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After months of hard work, David Smith and his Trojan Threads Apparel Co. are finally home in their new physical location near the campus of Troy University, with a soft opening date set for July 11.

Trojan Threads has been a popular destination for Troy Athletics fans for officially licensed Trojan gear but this will be the first physical location for the store. The location of Trojan Threads is at 110 University Avenue, just off campus, in the same shopping center as Escape Troy and Moge Tee.

Beginning July 11, Trojan Threads will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. with the ribbon-cutting and grand opening scheduled for Aug. 10. Getting into the location wasn’t a simple task for Smith as the Brundidge native had to completely renovate the inside of the store.

“There was carpet here and the ceiling tile and the lights had to be replaced,” Smith recalled. “We looked at it and I did up a drawing with my dad to see what we could do with it. I didn’t want to do a lot but I wanted to do enough for it to look great. We put in new lights, new ceiling tiles, ripped up the carpet and gave it fresh paint from wall-to-wall.”

After all of that “sweat equity,” Smith said he’s proud of the progress that has been made.

“It’s been rewarding looking at the before and after pictures,” he said. “It’s completely different and that’s exactly what I wanted. I wanted fans to come in and go, ‘Man, he’s got a lot of stuff here.’ They can come in and have a place to buy their Troy gear at an affordable price.”

Offering Troy fans officially licensed Troy products at a reasonable price has been Smith’s mission with Trojan Threads from the beginning.

“I wanted it to be affordable for the family of four, that was critical for me,” Smith emphasized. “Coming from Brundidge, every time I wanted to get Troy stuff I couldn’t find it or it was just too expensive.”

Smith was a member of Troy’s “Sound of the South” band during his college days, so he’s especially excited to be offering official band gear at Trojan Threads.

“I was in the band and that is something that is important to me, we just had no products available for the band students and if we did, it was just too expensive for us,” he recalled. “We’ll have a full band section here. We’ll have jackets and member shirts and everything.”

Smith said that much of the products that will be available at the opening of the physical location will also be new designs, along with some fan favorites. Smith also plans to hold back a few designs for the start of football season, as well.

The majority of Trojan Threads’ products are designed by Smith himself, who worked at Troy University for a number of years as a graphic designer and Director of Creative Services. Smith has also recruited Troy students – with graphic design backgrounds – in the past to create designs for Trojan Threads. Additionally, Trojan Threads will also host a Charles Henderson High School section with CHHS gear for sale.

When football season arrives, Trojan Threads will adjust its store hours accordingly. Smith said that on Thursdays and Fridays of home game weeks, Trojan Threads will stay open later. Also, on game day Saturdays, the store will open at 8 a.m. and remain open until an hour before kickoff.

With the opening of his first brick-and-mortar location, Smith feels like he’s realizing a dream come true.

“I’m nervous and excited all in one, it’s been a dream for me,” Smith said. “My parents would tell you that. Since I was in high school, I’ve told my mom and dad that I wanted to open up my own store. I didn’t know what it would be – sometimes it was a retail store and sometimes it was a restaurant – but I just wanted to do it.

“When I left my job at the university, that was it for me. I was going out on a limb, quitting my full-time job to do what I wanted to do and love to do. It has been rewarding but it’s also been very eye opening, too. There are things you don’t think about with running your own store. It’s been rewarding and nerve-wrecking but I’m excited and hopefully it goes well and I think it will.”

Trojan Threads features hats, T-shirts, polo shirts and more. Trojan Threads will officially open its doors on July 11 at 10 a.m. In the meantime, Troy fans can still purchase gear online at trojanthreads.com.