As his 13th season in the NFL begins, the wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, fashion designer Kristin Juszczyk, is enjoying the ride.
They are embracing the moment. Juszczyk was recently re-signed to the 49ers after previously being released. Speaking to ClutchPoints after the Verizon Small Business Training Camp (this interview was conducted before Kyle's concussion against the New Orleans Saints), which Juszczyk led alongside the likes of New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees, she talked about how she is approaching her husband's 13th season.
“We just try to be as present as possible,” she said. “Like you said, it's such a short-lived career in the NFL, and we wanna really embrace it and be present in it because we know that these are like the golden years of his life, and all he's ever known is football. So, we try not to think too far [ahead].”
Luckily, Kristin will have her hands full whenever her husband retires. She has been making waves recently — Juszczyk recently designed the denim jacket worn by Texas Longhorns superfan Glen Powell on College GameDay.
Making Glen Powell's Texas Longhorns outfit
Speaking of Powell, that was a collaborative effort between them. Juszczyk infused a denim jacket and Longhorns jersey to make a must-have for any Texas football fan. “It was really cool to bring his sense of style to GameDay clothing,” she revealed.
Juszczyk had an idea, and Powell loved it. “He was great and very collaborative and [gave] me ideas as well, which I absolutely love,” she raved. “It was so fun to see that project come to life and for him to wear it. He looked amazing in it.”
For those who loved the design, it may be available in the future. “I'm sure we'll see that design that I made for Glen one day on Off Season,” she said to pump up Texas fans.
These types of “one-off” collaborations are fun for Juszczyk. They remind her of how she cut her teeth in the business. “I never wanna get away from those,” she conceded.
In fact, these “one-offs” are what inspired Juszczyk to start her Off Season brand. She wants to “give everybody my one-offs,” which she knows isn't possible. Still, she wants her brand to provide fans with a unique piece to rep their favorite team while retaining the small business feel.
“I really wanna bring my designs into all the fans of the team's hands,” she said.
What caused her to get started in fashion?
Juszczyk now makes unique clothing for various sports teams, ranging from varsity jackets to corsets. Before she started the company, she would check out other fans' gear, searching for a “gap in the industry that I [could] hopefully fill.”
The eureka moment came with puffer jackets. Juszczyk noticed how, well, puffy they looked. She'd see fans wear their jerseys over them, resembling something close to the Michelin Man. Juszczyk had her mission, and it has grown since then.
“I was noticing a lot of men were wearing those big, puffy jackets and were putting their jerseys over the jackets,” she explained. “It was kind of restricting how they were able to move. That's when I got that ‘a-ha!‘ moment of Why don't we just make a jacket that feels like a jersey? You wanna represent your team [and] favorite player, but you wanna stay warm.”
Her relationship with Kyle Juszczyk
Kyle Juszczyk is very supportive of Kristin's endeavors. Check out one of her Instagram posts and you'll likely see a supportive comment. Likewise, Kristin attends Kyle's games to support her husband.
They are just excited for each other. Kyle always believed in his wife, and that trust is paying off. He has been there since the start of her career, and he will continue to be for the long haul.
“He always knew that I had that entrepreneurial itch in me,” Kristin said, “and I think he really saw my whole story from the beginning, whether that was meeting me in college [or when] I started a clothing boutique when I first moved out to San Francisco, and then from there moving into the design element and sewing things overnight.
“Of course, he's a part of my full story, so he really got to see the whole growth of the business. And I love going to his games to support him, and I think he was just really excited to pay it back,” she continued.
How did they meet?
Their love story dates back to when Kristin was in college at Towson University and Kyle was playing on the Baltimore Ravens. Despite what you may think, she went to school to pursue a marketing degree, perhaps the furthest thing from fashion.
She met her future husband “the second” she got to Towson. The rest is history. Transferring to Towson gave her a career and a husband.
Did Towson impact her leadership style?
In addition to running Off Season, Juszczyk is one of the leaders of the Verizon Small Business Training Camp. Life as a business owner has taught her more than Towson could have.
Not to say that college taught her nothing. Juszczyk emphasized the importance of applying the tools you sharpen in college, not just learning them.
“College obviously teaches you a lot, but I think the real world teaches you more, to be honest,” she said. “And I think for me it was a learning experience. Obviously, you have the tools [from] what you learn in school, but it's a matter of how you apply them. And I learned so much throughout moving to San Francisco and meeting all these business owners.”
When she got started in the industry, Juszczyk had “no mentors.” Now, she has an opportunity to be on for the small business owners at Verizon's Training Camp.
“When I had first started in the clothing world, I really had no mentors,” she recalled. “I come from a family of entrepreneurs, but I really did not know anybody who was in retail or who was a designer, so it was really a ‘learn-as-you-go’ thing for me, which I genuinely love doing, and I think that's just in my blood. I love a challenge.”
If there was one thing she could teach her fellow entrepreneurs, it'd be that “growth is never linear.” It's something she learned from someone else, and she wants to pass that on.
“You could have a really good couple [of] months and then you could maybe have a bad couple [of] months, but it doesn't mean that things are going bad,” Juszczyk reasoned. “That just means that it's not linear and you need to learn from them to go right back up to where you were.”
