Today we’d like to introduce you to Mazen Hasan.
Hi Mazen, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I’ve lived in Northeast Ohio my whole life and have always been a huge fan of the city of Cleveland and Cleveland sports. I’ve always believed that the Northeast Ohio area is the best place to live. As I got older, I noticed some people that I’d talk to talking poorly about the city, wishing they didn’t live here, and stuff like that. My response would always include specific facts on why they were wrong. I’d say something along the lines of “Actually, let me give you 10 reasons why Cleveland is cool,” and then I would go on to list all of those items. I clearly had a passion for the city and wanted to bring more awareness, and then one day, it hit me that I should make a shirt that lists out the reasons I had of why Cleveland was Cool! With that, the first t-shirt was created, and it had me starting to think of other ideas about the city and our sports teams that I could create. I quickly realized that I had a knack for clever slogans and creative designs, so I created 5 others to go with the Cle Cool List, and with that, Cleveland’s Cool was officially launched in April of 2023, with those first 6 shirts. It has been a year in business now, and I’ve been traveling all over the Akron and Cleveland suburbs, selling my apparel at markets & shows. I’ve been meeting new people and creating incredible memories. We are currently up to 17 t-shirts, 2 hats and our first sweatshirt, and we have an endless list of so many new apparel designs to come!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The first few months was a lot of me trying to find my footing on what worked and what didn’t work at the markets and craft shows that I was attending every weekend. There were some early on where sales were not where I wanted them to be, but I was confident in my product, and so I kept tinkering with the setup and with the presentation and eventually broke through to where I have found a good groove and a steady flow of sales at each market I go to. The online business also took some time to build up and continues to be a growth opportunity to continue to expand my reach through social media, advertising and multiple other outlets. It has been such a joy to continue to work on growing the business in various ways!
We’ve been impressed with Cleveland’s Cool, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a Cleveland clothing company that helps to show what the city of Cleveland has to offer in clever and fun ways. We offer t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and more! Our apparel is high quality and brings a smile to people’s faces. The city of Cleveland has so much to offer, and we are here to help promote it. Our niche is in our creativity and in our passion for bringing out the best of Cleveland. We are intertwined into the city, and our apparel shows it! Every one of our pieces truly speaks to the people of Cleveland.
Our hometown passion and small business feel is who we are at our core and is what separates us. There’s an extra level of uniqueness and creativity to our work that can be lost with the bigger clothing companies. We work hard to be in front of all the good people of this great city every weekend at various markets and craft shows all year long – rain or shine, warm or cold. We want to see everything up close and meet as many people as we can around Cleveland! We also sell our apparel online at our website clevelandscool.com, as well as our cle cool clothing store on Etsy.
We use only the best quality material for our shirts. We print on a super soft, unisex crewneck T-shirt made of 60% combed and ring-spun cotton and 40% polyester jersey, pairing its incredible comfort with tremendous durability.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I had a huge interest in sports and any kind of competition. I worked hard to be the best at everything, and I took every opportunity I could get to become better. Whether it was staying busy during my free time, pushing my older brothers to let me play sports with their older friends, or thinking of various other ways that I could be better than I currently was.
I would obsess over thinking of new business ideas. Every week, I seemed to have some kind of new invention or business idea that I would pitch to my friends and family. I always had that entrepreneurial spirit and even launched a few of those ideas when I was younger. Every one of them was a valuable experience that taught me something new about business and life.
I was a happy kid who was known for always having a big smile and outgoing personality and was always easy to relate to and talk to. Family, friends & faith have always been the center of my life. I’ve always put my loved ones first above all else, and I have always tried to be the best person I can be with how I treat others and with my strong morals/values. I learned at a young age that how you treat people is the true sign of character and the true sign of future success, and so I have held that to this day.
Pricing:
- Our t-shirts range from $22.99-$26.99
- Our sweatshirts range from $42.99-$45.99
- Our hats are $27.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.clevelandscool.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cle_cool/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089974658505
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cleveland_cool
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cle.cool
Image Credits
Zaina Salem
