Make Designs

Make Designs (with discount) 👉 https://www.design.com/rob88 Join the Mastermind 👉 https://www.skool.com/apparel-success-mastermind In this episode, I sit down with Marty Clay, founder of NFPD (No Friends On Powder Days) — a ski and snowboard brand that’s been running for over 8 years and has generated more than $1M in total sales. His brand has been worn by thousands of people around the world and even ended up on my radar when I randomly saw someone wearing one of his hoodies on the mountain and bought one myself. We talk about how Marty started the brand back in 2017, how he found a niche around the phrase “No Friends On Powder Days,” and what it actually took to get the brand off the ground. He shares the early years where sales were almost nonexistent, the moment Facebook ads finally started working, and how the business eventually scaled to over six figures in revenue. Marty also opens up about the challenges that nearly destroyed the brand — including pricing mistakes early on, relying too heavily on Facebook ads, and how the Apple iOS update in 2021 completely disrupted their sales. It’s a very honest conversation about the realities of building a clothing brand, including the ups, the brutal downs, and what he would do differently if he had to start again today. If you’re building a clothing brand or thinking about starting one, there are a lot of lessons in this conversation. 0:00 Intro 2:18 Marty’s brand and $1M+ in sales 8:52 Finding a niche with “No Friends On Powder Days” 12:47 The first Facebook ads that changed everything 18:37 Growing to $260K but struggling with profit 24:00 The Dew Tour opportunity in Colorado 29:34 Exploding sales during COVID 33:02 Apple iOS update nearly kills the business 41:14 What Marty would do if he started a brand today 46:09 Advice for anyone starting a clothing brand