Sportswear founder was once a ‘fake’ IBM employee
Eddie Evans turns love of sport into successful sportswear company
In a weird twist, Eddie Evans has a fake job to thank for his real job.
From 1992 to 2002, the former Canadian international rugby star (50 caps) lived in Tokyo and played in Japan for IBM. Rugby until after the 1995 World Cup was considered an amateur sport so athletes couldn’t get paid to just play. In Japan, players would have regular jobs with the companies that sponsored the teams.
“Regular” in this case is a loose term.
“Fake job, yes,” said Evans while sitting on a deck in Vancouver recently.
“We did have to dress up and go to the office and sit there. They had me working on a few little things. Mostly translating, actually. I was like a financial director or something like that. Some wacky title that I had no right to hold.”
The twist is that as an employee of IBM he had a right to a staff shares purchase plan.
It proved to be a lucrative move, as a decade later Evans used the money he made from the stocks to launch his Thailand-based Xtreme Rugby Wear sports clothing company (x-tremerugbywear.com). The company is an international success and supplies various custom sports uniforms to schools, clubs and national rugby teams from Alaska to Africa.
“I made good money playing rugby but nothing compared to those stocks,” said Evans. “It was insane.”
Evans used the money to buy a factory. “I wanted to own the dirt,” he said.
The journey from player in Japan to proprietor in Thailand was rooted in the strong international reputation the Canadian men’s rugby team held in the early 1990s. A reputation that allowed players international club options outside their national-team duties.
“We all thought about our futures, thinking about life after rugby. We always thought Japan was a better option for us,” said Evans, referring to himself and teammates Glenn Ennis and the late Norm Hadley. “We all learned Japanese and cultural things and I think it gave us a bit of thirst to grow.”
He hopes today’s players take a page from that playbook.
“I think when they quit the game, a lot of these guys are not equipped for the life after,” said Evans. “They are not making money like the hockey players or baseball players. They have to work after.”
Luckily for Evans, the work after play was still connected to the game he loved.
Always interested in sports and fashion, Evans focused his company on the future and began creating sublimated jerseys using technical fabrics.
“I can’t believe what we wore,” said Evans, laughing, looking back on his playing days.
“Long-sleeve thick cotton shirts with heavy padded shoulders, big baggy cotton shorts and long cotton socks. What was the logic with that stuff?”
The first big sale of his new product was old school, as he outfitted his former Vancouver club team, the UBC Old Boys, in 2005.
While the product was gaining ground, Evans didn’t take a paycheque until four years into the venture.
“Since then it has really snowballed,” said Evans, who has 40- plus employees and reports his growth rate to be 15-20 per cent a year.
“Our problem is trying to keep up with the production and demand.”
While most clothing labels use third-party factories and have huge worker turnover rates, Evans owns his factory and knows his workers.
“I have brought a lot of my Canadian ethics with me,” said Evans. “My staff runs on salary, not daily wages. They all get bonuses. They all get time off. They all get annual leave. They get maternity leave. They get sick leave. My staff knows they will be treated with respect. There is loyalty. Over the last 10 years I can count the people who had to leave on one hand.”
Thailand started as a great place to vacation in the rugby off-season but it’s been home for Evans, a Terrace native, for 14 years now. He owns an eight-storey live/work building. He plays in a rock band (they are still working on a name) made up only of rugby players — even the female lead singer.
“It seemed just easier for me to make a transition from professional rugby over to a normal life,” he said. “I just found the whole atmosphere laid back and it just seemed to fit me after the whole hustle and bustle of Japan for 10 years.”
A big part of Evan’s Thai life is his Bangkok International Rugby 10s tournament, an all-ages event that started 12 years ago with 12 teams, and now has more than 100 sides coming in from around the globe.
The tournament raises funds for the charitable organization and rugby academy Nak Suu. Meaning “noble warrior” in Thai, Nak Suu brings rugby, education and mentorship to high-risk, destitute Thai kids.
“Ever since I was a young kid I got so much out of rugby, so many great relationships. I got to see the world and I got to play for my country and play professionally,” said Evans, a former Shawnigan Lake student.
“I got so much out of the game, I just thought I needed to give back. It made sense to help these kids.”
As for playing, Evans, whose first international match was a victory over the U.S. in 1987, still gets out a few times a week with the Bangkok Bangers, an over-35 men’s team.
“It takes me a week to get over the bangs and bumps,” said the 50-year-old Evans. “People think I’m insane at my age, still going out there and doing this. But I still love it. I still want to play.”