Sleep is for the weak
My name is Kyle, and this is a story from my second week with The Sweater Guys. I started as a sales intern, and the far majority of my job revolved around sending emails & creating mockups for clients. As the days went by, I sensed a shift in the office. Tensions were rising, as Dexter had closed a big deal with a client in Toronto. The client was Hack the Valley (a big hackathon) and we were one of the sponsor companies along with Facebook, Google, and others. As a new employee trying to prove myself, I figured there was no better opportunity.
Dexter and Dom had basically lived at the office all week, only going home for the occasional shower or nap, while working away at cutting, weaving and printing thousands of logos. By Thursday they realized they wouldn’t be able to get all of it done in time without help. Dom, being a 4 year varsity baseball player at McGill, called in some of his teammates, and along with me and Matt (another sales intern) we worked all day to get it done. The night seemed to fly by, and by Friday morning I realized I had been working in the same chair for 20 hours straight. On the positive side, we did it. 9 boxes crammed full of hoodies & t-shirts. Little did I know, our work was far from over.
The next hurdle was finding a rental place that we could get a big enough car from, and driving to Toronto in time for the opening ceremonies that afternoon. We ended up just barely fitting me, Dexter, Dom and the 9 boxes in an SUV. Then came the 6 hour drive, with about half a foot of space on my seat that wasn’t taken by boxes.
It was arriving at 36 hours without sleep, with the whole events apparel looking amazing, a homemade t-shirt cannon, and photography/videography equipment that taught me what The Sweater Guys was all about. Biting off more than you can chew, then figuring out how to chew it. Putting yourself in a position that forces you to do things you may not have previously believed possible, and over-delivering on everyone’s expectations.
