It all began December 2005 as an experiment.

A group of 4 friends, would meet at IHOP (International House of Pancakes) a few times a week for some tasty breakfast, and between them consume 5-6 glasses of  Sweet Tea each during the sitting.  After a couple of weeks our waitress, who was always the same began calling us the “Sweet Tea Junkies.”   I liked the name, and    at the time MySpace was the “big” thing so I started a new profile called Sweet Tea Junkie.  The goal was to see how many other “Sweet Tea Junkies” there were.

My expectations were to find maybe 100 – 200 others that were as crazy about  Sweet Tea as I was, but those expectations were quickly surpassed.  The first few weeks saw nearly 1,000 junkies, after the first month we were nearing 3,000 and then shortly after that when the MySpace page passed  8,000 friends I knew that there was more to Sweet Tea Junkie than just an experiment

I had a bit of a background in Graphic Design at the time so I decided to work up something very basic and print it on some shirts to see if we could sell them. Of course, looking back at that first shirt I see how terribly designed it was, but it was a start (I think the lesson here is that if you have an amazing idea, don’t let small or humble beginnings hold you back from potential greatness).  The timing of the shirts worked out great, as a group of us were traveling in the upcoming weeks to a music festival in Orlando, FL called Cornerstone.  I honestly had no idea what to think, would people like these shirts or would they go unnoticed?  I had a good friend wear the first ever Sweet Tea Junkie “tea shirt,”  and had him just walk around to see the reception he would receive (See Picture).

I met back up with him a little through the day and got the news that people loved the shirt / the idea of Sweet Tea Junkie!  He was stopped a few times from people asking where he got his shirt from.  I knew from that point we had something that could work, that people could get excited about and that’s really an amazing feeling.

After the festival I went to work on 3 new “sweet tea shirt” designs, registered and built www.sweetteajunkie.com, and started all of the business and trademark stuff in order to form Sweet Tea Junkie as a legitimate business.  It’s been over 6 years since those days, and we’re still here printing up some amazing “Sweet Tea Shirts” and of course chugging lots of Sweet Tea.

In the years since 2005 we’ve expanded beyond just apparel and currently operate as a Graphic Design, Print Shop & Apparel Company. In 2011 we introduced a line of products called “The Home Collection,” which are 100% handmade in the USA products inspired by the South, and designed for the space you call home.

Drink More Sweet Tea!

-Michael Dorman

ps.  If you have something that you really feel is an amazing idea, don’t put it on hold till a better time.  Start on it, get the experience and even if you begin small do what you love (even if you have to work at it part-time until it starts to pay the bills).  It’s well worth it.