"Take ownership of your own future." The Kalel Apparel Project: By Anthony Balsamo. “It’s the blend of my memories from childhood, love of skateboarding and snowboarding, business experience, appreciation for graphic art, and interest in the street wear industry. More than anything, Kalel represents my desire to do what I love and to motivate others to do the same.”
Since its start, Kalel has become a successful independent clothing line sold around the world. Kalel has received orders from across the US, Canada, Australia, England, Germany, France, South Africa, Italy, Singapore, and Switzerland.
I was born in the early 80’s and grew up watching all the superhero cartoons. Ever since I can remember, Superman was my favorite. My family still tells the story from when I was four years old about the night we went out to dinner at my great uncle’s restaurant and my parents wouldn’t let me wear my Superman suit. In the middle of dinner, I went to the bathroom in my regular clothes and came out dressed as Superman, cape and all. I had hidden the suit under my regular clothes just like Superman!
In middle school and high school I started skateboarding in Boston and snowboarding in New Hampshire and Vermont. I read all the skate magazines, watched all the new 411 videos, and got the CCS mail order catalog to see all the new gear. Just getting the catalog felt like Christmas. Especially in Massachusetts; because at the time it seemed like all the trends and brands started on the west coast and gradually made their way east. We would check out all of the pro’s new skateboard graphics and the new shoes, dreaming of what we wanted to have.
When college rolled around, I went away to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I majored in marketing and business, but I was always trying to find a way to combine creativity, business, and my personal interests into one. Working in corporate America was never my goal; in fact, I secretly wanted to quit college altogether to try to become a pro snowboarder. During winter break of my sophomore year, I considered dropping out of school to move to Colorado and ride full time. I went there for two weeks and rode Vail, Breckenridge, Loveland Pass, and Keystone but ultimately decided to come back and finish what I’d started.
Back at school I put my going-pro dream behind me and refocused on figuring out what to do with my life. It was then that Kalel was born. I had the name immediately. Kal-El was Superman’s name as a baby. The name had a nice flow and well…you already know the restaurant story. With the name decided on, I was ready for a logo. I’ve always appreciated the creativity others have to offer, so I held a design contest on campus. I offered a $50 prize to whoever designed the new Kalel logo. The contest spread quickly and one day, I came back to my dorm room to find an envelope with 20 logos in it. The first version of the Kalel Girl was one of them. That summer I printed the first round of Kalel shirts.
After college, I moved to San Diego and worked in marketing for an athlete management company, which managed all the pros I grew up idolizing. This was a dream job especially right out of school but sometimes the sweet jobs that have all the perks don’t pay well. Looking back I was probably just impatient. I’m not saying it’s all about the money, but when snowboarding, entertainment, and traveling are your favorite things to do and lift tickets are $80 or more for the day, it helps to have a little extra dough. Making money wasn’t my passion, having fun was, but money enabled the fun. So I left to work for a finance company, which allowed me the financial resources to do what I really loved in my free time.
After a year and half of working for 'the man', I left to start my own company with three good friends. Our original four-person company has since grown into a multimillion-dollar business (the business, not me personally!) but most importantly; we are all still good friends. Working with friends on building a successful company has been rewarding, but the fact remains that my true passions still lie elsewhere. I don’t want to be Clark Kent; stuffed into a suit every day staring at Microsoft Outlook. I truly believe that you have to love what you do. Unless you are a movie star (which would be sweet) or a pro athlete (also sweet) you spend the majority of your time at work. You better enjoy it.
My name is Anthony Balsamo and I started Kalel. It’s a blend of my memories from childhood, love of skateboarding and snowboarding, business experience, appreciation for graphic art, and interest in the street wear industry. More than anything, Kalel represents my desire to do what I love.
Since its start, Kalel has become a successful independent clothing line sold around the world. Kalel has received orders from across the US, Canada, Australia, England, Germany, France, South Africa, Italy, Singapore, and Switzerland.
It’s a great time in the world for those who appreciate independent, unique brands like Kalel. Gone are the days when we were only exposed to the few companies that made it to our local mall or the catalogues in the mail. The Internet has created accessibility to a vast global market place and with it, a demand for independent, unique brands. Companies like Kalel don’t need to be a mega corporation to reach our audience. And that’s just the way we like it.
Kalel just rolled out a new online store that has more high quality product shots, a wish list if you’re saving up, and a new product grading system that helps explain the fit and quality of each product. We are collaborating with some amazing artists and will continue to release new designs.
I hope to inspire you to go do something you love.