Bayard Winthrop, founder of American Giant, shares his journey of creating a clothing brand focused on American-made apparel. He discusses the initial hurdles of sourcing materials and finding skilled workers in a shifting textile industry. Bayard reveals how a viral article praised his hoodie as 'the greatest ever made,' leading to overwhelming demand. He emphasizes the socio-political backdrop of American production, the balance of hard work and luck in success, and the significance of supporting local craftsmanship in today’s market.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Early Career Realization
Bayard Winthrop interned at DLJ and realized finance wasn't his passion.
This experience taught him valuable work ethic, but he felt mismatched with colleagues.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Atlas Snowshoe
Bayard Winthrop joined Atlas Snowshoe, his ideal warehouse startup, making a tangible product.
He learned about design, manufacturing, and practical business finances.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Freeboard
Bayard Winthrop joined Freeboard, focused on innovative snowboards for pavement.
Despite the niche market and product limitations, he stayed for seven years.
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American Flannel
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Bayard Winthrop founded American Giant in 2011 with the simple idea to sell clothes made entirely in America at a time when most apparel manufacturing had moved overseas. The first struggle was finding all the components—the cotton, the buttons, the zippers, the rivets; the next was finding people to actually do the work—the dying, the napping, the sewing and the finishing. Once Bayard did all that he ended up with his first product, a plain hooded sweatshirt. But soon after a viral article proclaimed it “the greatest hoodie ever made” Bayard faced a backlog of orders that took him almost three years to fulfill. Today, American Giant has expanded their line to include all the basics: t-shirts, denim, flannel, and accessories, still entirely produced in the U.S.
This episode was produced by J.C. Howard, with music by Ramtin Arablouei
Edited by Casey Herman, with research help from Katherine Sypher.
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