JULY 2020

Who Is That Mask Man?
BY STEVE STEIN
There’s no hiding behind the
fact that MaskClub is an
overnight success story.
Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic
and resultant economic hardship
of many companies around the
globe, MaskClub is meeting a worldwide
need for face coverings in a creative
and convenient way.
Customers who sign up for the
unique online subscription service
receive a double-ply cloth made-inthe-USA
mask each month, choosing
from more than 100 brands and
thousands of designs that can adorn
the front of the mask. There even are
kid-sized masks.
Cost to join MaskClub is $9.99
per month, a 30 percent discount
from the $13.99 cost of a single mask
purchase.
Buying masks through MaskClub
also helps first responders who are
fighting the COVID-19 virus each
day. For every mask sold, a medicalgrade
mask is donated to a first responder
through the First Responders
Children’s Foundation. More than
100,000 masks have been donated
since MaskClub’s April 10 launch.
The MaskClub.com website
went viral the day after it launched,
and there were one million visitors
on the website in its first four weeks.
What’s the most popular MaskClub
mask so far? Wonder Woman. No.
2 is a mask with the American flag.
MaskClub is a spinoff company
of Madison Heights-based Trevco,
headed by president Trevor George.
“We’re in the licensed apparel
and accessories business at Trevco,
and we took a hit initially from the
pandemic,” George said. “People
stopped buying our products because
they had to buy food and toilet
paper.” His company’s sales fell
60 percent, and he had to lay off or
furlough most of his employees.
“All I could do was try to keep
the ship from sinking,” George said.
While his company was struggling,
George stepped up and donated
250,000 masks to a local hospital.
After seeing how that generosity was
received and knowing that Trevco
had licensed brands already in
place, George’s wife Morgan came
up with the idea for MaskClub. The
idea quickly became reality.
“In four days, MaskClub was up
Above: MaskClub president Trevor George and his wife Morgan wear MaskClub masks while enjoying family time with their 11-monthold
son Hudson. Top of page: A few of the thousands of mask designs available through MaskClub.
and running,” Trevor said, giving
much of the credit to Nick Saroki,
Trevco’s chief technology officer,
and Chris Thiesen, the company’s
art director, for the quick launch.
Trevor gave kudos to his wife not
only for the idea for MaskClub. He
said she came through in a crisis.
“As the quarantine dragged on,
Morgan kept telling me I had to
do something with my business,”
Trevor said. “She was relentless.
She even set up a calendar invitation
each day to remind herself to
‘harass’ me the next day.”
Morgan is a stay-at-home mother
for 11-month-old son Hudson, but
her career expertise is in the fashion
industry. That knowledge played in
a role in her MaskClub idea.
“Morgan saw scenes of people
in China all wearing the same blue
mask,” Trevor said. “She thought
that was pretty boring, that we
could make much more of a fashion
statement in the U.S.”
After word got out in the business
world about MaskClub’s success,
companies started calling
Trevor, asking if they could join the
list of mask offerings.
Trevor is now working with
Nickelodeon for the first time. And
Kraft Heinz. And Dippin’ Dots ice
cream.
That means there are SpongeBob
Squarepants, Paw Patrol, Rugrats
and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
masks available through MaskClub.
And masks with Kraft Macaroni &
Cheese, Kool-Aid, Oscar Mayer,
Heinz Ketchup and Jell-O designs.
Most importantly, Trevor has been
able to call back the 70 or so employees
he had to let go or furlough.
The future is bright for MaskClub,
and not just because people are finding
they need more than one mask as
they go about their daily lives.
“I originally thought MaskClub
would be a one year or 18-month
business, until a vaccine was developed
for COVID-19,” Trevor said.
“Now I think a percentage of people
are going to be wearing masks after
that.
“We think differently about
the flu now and we’re quite aware
that we could get sick when we’re
out in public. I’ll bet you’ll see 10
to 20 percent of airline passengers
wearing masks after the pandemic is
over,” he said.
Trevor equated the medical experts’
constant recommendations to
wear a mask in places where social
distancing is difficult to a parent
telling a child over and over to do
something. “We’re not done hearing
about the importance of wearing
masks,” he said.
MaskClub recently expanded to
the United Kingdom and Europe.
The launch was especially timely in
England, where non-medical face
coverings became mandatory on
public transportation starting June
15. Ten percent of each MaskClub
mask sold in the United Kingdom
goes to NHS Charities Together,
which provides funding and services
for hospitals there.
Founded in 1990, Trevco is one
of the largest e-commerce players
for licensed merchandise in the
world thanks to its print-on-demand
apparel and accessories technology.
In addition to Madison Heights,
Trevco also has a facility in Rancho
Cordova, California.
28 CHALDEAN NEWS JULY 2020