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by MSU alumnus Cherin Gillies

It is one thing to have hometown pride, it's another thing to  start a company to share that pride. Just ask Justin "Bugsy" Sailor, an MSU alumnus and proud Yooper.

Yooper Steez creator, Justin "Bugsy" SailorIn 2008, he started Yooper Steez—a t-shirt company that has evolved into a blog about all things Upper Peninsula.

Bugsy believes that “there is value in wearing a local t-shirt somewhere. It’s a conversation starter.” He realized this when on an ambitious year-long trip to see all of America’s 50 states (read all about the trip here).

Sitting in an Alabama coffee shop, he was approached by a college student asking about his “Eskimo Joe’s” t-shirt. The guy was curious to know if Bugsy had been to the famous restaurant in Oklahoma. This led to a long conversation—all because of a shirt. These two strangers may have never connected had Bugsy been wearing something nondescript.

In traveling 29,403 miles that year, Bugsy collected dozens of t-shirts. To him these shirts are more than souvenirs, they are tangible memories.  In wearing any one of them he will recall where he has been. In his own words:

When I finished my 50-state tour of the United States I returned home and found myself sorting through about 50 tees I had collected on the road. They had stories, they represented where I had been, what I’ve done, and even things I ate.

One small conclusion I made was that there is no joy to wearing a Nike, Burton, or Abercrombie t-shirt. For most of my trip I wore nothing but local t-shirts of places I had been, and it became the starting point for many great conversations.

Another conclusion he made was that his beloved Upper Peninsula didn't have a tee shirt. Sure, there were plenty of shirts that represented the area, but "unlike Belleville, Eskimo Joe’s, Vermont, or countless other places there wasn’t a t-shirt that was the t-shirt of the Upper Peninsula".

And that's when Yooper Steez began. 

His Steez (simply meaning “style with ease”) have a silhouette of the UP (and now a style with Lake Superior) are sold online and growing in popularity across the US and around the globe. Half of his hand-addressed orders are shipped outside of Michigan and have gone to over 40 states. He welcomes his customers to send him pictures of themselves wearing his shirts. So far he’s gotten pictures of yoopers wearing their Steez in every continent except for Antarctica. 

He thrives on hearing from customers who are proud to represent their part of the state and who are happy to be reminded of home when they have moved away. He recently received an e-mail from a customer “stuck” in Los Angeles who was delighted to have a piece of home.

In the future, Bugsy hopes to extend his line of apparel into hooded sweatshirts. He also wants to add more products like buttons and posters. Jokingly he added, “How difficult would it be to start a national yooper club?”—one that would no doubt be proud to wear his t-shirts. 

Engaging with customers like this and being an “ambassador of the UP” is what he enjoys most. The Yooper Steez site not only sells his product but features his blog concerning anything and everything about the UP. He has even been recognized as an authority on the UP, having been interviewed for NPR.

If you love the UP, or want to learn more about it, visit Yooper Steez to order a shirt and read Bugsy's blog. Here is a preview of what you can expect to learn:

• How...? Questions About the Upper Peninsula Answered 
• Journey to the Top of the Mackinac Bridge
• Bird's Eye View of the Upper Peninsula
• What Acutally Constitutes "Northern" Michigan?
• Why the Upper Peninsula is Not Part of Wisconsin

Bugsy works at M3 in downtown Lansing. Feel free to contact him on Twitter (@bugsyrocker) and check out his various projects at www.bugsyrocker.com.

Have a great story about the UP? Tell us about it in the comments section!