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Check your Six is a Minneapolis based clothing company that, despite only having 2 employees, has been able to get their product in shops in 8 states across the country. Check out their looks below as they will be on the radar sooner than later.
Background
Company Name: Check Your Six
Date Founded: 2009
Located out of: Minneapolis, MN
Number of Employees: 2
Specialty Products: T-Shirts, Tank Tops, Sweatshirts, Hooded Sweatshirts
Interviewee: Matt McManus
Position with the Company: Owner
Interview Questions
So tell us a little on the company’s background? How did it get started?
“Check Your Six was created in late 2008, by my brother James and I. It actually grew out of a brand we started prior, called Sanktuari (pronounced Sanctuary). Sanktuari consisted of printing shirts in our parents’ basement, doing our best to peddle our wares around the Minneapolis area, and of course…losing a lot of money. We lost time, confidence, and gained a whole lot of nothing. Nothing…except experience. We took everything we learned from running this very small brand, and completely re-branded with a whole new look. New name, new designs, new confidence. We wanted to create a brand that was edgy, and held true to what streetwear has always been about, the counter-culture.
What about the name? What is the significance or story behind it?
“The Check Your Six name matched perfectly with what we wanted to do; Check Your Six is a military term meaning watch your back, or “check your six o’ clock”. We also use military imagery and motifs in a lot of our designing, so the military theme of Check Your Six matches the brand image.”
In what region do you do most of your business?
“Built in the Midwest, a lot of our loyal supporters are from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. However, we have enjoyed some really exciting exposure around the world, and have achieved sales to consumers in all 50 states and 14 countries.”
How many stores are you currently in?
“14 stores, 8 states.”
What advice do you have for someone just starting their own line? Any tricks of the trade?
“Stick to it. Nothing happens overnight. In order to be successful, in anything from photography to riding a bike, you have to put in effort day in and day out.”
Do you manufacture local or internationally?
“Our printers are based out of Illinois, and we actually work with local seamstresses for all of the tagging and patch-work.”
How does your line fit into the sneakerhead movement?
“Because streetwear is so fully enveloped in the sneakerhead movement, Check Your Six has naturally fit well into the scene as a whole. In the shops that carry our brand, most of the consumers who frequent these vendors are big supporters of the sneakerhead movement.”
How many designs do you normally come out with per season?
“Last drop, we had 12 different t-shirts, 2 crewnecks, 1 hooded sweatshirt, and 1 hat. For our upcoming release, we are eager to expand our product line into having many more snapbacks, and introducing some eyewear.”
What do you think your hottest designs are for this season? Why?
“Our ‘Minnesnowta’ design has always sold really well.”
Anybody famous rocking your products?
“Rapper Wiz Khalifa.”
What’s next on the horizon?
“We are working on putting together some cut & sew pieces for our Spring 2013 release, which is always a really exciting, and equally stressful, step. We are also working on expanding our product line to bring some more diversification, but I’d hate to get too much into that and have behind-the-scenes difficulties that make some of what we want to do something that turns out to be out of reach.”
Appreciate you taking the time with Soletron.com
“THANK YOU!”
