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Syracuse University sophomore Ben Ford founded Jersey Boy Apparel in December 2019 when his friends began to commit to colleges during his senior year of high school. He then realized there was interest in tailgate clothing.

Jersey Boy is a clothing brand that specializes in selling tailgate clothing for game days. But now, Ford said the business is facing one of its biggest challenges: the coronavirus pandemic.

Dylan Rhodes, who is a music artist known as “Dyl” and one of the creators of the song “Jordan Belfort,” wore clothing from Jersey Boy Apparel in a video on Instagram. Courtesy of Ben Ford

Making money has been more challenging for Jersey Boy, with the decrease in tailgates and sports games with fans this year due to COVID-19, Ford said. Since he couldn’t create demand for tailgate clothing without sporting events, he is now focusing on strengthening his business for when business returns.

“This time that I am given is almost like a blessing in this disguise,” Ford said. “I can work towards improving the business in so many ways that I might have not been able to if I was focusing on my sales if the demand was there.”

Ford recognized a market for tailgate clothing when he saw people his age were getting “hyped up” about upcoming college game days. From there, he created Jersey Boy Apparel.

Ford thought of sports jerseys as something that people really like to wear that is also fashionable. He then reached out to Bonnie Greisler, who has been in the clothing business for 34 years and is the owner of The Mens and Boys Store, which is located in Ford’s hometown of Dresher, Pennsylvania. Greisler has dressed Ford’s family for years and mentored Ford in the initial steps of Jersey Boy.

Greisler said she helped Ford with manufacturing the apparel. She added that she also made sure that the design and patterns of the clothing wouldn’t infringe any copyright laws.

Ford’s father also supported his passion to start a business and was Jersey Boy’s initial investor. Even though he paid his father back for his initial investment, Ford is still in search of ways to raise more capital through other potential investors.

To increase awareness for his business, Ford introduced Jersey Boy’s brand ambassador program, which consists of college students. Ambassadors post updates about what the company is doing on social media, which helps to spread the word about the brand.

“That’s their incentive to sell more and post more,” Ford said. “It’s not only about posting, but also the word-of-mouth. They can tell their relatives or friends about the brand.”

Sydney Neidell, an SU freshman graphic design major, has also been a key component in Ford’s business. Neidell reached out to Ford when he was looking for a graphic designer and now works with Ford to design the clothes and logos for the brand.

Jersey Boy’s ambassador program has college students promote the brand on social media. Courtesy of Ben Ford

Ford is also working on Jersey Boy’s celebrity ambassador program. Recently, the business posted a photo on Instagram of three girls wearing Tulane University jerseys. In the photo’s comment section, Ford found a comment from Dylan Rhodes, a Tulane alumnus and artist known as “Dyl” who created the 2015 hit song “Jordan Belfort” with Wes Walker. The comment had an emoji of a tidal wave, which connects to the “Tulane Green Wave,” a nickname for the university’s sports teams.

Ford then reached out to him through a direct message and mailed the rapper a free Tulane University jersey from his brand. Dyl then posted a video on Instagram wearing the jersey. Ford said Dyl plans to wear the jersey during a music video that he will be filming at the end of October.

“I think one of the lessons that I’ve learned from this is that you never know what’s going to happen unless you try it,” Ford said.

Published on October 12, 2020 at 8:38 pm