the Olympics and World Cup.  In fact, since they have such a reputation for doing so, the anticipation of their campaigns merely amplifies the energy surrounding their efforts.

And in Subway's case, they experimented with running a Michael Phelps ad during the 2010 Winter Olympics and were successful.  Winter Olympic athletes are exempt from the rule during the Summer Games, and vice versa.  If you recall, the spot showed Michael Phelps swimming through land, toward Vancouver aka "where the action was that winter."  This ad upset the IOC, USOC and McDonald's, the official restaurant sponsor, but was a major win for Subway.

PUSH PLAY:  Michael Phelps and Subway 2010 Winter Games


According to Sports Business Journal, it's unknown if Ohno's contract runs through 2012.  However, it's a safe bet that if it does, Ohno and Jared Foogle will be teaming up to represent the sandwich chain for the 2012 Games.