All the teams at this year’s Brier in Brandon are wearing custom jerseys made by a Manitoba curler and his partner who recently scored four-year apparel contract with Curling Canada.
The friendship between Team Manitoba lead Colin Hodgson and avid curling fan Faron Asham, and the eventual birth of Dynasty Apparel, can be traced back four years ago to Keystone Centre in Brandon.
Asham was watching Hodgson compete in the provincials.
“Little did we know at that time we were going to cross paths and hook up and start Dynasty Apparel,” Asham said.
The pair had also met when Hodgson went for a round of batting practice at one of Asham’s two batting cages. The two men became good friends and didn’t waste much time before talking business.
“I was in culinary arts previously and curling on the ice,” Hodgson said. “We decided maybe we could bring something new, some more flare to the game.”
That flare he’s referring to is custom jerseys for curlers, while appealing to advertisers who might be more enticed to sponsor a team.
“Teams need the sponsorship, they need the apparel to look a certain way so that they can sell themselves,” Hodgson said.
In the early days of Dynasty Apparel, Hodgson estimates less than five per cent of teams at any given tournament were sporting their jerseys.
Today, the Manitoba company outfits more than 1,000 teams in approximately 25 countries, and recently signed a long-term deal with Curling Canada.
“Dynasty clearly put together a terrific package that will take us through the 2021-2022 season,” Curling Canada’s Al Cameron said.
The business partners said while they used to joke about being on the national stage, seeing world champions and Olympic gold medalists wearing their name is surreal.
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