Getting P.A.I.D: Pro Athlete in Development is making giant strides with retailers

Black Enterprise, May, 1995 by Zana Billue

Three years ago, Michael Coburn began to stake out a claim in the $32 billion active sportswear market. His small riches: an athletic apparel line strategically called P.A.I.D (Pro Athlete In Development).

"The word P.A.I.D plays subconsciously on people's emotions because everyone wants to get paid," says Coburn, CEO of the Chicago-based company that bears the P.A.I.D brand name. The P.A.I.D line, which includes T-shirts, sweat suits, polo shirts, uniforms and baseball caps, premiered at Chicago's National Sporting Goods Association trade show in August of 1992. Coburn raised the $5,000 needed to rent a booth and print his message-oriented T-shirts by securing a loan against his life insurance policy and made up the remainder by convincing a friend to invest in the company.

But more importantly, he impressed Foot Locker representatives, who asked him to submit a proposal on a P.A.I.D line that could be sold in their stores. Coburn reworked his business and marketing plan. By the following year, P.A.I.D goods were on the store shelves.

Today, the trendy athletic gear is sold in some 800 retail stores nationwide, including Foot Locker, Foot Action, J.C. Penney and Fan Fair. Last year's sales reached $600,000, and Coburn expects P.A.I.D. to hit the $1 miilion mark this year.

Right now, its graphic T-shirts are its hot ticket. Some 14 different styles or slogans are featured. One powerful P.A.I.D message attacks drive-by shootings with the terse suggestion, "Shoot hoops not guns."

Obviously, this clothing line is not merely about sports. "Through athletics, you learn traits and skills, such as competition, discipline, teamwork and the desire to win, which are transferable to other careers," Coburn explains. Reinforcing a positive view of sports among aspiring athletes is a big part of the company's mission.

While the 27-year-old entrepreneur originates most of the designs, he works with a team of artists to bring the concepts to life. One of his partners, Paul Wilkinson, handles the sales and marketing end of the business.

Coburn sold T-shirts for a hobby while attending the University of Pennsylvania. But it wasn't until those first couple of years out of college that he began to take the T-shirt business seriously.

"I started researching the industry and found that sales were on the decline for licensed sports apparel." With the industry in a state of change, "retailers were looking for the next wave to ride-branded products," notes Coburn, referring to such brand names as Nike and Starter.

Although the company found its niche in selling T-shirts printed with basketball jargon, Coburn sees them as merely a springboard for other branded products. "The ultimate goal," he says, "to make P.A.I.D a household brand name."

P.A.I.D, 222 S. Morgan St., Suite 2-D, Chicago, IL 60607; 312-563-1287