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Ruffneck Scarves featured in Seattle Metropolitan magazine

Here is the article as it appears in Seattle Metropolitan magazine. Written by Matthew Halverson

SCARFIN’ IT UP

The first round is always on Jeff McIntyre and Erin O’Brien. Wise to the good will–generating power of free beer, the founders of SoDo-based RUFFNECK WEAR started stitching together a nationwide following for their soccer scarves in 2007 by dropping into fútbol-friendly bars across the country, buying PBRs for the regulars, and giving away their product. McIntyre had learned the scarf’s significance to soccer crazies from watching fans of Liverpool FC loft the cloth banners over their heads to salute their club. And he knew that the only thing those fans liked more than their scarves was booze. “We’ve got quite the reputation around MLS and USL and even some small college towns,” McIntyre says.

Teetotaling cynics might call that buying brand loyalty, but it worked. In late 2008, Adidas—which had the domestic soccer scarf market sewn up but needed a smaller, more nimble partner for one-off projects—caught a whiff of the suds-soaked Ruffneck buzz and asked McIntyre and O’Brien to whip up 23,000 special edition scarves for 2009 Sounders FC season ticket holders. (They’re producing another one for the Sounders’ first match of 2010, on March 25, but as of press time, the design was still under wraps.) And despite a dustup with the Sound-ers front office last summer—Ruffneck gave supporters blue-and-green scarves emblazoned with the popular soccer chant “Let’s Go Fucking Mental”—the Seattle upstarts inked a deal with Major League Soccer last November to produce licensed pieces for every team in the league. “We’re not hooligans, but we’re edgy,” McIntyre says. “And we do things that most other companies won’t do.”

Not bad for a pair of former Microsoft sales guys who admit they knew nothing about selling scarves before going out on their own. “Yeah, we’re businessmen, but I also DVR every single soccer game that’s on TV,” McIntyre says. “We’re just a couple of fun-loving guys who love the game.”

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