New Shirt Design: Old-School FIGHTING TIGERS

Well, my first long sleeve shirt, and my first real blog post in forever. This isn't easy folks; I can't just spit 1500 words out every week. And, plus, tshirts reeeaaaallly aren't that exciting. I figure if I have something great coming out or win a lot of money, I'll let you know. If not, then you can just expect facebook updates with the occasional mass email.

CYBERMONDAY was a colossal success. I seriously made a ton of coin that day, but more importantly, I got rid of 95% of my inventory. I can actually have guests over to my apartment without them sitting on a pile of Italy World Cup shirts. I figured out a few things over the last few months. 1. People like high-end tshirts at really low prices. Like below break-even prices. 2. Girls don't even like the womens-fit shirts, so I don't know why I buy them. And 3. USPS will return a package to me, if I underestimate postage by $0.27 DESPITE two years of overpaying my postage. No wonder they are $20 billion in the hole. I'm 1 pink delivery slip in my mailbox away from taking my talents to FedEx.

Anywho, I've been sitting on this old-school FIGHTING TIGERS logo/design for a long time, but never had the right opportunity to get it involved until now. With the Cotton Bowl coming up, it only made sense. So, get after it folks....an old-school design and warmth for your forearms. $17 is pretty cheap for a long-sleeve cotton shirt, no?

Please LIKE my Facebook Page to get updates and discount codes.

guy

Blog by Guy HTML Experiment: TCU Nike Pro-Combat Uniform Revealed

So, this is just an experiment.  A few of my buddies went to TCU and get all worked up over football uniforms, so one of them is going to the presentation in NYC of the new Nike Pro-Combat Uniforms they will be wearing on Saturday vs. Oregon State.  So, here is the live presentation or something?  There will be a live video feed from 10AM EST to 1PM EST today September 1, 2010.  I don't really know the details. He just sent out all these nerdy codes, so I'm really just seeing how well I can work the interweb.  I'm more of a traditionalist when it comes to uniforms, so TCU's amphibian pants don't really do it for me.  Give me classic purple and gold uniforms with leather helmets every day of the week.  Also, I don't really follow JV football, so I'm not that familiar the Horned Frogs squad this year.

Side note: LSU vs UNC kick-off at 8PM EST in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta this Saturday.  Get ready!

Support Louisiana in the 2012 Paralympic Games

This is Shirts by Guy’s first fundraiser, so help support a fellow Louisiana boy, Mark LeBlanc! This is truly a unique and worthy cause, and I’m excited to be a part of it. Since all my shirts are sports-related, I thought it was only right that my first fundraiser be geared toward the greatest sporting event in the world.....the Olympics.

First, a little background on who and what you will be supporting: Mark was born and raised in New Orleans, attended St. Dominic's, Jesuit, and LSU. He learned to sail at the age of 9, and learned to race in the Optimist fleet, which was pretty much where all the young studs honed their racing skills all over the Gulf Coast. In high school, Mark began sailing Lasers and Club 420's, which is sailor-speak for “badass”. Mark helped Jesuit qualify for and compete in 4 High School Fleet Racing National Championships and 4 High School Team Racing National Championships; bringing home 2 bronzes. At LSU, Mark organized the LSU Sailing Club and was elected the Club President two years in a row.

In March 2006, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated coastal Louisiana and New Orleans, Mark found the 2.4mR class in St. Petersburg, FL. After his first event, Mark was asked to practice with the US Disabled Sailing Team in Miami that May. Oh, did I not mention Mark was born as a below-elbow congenital amputee, and been dominating the regional sailing circuit with only 1.5 arms? Well, this is a fact, and now it was time for him to show his talents to the world. Mark purchased a new 2.4mR (which is a boat) and began a campaign towards the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Mark's 2008 Paralympic Campaign saw him traveling from Finland to Miami and Newport, RI to train and compete in preparation for the US Paralympic Trials. Unfortunately, Mark fell short, barely missing the #1 spot on the team and qualified as an alternate for the 2008 Games. As an alternate, Mark attended a test event in China and was truly amazed at how great an experience it would be to represent the United States at the Paralympics. This is when Mark decided to pursue another Paralympic Campaign for the London Games in 2012.

Despite the challenges that he has faced and the cost of his training and travel, Mark is dedicated to representing, not only the USA, but the great state of Louisiana, at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Team LeBlanc is a non-profit organization, and I can’t tell you how much of his own money he has put up to do something he loves. So, it’s time to support the local boy on the international stage by buying some t-shirts and koozies to raise money to support his training and travel! 100% of net proceeds will go to Mark donated through  through the Delta Olympic Sailing Association, a non profit with 501(c)(3) status.

Go to http://www.team-leblanc.com/ for more information.

PS: If you order multiple shirts, I'll ship them out immediately (minus the Team LeBlanc shirt) for one shipping cost.

Ordering will be open for the next 3 weeks, and customized shirts and koozies will be ordered then. Expect to receive items 2-3 weeks after that. Thanks everyone.

Shirts Don't Sell Themselves

So, my life has been a whirlwind since my last post.... I went on a bank closing at the end of June for my real-life job, squeezed in a 5 day Puerto Vallarta 4th of July Weekend Bachelor Party Extravaganza, followed that up with a Beach Volleyball Tournament and Pool Party charity fundraiser in Dallas, the next day was the World Cup Final with Spain finishing it in dramatic fashion, and I just returned from an all day Guadalupe River float followed by a Ghostland Observatory concert in New Braunfels.  My body is tired, my liver is shot, and it's really hard to find time to peddle these shirts.  It's even harder to find time to write on this damn blog, it's exhausting.  Freaking Perez Hilton, how does she do it?

Again, I do have a real-life job, so I find myself packing shirts and sending emails till 1 in the morning.  I'll squeeze in a tweetling or facebook update during the work day and try to send some links to boutiques to see if they'd like to sell any Shirts by Guy.  I've got 126 followers and 395 fans as of right now, which is still not nearly enough, but it's a start.  I mean, I just don't understand.....I clearly assumed the Buying Manager for all major department stores would be browsing my site and immediately want to order 5000 shirts each for all Louisiana stores.  This is how the internet works I thought....overnight millionaires.  No?  What?  It's not 1998?

I've also recently placed a large order of old and new stuff to prepare for football season because as much as I like selling these suckers wholesale in bulk, the boutiques that sell them don't plan ahead that well for impulse items like these for their stores.  I've been in touch with several stores about this fall, but I know there will be a lot more come August 15th or so, and they will want me to ship them shirts immediately.  I hope I estimated my inventory correctly.  I have a couple of new ideas and designs in the works, but I'd like to unload some inventory before I pull the trigger on my next venture.  I'm trying to work out some deals with some larger stores for exclusive shirts just for them, so stay tuned!  All you girls that own boutiques, get your orders in NOW please!  Shreveport, Monroe, Lake Chuck...... let's do this. 

Got a couple of charity events/fundraisers coming up that I'll be sure to post on here!  I've donated some shirts to Nest Fest in Bossier City, LA, which is thrown by Lauren's Nest Egg, a charity that helps people escape homelessness.  If you are in the Shreveport area on August 14th, and want to get involved...check out this page for more information. 

Now, click here to get ready for football season.....

Thanks Landon; Thanks Isner; Thanks Italy....Wait, No

Way to show up, Italy.  Defending freaking champs.  Well played, well played.  We've got two no-name tennis players playing 47 straight hours of competitive tennis, and y'all can't muster 90 minutes of solid team play?  These guys have absolutely nothing left, truly leaving it all on the court.  One dude is a 7 ft behemoth.  I mean, imagine just living a normal life at that freakish size, it would be exhausting.  But he somehow manages to use adrenaline and put his heart on the line and play tennis for 11 hours till he somehow won the match.  Did anyone care who won at that point?  No.  The effort and guts displayed will be remembered forever.  I wish I could say the same for Italy.

You may ask.....You're American Guy, why do you care so much?  Well, you know, when I was creating World Cup shirts, I kinda focused on the teams I positively knew were going through to the Round of 16, and the highly seeded defending champions looked to be a sound investment.  The longer the team is playing, the more momentum they pick up, more and more fans are going to go crazy, therefore buying more of their shirts.  It's T-Shirt Sales 101 people.  But, I should have listened to my friends.  Like my buddy always says, "Never lie down with an Italian because they'll crap the bed."  Or something like that.  Well, I'm at her place right now lying in a big freaking mess.

Big discount people, get these Italy shirts out of my sight.  I'm pretty sure American Apparel sells these blanks for like $20, and you can get them with a cool "Italy" graphic on them for half that.  Yep, $10.  Don't be embarrassed to wear it.  Just tell people it's a 2006 World Cup Champion commemorative t-shirt!

http://www.shirtsbyguy.com/product/italy-world-cup-flag-shirt

Don't let this overshadow the reedonkulous Landon Donovan stoppage time goal to send us from packing our bags to winning our Group.  In my lifetime, only 3 or 4 truly American moments in sports really stick out in my memory.  In random order, Michael Phelps 8 Gold Medals in Beijing (the relay comeback to be more specific), President W throwing out the 1st pitch after 9/11 in the World Series at Yankee Stadium (from the rubber mind you), Donovan's goal on Wednesday, and the 2002 LSU Football Spring Game.

And, Wednesday was just another typical American day.  First, Landon Donovan waits till the last possible minute to accomplish something that could have been done way earlier.  Very American.  Then a seven foot tennis freak, with lungs of infinite capacity, and tireless legs plays for 3 straight days.  Of course, he's American.

Now, GEAUX USA!!!  We play Ghana on Saturday at 230PM EST, so be sure to start drinking well before noon.   Oh, and buy a shirt.

Pretty cool video of the world's reaction to Donovan's goal below.

First Week Update: Carry On People.....Nothing to See Here

Well, the first week has gone pretty well, so thank you very much.  I mean, let’s be honest, I still have a lot (crapload) of inventory left at the house, but, overall, this has been pretty fun.  I’ve mailed shirts from California to New York to London.  I’ve sold to stateside Brits, an NFL football player, a midget, and lots and lots of friends.  Some people have approached me about buying wholesale GEAUX shirts this fall and others want me to design vintage shirts for their organization.  I even had one dude cuss me for having $25 t-shirts.  My favorite request, though, was to host shirts on my site to raise money for causes and charities.  I’d love to do something like that, if anyone out there has anything they want to support or shirt ideas for this type of thing, contact me at shirtsbyguy@gmail.com and hopefully we could set something up where a large portion of the proceeds get donated to the right cause.  (Please note:  This is not a scam.)

Good stuff everybody.  This has been an experimental run that I’m figuring out as I go.  I’m dabbling in Facebook Advertising, Google Adwords, eHarmony.com Dating, and everything in between.  It is driving a lot of traffic to the site which is good news.  I think when I have a lot more products for sale I’ll start to see these ad campaigns generate some revenue.  So, nearly a week in, and there haven’t been many surprises.  Things are pretty steady.  

I decided to have FREE PRIORITY SHIPPING through the end of the World Cup for all the soccer shirts, so order NOW and you’ll get them within a day or two.

Let’s see…..if you’re not yet into the World Cup, here’s quick video of a pretty crazy goal.  

SHIRTS by GUY Website Soft Launch

Well, after about 6 weeks of waiting and sitting on enough inventory to bankrupt a 3rd World Country, the Shirts by Guy website is finally here!  A HUGE step up from the old site, thanks to Brian and Nick at Gatorworks.

I haven't fully decided how this site will operate, but I'd like to initially offer seasonal shirts for a limited time and pretty much piggyback on whatever the hell is going on in the world.  Feel free to comment on here or email me at shirtsbyguy@gmail.com with suggestions for a shirt or complaints about my drunk behavior.

World Cup kicks off in 8 days, so get your shirts and wear your favorite country's colors with pride as you sneak around the pub with your pint of Smithwick's trying not to get ICED. 

Follow @shirtsbyguy on Twitter and Become a Fan on Facebook!!!

Ok, that is all.  Now, buy some damn shirts....

guy

PS:  Don't worry.  LSU, the classic GEAUX shirts, as well as other college football shirts are coming this summer!

My name is Guy...

...and I like to party. Don't blink now because I will sell you a shirt so freaking fast it will make your head spin. So, get your wallets out and prepare to be dominated by radical classic t-shirts. I pride myself on having simple, old-school looking shirts that never will and never did go out of style. These shirts are the envy of everyone from your smelly children to nagging parents. Everyone's a fan.

All of my shirts are simple and basic, vintage-inspired and sports-related. You won't find many graphics or hippy designs or silly wordplay. I like old-school, classic gym shirts.

They are printed on the highest quality Alternative Apparel and American Apparel shirts. Some of the designs are distress printed to look and feel like an old pair of socks.

I'm bringing the softest, most comfortable classic shirts to sports fans everywhere. It's time to put the Affliction in the attic kids, http://www.shirtsbyguy.com/ will be up and running soon and you can buy shirts until your little bank cuts you off.

"Vintage-inspired and traditionally simple, classic t-shirts."