BRIAN: Dean, your friend, Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Russell Wilson has partnered with Thomas Dean to start a line of clothes. How’d that come about? DEAN: Good luck and good timing, I guess. It happens that my wife, Trudy, shares a personal trainer with a Seattle Seahawk player’s wife, and being the great ambassador of the brand that she is, Trudy invited them to take a look at our clothes, which they both just loved. It took off from there. Russell Wilson started noticing how well put-together that player looked in postgame interviews when he was wearing our Thomas Dean shirts and jackets, and, one thing led to another. Next thing we knew we were also dressing Russell, who just loved the look of our line and the quality and style. Soon, Russell was coming into our office every season, picking out clothes that he’d wear to everything from press events to one his many charity functions. After a while, when Russell was photographed at his weekly trips to Children’s Hospital here in Seattle, chances are he was wearing Thomas Dean. BRIAN: What made Russell a good fit to partner with Thomas Dean? DEAN: We had the good fortune of already having him as a fan of our line. We didn’t have to convince him of our sense of color or style or our high standards for quality. When he approached Nordstrom with an idea to partner with a small group of Thomas Dean principals to combine his love for clothes with his charitable work, they said, “Wow! You picked the right people!” It’s humbling to have such a vote of confidence like that from people who understand retail like the Nordstrom family. They loved the name Good Man Brand, and loved that Russell was going to inspire men to be good men. What Russell really needed was someone who knew the apparel business inside and out, and that’s something we could bring to the table. BRIAN: You’ve launched many product lines, what’s special about this one? DEAN: I love that we’re skewing toward younger consumers. I love the charitable component. The clothes themselves are well-made and beautifully designed. But what I really love is that Russell went from not knowing our line, to wearing our line, to partnering with us! He’s a terrific young man, truly a “good man,” who is thoughtful and wise, and it’s been really gratifying watching him go from being a Thomas Dean fan to a partner in a pretty short amount of time. We’re very proud of him, and of the new offering. # # #