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New Tampa Bay odorless socks company earns national recognition

Skunk Skin socks
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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Last year, ABC Action News introduced you to a college student creating his own sock company out of his dorm room. After a recent trip to Hollywood, this young entrepreneur is now being recognized on a national scale.

 “The first time I ever came down here to Tampa Bay was in the Fall of 2017, and it was for a baseball velocity camp. I was trying to hit 90 miles per hour,” said Matt Tesvich.

The Georgia native was striving to one day pitch in the big leagues until he was dealt a curve ball of his own.

“So I tore three different ligaments. Doctor told me it was going to be at least 18 months of recovery with all the different surgeries and stuff, so God closed the door, and the baseball dream was over,” said Tesvich.

However, he was not going to pout on the bench. He decided to set a new goal. Instead of pitching a baseball, he would pitch a cure for foot odor.

“I always had stinky feet growing up and there is a rule in my house that I had to take off my socks and shoes before I could join the family for dinner, for a movie, whatever it was,” said Tesvich.

So, he got to work in his University of Georgia dorm room and soon found out that being an entrepreneur was just as challenging as being a ball player.

“It’s not working, it’s not working, it’s not working. I’m contacting manufacturers all over the world, over 18 months, and finally, after over 100 manufacturers, over 50 different samples, we finally got one pair of socks that worked, and Skunk Skin was born,” said Tesvich.

Earlier this month, the odorless socks were introduced to a national audience when the 23-year-old appeared on the new Amazon Prime show, "Buy It Now."

“So it’s similar to a spin-off on 'Shark Tank,'” said Tesvich. “We got to go out to Hollywood. It’s the studio where they filmed the original 'Wizard of Oz,' which is really, really cool. We were the youngest contestant on the show, and we were the youngest winner on the show, so we competed against five other brands. We ended up winning $20,000 at the end of the episode.”

Now, life has come full circle. Matt officially moved the company to Tampa Bay, where he is working with a team of mentors from Blue Water Media and the USF Entrepreneurship Program.

“This is the new kind of mecca of entrepreneurship, people that are doing the same thing, people that want to live out their dreams, chase it, change the world. It’s a city of world changers,” said Tesvich.

“It’s so important for a young person to realize what it is they don’t know, so they come, hat in hand, and they ask for help, and I love that, and it’s such a great lesson for young people,” said Brian Fasulo, founder of Blue Water Media.

So far, Tesvich has sold more than 17,000 pairs of socks. He said he knew the product really worked after having a movie night with his own family.

“That’s how we passed the test; it’s a unique lab, but absolutely,” said Tesvich.

For more information, go to www.skunkskin.com

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