Inspiring Conversations with Torey Rose of FAM USA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Torey Rose.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was a high school home economics teacher at a private school in Dekalb County as well as coached Varsity Volleyball and Varsity girls Basketball. We were doing so different things in the classroom with our students to include pattern creation with personal design elements to the apparel the students wanted to create and ultimately make garments they would be wearing. I was continually frustrated with our uniform vendors on the sports side because they didn’t do what they said when they said they would. After complaining to my administrator, he said that I should create a set of uniforms for one of my teams during the summer. He believed so much in what he was saying that he had the school treasurer write me a check for $1,000 to help fund the project. The uniforms were a huge success and so much so that when we played in them the following year, other teams wanted to know where they had come from. That is where it all started. Three years later, as I continued to get busier and busier, I quit my full-time teaching position to start this business. That was 31 years ago.

Over the years, I have had many other leaders in the manufacturing space to walk this journey with me teaching and mentoring me to where we are today.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Some of our struggles have been along the way have been:

1. Customers trusting we will do what we say when we say we will. That is very uncommon in team sports.

2. All of our growth has been self-funded, with a few bank loans along the way. My family has sacrificed to get us where we are today.

3. Talented people. Because we are a cut & sew manufacturing facility producing all our products here in the USA, talent can be a challenge. We have created a training program used within our company

Great things that have happened:

1. We have some really awesome team members at FAM USA. They are dedicated and love this place and what they contribute to the well-being of the company

2. We have had some great stories of our team members who have come to our country legally who have purchased cars, homes, and had babies as a result of FAM USA giving them an opportunity

3. We have some great customers who have helped with our success

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
FAM USA Inc is a premium brand producing all types of team sports uniforms. There are a few sports that are our specialty, such as cheerleading, baseball, softball, volleyball, and basketball. We are known in the marketplace for producing high-quality sports uniforms at an affordable price with a short turnaround time. Our design team is amazing to work with and can help clients with unique designs that set their team apart.

Other things that sets us apart from other cut & sew factories is that we are very friendly toward start-up brands. We work well with them, helping to create a vision for what they want to bring to market all the way to production with very low minimums.

Something we are proud of is we have had the pleasure of working with many brands that, in the beginning, were very small and seeing them grow and succeed in the marketplace.

Other things we offer are screen printing and embroidery for embellishments to uniforms and other apparel

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
We are seeing some brands and new brands wanting to have Made in the USA like no other time. Customers are concerned about responsible apparel manufacturing and are willing to pay a little more when they know brands are producing products they can believe in. We are seeing less “Fast Fashion” than we have in the past few years.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.famusa.co
• Other: www.yssathletics.com