Daily Inspiration: Meet James Hutson

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Hutson. 

Hi James, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

 

In 2012 I was heavily involved in adult recreational sports and saw a growing demand for athletic apparel and team uniform needs. With that in mind, I began locating manufacturers that could fulfill our needs and launched a company called Primal Apparel, which operated out of my family’s first rental home in 2012. We started selling athletic shorts with great success and teams began coming to us to see what our custom capabilities were.

In 2013 we changed gears and began pursuing team sales and making custom team uniforms our primary focus. The company rebranded to Berserk Athletics and formed partnerships with production facilities and equipment companies both domestically and internationally. With our expansion, we gained interest from representatives wanting to promote and sell our brand and soon we had 50+ affiliates & resellers. 

In 2015, Berserk Athletics had outgrown its home office and began renting an 1800 square foot office in Liberty. We made our first hire Dana Braden and retained multiple freelance artists, namely Antonio Torres who are still both with us to this day and are driving forces within the company. Business went from doing 50-100 teams a month, to 500-1000 teams a month. Berserk went from a husband/wife operation to a company that was and is responsible for 100+ employees.

In 2017, realizing we had already outgrown our current location, we purchase a 2 building 3-acre property. The 5,000 square foot building we turned into an indoor athletic training facility and the front office houses berserk staff. We purchased 2 sales trailers to sell our own stock merchandise and set up at events from coast to coast. Services expanded to doing white label services and to date we still handle production for some of the largest uniform businesses and organizations, even if it doesn’t carry the Berserk name.

As of 2023 we have our apparel nationwide and each time we walk into a sports venue we can spot multiple individuals and teams wearing our logo. Currently, we are looking at plans to expand again and build a full indoor training facility, which will include basketball courts, larger open area and bigger production areas for the new services we are offering.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

I jumped into an industry I had absolutely no knowledge of simply because I had a passion for sports and knew I wanted to make a living in that arena somehow. So, the biggest challenges have been continually learning things about this industry on the fly and continually learning and adapting. Compiled with the difficulties that exist with staff, particularly manual labor, we have had our fill of bumps in the road.

The apparel market is one that constantly changes due to new styles or trends, rather that’s a fabric that’s in demand or a certain type of style/cut. We must stay in constant communication with textile mills to ensure we can get our hands on fabrics to meet the needs of clients. Also, we’ve had to make sure we have plenty of laborers and designers to keep up with the demand we have taken on. Additionally, with more business comes more staff and more possibilities for mistakes. As a result, we must continuously review our quality control and implement a set of checks and balances to ensure we’re delivering the best product possible. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

We are truly a custom brand, meaning anything a customer wants we can find a way to accomplish it. Our primary focus is sublimation and team sports wear, which is designed by our artists and custom print/cut/sewn all from scratch using our own facilities. Any product from head to toe, we can custom make or offer a solution that is best.

While sublimation is what we’re mostly known for, we offer services for all types and styles of products. These offerings include spot sublimation, Direct to Film printing, Screen Printing, Embroidery, and partnerships with brands that offer equipment we may not personally make. Our services have expanded so much, in 2022 we launched our own shoe line and in May of 2023 weeks ago we released our 2^nd model. 

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?

Teamwork, Determination and Adaptation.

Owning a business has shown me that I have several weaknesses and to succeed you need to surround yourself with others that fill in those voids. Fortunately, we have been able to locate and employ some of the most personable and hard-working individuals available. We have staff that will work beyond the standard 9-5 to ensure customers’ needs are met.  Rather that’s working into the late-night hours, or driving to a customer’s location, the dedication to ensuring our company thrives has been a team effort. Special thanks to people such as Melissa St John, Anthony McKee, JD Nunez, and Adam Martin. All of whom have done design work for us in the past and still have a working relationship with us. Let’s not forget our current in-house staff Jessica Hutson, Ryan O’Conner, Griffin Harris, David Reyes & all of our current production team!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.berserkathletics.com
• Instagram: Berserk_Athletics
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/berserkathletics
• Other: TikTok – Berserk Athletics