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It's a Sub Urban Riot (in clothes) Ashland grad and a former Medford resident help found a wild clothing line for the young and restless By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Even the most creative minds in the fashion industry know the only sure thing is that there is no sure thing. So what were four University of Oregon alums, whose backgrounds are in computer graphics, finance, journalism and advertising, thinking when they launched a clothing line last year? "We'd been discussing doing a business venture like this for years," concedes 1995 Ashland High School graduate Jason Reed. "We felt there was a definite gap for good-fitting clothes. Our original goal was to make the best-fitting T-shirt out there." Just 15 months after the birth of Sub Urban Riot, the Venice, Calif.-based company now produces $40 T-shirts sold in New York, Philadelphia and Virginia as well as the Pacific Coast. The vision has expanded beyond T-shirts for guys to sweatshirts and casual women's wear. "We started out aiming at the 18- to 35-year-old male and now we've added dresses and men's and women's hoodies (hooded sweatshirts)," Reed says. "We're in 50 boutiques nationwide and three-fourths of the market is women; it's a powerful market." Advertisement Reed, 29, was an analyst with Smith Barney for three years, and with Bidwell & Co. in Portland for five years before that. Nate Koach, 30, who attended Portland's Lincoln High School, was vice president for creative marketing at Flux Business Communications in nearby Culver City. Jesuit High School product Michael Johnson, 28, was with Perceive, a Los Angeles advertising agency. Those three share a 2,500-square-foot house and office six blocks from the beach, making it easy to go surfing before heading to work. The fourth partner, Dan Portrait, 29, grew up in Medford and now operates Kamp Grizzly, an advertising and graphic design business, in Portland. "Our big push and focus is building a brand," Reed says. "That's where our skills really lie. We're definitely learning a ton about this industry every day." If post-modern clothing is about attitude, Sub Urban Riot is right at home. "Our focus has morphed into a couple of phrases," Reed says. "One is trouble makers, people who don't follow the rules. We create fashion in the sense that it bends the rules a little bit. A lot of our images are graphically aggressive. The clothing is made within 30 miles of the home office, collected from a dye house, cotton sourcing, sewing and finishing. "It's something we focused on as a start-up to do everything right here," Reed says. "We keep our inventory as low as possible. We could go overseas to save a couple of bucks, but you end up buying twice as many shirts as you need and we're happy to keep business here." The start-up cost was $75,000, including product, Web page and design work. The funding was raised from friends, family and personal nest-eggs. Sub Urban Riot had a modest $30,000 in sales over the first five or six months and expects to have sales of around $300,000 this year. "We hope to start turning a profit near the end of year three, sometime in 2008," Reed says. The industry is so difficult to gauge and get your head around what's going to be hot. Our product line will evolve more than we can project right now." They've marketed their wares in New York and Las Vegas, but one of the biggest boosts is a tie-in with FX Network's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," now in its third season. "It's a great relationship for us and we didn't have to do anything," Reed says. "We're able to use still shots from the show in our advertising." The next big step is to get into specialty retailer Fred Segal in Southern California. "That's where buyers go to see what's hot and they go back to their shops and buy the same thing," Reed says. "The fact we're still here 15 months later says a lot for us and we're pretty stoked." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or at [email protected] Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary