In a country where school spirit is taken very, very seriously, some young people were inspired to create their own lines of school shirts and merchandise that scream chants, cheers, and yes – pride!

With the NCAA and UAAP seasons now at its peak, what better way to show school spirit than to wear these statement tees.

Now, even on an ordinary day, you see people walking in the streets wearing these shirts. Boys pair it with skinny jeans and chunky rubber shoes, while girls strut in them with denims or mini skirts.

Yes, school spirit has never been this fab and fashionable!

BeRed Designs (www.bereddesigns.multiply.com)

"Our shirts do not just speak thoughts, they speak from a heart that bleeds ‘red,’ a heart whose love and faithfulness screams San Beda,” says BeRed Designs owner Christian Bacani.

Together with his partner Chuck Pilapil, Christian established BeRed in May. “We saw the compassion and the love of Bedans to their alma mater and this gave us an idea to create something that will not just show this love but to also strengthen the oneness of the entire San Beda College community,” Christian enthuses.

Aside from finishing their MBA in San Beda, the two friends are also co-workers and share the same passion for sports and school pride.

“We saw how the identity of the institutions is elevated because of these merchandise. It seems that students feel proud when wearing their school shirt. So we started throwing ideas and my partner began creating the designs.

We made our own site and amazingly, we’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from San Beda students, alumni and employees,” relates Christian.

He says it didn’t need a huge amount of investment to start up the business.

“Just as long as your methods are honest, ethical, fair, and you practice integrity, and most importantly, your means help you grow emotionally, morally, spiritually and financially, you will reap success,” Christian advises young entrepreneurs.

GetBlued (www.getblued.multiply.com)

It was at the Ateneo Management Association’s Entrepreneurial Challenge in 2006 when then management students Ken Andrew Sy and Kirk Chester Damasco saw the opportunity to earn money, interact with people, and have fun.

“We thought of making Ateneo shirts that have a twist, younger, more hip, and cooler. The typical school shirt is very vintage, simple and classic, so we made it more appealing to students mainly through statements. We called the line GetBlued,” explains Kirk.

Ken and Kirk also faced the challenge of balancing their academics, personal lives and the business. “When we were starting, we had to cut some classes to attend to our business. Getting the proper permits and papers and dealing with suppliers were also a challenge,” they relate.

GetBlued celebrates the rich and proud Ateneo culture. It is dedicated to creating a new movement
of school pride and spirit using modern graphic designs to express the Blue and White culture. “It wants every Atenean and everyone who admires the Ateneo to be proud, to be bold, and to be one with the community that shouts ‘Go Ateneo, One Big Fight,’” Kirk enthuses.

Ken, the main designer, says it’s easier and more natural for them to come up with designs since the entire GetBlued team is from Ateneo. ‘’We know the type of culture and subcultures, we know more or less what would work and what would not. We strive to make them very Ateneo, that is, profound, fun and witty.”

GetBlued merchandise is available in the Loyola Schools Bookstore inside the Ateneo de Manila University and at the Ateneo Law School in Makati. It has also successfully launched the brand in partnership with student entrepreneurs in Ateneo de Davao, Ateneo de Iloilo, Ateneo de Naga, and Xavier University.

Shirts Avenue (www.shirtsavenue.multiply.com)

Rex Manzano Mayo is the sole owner of Shirts Avenue, which he put up just last June. Rex graduated from the University of the Philippines-Diliman last year with a degree in Public Administration.

This entrepreneur and consultant for the Presidential Management Staff says that juggling two jobs at the same time entails a lot of hard work. “Though it gets exhausting, there’s a feeling of fulfillment because I love what I am doing,” says the proud “promdi” from Romblon.

Aside from the UP-inspired shirts designed by good friend Vigile Fabella, Shirts Avenue also offers silk screen services for students, school organizations, and other groups. “I hope to come up with more concepts and designs. I get suggestions from my customers and consider designs from friends,” adds Rex.

Among Shirts Avenue’s bestsellers are the “Need-A-Ride,” “I Heart UP,” and the “UP 1908” shirts.
“Customized and statement shirts will not go out of fashion for UP students because UP has no uniform and the students always try to create their own identity,” he says.

Green Fusion (www.greenfusion.multiply.com)

Their aim was to unify all of La Salle’s 17 campuses all over the country. And after a year, Green Fusion owners Marc Loyd Pangilinan and Kenneth Zamora can say that their noble idea has succeeded.

“We realized that La Salle shirts weren’t easily accessible to Lasallians in the provinces. Most La Salle shirts available were focused on DLSU, so some students from other campuses feel left out,” relates Marc.

To answer this need, Marc and Kenneth designed shirts depicting a “One La Salle.”

“All our members work together and help each other out. It helps that we’re from different La Salle schools. We put all our ideas together so we come up with shirts that are meant for all Lasallians in the country. We also accommodate designs requested by our customers and we work on that design. That’s how we came up with the name Green Fusion, because this shirt business is a fusion of all our ideas,” Marc explains.

The latest addition to the Green Fusion team are Jet Honda, Daryl Tan, Candice Uy and Yuushi Kawashima who came from DLSU; DLS-CSB (College of St.Benilde); DLSAU (De La Salle Araneta University); and USLS (University of St. La Salle – Bacolod).

“Coming up with the designs was the hardest part. We really wanted to promote unity among all La Salle schools and come up with shirts that can be worn by all Lasallians, no matter
which campus they come from,” he adds.

Red Shirt Day (www.redshirtday.multiply.com)

He is probably the biggest UE Warriors fan in the campus - so big that he made shirts in honor of his alma mater.

With no business background, Rowell Morales, a BS Psychology graduate from the University of the East, had to learn about business and marketing through the Internet and a few tips from friends.

“I have been a big fan of the Warriors ever since my freshman year. I always watch their games live. Then I started making catchy statements in support of the UE Red Warriors and I posted them on my online journals. In my senior year, I decided to put up a shirt business that will feature my statements on the shirts. It was a big risk because I don’t know anything about business. It took off because of the support I got from the UE community,” Rowell relates.

His business partner, Warren Tan, an engineer who is not even from UE helps Rowell with the designs. “The shirts are products of endless brainstorming sessions. Our designs are very humble. We do not attack any school or university. All of the designs are based on the meaningful culture of the University...sabi nga nila may ‘Tatak UE,’” he adds.

Rowell observes that the proliferation of these school spirit shirts only shows that students are becoming more and more immersed in the culture and the spirit. “And they are proud to be Warriors and our shirts help them communicate that pride,” he enthuses.

Rawr! (www.rawrshirts.multiply.com)

To unleash the inner tiger from their fellow Thomasians, University of Sto. Tomas Advertising Arts students Lance Alvin Ferrer, Andrew Rey Apuya, Josephine Bunag, Phoebe Kay Abella and Tyrone Usana came up with Rawr, a clothing line that roars of Thomasian pride.

Noticing that other UST shirts are silent and modest of school spirit, they thought of creating shirts that uplift the Thomasian spirit through witty, catchy statements and fresh shirt designs.

“We haven’t seen a shirt that is screaming of Thomasian pride, when there is so much to be proud about being a Thomasian,” Josephine beams.

She considers their Advertising Arts education a big help in starting the business as it provided them knowledge on marketing their products and in coming up with innovative shirt designs.

Managing time between school and business is a major struggle for the group. “Being students first, we have to prioritize school but the team effort made things easier,” she relates.

“T-shirts have always been a medium of self-expression, either it’s a graphic shirt or a statement shirt. We don’t think it’s just a fad, because these shirts are wearable on different occasions. You can wear these shirts when watching games or just plainly going out,” Josephine says.

Uni-tee (www.unitee09.multiply.com)

Friends Nikka Alpay, Kaye Reambillo and Harie Bunda were on their way to a UAAP game when they noticed people wearing statement shirts that are being sold at the entrance of the Araneta Coliseum.

“It got too crowded because each school had its own stall. So we thought, why not have a one-stop shop of statement or school spirit shirts that will offer merchandise of different universities
and colleges out there,” says Nikka. And so, in February 2009, Uni-tee, from the words “university” and “t-shirts”, was born.

Nikka says that their shirts are not the usual ‘my-school-is-better-than-your-school’ type of shirts.
“We noticed that at UAAP games, schools were bashing other schools through statement shirts. But I believe that we can all be proud of our own schools without talking crap about others,” she adds.

Uni-tee carries designs for schools like Ateneo, La Salle, Miriam College, UP, PUP, FEU, UE and San Beda, and merchandise like jackets, bags, mouse pads, ID lan yarns, and even customized souvenir items.

There are hundreds of new students every year that’s why Nikka believes the demand for school shirts will continue to grow. “It also helps that the UAAP season is hyped every year. We get orders
even from Australia,” says Nikka.