The team at Just Dishin and SkateSkins thinks there’s room in hockey culture for the kind of expression you see in other sports.
The two companies have a different focus – JustDishin does apparel and digital marketing while SkateSkins does customizable skate accessories – but they are united in ownership by Matthew Keeler and a team of employees, including full-timers Nick Ciavarella and Derek Hosken.
The team recently moved into Serendipity Labs in Seneca One Tower.
Keeler, Ciavarella and Hosken lost their jobs last year and decided to turn a longtime side hustle into their day jobs.
“We’ve been grinding for years to get to this point,” Ciavarella said. “We want to continue building each other up and growing these companies for years to come.”
Just Dishin deals with a steady influx of interest from professional athletes who want a nimble, boutique service that not only helps design and manufacture apparel but also handles e-commerce and marketing. Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin are clients.
SkateSkins was launched last year and has found fast traction in the hockey world, both among high-level partners and individual teams. With team-specific branding and individual numbers, the business has grown steadily, Keeler says.
A number of Ontario Hockey League players expect to don SkateSkins when the season begins again next year. The product is launching with teams based at both Holiday Twin Rinks and Leisure Rinks in Buffalo. And retail SkateSkins products are being rolled out in Pure Hockey stores soon.
Finally, the company is preparing to launch a web-based tool that allows individual players or teams to design customized SkateSkins online.
“Hockey is still a traditional sport,” Keeler said. “We think there is an opportunity to allow athletes to tastefully express themselves.”
The full-time team is joined by about seven part-time employees, including Just Dishin co-founder Benjamin Madafferi, all of whom contribute critical skills to the overall product, Keeler said. They have formal strategies and long-term plans, but they also pride themselves on their nimble sensibilities.
Hockey isn’t an industry where young entrepreneurs have often hit it big. But the world is changing, and if anyone can do it, Just Dishin/SkateSkins thinks it will be a team from Buffalo.
“This all goes back to the culture of the sport itself,” Ciavarella said. “We think hockey players should have the opportunity to be creative.”
