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The Daily OrangeHard earned cash
Dreams of attending Newhouse helped John Groat create T-shirt branding company 'Holy Shirt!'
By Amity Paye
Posted: 10/1/09, 12:49 AM EST Section: Feature
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But the story behind these shirts does not start in the Carrier Dome. It starts at Holy Shirt!, and the story of Holy Shirt! starts with a pair of boxers.
John Groat, the business' owner and founder, started his company 22 years ago and has built the now-family business into a well-known campus utility.
Groat grew up in Syracuse as the oldest of five siblings. He worked for $3.75 at a local grocery store, was the president of his senior class at Corcoran High School and had one goal.
"From the age of 4, I wanted to be in broadcasting," said Groat, whose father, Rod Wood (his stage name), is a local broadcaster on ABC News Channel 9. "Later in high school, I was hell-bent on coming to Newhouse … and nothing else could have competed with that. I couldn't be reasoned with."
So he applied to SU with an early decision application and was thrilled when he received his acceptance letter, Groat said. But he had one problem: his family could not afford to send him to the school of his dreams.
"He said, 'Mom, you gotta get a job at SU so I can go,'" said Nanette Groat, John's mother. "But it was hard to juggle three girls and work up at SU. It was too much for me. So I said no to that and hoped to help John in another way."
In the mean time, John sold custom-made boxer shorts to raise money for the senior class of Corcoran High School. A late '80s fad, boxer shorts were not readily available in stores and he had to work with an independent company to have them specially printed. The sale was so successful that an employee of the company told Groat he could make $300 selling the boxers at another school.
But Groat initially ignored the offer. He focused on school and graduated at the top of his class. He still did not have the money to go to SU though. When the time came to register for classes he enrolled at Onondaga Community College, where his father could afford the then $700 registration fee.
John was not happy with the decision. "Going to OCC wasn't the same," he said. "I felt disappointed. Actually, disappointment was an understatement at that time. It just wasn't the same as Newhouse."
He attended the first day of class at OCC but still felt that something didn't fit, he said. So on the second day of class, he went to the bursar's office and asked for a refund of his father's money. He went home and begged his mother not to tell his father, which she didn't, and began deciding what to do next.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Olma Echeverri
posted 10/01/09 @ 10:01 AM EST
What an inspiring story. I wish the Holy Shirt! even more success in the future.
Gabriell Debear Paye
posted 10/04/09 @ 10:11 AM EST
This is an inspiring story showing people that if they really want something, they can find a way. The T-shirt business was a stroke of brilliance!
All the same, the government should subsidize education so that anyone who is capable has a chance! It shouldn't be so hard. (Continued…)
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