HAGS Clothing started as a unexpected pause in my life with just four letters in a yearbook.
While I was attending the University of Missouri, a leg injury I sustained caused me to get surgery, forcing me to live at home for the time being. It was during this downtime I found a yearbook where the message “HAGS”, a shortened phrase for “Have a Great Summer”, was written and seeing it again made me think of making a clothing brand.
I officially launched the HAGS online store in early summer of 2025, inspired by summers, but over time added “Have a Great Saturday” and “Have a Great Season” into our collection to broaden the connection between clothing and college towns, gamedays and moments to look forward to.
Balancing College and a New Business
Being in college I knew I had to try out ideas as well as accept I would have some design ideas on hold to save money for the next possible design to implement. Trying to get the business off the ground while going through classes made me try to make any free time, no matter how small, productive. My responsibilities at HAGS include not only designing clothes and improving the website but also creating content and directing new customers toward my clothing.
Turning Social Media Into a Business
Social media provides an amazing platform to connect and document it all; my creator account, “TheRealTbat” has over 200 thousand followers while HAGS “accounts” have closer to 12 thousand but turning audience attention towards purchasing something is one the hardest transitions I’m still working on; I try my best to provide a way to connect what people watch with something they would be thrilled to wear.
Friends and family also play a major role in why I am still working toward something at a rapid pace-whether through resharing content and telling friends or wearing my brands themselves and introducing HAGS to others.
Finding Success in the Journey
For me, building HAGS is nothing short of success since my own journey with a complicated period led me here. Today it’s a company I work with everyday and what started off as a handwritten summer wish carries the same fundamental phrase: have a great something.
Author: Tyler Batliner is the founder of HAGS Clothing hagsclothing.com and the creator of the account @TheRealTbat.
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