John Anton started this business in 1985 when he was a student at Arizona State University. On a whim, he took a cash advance on his credit card to produce some t-shirts for a college event. He sold them in two hours and made a quick profit. Encouraged, he continued to sell t-shirts to various ASU clubs and organizations during the rest of his college career. After a brief stint in the corporate world, John decided he would rather work for himself. He returned to the t-shirt business by purchasing screen-printing equipment and setting up shop in his garage. In 1989, as the business continued to grow, John needed to move the business out of his garage. He arranged a loan for the building on Scottsdale Road, rented out his house, sold his car, and to make the finances work, he moved into the warehouse. At that point it was just John, an artist, and a screen cleaner. John wrote orders all day, and printed into the night. John’s biggest break came in 1991, when the local P.G.A. golf tournament, The Phoenix Open, placed an $18,000 order. It catapulted the growth of the business. Today, Anton Sport has a 10,000+ square foot building, which houses the business, the equipment, and a staff of 18 and growing.

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