A young entrepreneur managed to sell $105,000 worth of underwear in just two months after the outbreak of coronavirus forced people to stay at home.
Patrick Psotka, 27, moved from Vancouver to Australia three years ago to start his brand Sparx Underwear.
The 27-year-old who now lives in Bondi said it took 18 months before his business got off the ground and he spent that time working as a Deliveroo driver to make ends meet.
But Mr Psotka said his business boomed during the COVID-19 lockdown as people started spending all day in their undies.
‘From March 15, things really started booming and I’ve made over $100,000 since,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I’ve been working on it for the last three years but it really hit a tipping point when COVID-19 started.’
The idea came about during a backpacking trip around Asia with Mr Psotka saying he was finding his normal underwear uncomfortable and starting to chafe.
‘I looked at the Aussie market and there’s not much out there other than Bonds and Calvin Klein,’ he said.
‘I saw a gap in the market that would solve an issue a lot of men deal with.’
The secret behind Mr Psotka’s underwear range is what he likes to call the ‘kanga pouch’ which allows a compartment in the undies separate from the legs to allow more airflow.
‘A lot of men are staying at home in their undies all day so they may as well be comfortable,’ he said.
‘Everything can go in (the kanga pouch) and it creates separation from the legs so we don’t have to adjust so much.’
Mr Psotka started out selling the underwear weekly at the Bondi Markets in 2017 and by the end of 2018, he was able to focus full time on the brand which he runs solely by himself.
‘The first year-and-a-half I was just figuring everything out. In order to support myself I was riding Deliveroo in the nights to pay the bills,’ he said.
The 27-year-old lives with four roommates and said one lost her job as a result of the virus – so he hired her part-time.
His house has now turned into a mini-factory with his bedroom and living room full of underwear waiting to be packaged.
‘I get around 30-50 orders a day,’ he said.
‘It’s sort of taken over the house. One wall in my bedroom is full of underwear and we pack them in the living room.
‘It’s taken a life of its own, we get international sales as well as Australian.’
Every pair is $35 and comes with quick-dry fabric which can allow men to wear them all day in various activities like swimming or working out.
The name Sparx comes from a nickname Mr Psotka had when he was younger, Sparky.
He also hopes the underwear will encourage people to do something to ‘spark’ their life every day.
The 27-year-old is currently working on a women’s range which he hopes to release by summer.
‘My ultimate goal is to become the biggest underwear brand coming out of Australia,’ he said.
Sparx Underwear is available for shipping.
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source: Daily Mail