GentClubShirts.com has become the industry’s top source for club merchandise, including shirts, tanks, hats and more.
If you’ve been to a Gentlemen’s Club EXPO in the last, say, 15 years, you’ve seen a GentClubShirts.com (aka Safari Sun) product displayed prominently. It may have been one of their butter-soft tees with eye-catching designs. Or it may have been their company name emblazoned on your EXPO goodie bag, as Safari Sun and GentClubShirts.com have been a sponsor of EXPO (and the industry) for several years running. Or perhaps it was on feature entertainer who was wearing a customized (and very flattering) EDI (Exotic Dancer Invitational) tank top.
Safari Sun, which specializes in screen print, embroidery, and promotional products, was established near Orlando, Florida, way back in 1984. All of their screen printing is done right there on-site, with over 30 years of experience and the ability to print 1,500-plus shirts per hour. Though it took some time, Safari Sun founder Chris Dvornick finally ventured into the world of gentlemen’s clubs when he was introduced to the Foxy Lounge in Fort Myers, Florida.
“We started creating shirts for them back in 2002, and they loved our work,” says Dvornick. “They encouraged us to start doing advertisements with ED Magazine and the EXPO, and we were offered a spot at the tradeshow. At that initial EXPO we met multiple club owners and were able to get good feedback on what the industry really needed.”
From there, Safari Sun created GentClubShirts.com to cater solely to the gentlemen’s club industry. They specialized in pre-made t-shirt designs that could be easily customized to advertise a specific club. They also provided the industry with a product and service that was sorely lacking: High-quality club merchandise with modern, attractive designs.
“Our website (GentClubShirts.com) saves club owners lots of time and money, while creating an easy online ordering process for them,” says Dvornick. “We continue to support the EXPO because this is where we always want to hear your feedback as we all grow together. We are here to build business relationships with our customers and provide promotional products solutions; that’s where we have the expertise. This way they can focus on their club operations and more importantly their girls.”
That expertise pays dividends, as Dvornick explains the right apparel can leave a lasting impression on the clientele.
“From staff apparel to the promotional products, it all plays a role in branding your club on a professional level,” he says. “They’re a reflection of your brand and speak volumes to everyone you do business with, from customers to vendors and everyone in between.”
With the customization available to clients, that brand message can convey whatever you want, “whether it’s a vintage design for a classy upscale appearance or creative puns to set the mood for a fun time,” says Dvornick. “The ‘pun t-shirt designs’ can be a great conversation starter for clientele to unknowingly open a conversation about how great of a time they had at your club, while creating brand awareness.
T-shirts are definitely the most popular piece of apparel GentClubShirts.com provides, and Dvornick cites the cost-effectiveness of tees, along with their marketing power Dvornick and his talented and experienced staff of designers and customer-service experts have the club t-shirt game down so well, he estimates about 95% of the company’s orders are pre-made designs with subtle changes.
“They may change the ink colors or shirt colors to fit their club’s branding more, but the main look of the design stays the same,” Dvornick says.
One client that has been utilizing GentClubShirt’s pre-made designs over the past six years is ED Publications’ Associate Publisher Dave Manack, who has adapted existing designs on the GentClubShirts.com website for the Annual EDI contests.
“Each year I get rave reviews of our EDI shirts from the competing entertainers and host clubs alike,” says Manack. “All I have to do is go on their website, find a design I like and tell Chris (Dvornick) where I want to place our EDI information, including the EDI logo, dates and host clubs. Chris and his team always make this a seamless process, and I get t-shirts and tank tops that are comfortable and look great. I would never hesitate to recommend GentClubShirts.com to any club owner, they do the best club merchandise I’ve ever seen in the 20-plus years I’ve worked at ED Publications.”
As Dvornick notes, fully customized orders (where Chris and his staff come up with designs completely from scratch) are available, but with so many customizable designs available on their website, a from-scratch design isn’t needed very often.
“The five percent of truly ‘custom’ t-shirt orders are usually for special events and we design the t-shirts around the event, based on the customer’s vision or even from scratch,” says Dvornick. “This ratio lets us know we are on-trend with our design styles and that we have an awesome in-house art team,” says Dvornick. “We try to stay on top of what is trending in fashion and customize it to fit the gentlemen’s club industry.”
Safari Sun/GentClubShirts are an Event Sponsor for Expo 2020 in Las Vegas and a sponsor of the 2020 EDI contests. For more information, please visit gentclubshirts.com or call (844) 488-2547.
