Meet Tommy Thomas of WonderBoy Apparel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Thomas.

Hi Tommy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always been a t-shirt junkie but I got bored with the traditional licensed sports apparel and I think there are a lot of people like me in that regard. With that in mind, I began to dabble in design. It wasn’t long after that I developed my first few KC sports-themed tees in the fall/winter 0f 2014.

I was strictly doing it for a creative outlet. I wanted to wear the shirts. But it wasn’t that much more work to print a few extra and make a website in case a few others wanted in on the fun.

Soon after the local KC market blew up and a high demand for locally made apparel was born. Perfect timing. I began to market my ideas to local shops and before long, I had actual wholesale orders. Honestly, how was that even possible? I had no idea what I was doing but I knew the designs were good so I kept at it. Over time Instagram grew, new ideas were developed, processes were ironed out, relationships with buyers were cultivated and WonderBoy became what it is today.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No! lol! You run into several speedbumps. Sometimes print jobs don’t come out as well as you hoped. Sidenote – I’m a stickler for detail of the design. If it’s not perfect, I won’t sell it to the public.

Occasionally you’ll come up with an idea you think is great and unique and you soon find out it’s already been used. Or you develop an awesome idea and before long people come and steal the idea and undercut you on Etsy, eBay or Amazon. Or even worse a local company will simply take your design. It happens fairly often. I try to be super sensitive to other people’s original ideas and if I come up with something too similar and I know it before we print, I’ll cancel the print.

2021 has provided a whole new set of challenges with constant supply shortages, raising prices and production times, etc.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about WonderBoy Apparel?
I’ve always loved art and design and sports. I grew up only wanting to play baseball for the rest of my life. That dream was cut short into my mid-twenties after a short stint in low-level minor league baseball.

After finally retiring from baseball (can you even retire at 25, sounds silly) I took my degree and went into a professional sales career in the medical industry. Although I enjoy my 9 to 5, WonderBoy Apparel has become what I love to do. It’s provided a great creative outlet and an opportunity to build a business of my own.

Hopefully, when people see one of the designs it strikes a chord with something nostalgic, something they can identify with on a personal level. I think the shirts and designs we wear most often are the ones that give a little glimpse into who we are. I don’t think I’m unique in that regard but it is one of the main tools I use when trying to develop a new idea. I’ve always considered t-shirts as a sort of temporary tattoo.

It’s funny but as I mentioned earlier, professional baseball was always my goal growing up so when the Royals reached out a couple of years ago to work with them on some shirt ideas, I was shocked and honored. How did this part-time hobby catch the attention of my hometown team? That might be one of the things I am most proud of. On top of that, it never gets old seeing a random person wear a WonderBoy design around town. How did that even happen? A lot of things had to come together at the right time for WonderBoy to even be a thing and although it’ll never make me a millionaire, I thank God, my family and Zach Wilson at Union Press Screen Printing for it and the blessings that have come through it.

I’m sure WonderBoy will eventually fizzle and fade and go back to what it originally was at some point but after seven years, things remain steady and I hope and pray they continue for a long time to come.

You can find several of the designs around the city in different store locations or on the website at wonderboyapparel.com. Also, if people or on Instagram that’s where newer designs are released for the first time and you can follow there @wonderboyapparel.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: wonderboyapparel.com
• Instagram: @wonderboyapparel
• Twitter: @wonderboykc

Image Credits
Stephanie Suggs Dylan Flanery Danielle Hendrickson Mariah Kelli Megan Strickland