The first question I am asked when wearing a hat or sweatshirt out in public is, “what is NOSOLO?” Every brand has a story of how it came to be – a mission statement written on a napkin or a couple of guys sitting in a garage – and so do we, but the most impactful question behind NOSOLO is not what or how, it’s why. Whether an employee, ambassador, monarch or customer, each of us has a story and each of our why’s is what makes NOSOLO the brand it is today. From Sarah and Johnny on their honeymoon, to professional athletes and celebrities on the ice, field or stage, to every one of us that proudly rocks NOSOLO in our daily lives, it’s our stories that make up the essence of who we are as a brand.
Here are some of those stories and we’d love to hear your why.
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My Son, A Freshman in College
Like most kids, we leave “the nest” of our parents at some point in our lives to go off to do something like college, travel, or get married. I think all parents would agree, we would do anything for our kids to make sure they are OK no matter how far away they may be. This is a story of a NOSOLO mom and her son, during his freshman year in college:
So he called me and said “Mom, I need help, can you come get me?”. Of course, I dropped what I was doing, jumped in my car and drove to my son’s school. I met him outside his dorm and after a long, much-needed embrace, we headed to the hospital. My son noticed I was wearing my NOSOLO hat and said “Hey, Mom, you know I follow NOSOLO on Instagram, right?”.
“Yes”, I said, “I know you have a hat too, which is awesome”.
Then he said to me, “sometimes when I feel an attack coming on, I look down and tug at my NOSOLO bracelet, because it reminds me that there are other kids out there going through what I am… and that makes me feel much better.”
My Hero, A Professional Athlete
In today’s world, we are a little bit closer to our heroes or idols than before the times of social media. However, it’s still often hard to make a strong connection with one of those people. This is a story of a NOSOLO customer, and avid Tampa Bay Lightning fan:
Tuesday night after I got home from the Tampa Bay Lightning game, I turned on the post-game show to hear the players speak. The first person I saw was Victor Hedman. I immediately noticed his hat, which said NOSOLO in big letters across the visor. The letters on his hat made me curious, because I thought how great it would be if it meant something about not being alone – and sure enough I found the NOSOLO website and it meant exactly what I thought. So, I had to get a few hats.
Unfortunately, about 2.5 years ago my wife and I lost our 18 month old daughter to a drowning accident in our home. While it has been a long road, we continue to fight on, but there are times that I feel I cannot discuss certain things with her, because I don’t want to burden her with anything more than what is already going on in her head.
Although my wife and I do speak to a therapist, both together and separately, along with great support systems (friends, family), I still feel alone at times and go into my cell. After seeing Hedman wearing a NOSOLO hat, it reminded me that even though I may feel alone at times, I am not.
Who knows, maybe I will see Hedman around town one day and he will see me wearing one of the NOSOLO hats. We will both give each other the nod of respect and knowing the symbol speaks for itself.
My Family, A Survivor
Something many of us have unfortunately experienced the hard way is that tomorrow is not guaranteed. This is a story of a NOSOLO customer who experienced sudden loss and trauma:
I grew up in what seemed to be the perfect family. My brother and I played all the sports and did all the things, with the heavy involvement of both parents. Dad would coach or Mom would chaperone, and our house was the meeting point for after-school snacks or weekend street hockey games. We always did well in school and sports, had lots of friends, and eventually graduated from top colleges before starting our careers in the real world.
My real world came quick. When I was 24, my Dad died by suicide. Not sure I will ever fully wrap my head around the why of that, but it’s become clear that he was dealing with too much, on his own, and never talked about it. Outside of doing everything for us, he spent his life as a therapist, listening and helping others, treating families and kids that were going through some of the most horrible things. And he was good at it. He always had a way to make sure everyone else was “good”, so we had no way to know that he was not.
NOSOLO provides an outlet for people that may not be “good” and brings people together. It’s more than a brand for me, it’s a community of people that I know would be willing to listen or come together in a time of need. We all have a lot on our plates – school, work, families, friends – but my experiences have taught me that we can’t handle everything alone. We have to be able to lean on others, utilize resources available to us, and talk through our stuff, no matter how hard. NOSOLO helps me do that and seeing the logo on others reminds me I’m never alone.
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These are the stories of our customers. They help us strive to be better and continue to push forward so we can continue to spread our mission – that you are not alone.