Last January, Todd Lansky was in the stands at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., with his son, Tyler, before the Detroit Lions' most important NFL game in nearly half a century. The Lions were about to play the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game when Lansky's phone rang.
Lansky, 53, works as a lawyer by day. By night, he runs a fan merchandise company called Detroit Army from his Chicago-area home. He thought his passion project was gaining some traction last season, when the previously struggling Lions were making the playoffs. .
Amidst the flood of text messages and missed calls, Lansky realized what had happened. Lions head coach Dan Campbell wore one of Lansky's Detroit Army trucker hats during a pregame interview with Fox Sports' Michael Strahan. .
It was a tough day for the Lions. The Lions took an early lead, but it crumbled in the second half. But at least Mr. Lansky won. After Strahan's interview aired, Detroit's military received 379 orders in three minutes.
“That number is etched in stone,” Lansky said.
For a team that has been almost synonymous with loss and setbacks for decades, and for a fanbase that has become accustomed to being the subject of sports talk ridicule, rising to the top of the NFL and having a grassroots clothing line is , yielded similar results. It was like an impossible feeling that being a Lions fan was cool.
As unlikely as the Lions' rise was Detroit's. Without the benefit of licensing deals with professional teams or leagues, the company has nevertheless managed to trickle into the highly competitive sports apparel market. It happened because of Mr. Lansky's enthusiasm for his job. Assistance from 21 year old daughter Zoe. And thanks in part to the fortuitous involvement of popular coach Campbell, the rising Lions are back in the playoffs this season as Super Bowl favorites.
“It's a labor of love,” Lansky said.
He said the brand is all about his love for Detroit, where he grew up, attending college in Indiana and then moving to Chicago for law school. Upon arriving in Chicago, he discovered that his social circle was largely made up of fellow Detroit expatriates. That was a lesson learned. You can take a person out of Detroit, but you can't take Detroit out of a person.
“Whenever you run into someone from Detroit, no matter where you are, there's an instant bond,” he said.
In 2007, Mr. Lansky was preparing for a weekend training camp with some friends from Detroit to play in a recreational basketball tournament.
The team needed a name, and the Detroit Army was born.
A few years later, Mr. Lansky created the team's logo (the Old English “D” for Detroit Army was inspired by the Detroit Tigers logo) and had it printed on jerseys. It was a fun pastime for a self-proclaimed “gear guy” who was making T-shirts for his college fraternity.
But Mr. Lansky soon branched out beyond jerseys. He started sending Detroit Army sweatshirts, T-shirts and baseball caps to friends as gifts. For Mother's Day one year, many of the women in his family received camo sweatpants.
Lansky had trademarked “Detroit Army” in 2016, but it wasn't yet a business. He had a demanding job as a managing partner at a credit and collections law firm and had a hard time understanding the idea. I am blessed with the moonlight as the only employee of a new apparel brand.
However, he always believed that the Detroit Army could grow into something more. His gear taps into the sense of community he felt among his fellow Detroiters, and it's only a matter of time before he can move “beyond just giving away free merchandise.” “It seemed like it,” he said.
The turning point came in June 2021. Lansky's trademark was in danger of expiring, and his daughter Zoe intervened. The Detroit Army should have gotten more attention.
“Dad, this is getting out of hand,” she recalled telling him.
In other words, it's time for Lansky to turn his fun little hobby into a business. He knew the Detroit Army needed a web page. My daughter told me that I also needed an Instagram account.
There was just one problem.
“He didn't really know what he was doing,” Lansky said.
So, before leaving for his first year at Ohio State University, Lansky became his father's instructor. The course was Instagram 101. She taught him how to create a profile. She explained the difference between posts and stories. She demonstrated the importance of proper lighting.
Despite the many hours of hard work they put in together, Mr. Lansky seemed a little lost, as he said, “completely abandoned” by his daughter's departure for college.
“So I wake up at 2 a.m. and figure out how to post on Instagram and post stories,” he said.
A year later, when Lansky was a sophomore, an interesting article appeared on her Instagram feed, courtesy of the Detroit Army. She thought her father must have hired a specialist. But that's not the case. He did it himself.
“I was so proud of him,” she said.
Thanks to social media and word of mouth, Detroit Army's popularity has gradually increased. Mr. Lansky had a so-called Detroit Army room in his home, an organized and chaotic workspace (boxes, equipment, invoices). He had one rule for his three children. touch. Anything.
And Mr. Campbell was involved.
When the Lions hired Campbell as head coach in 2021, the team was terrible. But Campbell, a barrel-chested former NFL player, led the team to a winning record in his second year on the job. And he played the role of an old-school football coach, and used that tone to connect with Detroit's loyal fans. He talked about building his team into a team that will “grit your teeth” and “chew your kneecaps off.”
To Lansky, Campbell was a Detroit icon and a perfect fit for his brand. The fact that Mr. Lansky happened to live across the street from Mr. Campbell's agent, Rick Smith, gave him the impetus he needed, and Mr. Smith sent Mr. Lansky a Detroit military care package for Mr. Campbell. Encouraged them to assemble it.
Sure enough, Campbell wore a Lansky hat when he appeared at a press conference in his first season with the team, and has continued to wear Detroit Army apparel ever since. Mr. Lansky has many options. Lansky sends boxes of new gear to Campbell's family every few weeks.
“Dan loves what the brand stands for and just wears it as a man,” Smith said. “There's no endorsement, nothing. It's kind of fun.”
More recently, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has started occasionally wearing a Detroit Army hat. Mr. Johnson is also represented by Mr. Smith. (Neither coach was available for comment as the Lions prepare for a playoff game against the Washington Commanders on Saturday.)
Four years after Lansky's “side gig,” the Detroit Army account on Instagram now has more than 10,000 followers. He has filled customized orders for apartment complexes, alumni groups, and small businesses. The outreach will take the form of sending products to celebrities and athletes with ties to Detroit and hoping they will post photos online wearing the gear.
“We'll have to see what sticks,” Lansky said.
Last year, the Detroit Army won about 2,700 orders and turned a profit for the first time, he said.
Lansky always seeks updates about business and the Lions from his father.
“I'm obsessed with Dan Campbell,” she said. “I'm obsessed with Ben Jonson. I'm obsessed with all of that.”
But her father still dwells on the missed opportunity. Last year, when the NFL held its annual draft in Detroit, Lansky said he wanted to host a pop-up shop near the festival. But he didn't have time. Although Lansky now runs his business through the e-commerce marketplace Shopify and an online fulfillment center, the Detroit Army remains essentially a one-man army.
“There’s still a lot of work I want to do,” Lansky said.
With that in mind, he said he hopes his daughter, now a college senior, can become more involved and perhaps one day take over and grow the company into something even bigger.
“Maybe it's time to grow it a little bit more,” he said.
