A gangster walrus dressed in gold chains, hipster seals with do-rags and George Washington’s head on Zeus’s body are just a few of the intricate and crazy sock designs that Zach Porter, exercise science junior, and his brother Alex Porter, Utah State management information systems graduate, have created for the launch of their new sock company FortSox on Sept. 1.
“So many people like cool socks and wear crazy socks. … I see them all over campus,” Zach said. “We have a deep love for funky socks.”
Alex and Zach were looking for a way to challenge themselves and try something new. Funky socks became a frequent topic of conversation. One day, the Porter brothers decided to team up and create a sock company. This began a year and half of working out business kinks, creating funky designs and launching their new line of sturdy, crazy footwear.
“I feel so exposed. I’ve never made something before that I’ve shown to other people. There are videos of us on YouTube and ads going up all over,” Alex said. “It’s really exciting and it’s also really terrifying because you want people to like what you’ve made.”
The brothers prove that entrepreneurs don’t have to be business majors and that anyone can create a company and sell products they are passionate about. It’s all about working out the business kinks and being smart with your product.
“What separates us from other sock companies… rather than just patterns or just colors [on the socks], we incorporate those things along with other designs. They are more than just checkers or patterns,” Alex said. “Each sock is an adventure and a story. For example, the hipster walrus sock has a walrus with a gold chain and he is surrounded by his hipster seal friends with do-rags and chains.”
The designs are far from plain and simple; each sock is well thought out and complex. According to Alex, he and Zach draw the sketches and come up with the artwork. These sock designs are their “brain children” and other people are getting excited to wear them.
“At first glance, you can tell that each sock is unique with a purpose. Other people make socks but you can tell they don’t put as much thought into it,” criminal justice sophomore Benjamin Berry said. “Their designs are well thought-out, yet simple and cool looking.”
With only a few days left of their Kickstarter campaign, Zach and Alex are excited to see where FortSox goes and can’t wait to create more intricate sock designs.
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