The commercials you see for student athletes going pro in areas other than sports is a very common experience.
One former Michigan hockey player and his friend have proved just that. Realizing that athletic fashion had a void, their idea has born.
You see, amongst typical grips of transitions to adult life, these two couldn't find a dress shirt that they loved, and that day, State & Liberty was born.
"When we started talking about it, it was never about starting a company, it was about our frustration with the dress shirts that were out there," Co-Founder Steven Fisher said.
"We're still trying to make the perfect dress shirt and we want to be known on the market as State and Liberty, those guys make the best dress shirt on the market for in-shape and athletically fit guys," Co-Founder Lee Moffie added.
The company has been active for a little over a year, and has come a long way since its first shirt.
"It was like an ugly green Michigan State looking picnic table-like deal, so it was a nightmare," Moffie recalled.
But since then, the growth has been huge. They now sell to athletes and young professionals nationally and are now working out of the Brand-It office in Ann Arbor.
"It was a lot different experience than today where we've got all these shirts, we've got a number of people working to make this thing succeed, we've got 15 different styles instead of two," Fisher added.
"It's really fun to see the orders roll in, I don't really know anyone on the LA Kings and we have at least ten guys on that team who are all customers, so it's really fun to see that," Moffie said.
