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Kauai entrepreneurs
bet on success
for poker wear

RYAN Haneberg and Justin Britt are going all-in on a new clothing line introduced to their target audience this summer.

It's not surfwear, though they're surfers. It's not basketball clothing, though they were Kapaa High School basketball Warriors. Volleyball attire is not in the works, though Ryan played on the qualifying circuit of the Association of Volleyball Professionals for a year.

The recently reconnected friends have invested about $20,000 each into the company formed earlier this year, High Society Performance Poker Apparel Corp.

In poker, the term high society refers to a $100 poker chip or a $10,000 bankroll.

The T-shirts, caps, hooded sweatshirts and other items are intended for the hip and cool Gen-X poker players of today, versus the stogie-sucking, paunch-bearing, sans-a-belt-wearing, comb-over fogies of yore.

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COURTESY OF HIGH SOCIETY PERFORMANCE POKER APPAREL CORP. Ryan Haneberg, left, and Justin Britt wear items from High Society Performance Poker Apparel Corp.'s new line of clothing.

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The guys' investment money purchased inventory made by the same California company that produces board riding and other lifestyle clothing for Hurley International and the publicly traded Volcom Inc.

"It makes sense for us to manufacture all our stuff in the U.S.," said Haneberg. "We are definitely trying to not support sweatshops."

They also bought exhibitor space at a World Series of Poker event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas in July, where High Society gear was introduced to poker players from everywhere.

They weren't there to sell stuff, but to build some buzz.

"It was more a trade show atmosphere, so selling was tough, but from getting our stuff out there and creating great response, it was awesome," he said.

Up-and-coming player Sean "Sly" Ly, from Washington state, donned a shirt and cap and was videotaped by ESPN wearing the High Society gear while playing at the feature table. He and the Kauai-conceived card couture may get nationwide exposure on ESPN airings of the event in October.

Talk about product placement.

High Society and Ly "are hoping to grow together. We're kind of getting each other while we're both green," said Haneberg. Ly leads the High Society Poker Club on the company Web site.

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COURTESY OF HIGH SOCIETY PERFORMANCE POKER APPAREL CORP. High Society outfitted Sean "Sly" Ly (with glasses) at the World Series of Poker main event's featured table in July.

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In addition to the card playing, Britt, 30, and Haneberg, who turned 29 Friday, also saw some clothing competition in Vegas.

"There's a ton of companies trying to capitalize on the poker boom, creating just like, poker T-shirts and stuff, but we're trying to do a lifestyle brand that people will want to associate with," Haneberg said.

High Society is a sponsor of the U.S. Collegiate Poker League and will provide gear for tournament prizes in return for exposure to a key population in its target demographic.

It is estimated that college students make up more than 12 percent of the poker-playing population.

"The next step is to acquire funds and take the company to the next level -- and there's already been a lot of interest," Haneberg said.

Haneberg is getting a both-feet-in-the-water education about running a business, both from Britt, who is co-owner of Wasabi Design Inc., a Hanalei-based graphic design and marketing company, as well as from more seasoned business folk.

The buzz-building is part of a deliberate path of steps to increase awareness, interest and, they hope, demand.

Neither Haneberg nor Britt wants to pound pavement to get into retail stores if nobody knows the product line. If the shirts hang on retail racks and don't sell, "you don't get a second chance to make a first impression," he said.

The merchandise initially will be sold only through the High Society Poker Web site, which will be equipped for e-commerce in about two weeks, Haneberg said.

"We have a huge advantage as far as Justin having a gift and knowing the ins and outs of Web design and how business is conducted over the Internet," Haneberg said.

Luck is a part of poker, which also played in to the two reconnecting.

Britt and Haneberg had lost track of each other after high school, but after 10 years they bumped into each other while surfing at Hanalei. Britt invited Haneberg to a no-limit poker game with other surf buddies, which Haneberg won.

The beginners' luck sparked a fever-turned-business inspiration in Haneberg. The thought of creating a line of hip, poker-themed clothing flashed into his brain during a hike with his fiancee.

He replayed the Matt Damon poker-movie "Rounders" in his head and recalled the scene where Damon's character "walked into his local poker room and said, 'give me three stacks of high society.' That was all I needed to hear to know what the name of our company would be," Haneberg said.