MORGAN HENDERSON
Staff Writer
WolfPak is a clothing company based out of Buffalo that has made its mark on Fredonia and everywhere else it has touched. It was launched in the spring of 2015 and has only reached new heights since then. The company is owned by brothers Sean and Spencer Sticek.
“Our vision since day one has been to create our own lane in the hat industry. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service, affordable prices and unique and original designs,” said Sean.
Their dream sprouted from nothing and became a reality, as their first products were snatched up immediately.
“We invested in 48 hats and sold them out,” said Sean.
WolfPak is not their only endeavor. Spencer Sticek is currently getting his graduate degree at St. Bonaventure. Sean has another full-time job working as a homeless outreach case manager at the Matt Urban Hope Center in Buffalo.
He married his two passions by making the clothing line “Urban Culture,” which donates $5 of profit from every shirt to the Matt Urban Hope Center.
The center provides a variety of services to the under-served population in Buffalo, including hosting a food pantry, clothing closets and a dinner that serves hot meals from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Hope Center is also the headquarters for the homeless outreach department that works specifically with the homeless population in Erie County.
The triumph came from not only a minimal amount of time, but from a minimal amount of people. Sean and Spencer created WolfPak clothing and beside them, they have Nick Renkens, owner of the Sweatshop Sign Shop in Fredonia, doing their printings.
Their photographer, Joey Conti, is from Fredonia. He’s been working with them on product shoots and lifestyle shoots since they began, as well as creating content and filming interviews for their YouTube channel.
Despite the successes of the company, there are still some struggles to be faced.
“These things are possible regardless of who’s trying to tell you they’re not, why it’s not, even looking past your own criticisms and your own disbeliefs and just going for it,” said Sean.
“Sean and Spencer both work extremely hard and dedicate themselves entirely to whatever projects they’re working on,” said Conti.
It’s evident that the hard work is there.
“No one helped us, no one told us what to do. We just did things that we thought we should do and things that we thought would help us grow,” said Sean.
They’ve done things that a lot of people wouldn’t have thought possible with only two people running the company. Since 2015, WolfPak has worked with rappers like Chris Webby, Mark Battles and John Kilmer to expose their brand.
“Something surprising was how attainable some experiences really are if you put in the work and trust the process,” said Sean.
Sticek has some advice for anyone wanting to start a new business or find success in general.
“Really tune out what everyone else says and stick true to what you believe in because if your vision made sense to everyone else it wouldn’t be your vision it would be theirs. It’s easy to sit back and tell someone why that’s unrealistic or unattainable,” he said. “Everyone’s quick to point out the difficulties of a situation, but if you’re passionate about something and you believe in something you just have to trust your inner voice telling you to do what you gotta do even when it comes to people who you value their opinions. You have to be able to rise above that and go for it.”
Editor’s note: Morgan Henderson is currently interning at WolfPak.