Do you know what we love even more than creating cool custom shirts for huge events like the Cooper River Bridge Run? Cultivating relationships! And that’s just what we’ve done with our friends at the 3rd Largest 10K in the U.S. This iconic race that begins in Mount Pleasant, SC, and ends 6.2 miles later in downtown Charleston has been a hometown tradition for the last 47 years. More than 35,000 runners come from all over the world to “Get Over It” wearing a Cooper River Bridge Run shirt custom printed by Vapor Apparel.
Vapor Apparel Custom Shirts for the Cooper River Bridge Run
Several years ago, Vapor won the bid to print the Official Race Shirt. Since then, we’ve helped Irv Batten, Executive Director of the Cooper River Bridge Run, expand the Bridge Run’s custom merchandise to include custom T-shirts, tanks, performance shirts, joggers, leggings, and more.
“We formed a good, strong relationship with Vapor and they started doing our Merchandise Shirts," Irv said. "We have about four different shirts we do year-round with different designs on Vapor Apparel shirts."
‘The Consumers Just Love It’
Outside of the race shirt itself, people love to rep anything and everything Bridge Run. The Bridge Run’s Merchandise Store features crowd favorites like the:
Tri-blend Short Sleeve that's made with 50% recycled fiber.
"The consumers just love it. It's so soft. We use this shirt in different colors for different designs," Irv said.
The Bridge Run store carries this shirt in the Race Course graphic, Scenic graphic, the Bridge graphic, and the Get Over It graphic.
Another big seller is the People's Choice Race Graphic printed on a Vapor Apparel Long Sleeve, the annual Official Race Graphic printed on a Vapor Apparel Solar Hoodie.
"We also have the long Sleeve Solar and we have the Hoodie. The consumers really love it and so do the employees. They wear them all year round. I bet when you see them come in later, they all have a Vapor Shirt on!" Irv said.
Custom Shirt Spotlight Interview: Cooper River Bridge Run
Learn more about the Bridge Run X Vapor Apparel collaboration in this interview with Irv Batten, CRBR Executive Director.
“Working with Vapor Apparel is really easy,” Irv said. “We have a really strong relationship with Jackson and several other individuals at Vapor. We call them and joke around about different things."
As event sponsor, official printer, and Expo Vendor, we spend a lot of time with Irv and his crew leading up to the race.
"It's special when we get to produce merchandise for an event that's known around the world and is right in our own backyard," said Jackson Burnett, president of Vapor Apparel. "This race attracts tens of thousands of people and has a huge economic impact on our area. It's incredible to be a part of this and provide the Cooper River Bridge Run, and all of the runners and walkers, with a quality product they'll wear for years to come."
"Plus, Irv and Mark are so fun to work with. We look forward to it every year," Jackson said.
Want to find out more about the race and register for the April 6th event? Check out our blog about How to Get Ready for the 2024 Bridge Run!
Ready to Create Your Own Custom Shirt with Vapor Apparel?
The first step to creating your own custom shirt is to take a look at our catalog of apparel. We offer men’s, women’s and kids’ styles, as well as the option to create a custom-patterned fabric with our Cut and Sew Program. We're known for our Solar Shirts (100% polyester) that are moisture-wicking, quick-drying, odor resistant, and provide UPF 50+ sun protection.
You'll also need to work with a graphic designer in your area to create print-ready artwork, and decide where you want the graphic to appear: center chest, left chest, back, or sleeve.
Once we receive your artwork in high-res vector art, in ai or eps format and you select your shirt style and color, we'll produce a digital mockup for your approval. Once we get the thumbs up, we get to work custom-printing each shirt by hand in our Charleston, SC facility.
Printing options include dye sublimation (on Solar Fabric) that never cracks, fades, or peels.
If you select one of our shirts that has cotton in it, sublimation could be an option (for a vintage look), or you can opt for high-quality screen printing or a Direct to Garment transfer.
We've been in the customization business since 2004 and have everything you'll need for an easy customization process from start to finish - whether you need 36 shirts or 36,000!
Questions? Contact us anytime at sales@vaporapparel.com or 843-747-4200.
