ShareThisMaybe you wear your '80s geekdom proudly, but probably no more so than Kevin Stecko.Meet the guy behind 80stees.com, the Web site that provides all those '80s-era T-shirts that are quickly filling up your dresser drawers.Stecko recently took time out from selling T-shirts featuring phrases like "Sweep the Leg!" and "Save Ferris" to answer a few questions: Q: So can we assume there's a really interesting start to your business? A: "I was proud owner of a He-Man T-shirt, which I bought at a store in State College, Pa. In the summer of 1999, I wore the He-Man shirt to an amusement park in Pittsburgh called Kennywood. After numerous people asked me where I got my shirt, I went back and made a deal with the shop owner to get some bulk pricing, and I started selling on eBay, and soon afterward, the 80stees.com Web site."Q: It's gotta be hard explaining your idea to business partners and lenders.A: "The fact that an entire business with 20-plus employees can thrive selling only '80s T-shirts is something many people can't wrap their heads around, but to our customers, the concept makes perfect sense. The beauty of the Web is that your community or audience has nothing to do with your geography, so throughout the world there are many people who love the shirts we sell."Q: What were the first products sold from your Web site? A: "They were "He-Man," "Transformers" and "ThunderCats" T-shirts. Early on, our selections were heavy on the cartoons."Q: What are people really buying tons of now? A: "Guys really like "Top Gun," "Ferris Bueller," Nintendo and "Karate Kid." For the women it's "Dirty Dancing," New Kids on the Block, Smurfs and the Mr. Men and the Little Miss characters." (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
Meet the man behind an '80s T-shirt boom
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