Anton Sport was started with an idea, a tiny dorm room and a maxed out credit card. When John Anton was a student at Arizona State University he decided to print 200 t-shirts for an upcoming ASU vs. USC football game. Within 2-hours, John’s t-shirts quickly sold out. Over the next few years, John became a permanent fixture at college events and became known as the campus t-shirt guy.
After graduating from ASU, John ventured into the corporate world before returning to his t-shirt business. John’s renewed belief in his business prompted him to purchase his own screen-printing equipment and set up shop in his garage. Forced from his garage by HOA and unable to sell his house due to the housing market values, John took a huge gamble, rented out his house, sold his car and used his life savings to buy a 3,000 sq. ft. warehouse on Scottsdale Road in Tempe, AZ. John, his business and his bed promptly moved in to the warehouse, just blocks away from the campus where it all started and Anton Sport was officially born.
In 1991, John got his big break with an order to produce the official shirts of the PGA’s Phoenix Open. That order changed his life and his custom t-shirt & apparel business was off to a roaring start once again. In the ensuing years, Anton Sport grew to include a staff of 18 employees and a major expansion that tripled the size of the building to over 10,000 sq. ft. and John saw this as an opportunity. As the surge in online sales continued, John hired a software development company to build a web-based design system. No more waiting for proofs. No delays for artwork revisions. John wanted the customer to be in complete control of the design process.
Finally, after numerous delays and sleepless nights, DesignAShirt.com went live and another one of John’s gambles had paid off. 25-years later, Anton Sport and DesignAShirt.com has customized millions of t-shirts, apparel and promotional products for local, national and international customers.
We look forward to welcoming you as one of them!
