No Longer Too Fat To Be A Fan

As a fat kid I always dreamed of buying merch to support my favorite bands, artists, and pro wrestlers. Once I passed the 2xl mark in late grade school it became harder to find printed shorts and hoodies I liked. And by late grade school I mean 5th grade.

Once I started my own bands I could always print my own schwag custom but it sucked only having my own shirts. We always made sure to print 3xl and a couple 4xl shirts so our fans didn't get excluded. When we played with Clutch back in 1998 their drummer JP was even happy to get one of our shirts because barely anyone printed above 2xl and took them on the road. E-commerce was yet to boom so web ordering wasn't an option.

Catalog or specialty retail has been my only clothing option for years and buying huge clothes is expensive. When I'd order a pair of my biggest pants or shirt, size 66 waist and 7xl shirts, the packages cost a bit more to ship and would never fit in the lockable mailboxes in my building.

The times have changed! I went to a Misfits show recently and was able to buy a 2x shirt from their merch stand! This marks the first time I've been able to buy non local band merch at a show EVER.

Out of what was partially reward and partially a necessity I ordered a new hoodie from the WWE. Being a fan of C. M. Punk and of the TCB logo Elvis created I had to have the new Punk shirt. I ordered it and checked daily to see where the package was; this was in hopes I'd be home because prior packages were either left atop the mailbox or held for pick up of they were too big.

When I saw the package was delivered I immediately rushed home on hopes of getting my stuff before anyone else. When I didn't see the package on top of the box or in the lobby I panicked thinking someone walked with it.

When I turned the key to my mailbox I was happy to find my order inside. It didn't click until I actually tried it on that I was finally able to order multiple items besides socks that fit inside my mailbox!

The second NSV (non scale victory) this week came about when I was in a large chain store known for savings. Since I've haven't been able to shop off the rack since about 5th grade I never bothered to look at clothes outside of a big and tall specialty store.

I had to wait for a prescription I was picking up for my Mum so inspired by the NSV of the mailbox I decided to see what was going on in the men's clothing section. For the first time since i cant remember I was able to buy underwear at a regular store! And i was able to get twice as many pair for HALF the price of big and tall retail! I also found that I'm about a size away from buying jeans for far less money than I'm used to paying! More money for training and more free smiles to pass around for this guy. I'll need that training because Fat Tuesday lived up to its name this year. Yesterday was not a victory at all as far as my nutrition.

Until next time keep moving ever forward, one step beyond!