Sam Means started Hello Merch 12 years ago to support bands and creatives in Phoenix and beyond. Now, he’s supporting the community through the coronavirus crisis.
Hello Merch prints T-shirts, hats and posters for more than 250 bands out of its warehouse in Downtown Phoenix. Local tourism nonprofit Visit Phoenix recently approached Means and his team with an idea to produce T-shirts to raise funds for local hospitality employees who were affected by the pandemic.
Proceeds from the T-shirts, emblazoned with the inspiring message “Together We Rise,” go directly to Another Round, Another Rally, a Phoenix-based organization that provides financial relief and educational resources for hospitality professionals.
The initiative is personal for Means, who comes from a music background and has friends in the Phoenix bar, restaurant and venue industry. Means believes it was important to raise money for these individuals, but also offer something in return.
“I think just drawing attention to that is important, just to reach those people that are able to support,” Means says. “You can do good and help your favorite restaurant and you also get a little prize, too.”
The pandemic hit right at the start of tour season, a time when the demand for band merchandise is at an all time high. Means’ band, The Format, was also gearing up for its own reunion tour.
“That sort of flat lined completely overnight,” he says. “Every tour that we had lined up canceled within a two-week span, so that was really scary.”
Hello Merch was able to pivot amid the pandemic and keep the presses going.
”We’ve been able to help a lot of people, bands and organizations, anyone we can,” he says.
Means says its been inspiring to see the community outreach that has come out of the coronavirus crisis. Downtown Phoenix Inc., Local First Arizona and Arizona Small Business Association are also involved in the project, and community members are rallying around the company for a good cause.
“Even when they’re freaked out themselves, their ability to help has been really inspiring,” he says. “I would just like to see that continue to happen, even if things do get better.”
Means has been involved with several similar community initiatives in the past, including designing shirts to save the McDowell Mountain Preserve. Ultimately, the proposed development plan – a tourism center called Desert Edge – didn’t transpire.
“It was crazy to see a couple people have an idea and make a T-shirt and have a little slogan and see if we can just push it out there and it worked,” he says. “This big crazy thing they were going to build on the preserve didn’t happen.”
Means hopes to continue that community support on a local level.
“You really can make a difference with little things like this that may seem silly, like ‘Oh, it’s just a T-shirt with a funny saying or a catchy slogan,’” he says. “It really does help and if you have a good product to go with it.. it can spread quickly.”
To purchase a shirt, visit hellomerch.com/collections/together-we-rise or visitphoenix.com/covid-19/#TogetherWeRise.
