The summer of 2017 was a formative time in RSVLTS history. We were a totally different company than we are now...let's take a quick walk down memory lane.
It was a gorgeous summer and rookie sensation, Aaron Judge, blasts the longest home run of the statcast era, and decided to wear our OG Hambino on national TV. A great day for RSVLTS, but the limelight quickly faded a few weeks later after we received a cease and desist for that best selling shirt of all-time.
Although we were also selling a few dozen Flamingo, Sharky Shark, Mojave, and Pizza Party shirts a day, I kinda thought we might have to put a fork in RSVLTS.
But then something kept happening. We would see more and more orders coming through with last names that we didn't recognize. It was no longer just family and friends throwing us a bone to offer support, names and area codes outside of NY/NJ were popping up left and right.
So then, July 27, 2017, became a long and became a pivotal day, and for two incredible, major reasons.
It was a beautiful Thursday and at precisely 5:00pm, we launched a unique presale idea for this shirt we were calling "F-U Fight Night" due to a massive boxing match taking place later that evening. We made the shirt for friends to wear at our RSVLTS HQ watch party, and a guy named Ben S., from Round Lake Beach, IL, purchased the first one about 10 minutes after launch (ohhhh, how times have changed, amirite?!).
Also on the same day we created a new private Facebook Group for our family, friends, and that small but passionate community that was beginning to grow each day.
At the time I thought "F-U Fight Night" was the biggest thing that happened that day, probably because only 14 people joined the FB group on the first day, but now, four years, two months and a few days later, I'm incredibly humbled to say RSVLTS Insiders has just hit the 15,000 member mark, and it going stronger than ever.
When I clicked "create" on RSVLTS Insiders back then, I was hoping it would ultimately become a hub of activity for the brand. Instagram and our Facebook page were very one-sided with us mostly posting strategic content, and there wasn't a great ability to interact with each other in real-time. We truly wanted a place to drive our passionate customers to share photos, talk with each other and really build that community factor.
TBH it did exactly that back then, and continues to do so today as many of you reading this already know. Everyday there are Insiders posting about how they met other members in real life, sharing stories about sending their kids off to school for the first time in RSVLTS gear, chug trains, impromptu meet-ups, and so much more.
So we wish a special thanks to everyone who is a member of Insiders, we truly appreciate your dedication, participation and overall support over the years.
And yeah, let's keep it going and growing, so definitely use the invite feature to bring in your family and friends...and we'll see you all at the next meet up!