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Thanks to Pro Wrestlers, Shirt Shop Moves into Bigger Bucktown Digs

By Alisa Hauser | July 20, 2015 12:09pm
 One Hour Tees has moved to a new building three times as large as its original spot.
One Hour Tees Bigger Digs at 2438 N. Damen Ave.
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BUCKTOWN —  A one hour T-shirt shop has been growing so fast that its owner was forced to break a lease and move to bigger digs, thanks to a spin-off business that makes custom apparel for fans of professional wrestlers.

"I feel like the majority of people are like, why are there wrestlers on these billboards? A lot of people who know about wrestling, they know, but the average person does not know," said Ryan Barkan, owner of One Hour Tees at 2348 N. Damen Ave.

One Hour Tee's new 6,000 square-foot spot, which opened last week, is three times the size of the shop's previous location just two blocks south. The venture, which employs 17, produces full-color shirts on digital presses in under two minutes and prices its shirts by turnaround time, rather than by quantity or lettering.

"We did not even have room to eat lunch and were eating standing up, eating on our printers, it was getting bad. Our kitchen was so tiny," said Barkan, 32, who oversees marketing, sales, and web development. Barkan's mother, Gail, heads up human resources and accounting.

Alisa Hauser explains the influence wrestlers have on the business:

The boon to Barkan's family-run business came through professional wrestler Colt Cabana, whose real name is Scott Colton.

Colton, a Wicker Park resident, and a fellow wrestler named CM Punk (real name Phil Brooks), approached Barkan in 2010 because Brooks needed a shirt to wear on TV.

After making a custom "I Broke Big Show's Hand" shirt for Brooks, Colton asked if Barkan could make special shirts for his new podcast, "The Art of Wrestling," which Colton records out of his tiny Wicker Park vintage condo, reaching millions of listeners weekly.

Barkan, who said he followed wrestling "a little bit" before teaming up with the wrestlers, has now become more of a fan, especially since One Hour Tee's offshoot, Pro Wrestling Tees, has become about half of his shop's core business, with nationwide school accounts, corporate event and sports teams comprising most of the other sales.

Crediting Colton for helping to make Pro Wrestling Tees "the largest independent pro wrestling T-shirt site in the world," Barkan said the company provides a way for retired and independent wrestlers to make money outside of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) league.

"For some wrestlers, it's hard to find their way after they leave WWE. After they're released from WWE they rely strictly on appearances and merchandise. So we work directly with them to produce artwork and shirts to sell to fans all over the world," Barkan said.

Additionally, Pro Wrestling Tees works with estates of deceased wrestlers like Macho Man Randy Savage and The British Bulldog to help their families bring in money after their loved ones have passed.

Some of the top-selling shirts feature former WWE wrestlers Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kevin Nash and Rowdy Roddy Piper.  Chicago-based CM Punk is also a big sales draw.

"The wrestling industry isn't huge, but everyone at some point in their lives has come across something to do with wrestling," Barkan said. "Whether it be when they were younger, in the media or maybe their children.

"If you go to any wrestling event, you're guaranteed to see a shirt we printed right here in Bucktown."

Founded in 2008, One Hour Tees started in Lincoln Park with 5 employees and relocated to Bucktown in 2010.

Using digital direct-to-garment presses, One Hour Tees provides an alternative to screen printing, which is more labor intensive and requires shirt makers to charge setup fees because colors are printed separately.

One Hour Tees, 2348 N. Damen Ave. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.  Ph: 773-687-0520.

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