Student sells pink basketball apparel to help fund research

Take a college senior, throw in the usual 15 credit hours, a custom machine that dyes socks, an online company and a $1,000 donation to breast cancer research and you would get Rob Nick.

Nick started a company on the side called Rock ‘Em Socks. The company sells customizable basketball socks for $24.99 a pair through his website, rockemsocks.com.

"My father coaches basketball, my sister played in college and I played in high school," the broadcast journalism major said. "It's always been in my family, so it's natural to do something with basketball."

Nick started selling his socks on eBay, but business really took off, he said. That's when he decided to code and design his own website, and Rock ‘Em Socks was born.

"We can sell up to 400 socks a week," Nick said. "It's taken me by surprise."

At his sister's wedding last April, Nick ran into family friend Sarah Reese, who is an administrator for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

Nick immediately asked Reese about getting special edition Nike Kay Yow socks to sell through his company. However, Nike makes the supply extremely limited, Reese said. Nick decided to dye his own socks.

"It's incredible he's able to make his own socks and he's contributing a portion of the proceeds to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund," Reese said. "We appreciate everything he's doing for the brand."

Nick has committed 20 percent of each sale of his pink and black socks and raised $1,000 by Oct. 4, passing his goal for the month in four days.

The Kay Yow Cancer Fund has national initiatives but is also grassroots based, just not necessarily with college students, Reese said.

"It's a bit of a unique situation; there's not too many college students who take the initiative to start their own company while still in school," Reese said.

Besides Rock ‘Em Socks, Nick takes 15 credit hours and works part time. He said although he has had to pass up nights with friends, he is learning time management and focus.

"I know what is going to be more beneficial to me," Nick said. "[I would rather] build something that lasts rather than going out on a Friday night."

Nick only has three friends working for him, including Austin Crane, also a junior broadcast journalism major. Crane got involved with Nick last summer when they met at work.

"Rob's a good guy," Crane said. "He's a headstrong guy with a passion that is really infectious, and it rubs off on everyone that he comes in contact with."

Crane calls himself the streamliner of the business. With 2,000 to 3,000 hits a day on the website, Crane stays busy sending orders to Canada, Mexico, Spain, Australia, Guam and Japan.

Crane doesn't mind working 50 to 60 hours a week while helping to support a way to find a cure, he said.

"I think it's phenomenal," Crane said. "I don't have anyone related to me that's suffered from breast cancer, but I know people who have and it's nice to help science and set something in the right direction to find the cure."

As for the future of Rock ‘Em Socks, Nick has sponsorship offers from local high school basketball coaches, but he is also hoping to expand his business into a multi-line apparel company.

Spreading a positive message to his market of 8-to-15-year-olds is also important, Nick said.

"I see something like AND1 because basketball players nowadays don't have that hip, cool company to represent," he said. "I want to be something like that for this day and age."

Although Nick has surpassed his first goal, and currently has raised nearly $2,000 for the Kay Yow fund, he's going to keep going.

NCAA breast cancer awareness month is in February, and there is another goal Nick has in mind.

"If we can keep it up until then, there is no limit to how much we can raise for them," Nick said. "My heart is in basketball; it is just a great cause, and I can't see a better foundation to donate to."

Personally, Nick has never known anyone with breast cancer, but he doesn't want to, he said.

"I have a mother, and I have a sister. Breast cancer is the No. 1 killer of women, and I don't want to know anyone who was affected it by it," Nick said. "I want this cure found. This is for everyone who has ever been affected."