Just like any other teenager, seniors Brian Ross, Wesley Brower and Xiang Jian wanted to make some money. But unlike the usual run-of-the-mill teenager, Ross, Brower and Jian channeled that desire into something productive: they created their own t-shirt company. Started up their sophomore year of Cam High during their Cross Country class, Transcend Clothing is now a profitable company and doing orders for the likes of the cross-country team, Boy Scouts, and Cam High’s KIWINS, plus numerous custom orders for individuals.
Transferring the dream of the business into a solid reality required sacrifice from the three students. Ross had to use money that would have gone towards a car to pay for the equipment needed to produce t-shirts (in total, it took $3000 to get the business up and running). All three have had to devote copious amounts of time to the development of the shirts and business planning. For their first big order, t-shirts for the Cross-Country team, they spent eight hours in one night creating the shirts. Previous to that, they had spent much time in meetings with Coach Smith discussing whether Transcend Clothing would be up to the task of outfitting the team. For over 200 shirts produced they received their first huge check of $1260.
Much of the money the company has earned has gone into purchasing new equipment and upgrading the technology used. Over the years the images on their shirts have become sharper and more detailed.
The new equipment has also allowed them to foray into creating designer sports performance apparel. Ross said that he wanted to “hit on a market that hasn’t been hit on before,” and the new technology allows the company to do that. Ross says that the company is interested in eventually selling their products to major athletic labels such as Nike.
At present, senior Connor Ritchey is satisfied with the direction the company is taking. He owns three shirts from Transcend, one a Christmas gift from his father, and says that the shirts have “grade-A quality.”
Transcend Clothing specializes in customized imprintables. Search for Transcend Clothing on Facebook and peruse their page for information on pricing, colors, and the types of clothing printed on.
Transcend Clothing
