We spoke to the Pitt student behind the Harambe shirts

He’s on his way to being a fashion designer

Harambe the gorilla is an Internet sensation. When he was tragically killed in May after a three-year-old boy fell into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, the entire country went crazy, saying that Harambe did not deserve to be shot just because some mother couldn’t take care of her own child.

Harambe has been the subject of quite a lot of internet hoopla. Memes, videos and even songs have been created to commemorate Harambe’s death.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a Facebook post in a Pitt group advertising Harambe t-shirts and wasted no time ordering mine. After realizing I was obsessed, I decided to speak to the man who created these t-shirts (and evidently a lot of other pieces of clothing) Pitt senior Max Polec.

First, we discussed his Harambe t-shirts, which are sold under “The Melon Shop” brand on TeePublic and TeeSpring.

When did you start designing and why? 

In the late summer of 2016, probably around July. I went out on a whim and opened a TeePublic Shop and registered through TeeSpring to have the ability to host campaigns. I have treated this as less of a side-hustle and more of a fun hobby that also makes some extra money.

What made you want to design Harambe shirts?

I actually fell into this design. My younger brother always talks about Harambe and shares the rather dark memes about his death with me. For his birthday, I made my brother a poster of Harambe and he was ecstatic! Almost right after, he told me that I had to make my poster design into a t-shirt and I did just that. Never Forgetti.

How many people have purchased your shirts?

Since I started not too long ago, I have published 6 different designs offered as t-shirts, baseball tees, tanks, sweatshirts, long sleeve t-shirts, coffee mugs, laptop cases, notebooks, and even prints.
Through my TeePublic store, I have sold 11 shirts. On my first TeeSpring campaign where I sold “Pitt Over PSU” shirts, I sold 8 shirts in a week’s time. I am more than happy with these results so far since I have only utilized minimum social media marketing strategies to spread awareness. As I make more designs and grow my shop, I plan to develop more sophisticated marketing strategies that *hopefully* lead to more sales.

Where do the profits go?

Pitt ain’t cheap! But, it is 100% worth the money. All of my profit goes towards paying for the costs that I incur with college.

You have your Fashion by Polec brand on Etsy and Retie. Tell us about that? When did that start, what’s the mission, products, etc.

I’ll provide you with a “too long, didn’t read” overview of Fashion By Polec (FBP).  Over winter break of 2015, I didn’t want to have to shell out $50+ dollars for a quality bow tie in a pattern that I am not even that enthusiastic about. So I reached out to my mom who taught me how to sew and over time, I learned how to make adjustable bow ties, pocket squares, and lapel pins. All of these products are available on at FBP’s Etsy Shop!

The mission of FBP is to embody what I personally define as a socially conscious business. Basically, the goal is not only to make a profit in this business venture, but also make a positive impact throughout the journey of doing so. I have an inventory of 50 of my pocket squares being sold through a company based in Ohio, Retie, where 20% of the sales go towards a Non-Profit called Lemonade day which focuses on helping educate young kids about entrepreneurship while also providing these kids the tools that they need to succeed.

Moving into October, I am going to be leading a month-long campaign where 50% of all of my sales on pink bow ties, pink pocket squares, and pink lapel pins will be donated towards Breast Cancer Awareness. I am excited for this because of the projected positive impact that this campaign! My goal is to be able to donate at least $300 at the end of October!

What are you hoping will come of this in the long run?

I am hoping that I can continue to grow The Melon Shop with more designs over time that are comedic, motivating, and artsy. I plan to incorporate my professional brand into a selection of new designs that follow suit with what I write about on my website. I also hope that my shop grows enough in popularity so that I can reach out to local collegiate artists who can make designs that will get featured on The Melon Shop so that they can make some money for their hard work and also get their name out.

As for FBP, I am planning to continue to expand and build upon it as a fashion brand with a goal of not only turning a profit, but also leaving a positive social impact. In the month of September alone, I sold over 40 products and I am hoping to grow my sales going forward while also tailoring intentional impact-based campaigns into FBP’s business model. I plan to do this through raising money to donate to charities and nonprofits, showcase the talent of new artists trying to get their name established, and helping new entrepreneurs tell the story of their startup to an audience of people who hope to support them. For more information, I highly suggest checking out the post that I published on FBP that was mentioned a couple questions ago.

If you are interested in following Fashion By Polec’s journey, you can check out its FacebookInstagram, and this post that Max recently published capturing its story in more depth. If have a cause that you would love for FBP to support, you can contact Max Polec on Facebook or at mwp30@pitt.edu.

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