Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal Underworld Distributing owners Anthony Sullivan and Jen McCrosky talk Wednesday about the local clothing company they started last year. Their lines include Rock Star Clothing, Dark Tower Apparel and Kila Clothing.
An open box of boy-cut panties sits on top of one of the plastic tubs of clothing stacked in Jen McCrosky's living room.
Anthony Sullivan, McCrosky's business partner, points to the underwear.
"I saw those in a rap video," he says.
The recently ordered underwear, along with shirts and sweatshirts also packed in the tubs, will soon be moved to her garage to be silk screened with logos, hearts, skulls and butterflies.
It's for Underworld, a business they started in a cramped attic in Carson City about a year ago before the two moved it to McCrosky's house in Dayton.
"I think at first we had tons and tons of ideas, and it was like, 'OK where do we go with it?'" McCrosky said. "(But) I think now we have a better idea."
Since then, they've spread their snowboarder-themed, graffiti-style designs over three clothing brands: Rock Star Clothing, their most popular line; Dark Tower Apparel, specifically for men; and Kila Clothing, specifically for women and often designed with butterflies and princess crowns.
They said they focused on the name Rock Star because that's what their buyers - teenagers and young adults - want to be. They said they're mixing the name with designs that are original but trendy, because they're still trying to grow.
Now, through four regional distributors and Internet campaigns, they're working on advertising.
For instance, they started a contest seeking a Rock Star model for their Web site and catalogues. The top models, selected from votes collected on their Web site, will compete at a regional battle of the bands concert, and the winning model will be picked from crowd votes.
Sullivan said they had friends who could have modeled for them, but the contest was a great way to advertise. Since it started, Sullivan said visits to their Web site jumped 300 a month to 110,000 a month.
They plan to continue to use modeling, music and sports to expand.
Kim Purbaugh, who manages Insanity on Topsy Lane, said the Underworld Distributing products the store carries are selling well. She said people are excited to buy the clothes because they're from a local company.
"That's what gets them every time," she said.
McCrosky and Sullivan, both 24, said despite the look of their clothes, they live fairly unrock-star lives.
"I bartend," Sullivan said. "Then I come here and work."
Contest
Rock Star Clothing's Battle of the Bands/Model Contest
When: 3-11 p.m. Nov. 3
Where: The Warehouse, 3579 Highway 50 East, Suite 209
Tickets: $6 in advance, $8 at the door. Advance tickets at www.underworlddistributing.com/Rockstar/Rockstar_Main.htm
Where to get 'em
www.underworlddistributing.com
Out of Bounds Board Shop
2310 S. Carson St.
888-2010
Insanity (Deviate)
911 Topsy Lane, 212
267-5548
Piercing USA
1100 East Plumb Lane, Suite D,
Reno
829-7766
Mont Bleu Resort and Casino
Something Bleu
55 Highway 50
Stateline
588-3515
• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.
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