October 6, 2015 - Elliott Sayles sits among his product at his home and distribution center in East Memphis. Through his business, Good Enterprises, he sells t-shirts and lapel pins that reference the Black Lives Matters movement. (Mike Brown/The Commercial Appeal)

Posted: Oct. 08, 2015

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October 6, 2015 - Elliott Sayles sells t-shirts and lapel pins that reference the Black Lives Matters movement. (Mike Brown/The Commercial Appeal)

By Kevin McKenzie of The Commercial Appeal

With T-shirts that proudly declare how the word “man” is often pronounced in Memphis, Elliott Sayles is an entrepreneur hoping to make a mark for his city and his generation.

Sayles, 37, said prayer helped generate the message, like a dictionary definition, he’s marketing on the front of T-shirts.

“MANE (noun)/man) An alternative way of saying ‘man.’ Phrase most commonly used in Memphis Tennessee. Used before and after a sentence to emphasize a point.”

The online Urban Dictionary carries a similar definition and reference to Memphis dating back to 2007. Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane adopted it. From rap songs to social media and conversations not only between African Americans, it’s a staple in Memphis, Sayles said.

Terrence Howard, a star of the hit television show “Empire,” tried to capture it in the 2005 movie “Hustle and Flow” about a Memphis pimp, but didn’t get good local reviews about his pronunciation.

“What was so unique about that is that Memphians were upset about Terrence Howard, the way he depicted Memphians, how they say the word,” Sayles said. “We didn’t rebuke the word, we rebuked how he said it.”

With a manetshirts.com website, T-shirts he orders from Spikner in Memphis, and a lawyer working on a trademark, Sayles said his “mane” T-shirts are beginning to find their way to markets near and far.

“My plan is to have this become a tourist novelty item and to help generate revenue for the city of Memphis,” he said. “We need something new, something different. I think what we’ve had, it’s been like this for years.”

James Clark, founder in 1983 and chief executive of Eel Etc. Fashions on Beale Street, said tourists are looking for unique souvenirs that say “Memphis.” Clark leaned toward wanting to see “mane” used in a sentence rather than defined on a T-shirt.

He said his best seller has been a phrase made popular by famed Memphis singer, songwriter and actor Isaac Hayes: “It’s a Memphis thang.”

“I sell the heck out of that,” Clark said.

Mike Bowen, chief executive of Champion Awards & Apparel Inc., said the company gets calls about once a week with T-shirt ideas. They refuse many, because return on investment, marketing and sales planning are required for success, Bowen said. Protecting copyright and trademark rights is difficult.

“We turn down more people than we accept because of our ethics and our morals,” he said. “A lot of times I’ll just say no, I’m not going to let you spend money on that.”

Marketing matters for entrepreneurs. As the largest local licensee for University of Memphis merchandise, for example, Champion advertised its new “Memphis State” retro line for four weeks on ESPN, then saw sales drop by 80 percent this week without the advertising. That website is Memphistigershop.com.

Champion spends over $1,000 a month on search engine optimization to get people within a 100-mile radius to visit tshirtchampions.com, Bowen said.

“To give you an idea, that’s what I think is about minimum that you need,” he said.

Like one of President Obama’s campaign phrases in 2008, Sayles said he’s doing what others in his generation are waiting for someone else to do.

“I don't think people or Memphians in my age group have actually put their stamp on the city in a way that says this is what this generation represents for the city,” he said.

A combination of business experiences and the Black Lives Matter movement following the police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, a year ago helped inspire his latest entrepreneurial venture, Sayles said.

Winning a contract from the city of Memphis in about 2009 for his former waste collection company, Waste Valet, lit a fire in him as an example of what he could achieve, he said. The downside, he said, was the city rescinded the contract because he couldn’t ramp up service as quickly as required.

Management at an Ashley Furniture store took him to Nashville for a couple of years, but he returned to Memphis last year and witnessed the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement.

With an investment of about $80 and connection with a manufacturer in China found through the website Alibaba.com, Sayles began selling Black Lives Matter-related lapel pins. They cost about 23 cents to make. He sells then for $6 on a website, handsupworld.org.

Those sold through a partnership with the Tom Joyner Foundation provides $2 donated to historically black colleges and universities, Sayles said.

"I didn't have all the answers, I just wanted to kind of get involved and do something different, something that involved some economics," he said.

Sales at colleges and universities led to his company – Good (Getting Out Our Dreams) Enterprises – becoming a vendor for Follett, a manager of campus bookstores, he said. The need for a new product led to prayer and “mane” T-shirts, which he said he started with an initial $200.

“I plan on whatever it turns in to, love to get into licensing,” Sayles said. “You can fit ‘mane’ on to anything, I see a basketball shirt that says Big Mane….”
 

About Kevin McKenzie

Kevin McKenzie is a business reporter covering topics including health care and economic development.

• @KMcknz
• kevin.mckenzie@commercialappeal.com
• 901-529-2348