Rock 'Em Apparel Unveils Customized Nike Elite Basketball Socks for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Orlando based apparel company Rock 'Em Apparel launched a new line of customized pink athletic socks in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The company unveiled it's three newest designs that include two Kevin "Durantula" Durant inspired pink spider web designs, and a pink camouflage print. Each pair can be dedicated to a loved one and customized further with their initials. The socks are personalized and shipped within 24 hours of being processed. Twenty percent of the proceeds from each order are donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund as well as 100% of the proceeds from each dedication.

The late Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach, was a past president and founding member of the WBCA. Yow was named national Coach of the Year eight times and is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away in 2009 after facing her third bout with the disease.

"My sister Alison played under Kay's sister at Belmont Abbey College, and one of her teammates worked for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. It seemed fitting to be able to make a personal connection between our company and someone that we all admired for her strength and passion," said Rock 'Em Apparel founder Rob Starkman. "We raised $2500 for this cause last year, as an emerging company. Our goal is $10,000 this year."

Rock 'Em launched in early 2011 when Starkman sought to bring personality to the sock by creating designs to coordinate with the newest footwear releases. "Collecting shoes is a lifestyle to me, and I couldn't stand it when I saw people wearing $200 Nike sneakers with plain white tube socks. It made sense to start making my own clothes to match."

There was literally no demand for this type of product when Starkman first began customizing the Nike Elite socks for himself and local athletes, while still a full-time student at the University of Central Florida. However, when the Rock 'Em website was launched, the Elite sock shot up in popularity, and what began as a small company for sock enthusiasts, soon had a growing clientele of not only athletes, but also Hip Hop artists and celebrities who were looking for one of a kind designs and unique footwear. Today, the Rock 'Em website boasts over 20 different designs, found only on their site, along with their recently released apparel offerings of t-shirts, hats and accessories. They have also amassed quite a following on their social network sites gaining 10,000 Facebook fans in their first 3 months and climbing to 20,000 as the demand for custom designs spread. With nearly 7,000 followers on Twitter, celebrities tweeting pictures of their custom footwear has become an unexpected boost to both followers and sales.

Rock 'Em Apparel's newest line of customized pink socks will be available starting today through the end of October as a limited offering. For more information on Rock 'Em Apparel please visit RockEmApparel.com or email info(at)rockemapparel(dot)com. For more information on the Kay Yow Cancer Fund or to get involved please visit KayYow.com.