Alabama Vintage Partnering with Crimson Tide Athletes
Alabama Vintage, a local Tuscaloosa vintage apparel store, has partnered with four athletes as "brand ambassadors" the shop announced via Instagram stories Monday morning.
Among the first to partner are three Crimson Tide football players, offensive linemen Javion Cohen, Alajujuan Sparks and Damieon George. The fourth is Mississippi State forward Javian Davis, who began his collegiate career at Alabama.
"I've become good friends with a lot of the athletes since we opened in January," owner Charlie Nelson told Tide 100.9. "Building on these connections, along with NIL passing July 1, has given me the opportunity to work with all of these athletes."
Nelson's store is often visited by some of the biggest names in Alabama sports. July 1 became a much bigger day for Alabama Vintage than Nelson had expected as his most recognized customers began to come with collaboration ideas.
Alabama Vintage isn't likely to stop at four athletes. Nelson says he's hoping to expand his brand ambassador team to all sports at Alabama, seeing as the deal is a fun and simple one to get going to benefit both sides.
"Their role will be to spread awareness about our business," Nelson said. "Whether it’s from word of mouth, posting on Instagram and Twitter, etc., these athletes are big influencers on campus. I’ll also be doing anything I can do to help them build & maintain their own brands."
The opportunities for athletes don't end with the brand ambassadorship. In Monday's Instagram post calling for more ambassadors also teased an upcoming autograph session with a handful of Crimson Tide athletes.
"I’ve been planning out multiple autograph sessions with some great athletes, so be on the lookout," Nelson said. "We will post more info about them soon. Just have to finalize some contracts."